Iron & Glass

Collecting the Pratt Graphics Center: A Tale of Reconciliation

Written by Sarah Cuk, Special Collections Graduate Assistant. 

When I first started working as Special Collections Graduate Assistant at Pratt Institute’s Brooklyn Library in the Spring of 2021, I anticipated getting my hands on some unique materials-- you know, the kind of items one would expect from a place like Pratt. The position did not disappoint and I soon found myself looking through magnificent artist’s books of varying mediums with beautiful, clever and unconventional graphic designs. Of course, I wasn’t merely browsing but conducting inventory, assessing conditions, and processing materials from the Pratt Graphics Center as part of a project to reconcile items housed throughout the Libraries and the Archives.

Double spread from Adlib No.2, 1954. Left: Ashcan band by John Rombola; Right: Make-up by Robin Brant.

The Pratt Graphics Center

The Pratt Graphics Center served many varying purposes as an international, non-profit graphic arts workshop and extension of Pratt Institute. It was founded in 1956 by printmakers Fritz Eichenberg and Margaret Lowengrund on 1343 Third Avenue in Manhattan. The Center was in operation through 1986 and offered workshop facilities, professional printing, classes in printmaking media, and exhibitions that featured student and professional artists from around the world. As part of the Pratt Graphics Center, Pratt Adlib Press published several artist’s books and magazines, including Adlib, Keepsake, Artist’s Proof and Print Review. 

 An invitation from 1961, inviting guests to a prints exhibition and opening reception at Associated Artists Gallery on 605 5th Avenue.  

A photograph from the Pratt Institute Archives Photograph Collection of printmaker, Andrew Stasik, March 6, 1963. Stasik eventually became director of the Pratt Graphics Center in 1972 after Eichenberg’s departure. 

The Project

The Pratt Institute Libraries and Archives are fortunate to hold many items related to, printed at, and published by the Pratt Graphics Center. However, the items were dispersed throughout the library with sometimes duplicate, lack-luster, or just plain confusing records. The goal was to remedy such inconsistencies and create a Pratt Graphics Center Collection in the Archives that would celebrate and make accessible this incredible part of Pratt history. 

Step 1: Find Everything

Locating all the materials meant looking in the Stacks, the Rare Book Room, the Archives, the Special Collections Cage and even on a librarian’s desk! Indeed, the project was like a personal tour-guide, showing me the library’s layout. 

Left: Image of the Special Collections Cage, located behind the Stacks at the Brooklyn Campus Library. Right: Image of the Pratt Institute Archives on the Brooklyn Campus Library’s third floor.

Step 2: Conduct Inventory

After feeling confident that I had every Pratt Graphics Center publication stacked in my workstation corner, I began to assess each copy’s condition and conduct an inventory. 

Image of the pulled materials stacked on a cabinet in the graduate assistant workstation. 

Although I eventually processed papers related to the Center, like press releases, letters, invitations and subscription forms, I initially only worked with the four major publications previously mentioned. Here’s a quick breakdown: 
 
Adlib

Adlib began in 1953, three years before the Center’s opening by the Illustration Department’s Graphic Arts workshop. The annual publication featured distinct themes that were mostly expressed through etchings and wood-and-linoleum cuts. 

Right: Cover of the first Pratt Graphics Center publication, Adlib No. 1, 1953. This volume was actually printed three years before the Center’s opening. Center: Cover of Adlib No. 7, 1959. Right: Cover of Adlib No. 8, 1960.

A fold-out leaf from inside Adlib No. 16, Theater Graphics, 1969. This particular issue was in the form of a portfolio with five folded leaves.

Print Review 

Print Review was a semi-annual and fully illustrated journal published from 1972 to 1985. It featured articles about graphic arts and printmaking geared toward an audience of students, teachers, scholars, artists and collectors interested in current trends within the industry. 

 Left: Cover of Print Review 14, 1981. Right: Cover of Print Review 7, 1977.

Inside Print Review 8, 1978. The left page displays an etching called Jeweled City (Chicago, 1931). The right page includes an interview with Gerald K. Geerlings by Kurt Heinritz.

Keepsakes

Keepsake began in 1960 as an annual artist’s book and combined pre-published text with wood-cut and lithographic prints. Each edition arose from a collaboration of students, artists, designers, printers, and authors.

Plate from Keepsake no. 10, The Possible Theater, 1966. This issue was in the form of a large portfolio with nine separate plates. 

Inside Keepsake 3, Munakata: the way of the woodcut, 1961

Artist’s Proof

Artist’s Proof began in 1961 as a biannual magazine that collected news and reports on artists and activities within the contemporary printmaking world. It became an annual publication in 1967 and ceased publication in 1985.

Top, Left: Cover of Artist’s Proof No. 1, 1961. Top, Right: Cover of Artist’s Proof No. 8, 1964-1965. Bottom, Left: Cover of Artist’s Proof Vol. 8, 1968. Bottom, Right: Cover of Artist’s Proof Vol. 10, 1970. 
 

Aside from these publications, the Center also published stand-alone works as well as materials related to exhibitions.

A selection of posters, invitations and subscription forms. 

Inside of a stand-alone publication, I wanted to fish off the penninsula [sic] by Irva Mandelbaum, 1967

A selection of three plates from a stand-alone publication in the form of a portfolio, Square Variables Twelve Studies, 1972 by Todd Smith.

Step 3: Assess Conditions

As you might imagine, the conditions of the publications varied widely, mostly due to the ways in which they were originally housed. Most of the materials from Special Collections were housed in simple board enclosures with ribbon ties.

Left: Cover of a tie enclosure that originally housed Adlib 16. Right: Inside the tie enclosure with Adlib 16. 
 

Those located in the Archives were either stored in one giant oversized box or in folders inside Hollinger boxes:

View of a Hollinger box holding folders with copies of Adlib, Keepsake and Artist’s Proof. 
 

Throughout the project, I received much guidance and support from the library staff, especially Johanna Bauman, Head of Digital and Special Collections, Cristina Fontánez Rodríguez, Virginia Thoren and Institute Archivist, and Katherine Hicks, Special Collections Technician. Collectively, we deduced that the manner in which the publications were housed was not always ideal. For example, all the Print Reviews are perfect bound, meaning they are bound with the use of adhesive attached to the spine. They had been housed in Hollinger boxes spine side down which caused them to bow as seen in the image below.

 Image of a Print Review with some bowing caused by poor housing. You can see that the spine of the book is raised slightly above the right side.

I also flagged the copies that would be digitized for inclusion in our digital collections on JSTOR Forum. I needed to decide whether to hand off the archival copies in the best condition or keep them safe and enclosed. You see, the more you handle an item, whether that involves flipping through a book or scanning a page, the more likely it will become damaged. This is especially the case for hardcover items. In order to get them flat enough for the scanners to adequately capture them, the spine could be weakened or even broken.

Inside Adlib 1, 1953. Notice the delicate spine, which requires careful handling. 
 

Fortunately, I entrusted the items to an amazing digitization team, composed of Special Collections and Digital Initiatives Coordinator, Travis Werlen, Scanning and Public Services Assistant, Vernon Bigman, and fellow Graduate Assistant, Olivia Meehan.

Inside Keepsake, 7: Auto-Images 1963. One would have to flatten the spine in order to get a straight image. 

Step 4: Rehouse - Relocate

Now that I had an idea of what we actually had, I determined new homes for each material. We decided to keep most of the items in folders and Hollinger boxes. However, remember those bowing Print Reviews? It was quite clear that they needed special enclosures so we ordered custom clamshell boxes that would give them adequate support and protection.

An image of an open clamshell box. This is an appropriate method of housing for the Print Reviews because it allows them to stand upright, instead of on their spine. 

Step 5: Reconcile

As you can see, the project involved working with both the Libraries and the Archives, which required an understanding of the similarities and differences between two ways of arranging, housing and describing. Archival description is a little different than bibliographic in that it concerns the contextual information that comprises a whole collection. In contrast, bibliographic description takes a look at each stand-alone item. 

Left: Photo of the Pratt Institute Archives. Rather than housing and storing by item-level, the boxes and shelf locations signify whole collections. Right: For items that are too large or delicate to store in boxes, the Archives uses flat-file drawers.

Image of shelves in the Rare Book Room. In contrast to the Archives, the Library stores each item separately.

Nonetheless, both share the fundamental goal of making materials accessible for a wide array of users. And while it’s helpful to understand the distinctions between each manner of information maintenance, I increasingly find it invaluable to mind the similarities-- the real meaning behind the details. At this point, I turned my attention towards the archival collection. 

Photograph of the Pratt Graphics Center from the Pratt Institute Archives Photograph Collection, November, 1962.

Step 6: Write a Processing Plan

One of the first steps in processing an archival collection is writing a processing plan that outlines the arrangement, size, and level of processing. Although the plan itself was relatively straightforward to write, the real work came in deciding the arrangement of materials. 

 Photo of my workstation while I arranged the papers and decided upon an intellectual arrangement. The piles are labeled with acid-free papers. 

I won’t lie; this part presented me with some minor frustrations. As much as we strive to classify and organize, life is messy and complex. Binaries are constructed and identities intersecting. Not everything will perfectly fit within a label, and I had to remind myself that this is an inherent and beautiful part of life, rather than an obstacle seeking to make my job more difficult. 

Left: A red circular from 1964 announcing a performance by the American Mime Theatre, described as “a rebalance of the arts of acting, dancing, pantomime, design and playwriting.” Center: A yellow circular from 1964 announcing a Science & Art Lecture #1 hosted by biology professor, John Tyler Bonner. Right: A white circular from 1965 listing multiple graphic arts lectures by Fritz Eichenberg, William E. Parker, Alan Gern, and Elaine Johnson. 

Step 7: Create Finding Aid
The next part of the project involved creating a finding aid using an information management application called ArchivesSpace. Archives typically include finding aids so that researchers know what is available without having to physically look through the materials. The finding aid itself is a source of information as much as it guides the user to more information. 
 
Step 8: Print Labels
At last, the project was mostly complete, which meant it was finally time to attach the labels. In order to identify and distinguish each box and enclosure, it’s crucial to create concise information labels. It helps to leave this part to the very end, because there WILL be changes that WILL require reprinting. 

Photo of information labels attached to Hollinger boxes. Each label includes the location, collection name and number, series number and box number. 

The End, For Now

There’s nothing like sticking freshly printed, warm labels on all your boxes to truly signify the end of a long journey. A lot of work goes into the maintenance and care of our information resources to give them the most impact and reach as possible. Often this work is behind the scenes, but that’s a whole other topic for a different day. Needless to say, the labor and energy is worth it; what was once a scattered and somewhat hidden assortment of books and papers from a unique part of Pratt history is now more accessible. I urge you to venture forth and explore the wonders of the Pratt Graphics Center. 

Browse through the Pratt Institute Archives Publications Collection, where you will find Pratt Graphics Center materials.

Browse through the Records of the Pratt Graphics Center Finding Aid to explore everything that is housed in the Archives.

“Peace” stamps from inside Adlib No. 12, 1964