Oral Histories

Interview of Jake Zeitlin (1980)

Rare book seller, publisher, and collector. Co-founder of the Rounce & Coffin Club, a group of hobby printers and librarians.
Subtitle:
Books and the Imagination: Fifty Years of Rare Books
Series:
Z: Orphan Interviews pre 1999
Topic:
Books and Fine Printing
Biographical Note:
Rare book seller, publisher, and collector. Co-founder of the Rounce & Coffin Club, a group of hobby printers and librarians.
Interviewer:
Gardner, Joel
Interviewee:
Zeitlin, Jake
Persons Present:
Tapes I to V, VII to XVI: Zeitlin and Gardner; Tape VI: Zeitlin, Gardner, and Bernard Galm, Director, Oral History Program who operated equipment.
Place Conducted:
Zeitlin's home in Hollywood, California.
Supporting Documents:
Records relating to the interview are located in the office of the UCLA Library's Center for Oral History Research.
Interviewer Background and Preparation:
The interview was conducted by Joel Gardner, Senior Editor, UCLA Oral History Program; B.A., M.A., French, Tulane University; M.A., journalism, UCLA.Gardner prepared for the interview by researching the works and archives of Jake Zeitlin. The UCLA Library Department of Special Collections holds many of his early papers, catalogs, and all of his written works, as well as those pertaining to him. Also consulted was an earlier oral history interview conducted by the Program which made recitation of some early biographical details in this oral history unnecessary.
Processing of Interview:
Editing was done by Deborah Young, Assistant Editor, Oral History Program. She checked the verbatim transcript of the interview against the original tape recordings and edited for punctuation, paragraphing, correct spelling, and verification of proper and place names. Words and phrases inserted by the editor have been bracketed.Zeitlin reviewed the manuscript and approved the edited transcript. He made minor corrections and provided or confirmed spellings of names that had not been verified previously. The final manuscript remains in the same order as the original taped material.Joel Gardner, Senior Editor, Oral History Program, reviewed the edited transcript before it was typed in final form. Rebecca Andrade, Assistant Editor, Oral History Program, prepared the index. Ward Ritchie, a long time friend and colleague of Jake Zeitlin, was invited to write the introduction. Other front matter was assembled by Program staff.
Length:
22 hrs.
Language:
English
Copyright:
Regents of the University of California, UCLA Library.