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Collection of Gillett Griffin production materials for A Mouse’s Tale

 Collection
Call Number: AOB 116

Scope and Contents

The collection contains illustrations, proofs, and sketches created by Gillett Griffin for the publication of A Mouse’s Tale, which began as a design project at Yale, received an award in the annual American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA) “50 Best-Designed Books” competition in 1951, and was published as a trade edition the following year. The collection also contains related correspondence, ephemera, and other process materials, including printing plates and woodblocks.

Dates

  • circa 1951-1965

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

The materials are open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

Copyright has not been transferred to Yale University.

Arrangement

Preliminary box listing only.

Extent

1.25 Linear Feet (3 boxes)

Language of Materials

English

Catalog Record

A record for this collection is available in Orbis, the Yale University Library catalog

Persistent URL

https://hdl.handle.net/10079/fa/arts.aob.0116

Abstract

The collection contains illustrations, proofs, and sketches created by Gillett Griffin for the publication of A Mouse’s Tale.

Biographical / Historical

Gillett Good Griffin (b. 1928) earned his BFA from Yale in 1951. His studies at Yale included a project to write, illustrate, and print his first children’s book, entitled A Mouse’s Tale, which received an award as part of the 1951 American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA) annual “50 Best-Designed Books” competition. In 1952 Griffin became curator of Princeton University’s Graphic Arts Collection in the Firestone Library. With the exception of a stint in the late ’50s designing books for Princeton University Press, Griffin remained graphic arts curator until 1966, when he traveled to Mexico to pursue his interests in pre-Columbian art. He returned to Princeton in 1967 in a new role as curator of pre-Columbian and primitive art at the Princeton University Art Museum. In addition to his long career as a curator and teacher at Princeton, Griffin continues as an artist and art collector.

Processing Information

Thesis copy and published copy of A Mouse’s Tale are also individually cataloged in Orbis.

Title
Guide to the Collection of Gillett Griffin Production Materials for A Mouse’s Tale
Author
Compiled by Melissa Quinones
Date
July 2013
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description note
Finding aid written in English.

Part of the Robert B. Haas Family Arts Library Special Collections Repository

Contact:
Arts Library Special Collections
180 York Street
New Haven CT 06511
203-432-1712

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