In 1892, the first work of scholarship to be published under the Stanford name appeared with the designation No. 1, marking the birth of what would become the oldest academic press on the West Coast. David Starr Jordan, the first president of Stanford University, had posited four propositions to Leland and Jane Stanford when accepting the post, the last of which stipulated that provision be made for the publication of the results of any important research on the part of professors or advanced students. That same year, student Julius Andrew Quelle established a printing company on campus, publishing the student-run newspaper, the Daily Palo Alto, and Stanford faculty articles and books. The first use of the imprint Stanford University Press was in 1895, with The Story of the Innumerable Company, by President Jordan. This early era was defined by a hands-on approach to scholarship, where the press was not merely a distributor of books but an integral part of the university's intellectual life. The press published 130 books per year across the humanities, social sciences, and business, and has more than 3,500 titles in print, a testament to its enduring legacy. The press is currently a member of the Association of University Presses, a distinction that underscores its commitment to academic excellence and integrity.
Craftsmen and the Press
In 1915, bookbinder John Borsdamm was hired by the press, who would later draw fellow craftspeople to the press, including master printer and eventual manager Will A. Friend. The university bought the printing works in 1917, making it a division of Stanford, and the press began to take on a more formal structure. In 1925, SUP hired William Hawley Davis, Professor of English, to be the inaugural general editor at the press. In the following year, SUP issued its first catalog, listing seventy-five published books. University President Ray Lyman Wilbur established a Special Committee in 1927 comprising the editor, the press manager, the sales manager, and the comptroller in service of the press, whose principal object is to serve in the publication of University publications of all sorts and to promote human welfare generally. The first press director, Donald P. Bean, was appointed in 1945. By the 1950s, the printing plant ranked seventh nationally among university presses with respect to title output. The head book designer in the late 1950s and 1960s was printer and typographer Jack Stauffacher, later an AIGA medalist. These individuals were not just employees but artisans who shaped the physical and intellectual identity of the press, ensuring that every book that left the press was a work of art in its own right.The Digital and Trade Imprints