Levenson, Roger, 1914-1994

Roger Levenson was born in Bangor, Maine on October 10, 1914. He studied printing while attending the University of Maine. He served in Hawaii during WWII and settled in the San Francisco Bay area where he spent the rest of his life. He founded and operated the Tamalpais Press from circa 1955-1976 when he retired. Levenson also taught a class titled "The History of the Book" at UC Berkeley for 12 years. Levenson died in 1994.

Biographical Note

The Tamalpais Press, founded by Roger Levenson, was a fine printing press located in Berkeley, California that was in operation from circa 1955 until 1976. Printing was done on an 1857 Albion handpress as well as a seventeenth century press (both of which were donated to the Bancroft Library at the University of California, Berkeley). The Tamalpais Press printed a wide range of materials from books to event posters and programs to business cards and invitations. The books printed by the press focused mostly on California history subjects.

Roger Levenson was born in Bangor, Maine on 10 October 1914 and learned printing while an undergraduate at the University of Maine. After serving in Hawaii during World War II, Roger settled in the San Francisco Bay Area where he spent the rest of his life. He founded and operated the Tamalpais Press from circa 1955 until 1976 when he retired. In addition to running the Tamalpais Press, Roger was a teacher and lecturer, most notably at the University of California, Berekeley where he taught a course for twelve years on "The History of the Book." He died of cancer on 29 May 1994.

Roger Levenson, "the Father of the Small Press movement" on the West Coast collected approximately 4,300 items printed on hobby presses around the country. These presses were generally run by individuals for pleasure and their products reflect that individuality. Levenson's collection (housed here) is supplemented by items collected by Jack D. Rittenhouse. The individuals who ran these presses organized into "Chappels," or printing societies, which met regularly and distributed printed "keepsakes" to one another. Among the societies of printing aficionados represented in this collection, are the Roxburghe Club of San Francisco, the Zamorano Club of Los Angeles, the Rounce and Coffin Club of Los Angeles, and the Moxon Chappel, of Palo Alto, California.

The Roxburghe Club was founded by Carl I. Wheat, Gustav Epstein, and Samuel T. Farquhar in San Francisco in 1928. According to an item printed for this club by one of its members, the goal of the club was "to further a common interest in typography and the art of the book." All of the members of the group were required to print things for their fellow members, who were all "connoisseurs of things typographic" and bibliophiles. The Zamorano Club had a similar goal, and sometimes met jointly with the Roxburghe Club. The Moxon Chappel, also according to an item in the collection, printed for the club's members, was established in 1957 by a few private printers of the Stanford University area. Convened by Dr. J. Ben Lieberman, they met informally, with their spouses, to discuss their common interests in printing. They took their name from Joseph Moxon, author of Mechanick Exercises, the first book published in England (in 1683) regarding the printing craft. Like the other clubs, their goals included sharing mutual interest and enjoyment in printing, exchanging techniques, ideas, and materials, and to "encourage cooperative effort in the production of non-commercial projects in the graphic arts."

All of these societies of hobby printers share certain cultural elements common to their sort of club. Each called its president or chairperson the "Master of the Press" or "Father of the Press," often referred to as "Dear Father." The "Printer's Devil" was in charge of printing the minutes of the chappel, and was the treasurer/secretary. The Keeper of the Solaces was the chairperson of the keepsake committee, charged with making sure all "companions" (members) provided printed keepsakes to their fellow members. In the event that they failed to do so, they were fined, as represented by the giving of "solaces." Solaces could also be given for other reasons, such as failure to pay attention in a meeting, tardiness, or absence. In contrast, "tokens" were awarded for good work and positive acts. Spouses or companions are referred to by the title "sex-officios." It appears that most members of these societies were men, but this was not exclusively the case.