One copy is signed by the authors.
The Birdsall collection of bookbinders' finishing tools was acquired by the Rare Books Department at the University of Toronto in 1968. The Birdsall collection was started when William Birdsall purchased the bookbinding business of John Lacy and Son in Northampton, England, in 1792. The new establishment consisted of a bindery, a book store, a circulating library, a post office and insurance and banking were transacted on the side. William brought his sons, James and Robert, into the business in 1823 and by 1826 James was the sole owner since his brother and father had both died. In the 1840's Anthony, a great-nephew of the founder William, bought the business and his son Richard entered the business in 1857. Anthony died in 1893 and Richard continued the business under the name of Birdsall & Son. The firm became a private company after 1915 when the descendants of Anthony and Richard took over the firm. Each successive generation expanded on the collection of tools and styles of bookbinding with developing interests in preservation, restoration and the history of books and bookbinding. The University of Toronto acquired the collection when the last member of the Birdsall firm died leaving behind the firm's vast collection of bookbinding tools and paperwork. (Taken from: Evans, Emrys and Rachel Grover. _Birdsall Collection of Bookbinders' Finishing Tools_. Toronto: Department of Rare Books & Special Collections, 1972.)
Published
Title based on the published item information.
These items are copies of the exhibit catalogue for _The Birdsall Collection of Bookbinders' Finishing Tools_ by Emrys Evans and Rachel Grover of the University of Toronto, Department of Rare Books and Special Collections, 1972. One copy is signed by the authors.
These items were donated by the Friends of the Bata Library.
These items were created by Emrys Evans and Rachel Grover who came to Trent University and lectured, to the Friends of the Bata Library, about the Birdsall Collection of Bookbinders' Tools at the University of Toronto. The books were donated to the Friends of the Bata Library by the chief librarian of the University of Toronto Library and subsequently donated to the Trent University Archives.
Originals located at the University of Toronto.
Associated material located at the University of Toronto. For related records at Trent University Archives, see Peppermint and Abraxas Press fonds (86-013).
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