The Benson Latin American Collection holds books from various Latin American countries, including works by renowned artists such as Joaquín Torres García. Most of the Artists’ Books in the collection are crafted from inexpensive, handmade materials and feature poetry, illustrations, and translations of popular works. Some belong to small publishing house collections, such as Ediciones Vigía (Matanzas, Cuba), and Taller Lenateros (San Cristóbal de las Casas, Chiapas, Mexico). These small presses showcase unique approaches to creating, transforming visuals, and shaping typography.
For instance, Ediciones Vigía Artists’ Books are sewn with different elements, such as nails, creating intricate collages on the front covers. Taller Lenateros produces handmade paper from recycled materials like cardboard and plants. The creative use of materials reflects the available resources, the commitment to accessibility, and the resourcefulness of both artists and presses.
This interactive map features an inventory file created in 2024 that documents all the Artists' Books in the Benson rare stacks. The map below displays where each Artist Book was published. You can click on a Country or Region to see Artists' Books from that area. The results will appear in a simple table below the map. The Country selection will filter the results, while the Region will be highlighted in the table. To view the Region results, you must scroll down the table. This table includes bibliographic information for each book. Most importantly, you can click "permalink," which directs them to the book's library record in the UT library catalog. Additionally, users can click on "View on Tableau Public" to view the larger version and download the raw inventory file as a CSV for further research.
The map captures the count of Artists' Books in 2024 momentarily, but it doesn't reflect the true count as it continues to grow at the Benson.
Cristina Berron created this guide during her UTL residency program. From November 2024 to February 2025, she focused on locating and inventorying the Artists' Books in the Benson Rare Stacks. She documented bibliographic data and publication origins, which are visualized in the interactive map in the center of the guide. This map displays publication locations, links to the UT Library catalog for each book, and provides access to download the inventory file. The inventory currently lists 379 Artists' Books, but this number is not the complete total as the collection grows.
The Nettie Lee Benson Latin American Collection is a leading library for Latin America, Latina/o, and Black Diaspora Studies. This guide offers resources for researching Artists' Books at the Benson's rare stacks. Use the tabs on the left for starting points.
For further assistance, contact Benson special collections team at bensonspecialcollections@austin.utexas.edu for research help or to schedule a consultation in the Rare Books Reading Room.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 Generic License.