Violet and Hal Trovillion owned and edited a newspaper in Herrin, Illinois, and started the Trovillion Press – also knows as the Trovillion Private Press at the Sign of the Silver Horse – by printing booklets at Christmas for distribution to their friends. The first such booklet was produced in 1908 and the Press continued operating until 1960. The Press slowly grew and began printing books in greater numbers, though with a continued emphasis on short works – almost all Trovillion Press books are under 100 pages in length. The Press is particularly well known for its reprints of early and rare gardening books.

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

• Henry VIII. Love Letters of Henry VIII, Being Some of the Letters that Passed between Henry VIII, King of England, (1509 to 1547) When He Wooed and Won Anne Boleyn Whose Head He Later Cut Off to Rid Himself of; Also One Letter from Anne to Cardinal Woolsey [sic] and That Famous Last Letter Anne Sent Henry on the Eve of Her Execution. Herrin: 1936. DA332 .A23
• Jordan-Smith, Paul. I Salute the Silver Horse, Being the Story of Trovillion Private Press, America’s Oldest Private Press. Herrin: 1958. Z232.T86 S64 1958
• Moran, James. The Private Press at Home and Abroad. Herrin: 1959. Z232.T86 M67 1959
• Plat, Hugh. Delightes for Ladies. Herrin: 1942. TX151 .P5 1939
• Powys, Llewelyn. A Baker’s Dozen. Herrin: 1939. PR6031.O87 B3 1939
• Schauinger, Joseph Herman. A Bibliography of Trovillion Private Press Operated by Violet & Hal W. Trovillion at the Sign of the Silver Horse. Herrin: 1943. Z232.T86 S35
• Smith, Alexander. Books and Gardens. Herrin: 1946. PR5453.S5 A64
• Trovillion, Hal. Designing a Bookplate. Herrin: 1963. Z996.T7 A3
• Trovillion, Violet. Christmas at Thatchcot. Herrin: 1947. PS3539.R87 C5 1947
• Trovillion, Violet. The Sundial in Our Garden. Herrin: 1935. QB215 .T7
• Trovillion, Violet. The Sundial in Our Garden. Herrin: 1945. QB215 .T7 1945
• Trovillion, Violet. The Sundial in Our Garden. Herrin: 1955. QB215 .T7 1955
• Trovillion, Violet and Hal. The Tussie Mussies: A Collection of Flower and Garden Sentiments in Prose and Verse. Herrin: 1955. PN6110.F6 T7 1955
• Wilkinson, Robert. The Merchant Royall, Being a Sermon Preached in 1607 in Praise of the Wife, Wherein She is Likened to a Merchant Ship. Herrin: 1945. BX5133.W5484 M4 1945
• Wilde, Oscar. The Happy Prince and The Selfish Giant: Fairy Tales. Herrin: 1945. PR5818 .H2 1945

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

• Jordan-Smith, Paul. I Salute the Silver Horse, Being the Story of Trovillion Private Press, America’s Oldest Private Press. Herrin: Trovillion Private Press, 1958. Z232.T86 S64 1958
• Schauinger, J. Herman. A Bibliography of Trovillion Private Press Operated by Violet & Hal W. Trovillion at the Sign of the Silver Horse. Herrin: Trovillion Private Press, 1943. Z232.T86 S35
• Trovillion Private Press, 1908-1963, at the Sign of the Silver Horse: An Offering of Special Importance to Book Collectors and Lovers of Fine Printing. Carbondale: Friends of the Library, Southern Illinois University, 1968. Z232.T86 T76 1968