The archival component of the collection includes Prestini’s “clippings,” press releases, and printed ephemera, as well as post cards and correspondence with museums, artists, intellectuals, and architects of the 20th century. These materials can be accessed in the Tanner Reading Room of Special Collections and Archives
James L. Prestini (1908-1993) was a renowned teacher and internationally recognized craftsman and sculptor in the Bauhaus tradition. Educated as a mechanical engineer, his artworks are meticulously crafted and evidence masterful use of machine technology in their creation.
Utah State University University Libraries Special Collections & Archives Web: archives.usu.edu Help Desk: 345-797-8248 E-mail: scweb@usu.edu
The Prestini Design Collection includes more than 8,000 books, exhibition catalogs, and periodicals from the personal library of James L. Prestini. Materials on the visual arts, design, craft, philosophy, law, and architecture, as well as publications about natural science
subjects are among the holdings of the eclectic collection. This especially rich visual resource is valuable to interior design, theatre, and visual arts practitioners, as well as scholars of art history and visual and material culture.
The Kathryn Caine Wanlass Library of Art, Design, and Beat Literature is named for one of USU Merrill-Cazier Library’s principal benefactors, Kathryn Caine Wanlass.
Her vision of a “community of the arts” facilitated the development of an exceptionally rich collection of design, art, and American literature with her gifts of The Prestini Design Collection, The Marie Eccles Caine Beat Poetry and Little Magazine Collection, and her continued investment in and development of The Art Book Room Collection.