On presses and press marks

Following an online discussion among members of the Association of American University Presses concerning the relationship between a scholarly press's logo and that of its parent institution Will Underwood explores the histor y and role of a university press mark. The origin of these marks is traced from medieval craft guilds to fifteenth-century European printers' marks. P rinters' marks became stamps of ownership and symbolic of a certain quality of production and standard of printing. The author presents various views on the contemporary role of this press mark among scholarly publishers, inc luding marketing and promoting a press and its list through nero media like the Internet.