The Duval, K. D. mss., 1973-1976, consists chiefly of the correspondence between Kulgin Dalby Duval, bookseller, and 23 British bookbinders commissioned by him to produce original bindings for a catalogue and exhibition: British Bookbinding Today.

The correspondence details the formulation of the collection beginning with the initial contacts with the various binders, through the selection of the books to be bound, discussions of design and binding materials, biographical data on the binders for inclusion in the projected catalogue, and the printing of the catalogue itself. The final folder of correspondence contains individual letters to and from people other than the binders and deals primarily with the catalogue, the exhibit, and the successful sale of the collection.

Correspondents in the collection include: James R. Brackman, Anthony G. Cains, Jeff Clements, Sydney Morris Cockerell, Arthur W. Currie, Edward Gray, Elizabeth Greenhill, Dorothy A. Harrop, Angela P. James, Arthur Johnson, Trevor Jones, Denise Lubett, Edgar Mansfield, Martino Mardersteig, William Matthews, Bernard C. Middleton, Howard Millar Nixon, Gemma O'Connor, John Plummer, Roger Powell, Ivor Robinson, Ian A. Ross, Faith Shannon, C. Philip Smith, Sally Lou Smith, Frederick Louis Wood, and E.P. Womersley.

The correspondence with Edgar Mansfield relates to the introduction written by him for the catalogue, and that of Martino Mardersteig concerns the printing of the catalogue at the Stamperia Valdonega in Verona. A few of the letters are addressed to Duval's partner, Colin H. Hamilton.

Negatives and color separations for the catalogue illustrations, catalogue proof pages, and a folio of book design material for catalogue item numbers 1, 2, 5, 6, 10-12, 15-17, 27-29, 32, and 39 complete the collection.

The collection of bindings, as well as the Duval catalogue, have been cataloged for the Lilly Library book collections (Lilly Z274 .A1).