Washington Area Group for Print Culture Studies Meeting, Fri. March 6, 3:30 pm
February 24, 2015
Location: Rosenwald Room, 2nd floor, Jefferson Building of the Library of Congress
The next meeting of the Washington Area Group for Print Culture Studies 2014-2015 series will take place on Friday, March 6th, from 3:30 to 5:00 p.m. in the Rosenwald Room (LJ 205), 2nd floor, Jefferson Building of the Library of Congress. George Barnham will deliver a talk entitled "Forest/Trees/Paper/Documents: Proposals for Papermaking at the U.S. Government Printing Office."
Abstract
At two distinct historical moments in the first part of the 20th century, the apparently limitless growth in demand for printed U.S. Government publications prompted the leaders of the Government Printing Office, and its oversight committee in Congress, to seriously consider adding papermaking to the already substantial list of GPO's manufacturing responsibilities. Although neither was ultimately approved, complete justifications were prepared and Congressional committees looked into the proposals.
The two papermill proposals differ somewhat in scope and justifications, but each sought to improve GPO's efficiency in the face of steadily rising demand for printing, and to assure a supply stream untroubled by the commercial paper market. Both grew from greatly increased demand for printing during both World Wars and the difficulties, both during and after wartime, with obtaining enough paper, of adequate quality, on tight schedules. Each proposal is a product and artifact of political and economic expectations of its time.
The paper will look at the two proposals and their impact had they come to pass. It will place them in the broader context of the expectations of Government's interaction with the commercial marketplace and the reliance on and demand for printed Government documents. It will draw on Government Printing Office and Congressional archival material, including records of the Joint Committee on Printing which GPO holds, as well as Congressional reports and hearings, and contemporary newspaper reporting. GPO's extensive photographic collection will provide a look at what the world's largest printshop looked like at the time of the proposals.
Please join us for George Barnham's talk and for dinner afterwards.
The Jefferson Building is located between First and Second Streets, SE in the District of Columbia. Nearest metro stops are Capitol South (blue and orange lines) and Union Station (red line).
For further information, consult the Washington Area Group for Print Culture Studies website at http://wagpcs.wordpress.com/, or contact Sabrina Baron and Eleanor Shevlin at washagpcs "AT" umd.edu.
For their encouragement and support, the Washington Area Group for Print Culture Studies would like to thank Mark Dimunation, Chief of the Rare Book and Special Collections at the Library of Congress, and John Y. Cole, director of the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress.