Dard Hunter letters to J. J. Lankes

Five typed letters signed by American printer and papermaker Dard Hunter to American woodcut artist J. J. Lankes, dated November 30, 1927 through February 27, 1953. In his November 30, 1927, letter Hunter announced his new book, Primitive Papermaking, that this would probably be the last book he would print, and noted the plans for a paper museum and a print exchange. The second letter, dated September 17, 1931, has two watermarks: one being an image of Hunter's profile and the other displaying "Dard Hunter" in capital letters. Hunter's letter confirms the receipt of proofs made by Lankes, while offering specific advice to help resolve a mentioned problem in the inking of woodcut blocks and that William Edwin Rudge could provide assistance in printing the blocks. The third letter, dated September 17, 1931, consists of one typed and signed letter written by Hunter to Lankes from Chillicothe, Ohio. The letter bears watermarks of Hunter's profile and his name in capital letters. An accompanying envelope bears a watermark of Hunter's initials in the shape of an iron. Hunter's letter mentions the success of his recent book, his dismay at the death of Mr. Rudge, and mentions Harrison Elliot and his wife. The fourth letter, dated January 16, 1941, consists of a typed letter initialed by Hunter to Lankes noting that the woodblocks and a book would be sent to Lankes by Hunter's son and that the watermarked paper were sent to Alexander C. Brown. Hunter also discussed dating paper and an attempt to forge a strip of cloth used to bandage the fatal wound to Abraham Lincoln's head after the President was shot. The fifth letter, dated February 27, 1953, consists of one letter typed and signed by Hunter to Lankes, plus an accompanying envelope which is stationery from the Dard Hunter Paper Museum at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Hunter's brief letter inquires of Lankes's doings and notes he is Honorary Curator at the Paper Museum at MIT.