Cuala Press
Historical Note
Cuala Industries was established in 1908 by Elizabeth Corbet Yeats and Lily Yeats, after they left the Dun Emer Guild, which they had founded six years before with Evelyn Gleeson. Cuala Industries included an embroidery, weaving, and tapestry studio; a printing press; and a bindery. Cuala, like Dun Emer before it, was meant to promote Irish crafts made from Irish materials, and to employ Irish women. The majority of its employees were young local girls. Lily ran the embroidery studio; Elizabeth was the director of the printing and bindery portion of the business; and their brother W. B. was the literary editor. Cuala Press printed 66 titles before it ceased publishing books in 1946, including works by W. B. Yeats, George Russell, and Lady Gregory. The Press also printed cards, calendars, and other artwork. Jack Yeats designed some of the prints published by the Press. Cuala Press had difficulty competing with more modern and industrialized publishers and had frequent financial difficulties. After Elizabeth's death in 1940, W. B.'s wife, Georgie, took over as director of the Press until her death in 1968.
Found in 3 Collections and/or Records:
Marion Doyle collection of W. B. Yeats
Collected materials about W. B. Yeats, particularly ephemera from the centennial of his birth. Also includes cards and pamphlets from Cuala Press.
Collection is open for research.
Loretta Clarke Murray collection of women in revolutionary Ireland
This collection includes papers and artifacts of women and organizations involved in the fight for Irish independence. A majority belonged to Máire Gill and relate to her work with Cumann na mBan, a women’s Irish republican organization, as well as her work with Cuala Press and the women’s sport of camogie. Additionally, there are materials relating to women’s suffrage. Of note are a banner made by Maud Gonne and a journal of Margaret Skinnider’s involvement in the 1916 Easter Rising.
Collection is open for research; a portion is available digitally.
Boston College collection of Yeats family papers
The Boston College collection of Yeats family papers includes artwork, correspondence, manuscripts, notebooks, and photographs by and about siblings W. B., Elizabeth Corbet, Lily, and Jack B. Yeats; their father, John Butler Yeats; and the wife of W. B., Georgie Yeats. It also documents the running of Cuala Press, a Yeats family business.
Collection is open for research; a portion is available digitally.