John E. Mustain : An Oral History
Abstract/Contents
- Abstract
- John Mustain, Stanford Libraries' Rare Book Curator from 1998 to 2019 and Rare Book Cataloger from 1984 to 1998, describes his career at Stanford and some of his favorite books in Stanford’s collection. He shares memories of working in Stanford Libraries after graduating from high school in Palo Alto and describes his journey through graduate school and back to Stanford Libraries, initially working in government documents. He recalls some of the projects he has worked on, including the Early Americans Imprint Project, courses in the History of the Book, and exhibits such as Leonardo’s Library. He speaks about how the libraries, and specifically Special Collections and rare books, has changed over the years, and how the Loma Prieta earthquake and a 1998 flood impacted the collections. Mustain reflects on his process for acquiring books, the dealers that he has worked with, and the future of the field of rare books.
Description
| Type of resource | moving image, sound recording-nonmusical, text |
|---|---|
| Extent | 2 video files; 2 audio files; 1 text file |
| Place | Stanford (Calif.) |
| Publisher | Stanford Historical Society |
| Date created | July 11, 2019 - 2019-07-12 |
| Language | English |
| Digital origin | born digital |
Creators/Contributors
| Interviewee | Mustain, John E. | |
|---|---|---|
| Creator | Mustain, John E. | |
| Interviewer | Frothingham, Emma | |
| Publisher | Stanford Historical Society |
Subjects
| Subject | Mustain, John E. |
|---|---|
| Subject | Stanford University. Libraries. Rare Books Division |
| Subject | Librarians |
| Subject | Stanford University. Libraries. Division of Special Collections |
| Genre | Interview |
Bibliographic information
| Biographical Profile | John Mustain served in the Stanford Libraries Department of Special Collections for over thirty-five years. He was the Curator of Rare Books from 1998 to 2019 and a Rare Book Cataloguer from 1984 to 1998. He was the Curator of Classics from 1996 to 2007 and 2013 to 2019 and the Assistant Head of Special Collections from 1998 to 2000. During his tenure, he built strong relationships with book dealers, revived the acquisitions program for rare books, and expanded the typography collection. He acquired approximately 4500 books and manuscript materials for Special Collections, each specifically selected for Stanford’s teaching and research programs. Additionally, he acquired more than 25,000 titles in Classics and an additional 2200 titles for the Classics departmental library. Mustain also make significant contributions to Stanford’s teaching mission by organizing and/or leading over 1,700 class sessions and presentations in Special Collections for graduate and undergraduate students, donors, and visitors. For Stanford’s humanities departments, he taught courses in the History of the Book, the Early Printed Book, and Materials and Methods: Medieval and Early Modern Books and Manuscripts. With Stanford’s Master of Liberal Arts Program, he co-taught (with Professor George Brown) Paleography: the Study of Medieval and Early Modern Manuscripts and Early English Literature: Manuscripts and Texts; and (with Professor Emeritus Bliss Carnochan) Belief & Doubt in the British Enlightenment. For Stanford’s Continuing Studies Program, he led courses on the History of the Book, the Book Arts Revival in Great Britain, and more. He was the solo curator for three major exhibitions for the Stanford Libraries: Monuments of Printing: Gutenberg through The Book Arts Revival (2013); In Folio: Rare Volumes in the Stanford Collection (2004); and A British Panorama (Pacific Coast Conference for British Studies, 2001). He was a contributor to many additional exhibits, including Beasts and Books (2015); Writing in Books (2013); New on the Shelf (2018); and Leonardo’s Library (2019). Mustain completed his undergraduate studies in American history, Medieval history, and Reformation history at U.C. Riverside. He earned a Master’s in Theological Studies at Harvard University in 1980 and a Master’s of Library Science at U.C. Berkeley in 1983. |
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| Transcript |
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| Finding Aid | |
| Location | https://purl.stanford.edu/fd158gh1215 |
| Location | SC0932 |
| Repository | Stanford University. Libraries. Department of Special Collections and University Archives |
Access conditions
- Use and reproduction
- The materials are open for research use and may be used freely for non-commercial purposes with an attribution. For commercial permission requests, please contact the Stanford University Archives (universityarchives@stanford.edu).
- Copyright
- Copyright © The Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University. All rights reserved.
Collection
Stanford Historical Society Oral History Program interviews, 1999-2022
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