Sceptre Press Archive

A virtually complete collection of all the publications of the press including typescripts, proof copies, special issues and unpublished items.

Administrative/Biographical History

Sceptre Press was founded by Martin Booth in the spring of 1969, using the money earned from a poem broadcast on BBC Radio 3 Poetry Now . The press's first publication was a broadsheet by Alan Brownjohn, entitled Being a Garoon , and this was followed by a number of other broadsheets in 1969 and 1970. Its first booklet, A Crow Hymn by Ted Hughes, was published in 1970. The press has primarily published poetry and verse, publishing the work of both well-known and lesser known poets including Robert Bly, Robert Creeley and Harry Guest. The press has also published short stories, a novel and radio play by Peter Redgrove and a number of posters. Sceptre Press ceased to operate in 1981.

Reference: Information supplied personally by Martin Booth; also extracted from his introduction to Decadal: Martin Booth (ed), Ten Years of Sceptre Press ( (1979) ).

Access Conditions

Open. Access to all registered researchers.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

The archive was purchased from the publisher in 1974.

Please see full catalogue for more information.

Permission to make any published use of any material from the collection must be sought in advance in writing from the University Archivist, Special Collections. Identification of copyright holders of unpublished material is often difficult. Special Collections will assist where possible with identifying copyright owners, but responsibility for ensuring copyright clearance rests with the user of the material.

Further deposits are not expected.

University of Birmingham Information Services, Special Collections Department also holds the personal papers of Martin Booth, founder of the Sceptre Press (GB 150 MB).

The only complete collection of Sceptre Press titles in existence was donated by Martin Booth to Corpus Christi College, Cambridge in 2001.