Philip Hofer (book collector)
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Philip Hofer (1898–1984) was a book collector, librarian, and founder and first curator of the Department of Printing and Graphic Arts, Houghton Library at Harvard University.[1]
Hofer was born into a wealthy family in Cincinnati, Ohio. His mother was a trustee of the Cincinnati Art Museum,[2] and it was through her associations that he gained some of his early exposure to fine art.[3]
Hofer graduated from Harvard University in 1921. After working in business, he returned to study for a master's degree in the history of art, which he obtained in 1929.[4]
His first professional position was at the New York Public Library from 1930 to 1934 as bibliographer for the Spencer Collection.[5] He worked from 1934 to 1937 at the Pierpont Morgan Library with Belle da Costa Greene.
Hofer returned to Harvard in 1938 to assume the new position of Curator of Printing and Graphic Arts, at the invitation of the newly appointed library director, William Jackson. It was the first such position in the United States.[5] In 1942, when Houghton Library opened, Hofer's collection was moved into the building, along with treasures from across Harvard's library and museum holdings.
Hofer remained at Houghton Library for forty years, building the collection. He focused heavily on exempla of printing processes throughout history.[6] He retired as curator in 1968. The Philip Hofer Prize for Collecting Books or Art, open to Harvard undergraduates and graduate students was established in 1988.[7]
He was also Secretary of the Fogg Art Museum at Harvard University from 1952 to 1964.[8]
In 1961-1962 Hofer was Lyell Lecturer in Bibliography at the University of Oxford.[9]
Book collecting
Hofer began collecting rare books while still a student. He was especially focused on the art of the book and original material in the graphic arts.[10] His extensive collections documented the history of letterforms and book illustration.[11] He assembled collections of incunabula and illuminated manuscripts. German, Iberian and Italian illustrated books of the 18th century were a special focus of his collecting.[12]
He bequeathed his collection to the Department of Printing and Graphic Arts at the Houghton Library.[13] The introduction to the Catalogue of an Exhibition of the Philip Hofer Bequest published in 1988 notes that "the unique character of this collection reflects the man who formed it: wide-ranging, specialized, and complex."[14]
Asian Prints and Printing
Hofer collected important examples in the printing and graphic arts of Asia, donating collections to the Fogg Art Museum and the Sackler Museum at Harvard[15] and the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston.