Fine press

Last updated

Fine press printing and publishing comprises historical and contemporary printers and publishers publishing books and other printed matter of exceptional intrinsic quality and artistic taste, including both commercial and private presses.

Contents

History of fine press

As part of the Arts and Crafts movement in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the Englishman William Morris wanted to counter the industrialization of culture through a revival of craft in printing, printmaking, and publishing. One of the books they published was the Kelmscott Chaucer. Soon, fine presses began to spring up in the United States as well; the most prominent was the Roycroft Press. Los Angeles was a center of the fine press movement, particularly centered on the Ward Ritchie press. In the 1920s, San Francisco became known for the elegant publications of John Henry Nash, and likewise became a fine press center on the west coast.

List of fine presses

United States

California presses

  • Colt Press, San Francisco
  • Grabhorn Press, San Francisco
  • John Henry Nash, San Francisco
  • Plantin Press, Los Angeles. Founded by Saul and Lillian Marks, in 1931
  • Saunders Studio Press, Claremont. Founded by Lynne and Ruth Thompson Saunders in 1927
  • Ward Ritchie Press
  • Arion Press, San Francisco

United Kingdom

Continental Europe

Australia

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William Morris</span> English textile artist, author, and socialist (1834–1896)

William Morris was an English textile designer, poet, artist, writer, and socialist activist associated with the British Arts and Crafts movement. He was a major contributor to the revival of traditional British textile arts and methods of production. His literary contributions helped to establish the modern fantasy genre, while he helped win acceptance of socialism in fin de siècle Great Britain.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elbert Hubbard</span> American writer and philosopher

Elbert Green Hubbard was an American writer, publisher, artist, and philosopher. Raised in Hudson, Illinois, he had early success as a traveling salesman for the Larkin Soap Company. Hubbard is known best as the founder of the Roycroft artisan community in East Aurora, New York, an influential exponent of the Arts and Crafts movement.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Walter Crane</span> British artist and book illustrator (1845–1915)

Walter Crane was an English artist and book illustrator. He is considered to be the most influential, and among the most prolific, children's book creators of his generation and, along with Randolph Caldecott and Kate Greenaway, one of the strongest contributors to the child's nursery motif that the genre of English children's illustrated literature would exhibit in its developmental stages in the later 19th century.

Private press publishing, with respect to books, is an endeavor performed by craft-based expert or aspiring artisans, either amateur or professional, who, among other things, print and build books, typically by hand, with emphasis on design, graphics, layout, fine printing, binding, covers, paper, stitching, and the like.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kelmscott Press</span> Private press founded by designer William Morris in 1891

The Kelmscott Press, founded by William Morris and Emery Walker, published 53 books in 66 volumes between 1891 and 1898. Each book was designed and ornamented by Morris and printed by hand in limited editions of around 300. Many books were illustrated by Edward Burne-Jones. Kelmscott Press books sought to replicate the style of 15th-century printing and were part of the Gothic revival movement. Kelmscott Press started the contemporary fine press movement, which focuses on the craft and design of bookmaking, often using hand presses. While their most famous books are richly decorated, most Kelmscott Press books did not have elaborate decoration, but were published simply.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Morris & Co.</span> Decorative arts firm founded by William Morris

Morris, Marshall, Faulkner & Co. (1861–1875) was a furnishings and decorative arts manufacturer and retailer founded by the artist and designer William Morris with friends from the Pre-Raphaelites. With its successor Morris & Co. (1875–1940) the firm's medieval-inspired aesthetic and respect for hand-craftsmanship and traditional textile arts had a profound influence on the decoration of churches and houses into the early 20th century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rubric</span> Word or section of text that is traditionally written or printed in red ink for emphasis

A rubric is a word or section of text that is traditionally written or printed in red ink for emphasis. The word derives from the Latin rubrica, meaning red ochre or red chalk, and originates in medieval illuminated manuscripts from the 13th century or earlier. In these, red letters were used to highlight initial capitals, section headings and names of religious significance, a practice known as rubrication, which was a separate stage in the production of a manuscript.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roycroft</span> United States historic place

Roycroft was a reformist community of craft workers and artists which formed part of the Arts and Crafts movement in the United States. Elbert Hubbard founded the community in 1895, in the village of East Aurora, New York, near Buffalo. Participants were known as Roycrofters. The work and philosophy of the group, often referred to as the Roycroft movement, had a strong influence on the development of American architecture and design in the early 20th century.

Book Art is a field of art that involves the creation of works that use or refer to the structural and conceptual properties of books. The term is also used to describe works of art produced in this field. These works may contain text, images, or both, or they may be sculptural. Book art has existed for thousands of years, and can be seen, for example, in Egyptian papyri, in Chinese, Japanese and Korean scrolls and books, and in Mesoamerican codices. As a field of contemporary art, book art has seen explosive growth since the 1960s. The related term "book arts" refers to the creative and craft disciplines used to produce book art, such as printing, printmaking, papermaking, typography and bookbinding.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ashendene Press</span> Private press (1895–1935) based in Chelsea, London

The Ashendene Press was a small private press founded by St John Hornby (1867–1946). It operated from 1895 to 1915 in Chelsea, London and was revived after the war in 1920. The press closed in 1935. Its peers included the Kelmscott Press and the Doves Press. Hornby became friends with William Morris and Emery Walker, who helped inspire his work. These three presses were part of a "revival of fine printing" that focused on treating bookmaking as fine art. The Ashendene Press was famous for producing high-quality works by Dante. Ashendene books had excellent bindings and focused more on pleasure than reform than the other private presses of the time, though one review claims that the Ashendene Press was the most successful private press in recapturing the essence of fifteenth-century printing. Ashendene books were carefully printed with large margins, and despite their lack of extravagant decoration, they were considered spectacular works of art. Two original typefaces were created for the Ashendene Press: Subiaco and Ptolemy. They were known for handwritten, colored initials by Graily Hewitt. The press' main customers were book collectors who paid for a subscription for Ashendene books.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Doves Press</span> Printer and publisher 1900–1916

The Doves Press was a private press based in Hammersmith, London. During nearly seventeen years of operation, Doves Press produced notable examples of twentieth-century typography. A distinguishing feature of its books was a specially-devised typeface, known variously as Doves Roman, Doves Press Fount of Type, or simply Doves Type.

The Story of the Glittering Plain is an 1891 fantasy novel by William Morris, perhaps the first modern fantasy writer to unite an imaginary world with the element of the supernatural, and thus the precursor of much of present-day fantasy literature. It is also important for its exploration of the socialist themes that interested Morris.

Violet De Mars Trovillion (1890–1979) and Hal W. Trovillion (1879–1967) were publishers based in Herrin, Illinois who operated local newspapers and a private press known as Trovillion Private Press at the Sign of the Silver Horse or simply Trovillion Press.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kelmscott House</span>

Kelmscott House is Grade II* listed Georgian brick mansion at 26 Upper Mall in Hammersmith, overlooking the River Thames. Built in about 1785, it was the London home of English textile designer, artist, writer and socialist William Morris from 1878 to 1896.

Andrew Lewison Hoyem is a typographer, letterpress printer, publisher, poet, and preservationist. He is the founder and was the director of Arion Press in San Francisco until his retirement in October 2018. Arion Press "is considered the nation's leading publisher of fine-press books," according to the Minneapolis Star Tribune. Arion Press "carries on a grand legacy of San Francisco printers and bookmakers," according to Michael Kimmelman of The New York Times. Hoyem’s work in preserving the nation’s last typefoundry has been recognized by the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grabhorn Institute</span> American nonprofit organization

The Grabhorn Institute is a nonprofit organization formed in October 2000 for the purpose of preserving and continuing the operation of one of the last integrated facilities for typefounding, letterpress printing, and bookbinding in the fine press tradition, as a living museum and educational and cultural center. It is named in honor of the brothers Edwin and Robert Grabhorn, who established the Grabhorn Press in San Francisco in 1920. The press was "one of the foremost producers of finely printed books in twentieth-century America." The Grabhorn Press Building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places in San Francisco, California.

<i>Chants for Socialists</i> 2015 studio album by Darren Hayman

Chants for Socialists is the eleventh solo studio album by English singer/songwriter Darren Hayman. It was released by WIAIWYA Records on 2 February 2015.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Helen Van Vechten</span> American printer

Helen Van Vechten (1868–1949) was an American printer who became known for the hand-printed fine press books she produced for the Philosopher Press in Wisconsin around the turn of the 20th century. In her day, she was one of very few women involved in fine book-making in America and was regarded as a top expert in the field.

The Book Club of California is a non-profit membership organization of bibliophiles based in San Francisco, operating continuously since 1912. Its mission is to support the history and art of the book, including fine printing related to the history and literature of California and the western states of America through research, publishing, public programs, and exhibitions. It is one of the two largest book collectors' clubs in the United States, with more than 800 members nationwide.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Golden Type</span> Typeface designed by William Morris

The Golden Type is a serif typeface designed by artist William Morris for his fine book printing project, the Kelmscott Press, in 1890. It is an "old-style" serif face, based on type designed by engraver and printer Nicolas Jenson in Venice around 1470. It is named for the Golden Legend, which was intended to be the first book printed using it. The original design has neither an italic nor a bold weight, as neither of these existed in Jenson's time.

References