In 1893, when the University of California was just twenty-five years old, its governing board took a bold step in voting the money to set up a publishing program for the works of its faculty. Like many of the American universities established in the late nineteenth century, California followed the German model of emphasizing original research among its faculty. But, then as now, commercial publishers were not prepared to publish the results, and so these early research universities began to publish for themselves. In the final quarter of the nineteenth century, Johns Hopkins, California, Chicago, and Columbia all began to publish. All four, in time, became scholarly publishers of consequence. In this book, published to commemorate the centennial of the University of California Press, Albert Muto chronicles the early history of the Press, from its beginnings as a printer of monographs by the University's own faculty to its emergence in the early 1950s as a full-fledged university press in the Oxbridge tradition. Profusely illustrated with archival photos and examples of early book design, this book gives us a new perspective on the history of publishing in the United States, and on the early years of the nation's largest public university.

When August Frugé joined the University of California Press in 1944, it was part of the University's printing department, publishing a modest number of books a year, mainly monographs by UC faculty members. When he retired as director 32 years later, the Press had been transformed into one of the largest, most distinguished university presses in the country, publishing more than 150 books annually in fields ranging from ancient history to contemporary film criticism, by notable authors from all over the world. August Frugé's memoir provides an exciting intellectual and topical story of the building of this great press. Along the way, it recalls battles for independence from the University administration, the Press's distinctive early style of book design, and many of the authors and staff who helped shape the Press in its formative years.