The collection has three major foci: works by and about women; works that explore contemporary American politics; and works produced in Latin American countries. Other titles complement departmental collecting emphases (such as dance or California), or are particularly outstanding exemplars of the form that do not fall into the above categories. The collection includes numerous illustrated editions of Mallarme's typographic poem Un Coup de dés jamais n'abolira le hasard.
Seminal Artists
A selection of early and important book artists whose works from the 1960s and 1970s are represented in the collection.
- Ian Hamilton Finlay "A Scottish poet, writer, artist, and gardener".
- Ray Johnson "A seminal pop art figure in the 1950s, an early conceptualist, and pioneer of mail art whose preferred medium of art was the collage".
- Dieter Roth "A Swiss artist known for his artist's books, edition prints, sculptures, and works made of found materials that included rotting food".
- Edward Ruscha "An American artist that was part of the pop art movement and worked with mediums of painting, drawing, photography, film, and printmaking".
- Emmett Williams "An American poet and visual artist who played a central role in practice and dissemination of interdisciplinary art forms particularly by being part of Fluxus".
Latin America
A selection from the more than 150 titles in the collection that were produced by Latin American artists and publishers from Cuba, Mexico, Colombia, and Argentina.
- Felipe Ehrenberg "A Mexican artist who pioneered mimeograph, alongside worked on painting, drawing, printmaking, and performance".
- Marcos Kurtycz "A Polish performer and graphic artist who moved to Mexico where he could work on his artwork that includes explosives, axes, wax forms, and paintings".
- Magali Lara "A Mexican artist whose paintings, collages, books, and installations would focus on the themes of music, sexism, violence, and biographical".
- Lucia Maya "A Mexican painter, sculptor, and lithographer".
- Yani Pecanins "A Mexican artist and calligraphist who works dealt with themes of loss, exile, isolation, intimacy, her inner world, and sensations".
- Derli Romero " An artist from Mexico who was a master printmaker and creator of prints, paintings, drawings, and artist's books".
- Rodolfo Zanabria " An artist born in Mexico who painted and created objects and exhibitions with humorous titles".
- Ediciones Vigía (Cuba) "Created by the artists Ronaldo Estevéz and Alfredo Zalvidar in Matanzas, Cuba, each art piece expresses a historical and/or modern happenings in Cuba".
- Ediciones Papeles Privados (Mexico) "Books that originate from Mexico City that are dedicated to continue craft traditions that specialize in poetry and art".
Politics
A selection of works dealing with contemporary U.S. topics such as the September 11 terrorist attacks of 2001, the George W. Bush administration, and the 2003 Iraq war.
- Sally Agee "An artist who worked on textile design, book art, fiber art, and collage".
- Jen Benka "An advocate for poets, poetry, and the work of poetry organizations nationwide".
- Karen Hanmer "A book artist whose books are physical embodiments of personal essays intertwining history, culture, politics, science, and technology".
- Drew Luan Matott "A paper maker, advocate for paper making as art therapy, and co-founder of Combat Paper® which transforms military uniforms into handmade paper".
- Sheryl Oring "An author who analyzes critical social issues through projects that incorporate old and new media(like the typewriter and camera) to tell stories and founder of the 'I wish to say...' project".
- Miriam Schaer "An American interdisciplinary artist who uses books, garments, photography, installations, and collages to explore feminine, social, and spiritual issues".
- Elena Mary Siff
- Marshall Weber "Curator, writer, and artist that works with poetry, video, and collage; and is an advocate for social justice organizations, cultural diversity, and activist artists".
Women
The collection contains over 100 works by women artists (primarily American) that address women-related topics or reflect a woman's perspective.
- Maureen Cummins "Printmaker and book artist whose work is influenced by their interest in books, history, and knowledge".
- Karen Hanmer "A book artist whose books are physical embodiments of personal essays intertwining history, culture, politics, science, and technology"
- Susan King "A ceramic artist, photographer, and art educator".
- Cynthia Lollis "A professor of printmaking and book art".
- Lise Melhorn-Boe "Melhorn-Boe's work focuses on women's experiences in society".
- Sheryl Oring "An author who analyzes critical social issues through projects that incorporate old and new media (like the typewriter and camera) to tell stories and founder of the 'I wish to say...' project".
- Miriam Schaer "An American interdisciplinary artists who uses books, garments, photography, installation, and collage to explore feminine, social, and spiritual issues".
Other Book Artists
These are examples of artists’ books that fall outside our three collecting emphases, but which are fine and varied instances of the genre.
- Rory Golden "Rory Golden creates multi-layered figurative work that deals in a clever and sometimes startling way with social issues like racial bigotry, sexuality, love and hate-based violence."
- Ruth Laxson "An Atlanta-based artist whose artists' book use a wide range of techniques that include letterpress, etching, offset, collage, and drawing".
- Fred Rinne "Artist, journalist, and gardener from San Francisco".
- Carol Schwartzott "Has books dedicated to the brief history of objects that include the fan, kimono, glove, and paper".
- Donna Thomas "Paper maker, book artist, and author who collaborates with Peter Thomas".
- Claire Van Vliet "Artist, illustrator, and typographer"