In February of 2007, Special Collections received a generous gift from an anonymous donor: a subscription to the Arion Press. The Arion Press, founded in 1974 by Andrew Hoyem, is a fine press in San Francisco. It produces two or three books a year, often printed by letterpress (that is, with hand-set type) and lavishly illustrated.

One of the first books to arrive is William T. Wiley’s pictorial staging of Samuel Beckett’s play “Waiting for Godot,” done in honor of Beckett’s hundredth birthday. It has unusual, cartoonlike illustrations in black, blue, and yellow, representing characters as hourglasses.

We welcome visitors to Special Collections to view this and other examples of modern-day fine press work.

In 2005, inspired by Barnard College, Colorado College Special Collections began collecting zines from all over the world, paying special attention to Colorado, Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, Utah, and Wyoming. Visit our zine page for more information!

In the spring of 2005, Carky Rubens (CC class of 1952) and his family donated a single leaf from the Gutenberg Bible to Colorado College: A Noble Fragment: Being a Leaf of the Gutenberg Bible, 1450-1455. With a bibliographical essay by A. Edward Newton. New York: Gabriel Wells, 1921.

The Gutenberg Bible is the first book printed with movable type in the western world. In the mid-15th century, Johann Gutenberg printed about 180 copies in Mainz, Germany. 48 copies have survived and are preserved in libraries. In the early 20th century, a bookdealer bought a damaged copy of the Gutenberg Bible, dismantled it, and sold the leaves individually as “noble fragments.” CC’s leaf contains chapters VIII-X of Kings III. (In modern bibles, Kings I-IV are Samuel I-II and Kings I-II.) For a good overview of Gutenberg and movable type, see Stephen Fry and the Gutenberg Press.

photo from 1968 CC yearbook

On October 21, 1967, the Doors played at Colorado College’s homecoming dance at the Broadmoor Hotel. CC alumnus Tom Reynolds donated his tape of the concert to Tutt Library in 2005. It contains four Doors songs: “Break on Through (to the Other Side),” “People Are Strange,” “Back Door Man,” and “Light My Fire.” It also contains two songs by the Broadway Shell and Muse Band (formerly the Ceeds).

We cannot make copies of the recording, but visitors are welcome to listen to it here in Special Collections. Just request recording 285 from our collection of CC Audio Recordings.