This page will occasionally be updated with announcements on upcoming books to be published by fine press producers, along with others news that may be of interest to those collecting fine press books. Fine press publishers are welcome to send me information on upcoming releases, or other announcements that may be of interest to Books and Vines readers. Occasionally their may be some announcements on releases of certain collectible wines which, of course, should be imbibed while reading fine press books.

December 23, 2014

Alberto Tallone Publisher-Printer is publishing/releasing a wonderful new fine press edition of Pinocchio. The volume is in Italian: the text is in fact the same that first appeared in Florence in 1883. The Press chose to follow the text of the first edition because it is the only one approved and corrected by the author, Carlo Collodi. Therefore, it maintains its uniqueness, given by the use of Florentine language. From the Press:

This edition of 320 pages has been set by hand, handling 420.000 14-point Garamond types, cut by Henri Parmentier in 1910, who realized one of the most beautiful Garamond renderings, and cast at the Deberny & Peignot Foundry in Paris.  The choice of this type is intended as a homage to Aldus Manutius, who inspired Claude Garamond in designing his types, and whose fifth centenary is due to be celebrated in 2015. While, as a homage to the author’s town of origin, the book has been printed on six different papers made in Pescia (Tuscany) – of which Collodi is a hamlet. All of the papers are out of production and of the highest artisan quality. In particular, the most exclusive of them is a pure-cotton hand-made paper that was specifically made in Pescia after the dramatic flood that submerged Florence in 1966 and it was used to restore the damaged ancien books. Its watermark represents a wave transfixed by an arrow emerging from the water, thus envisioning Florence’s rebirth. The few copies printed on this paper bear a dedication to those who acted first-hand to save those treasures: the so-called “mud angels”. Finally, besides the six papers made in Pescia, a few copies have been printed on a special making of blue-color Sicilian pure-cotton paper, whose color is meant to evoke the Blue Fairy. A few copies include an original watercolored drawing by Fulvio Testa, each one depicting a different theme.

The prices range from € 260 for the 219 copies on San Giovanni paper, to € 4.800 for the 5-copies-run on “all’onda” paper. Here are some pictures of this special and beautiful looking publication.

October 6, 2014

September 8, 2014

Though this is not directly fine press, I did want to pass on an exciting new book that all fine press lovers will certainly have interest in. Gutenberg’s Apprentice is Alix Christie‘s first novel, and, based on initial reviews, an excellent one at that! Ms. Christie grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area and is an author, journalist and letterpress printer. She learned the craft of letterpress printing as an apprentice to two master California printers, including her grandfather, the foreman of the last hot type foundry in San Francisco, Mackenzie & Harris, which continues as the nation’s last commercial foundry, operating in the Presidio as part of Arion Press. Alix owns and operates a 1910 Chandler & Price letterpress. Ms. Christie currently lives in London, where she reviews books and arts for The Economist.

A bit about the book:

Youthful, ambitious Peter Schoeffer is on the verge of professional success as a scribe in Paris when his foster father, wealthy merchant and bookseller Johann Fust, summons him home to corrupt, feud-plagued Mainz to meet “a most amazing man.” Johann Gutenberg, a driven and caustic inventor, has devised a revolutionary—and to some, blasphemous—method of bookmaking: a machine he calls a printing press. Fust is financing Gutenberg’s workshop and he orders Peter to become Gutenberg’s apprentice. Resentful at having to abandon a prestigious career as a scribe, Peter begins his education in the “darkest art.”

As his skill grows, so too does his admiration for Gutenberg and his dedication to their daring venture: copies of the Holy Bible. But mechanical difficulties and the crushing power of the Catholic Church threaten their work. As outside forces align against them, Peter finds himself torn between the genius and the merchant, the old ways and the new. He and the men he admires must work together to prevail against overwhelming obstacles—a battle that will change history . . . and irrevocably transform them.

From Booklist:

This gorgeously written debut, set in the cathedral city of fifteenth-century Mainz, dramatizes the creation of the Gutenberg Bible in a story that devotees of book history and authentic historical fiction will relish.

Kirkus Reviews says:

Christie masterfully depicts the time and energy required to print the first Bibles…all against a catastrophic backdrop of plague, the fall of Constantinople, the violent superstitions of the peasantry, and a vested intelligentsia fearing the press would generate ‘crude words crudely wrought…smut and prophecy, the ranting of anarchists and antichrists…’ A bravura debut.

• Tuesday Sept. 23, 7 pm, Corte Madera: Book Passage,  51 Tamal Vista Blvd, Corte Madera
• Wednesday, Sept 24, 5 pm, Berkeley: UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism, 202 South Hall, UCB
• Thursday, Sept 25, 11:30 am, Saratoga: Montalvo Arts Center, Literary Luncheon, 15400 Montalvo Rd.Thursday, Sept 25 , 6 pm, San Francisco: Booksmith@The Arion Press, The Presidio, 1802 Hayes Streetplease RSVP  to this free event.  
• Friday, Sept 26, 7 pm, Healdsburg: Copperfields Books, 106 Matheson St., wine and book pairing:

The book goes on sale on September 23.

September 8, 2014

John Sutcliffe’s The Colours of Rome, published in October 2013, quickly sold out. This is being followed up by In Search of the Lost Colours of the Cyclades, which will published in 2015. Proprietor Martin Ould mentions that this new title will have colour at its core, no doubt with large swatch cards individually painted by John, and – in the  de luxe copies – with a further enticement to be announced. It will be a small edition, perhaps 125 in total. Detail forthcoming. I would suggest contacting the Press and signing up for their occasional newsletter.

The very first book from The Old School Press, published in 1992, was a text taken from John Ruskin’s The Stones of Venice. The time has come for it to be reprinted, and it being done done marvelously. The text is printed on a pale blue Hodgkinson hand-made paper. For the cases, the Press has decided to use up a number of oddments: four patterned sheets hand-blocked by Alberto Valese in Venice will cover eight cases (they were left over from the original 1991 edition), and twenty-five overs of marbled papers that Ann Muir made for me over the years for various projects make another fifty. So, just fifty-eight copies. The eight copies in Valese papers are not for sale, but the others will be £60 (euro90, US$120) each. Let them know if you would like to reserve a copy. Which Ann Muir sheet you get will be a matter of pot luck!

Alberto Tallone Publisher-Printer has announced the publication of an anthology in Italian and English by renowned poet Alfredo De Palchi called 12 Poesie/12 Poems, which includes an original watercolor by Italian artist and illustrator Fulvio Testa, who took inspiration from his friend’s poems to paint an original work for every of the 90 copies of the edition (Testa has had many exhibitions in the United States and Europe, and so may be familiar to many here). The twelve poems span De Palchi‘s lifetime, covering the decades from the late forties to the current in chronological order. To underline the time factor, the colophon is hourglass shaped, as shown here.

The cost is 900€.  The edition is limited to 90 copies. Please contact Alberto Tallone Publisher-Printer here.

August 23, 2014

A reminder that Oak Knoll Fest is October 3-5, 2014 in New Castle, Delaware. This, one of the great fine press book fairs, is well worth attending for anyone who can make it. There is a symposium on Friday, entitled ‘Craftsman to Collector: Selling and Buying the Fine Press Book‘ with speakers including John Randle of the Whittington Press; Russell Maret, type designer and printer; Simon Lawrence of the Fleece Press; Tim Murray, head of special collections at the University of Delaware Library; Vicky and Bill Stewart of Vamp and Tramp Booksellers; and Ian Kahn of Lux Mentis Booksellers. Saturday and Sunday will bring talks by John Randle on ‘Slow Road to Whittington, or Survival by Letterpress‘ and Oak Knoll proprietor Bob Fleck speaking on ‘38 Years and Counting: A Life of Bookselling, Publishing, and Bibliomania.’ The long list of talented exhibitors is here, and you can look here for registration and other information.

July 7, 2014

Chad Pastotnik of Deep Wood Press has announced the availability of their latest book, The Mad Angler Poems, a book of verse by Michael Delp. The book includes twenty four poems accompanied by 5 hand colored wood engravings by Chad Pastotnik and an introduction by Jack Driscoll. As with previous works from Deep Wood Press, the book looks outstanding!

The regular edition is quarter-bound with a brown Harmatan Moroccan goat with a cotton/linen Asahi book cloth. Gold title on spine with a varnished panel on the cover cloth overprinted with the brown drake fly wood engraving and Hahnemuhle Bugra in mocha colored flyleaves back up the book blocks which are hand sewn on straps. The book is composed in 11 and 14pt  Janson with Garamond in display sizes and printed in 2 colors on Magnani Revere Book cotton 120gsm paper. 8 7/8 x 6 7/8 x 1/2 inches, 33 pages. Edition of 71 books, the first 5 are reserved for a deluxe edition and one special copy for the author. Signed, numbered and available for purchase on the Deep Wood Press website for $350.00. Here is a picture:

July 1, 2014

I just received my copy of Matrix 32 (Spring 2014), published by John and Rose Randle of The Whittington Press in an edition of 630 copies, and it is, as always, marvelous.  In fact, perhaps the best one yet! With 21 articles, including excellent articles from Nicholas Reinhardt on Ediciones Catherine Docter (I met Catherine at the Manhattan Fine Press Book Fair, what a wonderful lady!), Nate Evuarherhe on Dorothea Braby’s wood-engravings for the Golden Cockerel Press, Jamie Murphy on Albert, Ernest & the Titanic, John Bidwell on Henri Matisse’s illustrations for the Limited Editions Club edition of Ulysses, John Randle on CODEX 2013 and a look at Chromoworks from Richard Russell, there is a wealth of interesting and educational content. As always, this content includes a treasure trove of tipped in photographs, samples and other ephemera. If you do not subscribe to Matrix, quit reading this and go do so right away! Seriously, it is a must for anyone interested in the fine press world. Here are some photo’s of the latest edition:

Having mentioned CODEX, CODEX V registration is now open. It will be held February 8-11, 2015, at the Craneway Pavilion in Richmond, California. Contact Peter Koch for registration information or register here. Keynote speakers are historian, novelist, and essayist Alberto Manguel and Roberto Trujillo, the Head of Special Collections, Stanford University Library. Featured book artists are Ken Botnick (emdash, USA), Carolee Campbell (Ninja Press, USA), Ines von Ketelhodt (Zweite Enzyklopädie von Tlön, Germany) and Sam Winston (ARC, UK).

June 13, 2014

Sharp Teeth Press now has available for sale the short story ‘2BR02B‘ by Kurt Vonnegut Jr. with illustrations by San Francisco artist Jesse Balmer. The type was cast from hot metal, printed by letterpress on their Vandercook and bound by hand. The recently acquired Kensol Foil Stamper was used to stamp the cover in silver. It is a limited edition of 80 copies. Priced to sell at $55. For those in San Francisco, their will be a release party on July 12th at Alley Cat Books in the Mission District. Jesse Balmer will be on hand to personalize puchased copies.  There is a review here of their previous release, Henry David Thoreau’s Civil Disobedience.

June 6, 2014

On June 10, The Folio Society will be releasing their latest Limited Edition, which is one that I am very excited about, William Morris’s Manuscript of the Odes of Horace. The original manuscript is in the Bodleian Library. The edition will be limited to 980 copies. Here are some details:

The Facsimile:

• Printed on Tatami paper in coloured inks with gold and silver foil
• Bound in Indian smooth-grain goatskin with 5 raised bands on the spine
• Gold blocked on spine, edges and doublures
• Shuffled pages
• All four books of Horace’s Odes are included
• The illumination in the manuscript is partial, so there are three profusely decorated pages similar to the one you will see below and others in various stages of illumination, through to pages that bear just text, so you can see how the illuminated pages develop
• 6¾” x 5″, 192 pages

Commentary Volume:

• Includes a translation by four-time British PM William Gladstone and a commentary by poet and academic Clive Wilmer
• Set in Poliphilus
• Bound in Freelife Merida Forest paper
• Frontispiece portrait
• 11″ x 8¾”, 64 pages

Solander box:

• Bound in buckram with cloth-lined recess
• Blocked in silver and gold foil on front and spine
• 12½” x 9¾”

Here are some pictures of what will be a beautiful edition.

For a well spent two minutes, watch this video on showing the process of binding this edition.

May 28, 2014

Crispin and Jan Elsted of Barbarian Press sent an update to subscribers today, the long and short of which is:

1) Endgrain Editions Four: Simon Brett is about to be bound, which will continue from now through the summer. So availability is soon! This book is beautiful! It contains 134 engravings, including several tipped double page spreads, It is large format at 13 1/2″ by 10 1/2″ and 381 pages. It comes in two states:

• DELUXE STATE: 55 COPIES. Texts printed in Joanna with Fry’s Ornamented for display in green and black on Zerkall Cream laid, with 134 engravings printed from the wood on Zerkall White Smooth. Bound in quarter green leather with a skived leather spine label with a patterned paper by the artist over boards, slipcased with a folder containing a signed and numbered strike of the commissioned frontispiece for the book. PRICE: C$1,290.00
• STANDARD STATE. 120 COPIES. As the Deluxe state, but quarter cloth with a printed paper label and patterned paper, and not slipcased. PRICE: C$990.00

2) The Ingoldsby Legends: a Gallimaufry of Richard H. Barham is looking like Fall of 2014.

• A selection of eight poems from the Victorian comic-gothic best-seller (which has in fact never been out of print), illustrated with wood engravings made by the Brothers Dalziel in London circa 1870, and printed here for the first time from the original blocks, loaned to us through the kindness of the Library at Massey College, University of Toronto. Afterword and Notes to the poems by Crispin Elsted. The types are
• Poliphilus and Blado on Heine handmade paper, with the blocks printed on Zerkall mouldmade paper and tipped in. 90 copies.
• Regular state: 50 copies. Quarter cloth with decorated paper over boards, printed spine label. C$525
• Deluxe state: 40 copies. Quarter calf with decorated paper over boards, leather spine label, slipcased with a portfolio containing strikes of the six engravings used in the book, plus one extra engraving not used as an illustration. C$750

3) The Splendour of a Morning, 37 poems by C. P. Cavafy, in translations by David Smulders, with the original Greek texts en face, and five engravings by Peter Lazarov. Looking like Winter 2014/2015.

• These translations cover a range of Cavafy’s work, from love poems to historical poems, including some of his most famous poems like ‘The God Abandons Antony’ and, of course, ‘Waiting for the Barbarians’. The types will all be designed by Jan van Krimpen – the English text set in Van Dijck, and the Greek in Antigone, cast from newly punched matrices from Monotype provided for us through the generosity of one of our subscribers, with the display in Open Kapitalen. There will be only one state of this book, of which the edition will be 100 copies. Quarter cloth with decorated paper over boards, with printed spine label; Van Dijck, Antigone, and Open Kapitalen on Zerkall Smooth White. Price TBA

4) Bordering on the Sublime: Ornamental Typography at the Curwen Press, by David Jury and Crispin Elsted, is looking like late fall/winter of 2015.

• TheworkoftheCurwen Press, both jobbing work and book printing,was graced with an elegant and diverting use of printer’s ornaments, in particular used to create borders of great beauty to striking effect. These were almost entirely the work of one man, Bert Smith,acompositoratCurwen from 1924 to 1964, whose gift for this branch ofhandcompositionwassuchthathewas delegated to work on little or nothing else. In 2009, through the immense generosity and faith of a number of our subscribers, we were able to acquire the extensive collection of all the Monotype ornaments and standingborderswhichwereheldattheCurwen Press when it closed in 1984. ¶ This book will reprint nearly one hundred of these borders, all but a few of them in two colours, presented both in their own right and in reproductions of the menus, announcements, advertisements, etc.in which they originally appeared. There will also be scores of smaller ornamental spots, dashes,andarrangementsfromCurwen now held at Barbarian Press. The text by the highly respected British fine press printer, designer, and printing historian David Jury describes the state and style of British and European commercial printing and design in the first half of the 20th centuryandconsiderstheplaceoftheCurwen Press within that context. Crispin Elsted’s essay will setoutthebroadhistoryoftheCurwen Press, comment on the style and use of ornament in the press’s work,andprobethedayto day workings of the press in its heyday between the wars.TherewillbephotographsofCurwen Press, of the borders and ornaments in use, and of the printing process here at Barbarian Press, as well as appendices showing the individual ornaments used in each border, and we hope to include a facsimile reprint of The Grammar of Ornament, an issue of the Monotype Recorder discussing the geometry and design of ornaments. ¶ The edition size is not yet finally set,butweanticipate three states:
  • 40 copies. Quarter leather & decorated paper, with many borders accom-panying the text, and a photographic essay showing marked-up proofs, some of the made-up formes, and details of the printing process. Accompanied by a portfolio containing all the oversized borders, several new borders created for this book, + one original Curwen proof. Appendices. Typographical frontispiece. Boxed. Price: Approximately C$2,800, SUBJECT TO CHANGE
  • About 40 copies. Book as above, but Quarter cloth, with portfolio of oversize proofs, and without original borders & Curwen proof. Slipcased. PRICE: Approximately C$1,750, SUBJECT TO CHANGE
  • About 60 copies. Book as in A & B, but with photographic frontispiece, and without portfolio. Slipcased. PRICE: Approximately C$850, SUBJECT TO CHANGE

5) Beyond this, they are looking at publishing Eric Bergman, Engraver and Printmaker, details to be worked out. Also under consideration are John Clare’s The Shepherd’s Calendar, with wood engravings by Andy English; Shakespeare’s The Rape of Lucrece, with engravings by one of a number of possible artists; and Endgrain Editions 5: Richard Wagener. Further major publications are also in the planning stages.

These are all very exciting and I suggest you subscribe now to get copies of these, and get the subscriber discount! I should also mention that the Alcuin Society has awarded Crispin and Jan Elsted with the Robert R. Reid Medal for lifetime achievement in the book arts in Canada. Congratulations are in order!

May 19, 2014

I received the prospectus today for the soon to be released Arion Press Leaves of Grass, their 100th publication. Arion mentions the 1930 publication of Leaves of Grass by Edwin and Robert Grabhorn, which is considered one of the finest masterpieces of fine press history. Arion Press decided to pay tribute to this 1930 edition by using a similar format, production methods and materials, though with a new design. The Grabhorn edition was handset in a rare type by Frederic W. Goudy, called Goudy Newstyle, in 18 point size. The punches and matrices were destroyed in a fire in 1939, so no more type of it could ever be cast. They used Unbleached Arnold paper, from an English mill, which was dampened for the presswork. It contained 37 woodblock prints by Valenti Angelo and was bound in Philippine mahogany boards with a red goatskin back.  The book was folio in format, 14 1/2″ by 9 3/4″.

The new Arion publication also uses an 18 point Goudy typeface for the poetry, called Californian, which was initially designed as a private type for the University of California Press in 1936-1938. Californian was previously used in the very first book ever published by Arion Press in 1975. For this new edition, Arion Press cast fresh type for the entirety of the handset portion of the book in their type foundry, Mackenzie & Harris. It took six weeks to cast and hand-set the poetry. For the introduction, preface and other material, Monotype composition-casting was done in 14 point size. The paper is a special making of Langley from the Barcham Green Mill in England, watermarked with the name of the mill, Arion Press and Arion’s lyre pressmark. The paper was dampened before printing. The paper was ordered in 1985 and saved for a special project, which this is! The presswork was done on a 1915 Thomson Laureate platen press, 14 by 22 inches, which Arion Press tells us is “considered the best machine ever made for hand-fed printing.” This press was also used for printing Arion’s masterpiece, Moby-Dick. The book is 156 pages, and is folio in format at 13 7/8 x 10″.  The volume includes a frontispiece portrait of Whitman from the first edition, a steel engraving based on a daguerreotype from 1854, reproduced at twice size in sepia ink. A second color of green was introduced for the title page and colophon; drawings of grass by Rochelle Youk of the press.  The binding uses wooden boards with oak veneer, stained yellow-tan, and the spine is goatskin, green in color. Another of Ms. Youk’s grass images appears with the title on the spine of the book, stamped in gold. The sections of twelve pages are sewn by hand with linen thread over linen tapes. The book-block is rounded and backed and has hand-sewn headbands in green silk thread. The volume come in a green cloth slipcase. The edition is limited to 275 copies, and is priced at $1250, or $875 for subscribers. Contact the press with interest or questions.  I will get some photo’s and initial impressions posted, soon after I receive the book.

Next up for Arion Press, later this year, is a book of poetry from Jorie Graham, selected and introduced by Helen Vendler, with prints by Julian Lethbridge. Beyond that, look for The Leopard, by Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa, with illustrations by Fabrizio Clerici.

April 25, 2014

Tom Toth at Different Drummer Books recently purchased a pretty large set of The Folio Society Letterpress Shakespeare. He has them for sale. Mention Books and Vines and you can choose any number of volumes he has for a very, very good price. All of the books are in fine, as new condition. Some of the boxes have minor corner bumps. For those that do not know, all the Folio Society Shakespeare limited editions are printed by letterpress and consist of two volumes together in a clamshell box. For each play one book is a large, folio copy bound in quarter leather over marbled paper covered boards. A second, smaller, copy of the play is extensively annotated and bound in full cloth. Contact him here. I have zero financial interest here, just pointing out a fantastic deal from one of my favorite booksellers.

February 7, 2014

Alberto Tallone Editore

Work continues at Alberto Tallone Editore on the Manuale Tipografico III, dedicated to the aesthetics of papers, watermarks and inks; preparing some special copies where original sheets of papers with beautiful watermarks from the 15th-16th-17h centuries will be included. Anyway, a part from these special ones, all the 340 copies of the Manuale include papers of every century from the 16th to nowadays and original watermarks and typographic inks of the 20th century.

Here are some examples of original watermarks:

It took ages to find and collect all these original sheets of papers! Two reviews of the Manuale will appear respectively on Matrix – A review for printers and bibliophiles, n. 32, written by John Randle and on The Quarterly, The Journal of the British Association of Paper Historians, n.90 to be issued in April, written by Peter Bower.

At the end of the month we’ll open an exhibition in Rovereto, as shown here:

January 22, 2014

Arion Press

The publishing year is starting to come into focus, and is very exciting. As the 100th book from the press, Arion will be publishing Leaves of Grass, by Walt Whitman, hand-set, the text of the 1855 first edition, introduced by the always fantastic Helen Vendler. Those who collect fine press works know that one of the all-time great American fine press works is the Edwin & Robert Grabhorn edition of Leaves of Grass, printed in 1930 for Random House. As many of you may know, Andrew Hoyem formed Grabhorn-Hoyem in partnership with Robert Grabhorn in 1966, the surviving half of the Grabhorn Press. After Grabhorn’s death in 1973, Hoyem reformed the company as the Arion Press. There is no more apropos work than Leaves of Grass for Mr. Hoyem to choose for his 100th publication, both as a nod to the pinnacle of the Grabhorn’s achievement and in recognition of the great work Arion itself has long accomplished.

A huge congratulations to Mr. Hoyem and all at Arion Press. 100 publications is an amazing accomplishment in this day and age, especially at the quality level and influence level that Arion Press maintains. Arion Press itself will celebrate the 100 mark with a 2014 publication of a Bibliography of the first one hundred publications of Arion Press. This will surely be a must have edition for all Arion Press collectors, as well as those with interest in the history of fine press books in America. I am greatly looking forward to it!

Also planned for 2014 is a collection of poetry by Pulitzer Prize winner Jorie Graham with prints by Julian Lethbridge. This will also be edited by Helen Vendler. This will be another instance of Arion opening my eyes to a poet and work that I have not been exposed to before. Ms. Graham is certainly very well accomplished (she was the first woman to be appointed as Boylston Professor at Harvard, replacing the great Seamus Heaney; she served as chancellor of the Academy of American Poets; and, as mentioned, is a Pulitzer Prize winner).  Mr. Lethbridge’s art has been widely exhibited throughout the United States and Europe and can be found in the permanent collections of The Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York), The Whitney Museum of American Art (New York), The Tate Gallery (London), The Art Institute of Chicago (Chicago), and The National Gallery of Art (Washington D.C.). I am looking forward to this work, a modern poet and a modern artist, nicely matched.

In 2015, Arion Press will be publishing Lulu, Frank Wedekind‘s expressionistic drama, the basis for Alban Berg‘s libretto for the opera, with prints by William Kentridge.

Barbarian Press

Barbarian Press is currently working on Endgrain Editions 4: Simon Brett — an Engraver’s Progress. This will be arranged in seven thematic sections comprising more than 120 engravings, all printed from the wood, and seven are double page openings. A frontispiece has been commissioned, of which a numbered and signed print in a separate portfolio will accompany each of the deluxe copies.  Mr. Brett is also designing a pattern block for the binding papers. In addition to the engravings, there will be an introduction by the artist, a publisher’s forward, a note on the printing, a chronological catalogue of all Simon Brett’s engravings from 1961 to 2013, and a bibliographical checklist of books, articles, and reviews by Simon Brett and about him, including catalogues associated with exhibitions. This will be a small folio of approximately 250 pages, with a page size of 10.5″ x 13.5″.  The types will be Joanna & Joanna italic, with Fry’s Ornamented for display, on Zerkall Cream for the text, and Zerkall White Smooth for the engravings.  There will be 100 copies of a regular state, bound in quarter cloth with patterned paper over boards; and a deluxe made up of 50 copies in quarter leather with patterned paper and slipcased with a portfolio containing a signed and numbered proof of the commissioned frontispiece.

Later in the year, the Press will publish The Ingoldsby Legends: A Gallimaufry.  This includes eight poems fromR.H. Barham‘s Ingoldsby Legends, illustrated with eight unpublished Victorian wood engravings by the Dalziel brothers. The book will also include an afterword discussing Barham and The Ingoldsby Legends, with a note on Victorian trade engraving. The book will be a broad quarto of approximately 160 pages, with a page size of 7.5″ x 9″. The types will be Poliphilus and Blado, some some original Victorian initials “judiciously salted in.” The paper will be mould-made Heine, with the engravings printed on Zerkall Cream Smooth and tipped in. A regular version will be quarter bound in cloth with patterned paper over boards; and a deluxe in quarter leather with a patterned paper, slipcased with a portfolio containing proofs of all eight of the pictorial blocks, plus the titling block, which is too large to be used in the book.

Beyond Ingoldsby, comes Bordering on the Sublime: Ornamental Typography at the Curwen Press. This will see a printing of  100 two color borders Barbarian Press purchased from the Curwen Press as it was disbanding, with texts by David Jury on Curwen’s place in the typographical milieu of Europe between the wars and Crispin Elsted on the history of the press, its style, and its trademark use of borders and ornaments. There will be an index to the ornaments in each border, a bibliography of books on type ornaments, and related appendices.  It will be illustrated with photographs. Folio size. Hand-set in 16 point Bembo and Fairbanks. Lastly, The Splendour of a Morning, from C.P. Cavafy, which includes 37 poems translated by David Smulders, with engravings by Peter Lazarov. More information as it becomes available.

In early planning stages, likely for 2015/2016/2017 are Eric Bergman: Canadian Wood Engraver & Woodcut Printmaker which will include nearly 100 images with more than a dozen color woodcuts; Selected Poems of Molly Holden; and Ovid‘s Metamorphoses, folio in two volumes, using the 1567 Elizabethan translation by Arthur Golding, lavishly illustrated with wood engravings by Peter Lazarov.

It is well worth mentioning that Crispin and Jan Elsted have been asked to be the printers in residence at theGaspereau Press Wayzgoose in Wolfville, Nova Scotia this coming fall (October 25, 2014). They are greatly looking forward to that!

Deep Wood Press

Coming very soon, The Mad Angler Poems. The expanded classic poems by Michael Delp, 12 new poems are added to make 25 great works in this collection with an introduction by Jack Driscoll. Illustrated with wood engravings by Chad Pastotnik. This will be followed by A Collection of Short Stories by Oscar Wilde. The focus will be on classic tales of love and sacrifice. There will be 4 short stories included in this collection. Illustrated with intaglio prints by Chad Pastotnik. After that, look for Michigan Trout Stamps. Once upon a time beautiful little portraits and scenes were submitted by artists to be then juried and selected as the official stamp one was issued for trout and salmon licences in Michigan. Sadly, that practice was ended in favor of a printed out piece of plastic as a side note on our “all species” licences now. Never fear, in cooperation with the State of Michigan Archives these little works of art will seek a new audience in the pages of this new book. They will also be available by the State Archives as beverage coasters and greeting cards. The essay is in hand and composition has begun and Mr. Pastotnik has been in contact with many of the latter year winners of the competition.

Recently released is Saturnalia, by H.P. Lovecraft, regarding a holiday for the Feast of Saturn in ancient Rome which traditionally begins around December 15th. This is beautiful bit of verse suitable for the holidays or any time of year and a very nice example of Howard Phillip Lovecraft’s early poetry. Handset in 14pt Freehand type with Menu Shaded on the title page and printed on Hahnemühle Schiller paper from Germany. Original collagraph image and border design by Chad Pastotnik. Pamphlet stitched with 450gsm (heavy) Twinrocker Micah Rose covers, a heavy Arches Black spine, printed washi eastern pattern flyleaves and silver foil stamped title on the cover. 6 pages, 4 3/4 x 5 1/2 inches. Signed by Chad Pastotnik.

Also recently available is The Path, by Sigrid Christiansen, with four multi color linoleum cuts by Chad Pastotnik. “A lovely tune found in the Michigan north woods around a camp fire which begged to become a book.” The text is hand set ATF Freehand type with Lydian Bold titling and is printed on Hahnemühle Schiller paper with an inteleaf of Japanese Lace Leaf paper. The book is sewn on straps of Iowa PC4G and bound into custom made Paperworks Studio “Dark Roast” paper. The book includes a “download card” from cdbaby so that you can enjoy the story audibly as well with a new special recording of The Path performed by Sigrid. There are an additional 3 books printed on some vintage Fabriano Umbria cream stock which will become presentation binding. Fifteen books are reserved for a deluxe edition. The books center spread features a 6 color linoleum cut and the title page sports a 4 color cut. Edition of 100 books, signed and numbered by the author and Chad Pastotnik, 16 pages, 6 1/8 x 5 7/8″.

Also, look for news soon on a new letterpress literary journal that Mr. Pastitnik will be driving. It will be biannual with an overall nature motif; also each issue will have a theme with the first issue centered around “creation stories”. There are some literary heavy hitters already on board — soon to be announced and an editing staff is in place. It will be letterpress printed and include original artwork from wood engravings and linocuts. It will be open to all writing – fiction, non-fiction, poetry and short stories that might work in a serialized format.

Fleece Press, The

Simon Lawrence has two substantial books coming along. The first, Sensuous Lines, A Catalogue Raisonne of the intaglio prints of John Buckland Wright, by his son Christopher, which is 296 pages long with over 400 images, due April. It has a most stunning binding employing a marbled paper of extreme skill! Very soon after this, Mr. Lawrence will release Edward Walters, wood engraver and printer, a bibliography by John Gray, with reminiscences of him as father and schoolmaster by Tom Walters and Richard Russell. The book is letterpress with over 50 engravings printed from the wood, with a large number of other reproduced works in colour. Due April-May. See here for more information on both books. Note that all of the ‘C’ copies of Sensuous Lines are fully subscribed now, so hurry up!

Foolscap Press

I am particularly excited about upcoming works from Foolscap Press, since I love classics especially when masterfully designed, which Foolscap will certainly accomplish. Lawrence Van Velzer and Peggy Gotthold are working on The Fisherman and the Demon from the Arabian Nights. This book will have a panorama of drawings which will have color added by pochoir and sketches that artist Brian Bowes is working on now. The binding hasn’t been worked out yet, but will be! This will be followed by Thomas More‘s Utopia, printed on hand-made paper. The binding has been designed and the ‘special contents’ are currently being planned. More information as it becomes available.

Hand & Eye Letterpress

The Press just published Fugitive Lyrics, a new book or poems inspired by the Mapp & Lucia books of E.F. Benson, interpreted and illustrated by Ian Beck. Those interested should contact Phil Abel here.  Look for a review in the coming months on Books and Vines.

Incline Press

Graham Moss has a busy year ahead, as always! Look for Randall Davies: Books of Nonsense coming reasonably early in the year. This reprints all the limericks with their ancient wood cuts from the three editions, and starts with a newly written introduction by Dr Paul W Nash of the Bodleian Library, Oxford. In it he gives the details of the editions and and account of  the author and of Philip Sainsbury, printer and publisher under the Cayme Press imprint, one of the more important minor private presses of the pre-1929 private press movement. The prospectus is available on request, and of course the pre-publication discount will be available until publication, probably mid-March so plenty time to request a copy by post.

Randall Davies will be followed by Layers of Concord. This is a new text by Carole George. She bought a plot of land in Virginia, overgrown and almost completely surrounded by a meandering stream, cleared it of undergrowth and created a landscape garden based on classical French design. The introduction is by Reuben M. Rainey, former chair of the Department of Landscape Studies at the University of Virginia; the frontispiece map of the garden has been drawn by Abigail Rorer who has also cut a cartouche to head each of the ten chapters. This will be Incline’s first book to be illustrated with photographs, taken by Eduardo Galliani and to be printed by Adrian Lack of the Senecio Press. It is a large book, about 15 by 10 inches, which will be printed on Magnani paper with 16pt Centaur type in an edition of 200 copies. It will be hand bound, slip-cased, and covered with a special marbled paper commissioned from Jemma Lewis.

When in Doubt, Wash is a book on the naming of cats by David Blamires, who has written two books previously for Incline Press, The Books of Jonah which is out of print, and last years celebration of the Brothers Grimm.When in Doubt, Wash is illustrated with six full-page wood engravings by Chris Daunt, each showing a distinctive breed of cat. This rounds up Incline’s series of books of cat poems, and will include a few of the poems of named cats that are referred to in the text.

This will be followed by A Bread-and Cheese Bookseller, as dictated by James Weatherley, a Manchester used-book dealer of the first half of the nineteenth century. Previously unpublished, the manuscript, probably dictated to his daughter as he was barely literate, is an amazing view of the difficulties of life at the low end of the book trade in a time when little was recorded by the participants. The nature of the text provides a few challenges – there is no punctuation in the manuscript, merely longer spaces where Weatherley drew breath, and as he dictated the story in strict chronological order so years replace pagination, both on the page and in the index. It will be printed in two colours, illustrated on each facing page with a pictorial reference from the facing text using pictures that have either not been published before or not been seen since their first publication. The introduction is by Terry Wyke OBE of Manchester Metropolitan University, and Dr Michael Powell, Librarian of Chetham’s Library where the original manuscript is held.

Graham Moss is also planning a number of smaller books that ought to come out this year as well – a sharp story told around the work of a printing-shop in the 1950s, that delightful time when provincial letterpress book printing reached its apogee, written and illustrated with cuts by John R Smith; and a learned text byProfessor Laura Moretti on the earliest Japanese chapbook which was printed totally from wood cuts. The Incline Press edition will include a hand-coloured facsimile, each page overlaid with an English translation printed on tissue so it can be seen and read as intended. Some of these may slip into 2015, which in understandable when we see how much Mr. Moss is working on!

Nawakum Press

Nawakum Press has some exciting works planned for the next couple years. In 2014, look for LOOM, a poetical exploration by poet and hand press printer Alan Loney with sixteen wood engravings by artist Richard Wagener, whose companion piece Sierra Nevada Suite was just published by The Book Club of California. The edition will debut at the Codex Australia Book Fair in Melbourne in March 2014. For 2015 the Press is at work on Part One of Hermann Hesse’s novella Siddhartha. The edition will be in artists’ book format, taking inspiration from Buddhist palm leaf prayer books.  Berkeley artist Keith Cranmer will be creating chine colle etchings for the edition.

Old School Press, The

Newly published and available from the Press are:

The Colours of Rome, written and illustrated by John Sutcliffe. To illustrate the essay John made several trips to Rome, returning finally with twenty sheets of colours copied directly from the buildings themselves. His carefully chosen selection is designed to demonstrate the diversity of the palette and also to draw together two very different strands of tradition that have created the appearance of the streets of Rome today. Each of the twenty colours is illustrated with a large painted patch applied directly onto its own sheet of Magnani wove using water-based paints. These sheets are loose in a wallet within the cased sleeve that holds the book, thus making it possible for the reader to explore the colours in different combinations just as they appear in Rome. A swatch card of chips of the twenty colours is also included in the wallet. The text is printed in 14pt Dante on a large page of Magnani hand-made laid paper, with headings printed from wood-letter. The book is bound in full cloth and is protected by the sleeve inside which the wallet of paint patches is attached. In addition to the standard edition of ninety-nine copies there are twenty-five de luxe copies that take the form of a solander box containing, as well as the standard edition book, bottled samples of nine of the most important pigments, mostly earths, in powdered form. The Book is about 12.75 inches by 9.25 inches.

Stockholm Reflections, with images by Leslie Gerry. The eleven images occupy a landscape sheet 370mm tall by 560mm wide (that’s about 14.5 inches by 22 inches) and they are compiled as a concertina-fold book, with a further illustration on the title page and two more on the front and back covers of the book. Mr. Gerry’s illustrations are very much his personal response to the beauty of the place, to the colour and vibrancy imparted by the boats, the buildings, the sky and the water. To accompany the images we have printed extracts from travel books from as early as 1720. Putting letterpress text together with giclée digital images is becoming “quite a habit”  at The Old School Press. Martyn Ould remarks that the two techniques are unrivalled for quality and he has no doubt that Caxton would have preferred giclée to woodcuts if he could have! So once again, expect clean letterpress from freshly-cast type combined with brilliantly rendered colour in a novel binding. he text occupies an eight-page section printed by letterpress on a pale-blue hand-made paper from the Velké Losiny mill in the Czech Republic. The choice of typeface is also new departure for The Old School Press: Eric Gill’s Joanna in the 14pt size, with headings in variations of Gill Sans. The book’s binding is quarter-cloth with the further illustrations by Leslie on the boards and it is presented in a solander box bound in a dark blue-grey cloth.

The Press is working on a major production for its next release, that being Printing at the University Press, Oxford, 1660-1780.  This will be a four-volume work, each volume to be published separately. Volume I will cover three key resources of the Press (in particular the Learned Press) and their development: the premises they occupied and how they were used, the management organisation that ran the Press, and the paper it used and its sources. Volume II will cover the type it used and its sources. Each of these resources will be dealt with chronologically in order to show the changes that occurred and why, as well as providing the foundations for the third volume. Volume III will cover the processes of the Learned Press, detailing how a book progressed from its author, via compositor, corrector, press-crew, and rolling-press man to the Warehouse ready for sale. Volume IV will break entirely new ground with its coverage of the workings of the Bible Press towards the end of the period through a statistical analysis of the weekly accounts; such an analysis has only been possible for a handful of other presses, and I believe this will be the first for one such as Oxford’s Bible Press which printed hundreds of thousands of Bibles and prayer books each year.

Each of the four volumes will have tipped-in reproductions of manuscripts from Oxford University Press archives, Oxford University archives, and the Bodleian Library, all published for the first time. The edition will be 200 standard copies (including ten sets of sheets for binders) and there will be a de luxeedition of fifty copies which will come bound in quarter leather in a slipcase with additional material: with volume I there will be a volume of hitherto unpublished correspondence from the London paper dealers to the Press in the 1670s, with volume II a portfolio of leaves from books printed across the period, and with volume III an extended essay on the business planning done by Fell’s partner Thomas Yate at the time that they set up their press in 1671-2. The separate volumes will of course be printed letterpress, in Monotype Van Dijck on Mohawk Superfine.

Peter Koch Printers

The Press will be participating in CODEX Australia events in Melbourne and CODEX Mexico events in Puebla on the subjects of the 16th Century proto-American typographic heritage of Mexico and the art of the book in contemporary Latin America.

Robert LoMascolo, The Press of

Mr. LoMascolo has begun work setting type for “The Buller-Podington Compact,” a relatively short story byFrank Stockton originally published in 1897. It will be letterpress printed from metal type and include some topographic ornaments and wood engravings. Hopefully it will be available toward the end of the year.

Mr. LoMascolo’s original children’s story “Squirrel’s Sunflower” is now also available again in a new letterpress printed edition. The text is letterpress printed from hand-set metal type and accompanied by digitally printed images. They are all hand-bound in letterpress printed, hand-painted, paste paper covers.

He is planning to exhibit at this year’s Oak Knoll Fest international book fair in New Castle Delaware, which is October 3-5.

Russell Maret

Mr. Maret’s new book, Interstices & Intersections or, An Autodidact Comprehends a Cube will be finished in March. Take a look here at this major new work. Note that he will be giving the Clark Quarterly Lecture on March 4th at 4pm about this book. The title of the lecture is Comprehending a Cube: Eighteen Months of Living with Euclid. Also, an exhibit about the making of Interstices & Intersections will open at the Museum of Printing History in Houston on June 26.

Mr. Maret will also be publishing a bibliography of his work to celebrate 25 years of printing. Look for that later this year, probably in autumn.

Shanty Bay Press

Shanty Bay Press has a couple projects in the works. The first consists of a large pochoir triptych of Walter Bachinski’s take on the Birth of Venus. The sheet is about 15 by 22 inches. He is currently about half way through the pochoir. Accompanying will be a small book with 5 poems on the subject by various poets. The poems will be:

• D. H. Lawrence, Whales Weep Not
• Rainer Maria Rilke, The Birth of Venus
• Randell Jarell, The Birth of Venus
• Arthur Rimbaud, Sun and Flesh
• Charles Olson, The Ring of

Each poem will have a complex pochoir initial. This is tracking to be available in early 2015.

The second project will be Daphnis and Chloe by Longus. Mr. Bachinski is just starting to work out the illustrations. The drawings could easily take a year or more, so this will likely be released sometime in 2016.

Whittington Press, The

Posters from Whittington, 1996-2012 is available from the Press. Of the 150 posters printed during that time period, a number were chosen to show off a great variety of typefaces on an equally esoteric variety of papers from England (some over a century old), France, Italy, Czechslovakia, Germany, Japan and Korea. They include illustrations from linocuts, wood-engravings, and in the special copies, pochoir, among a dazzling array of the Press’ extensive collection of founts. Also included in the collection are posters by Tom Mayo and Patrick Randle, which will add a more radical note to our normal, more predictable, fare. An article describing the background and development of the Press’ posters appeared in Parenthesis 20 (Spring 2011). Set in 22-point Caslon and printed on a heavyweight Zerkall mould-made paper. Various levels of deluxe-ness provide different numbers of posters and different types of bindings.

There are a number of publications in the works, please check out here for the entire list. A couple I am particularly interested in (though all look outstanding) include:

Venice, by John Craig, includes 35 of Mr. Craig’s wood engravings. A scintillating series of double-page spreads will lead the reader through the lesser known by-ways of Venice, the narrow passages, hidden squares and waterways that often elude the casual visitor, seen through an acute architectural eye. The typographical treatment of the book will be from Mr. Craig also, so that the engravings and type harmonise as a single unit on each double-page spread. Set in 13-point Bodoni and printed on Zerkall mould-made paper with about 35 wood-engravings, and some linocuts. Various levels of deluxe-ness provide different types of bindings and options for portfolios of the prints.

Pages from Presses II, by David Butcher, follows up on the amazing 2006 Pages From Presses I, which included a history and original leaves from the Kelmscott, Ashendene, Doves (including a vellum leaf in the special copies), Vale, Eragny and Essex House Presses. Pages from Presses II will take the story up to the Second World War and beyond, and include David’s accounts of the Golden Cockerel, Gregynog, Nonesuch, Shakespeare Head, Haslewood, Cresset and, interestingly, the Curwen Press. Once again it will be accompanied by original leaves from each Press, mounted on generously sized guards so that each side is readily accessible. These will demonstrate the varying typographical styles of the presses and show the typefaces, illustrations, decorative elements and papers they used. The original leaves chosen include some of the major works from the presses, such as the Golden Cockerel Canterbury Tales engraved by Eric Gill. The book will be a handsome volume, printed on Czech Losin hand-made paper, set in 14-point Walbaum. The leather editions contain additional and more elaborate specimen leaves, and the full-leather edition has a separate portfolio of additional leaves. The buckram, Roma hand-made and marbled paper, and leather used for the bindings, will all be in green to complement the red used for the earlier volume, which was sold out on publication.

For Fine Press News from 2013, please go here.