Frank J. Anderson

Published 1977; bought a few years ago. Interesting reference book for printing (I'm interested in letterpress, but also all things books on books!). Wanted to see the perspective on printing in the 1970s and what books printers thought important then.

Every book of my interest is still available somewhere thankfully. Printers referenced unfortunately mostly NOT around any longer, though interesting to see some of the bookstores I know of included in the book are still open!

Nice reference and jumping off point for further research, but this book probably (obviously) has a VERY limited audience and availability.… (más)

Frank Joseph Anderson, one of the horticultural world's preeminent authors and scholars of medieval and Renaissance botany, and honorary curator of rare books and manuscripts at the New York Botanical Garden, died on Monday at the New York Hospital-Cornell Medical Center. He was 82 and lived in Jackson Heights, Queens
He died of complications after an extended illness, said Harry Morriss, his brother-in-law.
At the time of his death, he was translating from Latin to English one of the garden's prize possessions, the earliest known manuscript of "Circa instans," a pivotal work in botany and pharmacology, handwritten on vellum by 12th century monks.
Few of his many admirers knew that Mr. Anderson, author of such works as "A Treasury of Flowers: Rare Illustrations from the Collection of the New York Botanical Garden," "Herbals Through 1500" and "An Illustrated History of the Herbals," had his first official link with the garden's library in 1968 when he answered an ad seeking a "mature " person to serve as book shelver. He had retired from the Post Office and, as a life member of the National Association of Letter Carriers, he finally had the pension, he told relatives, that would enable him to do what he wanted.
Mr. Anderson was born in New York on July 22, 1912, and graduated from the School of Fine and Applied Arts of Pratt Institute in 1934. His home is filled with his many watercolor landscapes.
In a 1979 letter to the admissions committee of the Grolier Club, he numbered among his avocations the "history of art, history of science, and interpretation of symbolism and allegory with particular reference to the medieval and Renaissance period." In addition to membership there, he was a member of the Garden History Society of England, an honorary member of the New York Unit of the Herb Society of America and an evaluator for the National Endowment for the Humanities. In the Grolier Club letter, he wrote, "I have been a bibliophile since I was capable of opening and admiring a book."
In presenting him with the garden's 1979 Distinguished Service Award, Dr. Howard S. Irwin, then president, described Mr. Anderson as a "hard-working, self-made scholar of impressive attainment, with a formidable knowledge of the history of botany."
Mr. Anderson is survived by his wife, the former Kathleen Morriss, whom he married in 1954. The family has requested that donations be made to the library of the New York Botanical Garden.… (más)