The Isador Mendle Collection on the History of Printing was
establishedin the fall of 1968, when Mr. and Mrs. Maurice Mendle made a
gift to WashingtonUniversity to establish a collection in memory of Mr.
Mendle's father, Isador Mendle. Isador Mendle (1882-1935) was a leader
in the development of the printingindustry and new printing techniques
in St. Louis, and founded the MendlePress, Inc. Part of the Mendle gift
was used to create a new room for theSpecial Collections Department for
housing and service on the Mendle Collection.The other portion of the
gift was used to build up a collection of books andrelated materials on
the history of printing. Because of Isador Mendle's interestin new
printing techniques, it was decided that the collection would focuson
developments in printing since the Industrial Revolution, with a
specialconcentration on the last 100 years. The Mendle Collection also
includes selectivecoverage for the years up to the middle 1800's. This
register describes themanuscripts and related materials which complement
the more than 1,500 volumesin the Isador Mendle book collection.
