Cheney, William Murray, 1907-

Cheney was born in 1907; shipping clerk, Dawson's Book Shop; learned to print under the instruction of Thomas Perry Stricker; his first printed book was A voyage to Trolland (1933); worked at Grant Dahlstrom's Castle Press and Saul and Lillian Marks's Plantin Press before buying his own press in 1950; printed materials for the William Andrews Clark Memorial Library and for Lawrence Clark Powell while working in the coach house at the Clark Library, 1962-74; devoted the remainder of his printing years to creating miniature books.

From the description of Papers, 1872-1983, bulk 1949-1983. (University of California, Los Angeles). WorldCat record id: 39528467

Biography

William Cheney was born in 1907 in Los Angeles. He worked as a shipping clerk for Dawson's Bookshop from 1929 to 1932, and then went to work for Thomas Perry Stricker, under whose tutelage he learned to print. Cheney's first printed book was A Voyage to Trolland (1933). Cheney briefly owned his own press which he operated until he went to work as an engineer for Douglas Aircraft from 1941 to 1946. From 1946 to 1947, Cheney worked for the Artesia News . In 1948 he worked briefly for Muir and Watts, and also for Saul and Lillian Marks' Plantin Press before buying his own printing press and starting to print commercially. From 1962 to 1974, Cheney printed materials for the William Andrews Clark Memorial Library and for Lawrence Clark Powell while working in the gatehouse on the Clark Library grounds.

From the guide to the William Murray Cheney Papers, 1925-1983, (William Andrews Clark Memorial Library)