Independent Publishing in America

Independent Publishing in America is a collection of digitized primary sources documenting the book trade in the United States, including both its early development and the 20th century growth of independent presses and publishing companies. The collection is organized in two sections:

• Early American Publishing--Digitized collections from the American Antiquarian Society dating from the 1600s through the 1910s document bookselling, the book trade, the creation of private and public libraries, and the dissemination of literature. Document types include library catalogs, auction and booksellers’ catalogs, business records of publishing companies (including the Mathew Carey Papers), and canvassing books (used by subscription sales agents to market books in advance of publication).
• Independent Presses and Publishing Communities--Digitized archival materials from independent presses, bookstores and publishing communities that served under-represented authors and readerships throughout the 20th century (though most materials date from the 1960s - 2010s) show how these groups supported the development and growth of African American, Feminist, Indigenous North American, and LGBTQ+ literature. Materials in this section were sourced from the Gerth Archives and Special Collections, California State University Dominguez Hills; GLBT Historical Society; Sequoyah National Research Center, University of Arkansas at Little Rock; and the Special Collections Research Center, University of Michigan Library.