Manuscripts Collection
The Ampersand club was formed in November 1930 on the initiative of
Frank K. Walton and Arnett L. Leslie for the purpose of bringing together
informally men interested in all phases of the book and the book arts. For its
first several years of existence, the club was known only as "The Unnamed Book
Club." It was not until 1935 that the name Ampersand Club was adopted at the
suggestion of writer and
Membership in the club was initially limited to 16 men but was soon increased to 35. Members included printers, publishers, typographers, artists, booksellers, educators, librarians, book collectors, and others interested in aspects of the book arts and book trade. The structure established for the organization was simple, with a secretary as its only officer and no dues required. Meetings featured papers or talks by members or visitors concerning bookish or typographical specialities and visits to public and private libraries, typographical exhibits, printing and publishing houses, and bookstores. The group remained all male until sometime in the 1980s. By 1989 the membership rolls listed over 100 men and women.
Historical information was taken from the collection.
Correspondence, meeting announcements, membership lists, and publications printed by the club, as well as selected printed material collected by the group for its library. The collection includes copies of several books and other items published by the club and samples of publications by local presses and organizations involved in the local book trade.
Additional publications of the Ampersand Club are separately cataloged in the Minnesota Historical Society book collection.
Accession number: 15,623
Processed by: Lara D. Friedman~Shedlov, July 2001
Catalog ID number: 09-00322693
Includes a 1940 booklet published by the club with a membership list and a brief history of the first ten years of the club written by Paul Hillestad (then the club secretary).
Correspondence with typographer Paul Bennett, who was the guest at a goose dinner given in his honor by the Ampersand Club in 1947. Also included are the script of a presentation given at the dinner ("Waybill for a Way Goose"), biographical information on Bennett, and news clippings. Also included is a 1967 reprint of the keepsake that was originally printed for the occasion.
Correspondence with Brown concerning his 1942 Montana State University commencement address, "Beyond the Present," which was published in book form by the Ampersand Club in 1948. Also includes press clippings.
Correspondence, press clippings, and other records related to
the publication of
Personal correspondence between club secretary Paul Hillestad and his uncle, Daniel Wallace, concerning family news and publishing matters.
Primarily letters to and from Paul Hillestad, who served as club secretary from 1938 to 1940.
Includes the first three (the only three?) issues of this occasional newsletter of the club.
Includes event announcements and keepsakes printed on the occasion of various club outings.
Includes the following items published by Sumac Press (La Crosse, Wis.):
"Of the Craft of Poynting," [und]. Passage attributed to Wynkyn de Worde reprinted by Emerson G. Wulling.
"My Favorite Type," 1965. Printed by Emerson G. Wulling to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of Sumac Press.
Promotional publications printed by the John Leslie Paper Company (later known as Leslie Paper).
Includes promotional material from Webb Publishing Company (St. Paul, Minn.), Miller Publishing Company (Minneapolis, Minn.), Foss Printing and Lithography (Minneapolis, Minn.), Tension Envelope Corporation (Minneapolis, Minn.), Jensen Printing Company (Minneapolis, Minn.), Campbell-Logan Bindery (Minneapolis, Minn.), and the Bieler Press (Minneapolis, Minn.).