Melbert Brinckerhoff Cary Jr. (1892–1941) was a graphic artist who imported numerous typefaces from Europe. He married

Mary Flagler Cary Henry Morrison Flagler (January 2, 1830 – May 20, 1913) was an American industrialist and a founder of Standard Oil, which was first based in Ohio. He was also a key figure in the development of the Atlantic coast of Florida and founder ...

, an heiress of one of the founders of

Standard Oil Standard Oil Company, Inc., was an American oil production, transportation, refining, and marketing company that operated from 1870 to 1911. At its height, Standard Oil was the largest petroleum company in the world, and its success made its co- ...

. Mr Cary founded the Press of the Woolly Whale, a private press dedicated to producing fine editions of works Cary believed to be of interest and overlooked—a rejection of the private press tradition of producing only new editions of classic works. In his own words:

Our intention sto publish only those text which appeal strongly to us, excluding those accepted classics, so completely accepted that they are never opened. Our interest lies only with those who read their books, cherishing them because of the enjoyment gained from using them.

(Preface, ''The Vision of Sir Launfal'' (Press of the Woolly Whale, 1929)) He was also director of

Continental Type Founders Association Continental Type Founders Association was founded by Melbert Brinckerhoff Cary Jr. in 1925 to distribute foundry type imported from European foundries. The influence of more modern European type design was thus felt in the United States for the ...

,About the Melbert B. Cary, Jr. Graphic Arts Collection
at library.rit.edu which imported typeface from Europe, including Kabel and Eve typefaces. In the 1930s, Mr. Cary was instrumental in assisting

Fritz Kredel Fritz Kredel (February 8, 1900 – April 12, 1973) was a German, later American artist and graphic designer. Early years He was born in Michelstadt-im-Odenwald, then in the Grand Duchy of Hesse of the German Empire. In his early years, he ...

's emigration from Germany to the United States. During the 1920s and 1930s, Mr. Cary assembled a library of over 2,300 volumes about printing., Melbert Cary was also an avid collector of playing cards. The Woolly Whale press's most renowned publication was The Devil's Bible, which was a set of playing cards using caricatures of World War I figures. In 1967, Cary's widow,

, donated the couple's card collection to Yale University, where it currently resides in the

Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library The Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library () is the rare book library and literary archive of the Yale University Library in New Haven, Connecticut. It is one of the largest buildings in the world dedicated to rare books and manuscripts. Es ...

and is referred to as the Cary Collection of Playing Cards. Woolly Whale also published The Missing Gutenberg Woodblocks,The Gutenberg Years: 1940, Only in America?
at www.bl.uk which was a made-up story of missing woodblocks from the Gutenberg project. Friz Kredel did some illustrations for this book, and some scholars took the book seriously. His father, Melbert B. Cary, was the Democratic candidate for governor of

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...

in 1902, and was the Chairman of the Democratic Party in Connecticut. Cary, Jr. died of bone cancer in 1941. The Cary Collection was presented to the Rochester Institute of Technology in 1969 by the Mary Flagler Cary Charitable Trust as a memorial to Melbert Cary. Its collection of 20,000 volumes is described as one of America's premier libraries on the history and practice of printing.

Notes

External links

Cary Collection
Rochester Institute of Technology, New York 1892 births 1941 deaths American book and manuscript collectors American graphic designers Deaths from bone cancer Deaths from cancer in the United States Flagler family {{graphic-designer-stub

Notes

Further reading

External links