This catalogue is drawn from the collection of the late Professor Marion W. Witt of Hunter College, a poetry student of William Butler Yeats. The collection was eventually given to Milton McC. Gatch, who was directed to find the collection a home or continue to enlarge the collection himself. Wanting to further build the collection, Gatch began widening its original scope to also include works of William's father John Butler Yeats and William's siblings, including Susan Mary, Elizabeth Corbet, and Jack B. Yeats. This catalogue features the books of Gatch's collection.

The Yeats family is well known in the world of book history. Son William Butler Yeats was a determined poet who became popular in literature at an early age. Daughter Elizabeth Corbet Yeats, known as Lolly, assisted in creating a series of printed works that defined the Irish culture in books and illustrations for the twentieth century, while brother Jack became a successful illustrator and painter. As strong as they were individually, the family was even more effective when they worked as a unit to produce books. The Yeats style really took off in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. Their influence on the history of the book and Irish art has contributed to the Irish national character.

This exhibition covers the Yeats family from 1890 to 1910. It examines their work in printed portraits, book illustration, children's books, and other book-related areas. A section of fourteen plates completes the work. This exhibition was held from January 26 to March 13, 2000.