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Caxton Printers, Ltd. Records, 1928-1982

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Caxton Printers
Title
Caxton Printers, Ltd. Records
Dates
1928-1982 (inclusive)
Quantity
63.5 Linear feet of shelf space, (64 boxes)
Collection Number
Cage 873 (collection)
Summary
These records of the Caxton Printers, Ltd., of Caldwell, Idaho consist of "Published Authors" files and another record sequence that the company designated as "Special Files." The bulk of the collection is correspondence, along with documents related to the operation and management of the company.
Repository
Washington State University Libraries' Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections (MASC)
Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections
Terrell Library Suite 12
Pullman, WA
99164-5610
Telephone: 509-335-6691
mascref@wsu.edu
Access Restrictions

This collection is open and available for research use.

Languages
English.
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Historical Note

The Caxton Printers, Ltd., founded in Caldwell, Idaho by Albert E. Gipson in 1904 and named in honor of England's first printer, William Caxton, began as a commercial printing company. In 1907, Albert E. Gipson's son, James Gipson, joined the company as the managing director. With its 1913 acquisition of Utah's Western Book and Manufacturing Company, Caxton Printers became the only printing and binding company in the western United States. As they realized how difficult it was for new writers in the West to convince eastern publishing companies to take a chance on their work, Caxton grew interested in publishing books and giving these unknown authors a chance. In 1925, Caxton published its first book. Although the company did publish works on various topics, it specialized in publishing works about the American West. Caxton Printers continued to publish books, not stopping even after a 1937 fire destroyed much of the company's records and inventory. As early as 1927, Caxton was named the Idaho State Textbook Depository and still serves as a distribution center for textbooks to Idaho's schools, supplying more than ten thousand titles as of 2006. James Gipson's two sons, Jim, Jr. and Gordon, joined the company, becoming its executives following James Gipson's death in 1965. As of 2017, Caxton Printers is still in operation with nearly 60 employees managed by third, fourth, and fifth generation members of the Gipson family.

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Content Description

These records document business activities of The Caxton Printers, Ltd. from the late 1920s through the early 1980s. The bulk of the collection is the "Published Authors" files ("File 7" in the company's filing scheme), largely comprising correspondence between Caxton and its published authors, including Vardis Fisher, Clifford Drury, and Lucullus McWhorter. In addition to correspondence with published authors, the collection also includes publication contracts and agreements, book excerpts and chapters marked for editing, and information about book design and production.

The remainder of the collection is a group of records that the company designated as "Special Files" ("File 9"). This diverse sequence includes materials related to the work of the press, particularly correspondence with authors and artists, and also materials related to civic and political activities, such as solicitations for financial support from political, charitable, and social organizations. This correspondence, and accompanying printed ephemera about the organizations, sheds light on James Gipson's political orientation and activism and how they influenced the company. In exhibits and trade shows, Gipson often chose to display works from what Caxton categorized as its libertarian books, which were openly anti-Communist.

The first two subseries are similar in content, and the significance of the two separate sequences is unexplained in the collection documentation. Both of these subseries include correspondence between Caxton and unpublished authors and artists looking for work. Many of the artists' files include sample illustrations. Other correspondence in Subseries 2.1 and 2.2 pertains to permission to use excerpts from Caxton titles. These two subseries also contain correspondence between Caxton and various political and religious organizations that expressed interest in Caxton's publications.

The third subseries contains solicitations from political, religious, and social organizations as well as political campaigns. These entities asked Caxton Printers for either monetary contributions or new or renewed membership and participation. Many of these files include samples of newspaper or magazine issues detailing that organization's or candidate's beliefs stance on key issues and leaders during the 1950s and 1960s, including Civil Rights, particularly desegregation, the post-World War II spread of Communism, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson, Richard Nixon, and Martin Luther King, Jr. These solicitations highlight Gipson's involvement in political and social causes on the national and international levels.

The final subseries includes correspondence with book dealers and distributors (domestic and international) as well as libraries and universities. It also includes correspondence about book rights and permissions to use book excerpts. Some trade lists, book catalogues, royalty reports, invoices, and insurance forms are also located within this subseries.

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Other Descriptive Information

In March 1937, the archives of The Caxton Printers, Ltd. were damaged in a fire, and some materials were destroyed. Some of the fire-damaged pre-1938 material was salvaged and is included in this collection.

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Use of the Collection

Restrictions on Use

Copyright restrictions apply, and the Caxton Printers, Ltd. have retained their intellectual rights in these materials.

Preferred Citation

[Item Description]

Caxton Printers, Ltd. Records, 1928-1982 (Cage 873)

Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections, Washington State University Libraries, Pullman, WA.

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Administrative Information

Arrangement

This collection is arranged in two series:

Series 1: "Published authors" files (File 7), 1930-1982. This series is arranged in a rough alphabetical order (please note that some of the files in the letters G and H have different physical locations within the collection). In the collection inventory, some entries include only the author's name, while others also include a book title or other details.

Series 2: "Special files" (File 9), 1928-1975. This series is divided into four subseries, each arranged alphabetically and spanning a wide assortment of different materials.

Subseries 2.1: Alphabetical sequence 1, 1928-1939, and Subseries 2.2: Alphabetical sequence 2, 1932-1975.

Subseries 2.3: Solicitations, membership requests, donations, 1964-1969.

Subseries 2.4: Miscellaneous correspondence, reports, and lists, 1938-1960. The alphabetical sequence for this subseries is incomplete, lacking the letters A-C.

This collection generally retains its original order. In some cases, MASC staff performed additional sorting where alphabetical file sequences were out of order, or where related materials had become separated during packing or in transit.

Acquisition Information

The Caxton Printers, Ltd. donated this collection to the Washington State University Libraries in 1984 (MS 1984.43).

Processing Note

Several different MASC staff and temporary employees assisted with processing this collection between its acquisition in 1984 and completion in 2017. Processing of this portion of the 1984 accession was completed by Laura Briere in June 2017.

Separated Materials

This collection was separated from a larger accession received in 1984 (MS 1984.43). The remainder of the accession is unprocessed and is found in the Preliminary Guide to the Caxton Printers, Ltd. Records, circa 1930-1984 (MSSM.080)

Related Materials

Other accessions of the Caxton Printers, Ltd. have also been combined into the Preliminary Guide to the Caxton Printers, Ltd. Records, circa 1930-1984 (MSSM.080)

Caxton Printers, Ltd. Records, circa 1930-1970 (MS 1984.43) includes review correspondence, authors' royalty reports, out-of-print book records, publicity, advertising, the publication department, unpublished authors, and sales records, as well as a substantial sequence of J. H. Gipson's political files.

Caxton Printers, Ltd. Records, circa 1930-1984 (MS 1985.28) includes records of the company and papers of James Gipson.

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Detailed Description of the Collection

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

  • Publishers and publishing -- Idaho
  • Small presses -- Idaho

Corporate Names

  • Caxton Printers, Ltd.

Finding aid prepared by Laura Briere.
2017

CC Attribution
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

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