Douglas McMurtrie and the American Imprints Inventory, 1937-1942

Abstract

The American Imprints Inventory (AII) was a federal work relief project that administered a national survey of all American printed works produced before the final decades of the nineteenth century. Its founder and head, Douglas McMurtrie, hoped that the AII would result in a comprehensive listing of all early American imprints extant in American libraries, archives, and historical institutions. This article narrates the history of the project by focusing on the role played by McMurtrie in creating, developing, and leading the AII. His failures and successes, as well as those of the project in general, are presented and analyzed.