Daniel B. Updike, the founder of the Merrymount Press, trained as a printer at the Riverside Press, but soon turned his attention to typographic design. In 1893 he founded a typographic design studio, and in 1896 he founded the Merrymount Press, both in Boston. Though a commercial establishment, the Press always maintained a reputation for its high design standards, especially with regard to typography. Initially, the Merrymount Press printed very much in the tradition of William Morris's Kelmscott Press, but Updike later drew on models from the 17th to the 19th centuries. In addition to issuing books under its own imprint, the Press also printed books for other publishers. It continued in operation until 1941.

Special Collections has the following items printed at or published by the Merrymount Press:

• Amory, Katharine. The Journal of Mrs. John Amory (Katharine Greene) 1775-1777: With Letters from her Father, Rufus Greene, 1759-1777. Boston: 1923. F69 .A52
• Andersen, Hans Christian. The Nightingale. New York: 1898. PZ8.A54 Ni
• Austen, Jane. Pride and Prejudice. Boston: 1940. PR4034 .P7 1940
• Baker, Alfred. The Higher Citizenship: Two Addresses. Chicago: 1927. HC106.3 .B2
• Brooks, Van Wyck. The Flowering of New England. New York: 1941. PS243 .B7 1941
• Depositio Cornuti Typographici: That is, a Comical or Mirthful Play Which Can Be Performed without Any Offence, at the Reception and Confirmation of a Journeyman Who Has Learned Honestly the Noble Art of Book-Printing, and by Means of Which Also in Future Times Young Men Can Be Named, Confirmed, and Received as Journeymen Printers, at the End of Their Apprenticeship. New York: 1911. Z123 .D45 1911
• Dostoyevsky, Fyodor. The Brothers Karamazov: A Novel in Four Parts and an Epilogue. New York: 1933. PG3326.B7 G3 1933
• Leskov, N. S. The Steel Flea. Boston: 1916. PG3337.L5 L4513 1916
• Longyear, Howard Munro. The Unfolding Life: Passages from the Diaries, Notebooks and Letters of Howard Munro Longyear, and from the Letters He Received from His Parents and Friends. Boston: 1901. CT275.L675 N8
• Marvin, Frederic Rowland. Flowers of Song from Many Lands, Being Short Poems and Detached Verses Gathered from Various Languages and Rendered into English. Troy: 1902. PS2365 .F7
• Mores, Edward Rowe. A Dissertation upon English Typographical Founders and Founderies. New York: 1924. Z250 .M84 1924
• Robinson, Edwin Arlington. Matthias at the Door. New York: 1931. 818 R56mat
• Rowland, Benjamin. The Wall-Paintings of India, Central Asia & Ceylon: A Comparative Study. Boston: 1938. ND2815 .R6 1938
• Sherman, William. Two Letters from General William Techumseh Sherman to General Ulysses S. Grant & William T. (sic) McPherson in the Collection of W. K. Bixby of Saint Louis. Boston: 1919. 973.7 Sh55t
• Storer, Maria. In Memoriam Bellamy Storer, with Personal Remembrances of President McKinley, President Roosevelt and John Ireland, Archbishop of St. Paul. Boston: 1923. E664.S86 S76 1923
• Surtees, Robert Smith. The Jaunts and Jollities of that Renowned Sporting Citizen Mr. John Jorrocks of St. Botolph Lane and Great Coram Street. New York: 1932. PR5499.S4 J6 1932
• Century Association (New York). Twelfth Night at Eagleroost. Boston: 1906. HS2725.N5 C53 1906
• Two Letters: I. Anthony Wayne and Lake George, Letter from General Anthony Wayne to General Schuyler, Ticonderoga, March 23, 1777 II. Washington’s Announcement of Arnold’s Treason, Letter from George Washington to the Judge Advocate General, September 26, 1780. Boston: 1922. E203 .W34 1922
• Updike, Daniel Berkley. Some Aspects of Printing, Old and New. New Haven: 1941. Z116 .U7 1941
• Waterman, Lucius. Steadfastness and Brightness: A Sermon Preached in S. John’s Church, Wilkinsonville, Massachusetts, on Sunday, May 21, 1905, at a Memorial Eucharist for Mrs. James Fletcher Whitin. Boston: 1905. BX5995.W53 W3
• Wharton, Edith. Madame de Treymes. New York: 1907. PS3545.H16 M3 1907
• Woodberry, George. A Day at Castrogiovanni. Boston: 1912. PS3351 .D3 1912

Special Collections has the following secondary resources relating to the Merrymount Press:

• Bianchi, Daniel. The Merrymount Press: A Centenary Keepsake. Bridgewater: D.B. Bianchi, 1993. Z232.M57 B5 1993
• Daniel Berkeley Updike and the Merrymount Press. New York: Grolier Club, 1940. Z232 .U78 1940a
• Hutner, Martin. The Merrymount Press: An Exhibition on the Occasion of the 100th Anniversary of the Founding of the Press. Cambridge: The Houghton Library 1993. Z232.M57 H8 1993
• Updike, Daniel Berkley. Notes on the Merrymount Press & Its Work, with Views of the Press at Various Periods, Specimens of Types Alluded to, &c., &c., &c. San Francisco: A. Wofsy Fine Arts, 1975. Z232.M57 U82 1975