Press of the Woolly Whale

The Press of the Woolly Whale was founded by Melbert B. Cary Jr. (1892-1941), a New York businessman and prominent figure in the fields of typography and private printing during the second quarter of the twentieth century. Cary was director of Continental Type Founders Association, a former president of the American Institute of Graphic Arts, and proprietor of the private Press of the Woolly Whale. His professional and personal interests in printing led him to collect printer's manuals and type specimens, as well as exemplars of the printer's art; his collection was presented to Rochester Institute of Technology in 1969.

From the description of Visitors' book, 1928-1941. (RIT Library). WorldCat record id: 652956318

The Press of the Woolly Whale was founded by Melbert B. Cary Jr., a New York businessman and prominent figure in the fields of typography and private printing during the second quarter of the twentieth century. The press was in operation in New York City between 1928 and 1941 and produced limited edition volumes, publications related to printing and typography, and a variety of ephemera that reflected the interests, professional relationships, and humor of Cary and his friends. Two exhibitions profiled the press's achievements (at the Grosvenor Library, Buffalo, New York, in 1939, and Rochester Institute of Technology in 1972); the catalogs from those exhibitions contained bibliographies which were superseded by David Pankow's checklist in Melbert B. Cary, Jr. and the Press of the Woolly Whale (Rochester: Cary Graphic Arts Press, 2002).

Melbert Brinkerhoff Cary Jr. (1892-1941) was born in New York, educated at the Groton School and Yale University, and died in New York. He was director of Continental Type Founders Association, president of the American Institute of Graphic Arts, and proprietor of the private Press of the Woolly Whale.

George W. Van Vechten Jr., American printer, typographer, and book designer, was born in New Brunswick, New Jersey, attended Carnegie Institute of Technology, and died in Metuchen, New Jersey, in 1962, at age 55. He produced private and limited edition works for thirty-five years with Frederic W. Goudy at the Village Press, with Melbert B. Cary Jr. at the Press of the Woolly Whale, and from 1941 to 1962 at his own Van Vechten Press in Metuchen.

From the description of Press of the Woolly Whale collection, 1928-1972 (inclusive), 1928-1941 (bulk) (RIT Library). WorldCat record id: 655778524