Porter Garnett

Porter Garnett was born in 1871 in San Francisco. He was an active member in San Francisco's literary scene and a member of the Bohemian Club, writing and directing plays at Bohemian Grove. In 1895, he founded The Lark with Gelett Burgess. In 1907 he became assistant curator of Bancroft Library at the University of California at Berkeley.

In 1922, Garnett became professor of graphic arts at the Carnegie Institute of Technology in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, teaching traditions, development and ideals of printing. There, he founded the Laboratory Press, as the only program in the country for the teaching of fine printing until the press closed in 1935. The Press was one of the only dedicated to education in printing as a fine art. In 1932, he was awarded the AIGA Medal.

When Porter and his wife Edna retired, they established their home at Foote Ranch in the Bay Area, which Edna's father had pioneered. Garnett died on March 21, 1951, in Calistoga, California. After his death, an archive of his papers was created in his name in the Bancroft Library.