Introduction

This virtual exhibit showcases some of the outstanding design history resources held by Special Collections & University Archives (SCUA) at San Diego State University. These materials have been acquired over the years through purchases and donations, and are heavily used to teach classes in book and printing history, graphic design and media history, modernism, the book arts and printmaking. View highlights of design history by exploring the menu on the left side of the screen. Click on an image to view additional photographs of each item.

Special Collections & University Archives houses rare, fine, unique and valuable books, periodicals, manuscripts, and documents in a variety of subject areas, including history of science, literature (especially speculative fiction), comics, typography and printing, artist’s books and zines, Torah scrolls, children’s literature, cookbooks, alternative religious movements, sheet music, photographs, ephemera and much more. The department also holds archival materials that document the history of San Diego State since its founding as a Normal School in 1897, as well as local and regional history. SCUA is open to the public and no appointment is necessary to visit and use the collections.

Please visit our website for more information, including location, staff contacts, and up-to-date information regarding the COVID-19 closure.

This exhibit is brought to you by San Diego Design Week and the SDSU Library. For more information about this project, please contact Anna Culbertson, Interim Head of Special Collections, at: aculbertson [at] sdsu [dot] edu