From The APHA Newsletter N0. 131, Winter , 1998 :

Charles Rheault’s Presentation of the Individual Award to Mr McCorison: The name of Marcus A. McCorison has a very strong resonance in the corridors of this Association. Not only has he been well known in all of the fields of his expertise, over a 53-year career, but also of course, eleven years ago, he accepted the Institutional Award for the American Anti­quarian Society. Today, we are especially pleased to present this award to him as an individual, and not for any of his multitudinous organizations. With this award, which focuses on an interest in printing history, we can look back upon a younger Mark at the beginnings of his career, when he was at Dartmouth in 1956. Now here is a man, thoroughly immersed in printing history, from the ink-stained fingertips of his early days at the Pine Tree Press, to the more cerebral aspects of research about printing, printers, and publishers. Continuing in this field, for almost a third of a century at AAS, he guided, re-shaped, prodded and inspired a great insti­tution which itself was founded by a passionate printer, Isiah Thomas of Worcester. Of his many publications, we might mention today only a very few: Mark was early noted for his 1963 Vermont Imprints 1778-1820; his editing of the long-needed (1970) reprint of The History of Printing in America by Isaiah Thomas; and as an author/lecturer in two widely-known articles on forgery. These are but the tip of a scholarly iceberg; just below that (in an unavoidable adjective) there has been titanic activity. Yes, indeed, 16 publications, 28 articles, 15 book reviews, and at least 10 other papers and lectures. A man of apparently insatiable curiosity who-fortunately for us­also has an exuberant energy, Mark has been articulate, indefatigable, and-more often than not–cheerful. Interested in all aspects of printing and the results thereof, he is the exemplar of the professionally super­competent leader. Laden with honors ( a dozen so far) he still is busy with responsibilities, writings, and fresh interests. We can say quite simply that Marcus McCorison is indeed a most un­usual and a very rare personage, and we are delighted today to offer him this Award.

—Charles Rheault, Chairman of the Awards Committee