William Loring Andrews: Book Collecting and Bookbinding
In 1878 William Loring Andrews became a trustee of The Metropolitan Museum of Art and served as its first librarian.
Andrews was a prominent collector of rare books of English and American literature and a founding member of the Grolier Club and the Society of Iconophiles. In 1865 Andrews began to self-publish books in which he was also the author or editor. These works were published in his own style, through his own direction, and are marked by exquisite taste in type, paper, illustration, and binding. In their production, he engaged the services of engravers Edwin Davis French and S. L. Smith, who designed and engraved bookplates for the Metropolitan Museum, and printers Walter Gillis and Theodore De Vinne. From 1865 to 1908 Andrews issued thirty-six volumes, twenty-six authored by himself.
At top: Bibliography of books issued in limited editions during the years 1885 to 1908 inclusive (detail of Ex-Libris), 1911.