Friday’s Library Snapshot

I came across a little pamphlet this week; which made my day.  When I began blogging I never thought that I would continue. Although I have a plan; each post is carefully worked to a schedule they are often fairly random.  I am a library assistant I am not always in a position to wander off and ‘do’ research. I can honestly say my daily posts are written on the run. So there is not always a thread.  

So this week I decided to go back to the beginning of printing and discover the way that women made an entrance into a man’s world in the middle of the 19th century, with a post on Wednesday about Mrs Fanny McIan.

So this pamphlet called A brief account of the Cuala Press formerly the Dun Emer Press founded by Elizabeth Corbet Yeats in MCMIII (1903) will help me put some meat on the bones.  As this is supposed to be a snapshot I will not bore you with the details.

The Dun Emer Industries were established in Dublin in 1902 by Evelyn Gleeson ‘to find work for Irish hands in the making of beautiful things.’ All the workers were Irish girls and they produced:- embroidery on Irish linen, woven tapestry and carpets and they printed and bound of books.

Elizabeth Corbet Yeats and her sister Lily returned to Ireland from London to assist Miss Gleeson in the establishment of the Industries. Lily Yeats organised the embroidery workshop and Elizabeth founded the Dun Emer Press.  

W.B. Yeats acted as an editorial adviser to the Press and Emery Walker, who had worked as advisor to the Kelmscott Press, the Dove Press and other private presses in England advised on typography and book production.

It is a lovely story that I will reflect upon at some later date.