Finlay Press

Last updated

Finlay Press is the name of an independent private press founded by Ingeborg Hansen and Phil Day (artist). It began production in Goulburn, NSW, Australia in 1997. In 2001 the press moved to Braidwood, New South Wales, Australia, where it printed its final publication in 2009. [1]

Contents

Two pages from 'Burly Gryphon' by Ingeborg Hansen with illustrations by Phil Day. (2007). Two pages from Burly Gryphon.jpg
Two pages from 'Burly Gryphon' by Ingeborg Hansen with illustrations by Phil Day. (2007).
Woodcut by John Pratt for the cover of 'A Pile of Hair' by Julian Davies. (2003). John Pratt's cover for 'Pile of Hair' by Julian Davies.jpg
Woodcut by John Pratt for the cover of 'A Pile of Hair' by Julian Davies. (2003).

Hansen and Day were graduates of the Graphic Investigation Workshop Archived 2012-03-24 at the Wayback Machine , Australian National University, where they studied under Petr Herel and Peter Finlay. Herel, an advocate of the artist's book, Head lecturer of the Graphic Investigation Workshop, and founder of the Artist Book Studio, and Finlay, a compositor and printer by trade, both inspired Hansen and Day to continue making books after their graduation. [2] [3]

Press name

Peter Finlay's name was chosen for their press name largely because of his lifelong involvement in letterpress printing, starting as an apprentice compositor, then working professionally as a printer, as a teacher of all aspects of book production in numerous technical colleges, and assisting other private press printers including Alec Bolton in the early days of Brindabella Press – a role in private press productions that Hansen and Day thought would otherwise be overlooked. [4]

Early history

Hansen and Day's first collaborative book was Imaginary Thoughts and Their Beings (1995), [5] printed in the Graphic Investigation Workshop's Artists Book Studio (ABS) established by Herel (1994). [6] Hansen supplied a prose poem while Day supplied eight etchings. Earlier books by Hansen were often experimental, unique copies using her own writing, some including textiles for pages, and mostly letterpress printed onto cheap coloured papers. Day's earlier books were more typical fine book productions utilizing tradition printmaking and letterpress techniques printed onto art papers. In 1996 Hansen and Day collaborated on a zine titled PAB [5] (taking its name from the initials of the French poet Pierre Albert-Birot), and invited others to contribute to each issue. There were 3 issues in an edition of 100 each. [6] In 1996 the Artists Book Studio was separated from the Graphic Investigation Workshop to make an independent studio space. Herel chose to stay with the Graphic Investigation Workshop. The ABS was renamed the Edition and Artist Book Studio (E+ABS) and was headed by Dianne Fogwell. The E+ABS employed Day as its first printer and binder. Hansen was also employed as a printer for some titles. [2] By late 1996 Hansen and Day had started gathering equipment to found a press. By 1997 they had printed their first title Burly Gryphon, dedicated to ‘Peter and Petr’ (Finlay and Herel) under the press name Finlay Press. [4] [7] [8]

Press Contributors

Finlay Press set out to work with authors and artists domiciled in Australia. The press wanted to establish a close working relationship with its contributors. [3] Some authors, such as Gary Catalano, Julian Davies, and Robin Wallace-Crabbe [4] [7] had more than one title published; Wallace-Crabbe also contributed as a visual artist to three book titles, one folio, and a broadsheet (see Bibliography, below).

G. W. Bot. 'Offerings' (1997). Two pages from 'offerings' by G. W. Bot.jpg
G. W. Bot. 'Offerings' (1997).

Yabber Yabber Publications

Yabber Yabber was the publishing arm of Finlay Press. [9] The publishing arrangements were simple: Finlay Press supplied half the money for the edition, and the remaining contributors supplied the other half, making all contributors publishers of the title. The finances were used solely for covering the cost of paper, nothing else. Once the edition was completed Finlay Press retained half the edition and the remainder were divided equally among the contributors. Hansen and Day closed Yabber Yabber Publications to gain complete control over all aspects of each title knowing that this would allow them to create a house style and print larger runs. [4]

Early titles

Early titles from Finlay Press were printed in small runs ranging between twelve and thirty copies (with the exception of one title: The Seven Proses, which ran to two hundred copies). These early books were experimental in binding and layout, but were always true to the traditional notions of a book. Conscious of contemporary changes in paper, inks, bindings and printing techniques, Hansen and Day continued to find a way to a house style suitable for editions of over one hundred that was affordable on both money and time. [7]


Establishment of a house style

Slipcase with linocut by Robin Wallace-Crabbe for 'Light and Water' by Gary Catalano. (2002). Slipcase for 'Light and Water'.jpg
Slipcase with linocut by Robin Wallace-Crabbe for 'Light and Water' by Gary Catalano. (2002).

Later titles, editions between 25 and 150 copies, were printed and bound with a firm house style. [7] Each publication used Magnani paper folded on the fore-edge, stitched with a Japanese binding and bound with a French false cover, then inserted into a slip case made from cardboard (usually a kraft stock). Some titles employed a concertina fold. Almost all titles were printed letterpress using hand-set Baskerville (with the exception of titling). The first title printed in the house style was Light and Water: Forty Prose Poems 1980-1999 (2002). Some of the later titles deviated from the house style to varying degrees. Two titles, I’ll Build You a Stairway to Paradise and Day by Day show the beginning of an abandonment of the house style. Day by Day was to be the last title published by Finlay Press. [10]

Finlay Lloyd

By 2005 Hansen and Day wanted to print lengthy prose, particularly fiction, in higher editions, but the practicalities of doing this with hand-set type was simply not possible due to time, and limited type stock. James Grieve approached Finlay Press with the possibility of printing a novel; using a linotype machine was the only possibility, but this didn't solve the problem of binding approximately 500 copies. The solution was to create a new publishing arm. Hansen and Day discussed these ideas with Julian Davies and Robin Wallace-Crabbe (two author/artists they had already collaborated with) and enthused by the idea of independent publishing they founded Finlay Lloyd. [1] The name Finlay, again, came from Peter Finlay and was retained from Finlay Press, and Lloyd was the name of Davies's father, a man who had little interest in books. [10] The first title, a collection of essays loosely discussing the fate of the book and literature titled When Books Die could be seen as a loose-fitting manifesto; it was released in 2006. [11]

Bibliography

Individual editions

Burly Gryphon (1997) [12] - Ingeborg Hansen (prose) - Phil Day (etchings)

Hungry Magpies (1997) [13] [14] - Bernard Hardy (poetry) - Ingeborg Hansen (lino cut, wood engraving) - Phil Day (etchings)

Bomber (1997) [15] - Emma Veal (poem) - Phil Day (etching)

Offerings (1997) [16] - G. W. Bot (poem, lino cuts)

Fth (1998) [17] - James Pollock (short story) - Ingeborg Hansen (lino cuts) - Phil Day (etchings)

The Last Lost Doughnut (1998) [18] - Robin Wallace-Crabbe (play) - Ingeborg Hansen (typography) - Virginia Wallace-Crabbe (bichromate photographs) - Phil Day (lino cut paper masks)

Pandora’s Cat (2000) [19] - Robin Wallace-Crabbe (poem) - Ingeborg Hansen (typography) - Katie Clemson (lino cut)

Formingle [20] - Craig Charlton (musical composition) - Kirsten Wolf (handmade paper) - Phil Day (etching)

I, I Am, A Blind Man (1999) [20] - Petr Herel (etchings)

Household: Eleven Poems (1998) [21] - Gary Catalano (poems, lino cuts) - Robin Wallace-Crabbe (lino cuts) - Ingeborg Hansen (lino cuts) - Phil Day (lino cuts)

Jabberwocky [22] - Julian McLucas

The Seven Proses (2000) [23] - Bernard Hardy (poems, wood engravings)

Goodbye Eggcup (2006) [24] - Phil Day (poetry, copper engraving, collograph)

House style editions

Light and Water (2002) [25] [26] - Gary Catalano (poetry) - Robin Wallace-Crabbe (etchings and lino cut)

A Pile of Hair (2003) [27] - Julian Davies (short story) - John Pratt (etchings and woodcuts) - Phil Day (Monotypes)

Through Hoops (2005) [28] - Gina Dow (poetry) - Robin Wallace-Crabbe (etchings) - Phil Day (copper engravings and linocut) - Ingeborg Hansen (wood engravings)

Familiar Objects (2005) [29] - Phil Day (essay, lithography – some copies hand coloured)

Cat’s Eye (2008) [30] - Julian Davies (short story) - Phil Day (copper plate engravings and monotype)

I’ll Build A Stairway To Paradise (2008) [31] - Hartmann Wallis (poetry) - Phil Day (lithography)

Day By Day (2009) [32] - James Grieve (translations of Pierre Albert Birot poems) - Phil Day (potato prints)

Top Ten Twentieth Century Monsters - Phil Day (lino cut, copper engraving, monotype)

Four Men and Their Ideas on the Erotic - Ingeborg Hansen (lino cut) - Robin Wallace-Crabbe (photo etching) - Robert Jones (lino cut) - Julian Davies (monotype) - Phil Day (copper engraving)

Broadsheet

An Egyptian - Hartmann Wallis (poem) - Robin Wallace-Crabbe (etchings)

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Printmaking</span> Process of creating artworks by printing, normally on paper

Printmaking is the process of creating artworks by printing, normally on paper, but also on fabric, wood, metal, and other surfaces. "Traditional printmaking" normally covers only the process of creating prints using a hand processed technique, rather than a photographic reproduction of a visual artwork which would be printed using an electronic machine ; however, there is some cross-over between traditional and digital printmaking, including risograph.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Linocut</span> Printmaking technique

Linocut, also known as lino print, lino printing or linoleum art, is a printmaking technique, a variant of woodcut in which a sheet of linoleum is used for a relief surface. A design is cut into the linoleum surface with a sharp knife, V-shaped chisel or gouge, with the raised (uncarved) areas representing a reversal of the parts to show printed. The linoleum sheet is inked with a roller, and then impressed onto paper or fabric. The actual printing can be done by hand or with a printing press.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Letterpress printing</span> Technique of relief printing using a printing press

Letterpress printing is a technique of relief printing for producing many copies by repeated direct impression of an inked, raised surface against individual sheets of paper or a continuous roll of paper. A worker composes and locks movable type into the "bed" or "chase" of a press, inks it, and presses paper against it to transfer the ink from the type, which creates an impression on the paper.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chris Wallace-Crabbe</span> Australian poet and emeritus professor

Christopher Keith Wallace-Crabbe is an Australian poet and emeritus professor in the Australian Centre, University of Melbourne.

Renaat Bosschaert (1938–2006) was a Belgian artist working in painting, graphic arts, sculpture, ceramic arts, engraving and printmaking.

Gary Catalano was an Australian poet and art critic.

Alan Perress Loney is a New Zealand writer, poet, editor, publisher and letterpress printer. His work has been published by University and private presses in New Zealand, Australia and North America. His own presses have printed and published many of New Zealand's most noted poets. He has also produced books himself, and in collaboration with artists and printmakers in New Zealand and overseas. Originally living and working in New Zealand, he now resides in Melbourne, Australia.

Danny Flynn, is a D&AD award-winning designer and printer, specialising in limited edition book design and illustration, and letterpress and screen-printing. His work in design, typography and printing led to him working in post-production design for the opening title sequence of the Hollywood film Gladiator.

<i>All Religions are One</i> Series of philosophical aphorisms by William Blake

All Religions are One is a series of philosophical aphorisms by William Blake, written in 1788. Following on from his initial experiments with relief etching in the non-textual The Approach of Doom (1787), All Religions are One and There is No Natural Religion represent Blake's first successful attempt to combine image and text via relief etching, and are thus the earliest of his illuminated manuscripts. As such, they serve as a significant milestone in Blake's career; as Peter Ackroyd points out, "his newly invented form now changed the nature of his expression. It had enlarged his range; with relief etching, the words inscribed like those of God upon the tables of law, Blake could acquire a new role."

Light and Water is a Finlay Press title. It is a collection of forty prose poems by Gary Catalano. None of the poems takes more than a page. They are set in 10pt Baskerville with no italic, except for the book or journal titles listed in the acknowledgements; no bold; and no colour, except for Flame Red for the title on the title page and a stripe of etching down the front cover printed in Ruby Red. This stripe – an etching by Robin Wallace-Crabbe - matches similar etching stripes also drawn by Wallace-Crabbe on sixteen of the forty pages of text. Each stripe bleeds off the fore-edge and, indeed, bleeds over onto the next page. So there are eight etchings, each providing two stripes. The etchings were printed first on an etching press followed by the text printed on a flatbed machine. Printing is on one side only of each sheet of Magnani paper, which is folded and bound with Japanese stabs into the spine of the French false cover. The slipcase is Kraft stock, on which a linocut by Robin Wallace-Crabbe is printed in warm red.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robin Wallace-Crabbe</span>

Robin Wallace-Crabbe has been actively involved in the Australian arts scene since the 1960s as a curator of exhibitions, literary reviewer, cartoonist, illustrator, book designer, publisher and a commenter on art. He is best known as a writer and visual artist where he has moved between the two mediums for over fifty years, having had thirteen novels published, five under his own name, and eight under the pseudonym – Robert Wallace, and since the early sixties he has had numerous solo exhibitions in Australian capital cities. Including a Survey Exhibition held at the Australian National University in 1980. And another Survey Exhibition touring Australian Regional galleries across Australia between 1990 and 1991. Sasha Grishin describes him as ‘ … a brilliant draughtsman and colourist, his [pictures] experiment with ideas of levels of perception. The observer and the observed share a common, ambiguous space which opens up an intellectual dimension to the [pictures], where the witty and provocative gestures suggest further levels of interpretation.’

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Petr Herel</span>

Petr Herel was born in Czechoslovakia. He studied at the Prague College of the Visual Arts between 1957 and 1961. Later he studied the Prague Academy of Applied Arts where he received a Master of Arts. In 1971 he was awarded a scholarship by the French Government of Parts. In 1973 he moved to Australia. Herel is known for making, the not so easily distinguished, artist's books – "... an art form which he has pioneered in this country [Australia]."; an art form where Herel "... embraces the figurative and the abstract, transcends fashion, yet occupies a place which is concentrated in the graphic mediums of drawing, printmaking, and the livre d'artiste."

Leonard Beaumont (1891–1986) was an English printmaker, graphic designer, illustrator and publisher. He was one of the earliest exponents of the new art of linocut printmaking in Britain during the early 1930s. He was one of a small group of progressive and highly regarded printmakers who exhibited at the Redfern and Ward Galleries in central London. Whilst working in relative isolation in Yorkshire, most of his contemporaries were linked in some way to the Grosvenor School of Modern Art, located in Pimlico, London.

Phil Day is an Australian artist. He is formally recognised as a Notable Graduate from the Graphic Investigation Workshop, Australian National University (ANU), alongside Alex Hamilton, Paul McDermott, Danie Mellor and Paul Uhlmann.

Julian Davies is an Australian author, co-founder and publisher of the non-profit press Finlay Lloyd, and Executive Officer of the Consensus Education Foundation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cassandra Atherton</span> Australian writer

Cassandra Atherton is an Australian prose-poet, critic, and scholar. She is an expert on prose poetry, contemporary public intellectuals in academia, and poets as public intellectuals, especially hibakusha poets. She is married to historian Glenn Moore.

Tanya Myshkin is an Australian printmaker, born in Adelaide, South Australia and based in Canberra. She is a printmaker known for her drawing, wood engraving and etching. Much of her imagery is centred around the natural world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Ruff</span> American artist and printer

David Ruff (1925-2007) was an American painter and print maker.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Allan Jordan</span> Mid-twentieth-century Australian painter, printmaker and teacher

Allan Holder Jordan (1898–1982) was an Australian painter, designer, printmaker and teacher.

Margaret Stirling Dobson ARE (1882-1965) was a Scottish painter, printmaker and author.

References

  1. 1 2 Braidwood Times, 21 Sept 2006: 'Finlay Lloyd Publishers Launched'. http://www.braidwoodtimes.com.au/news/local/news/columns/finlay-lloyd-publishers-launched/662010.aspx%5B%5D
  2. 1 2 Michael Agostino, The Australian National University School of Art: A history of the first 65 Years (Canberra, ANU, 2009), p. 243)
  3. 1 2 Caren Florance, 'The Survival of Letterpress in Australia', in The Blue Notebook: Journal for artists' books, Volume 6, No. 2, April 2012 ISSN   1751-1712 (Print), ISSN   1751-1720 (Online)
  4. 1 2 3 4 Hardy, 'Limited Editions, Unlimited Possibilities', Imprint, 1998. Volume 33, No 4. Article. Print Council of Australia. p. 14
  5. 1 2 "Australian National University (ANU) Library - Graphic Investigation Workshop - Graphic Investigation Workshop Collection Checklist". Archived from the original on 2012-03-27. Retrieved 2013-01-30.
  6. 1 2 Catalogue: Artists' Books and Limited Editions, 3 (Canberra: National Institute of the Arts, 2001.
  7. 1 2 3 4 Robin Wallace Crabbe, 'Making Artists Books', paper at National Library of Australia conference, 'An Inventive Magic: Donald Friend and his Diaries' (23–24 February 2001). http://www.nla.gov.au/events/donaldfriend/papers/rwallace_crabbe.html
  8. "The Australian National University (ANU) Library - Graphic Investigation Workshop - Collection". anulib.anu.edu.au. Archived from the original on 2006-09-15.
  9. Robin Wallace Crabbe, A Shy Genre... the Artist's Book (Canberra: National Library of Australia newsletter, November 1999. www.nla.gov.au/pub/nlanews/1999/.../Supplement_Story-06.pdf
  10. 1 2 Caren Florance, 'Finlay Press and Finlay Lloyd': http://ampersandduck.com/art/2012/03/20/finlay-press-finlay-lloyd/ Archived 2012-03-20 at the Wayback Machine
  11. Karen Lamb, "When Books Die: 15 Essays", The Australian, 28 October 2006; http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/when-books-die-15-essays/story-e6frg8no-1111112410151
  12. Burly gryphon. Finlay Press. 1997.
  13. Hungry magpies. Finlay Press. 1997.
  14. Hay, John; Arnold, John; Kilner, Kerry: The Bibliography of Australian Literature, volume 2 (St Lucia: University of Qld Press, 2004), p. 341-2, entry on Bernard Hardy.
  15. Bomber. Finlay Press. 1997.
  16. "National Gallery - Search the Collection".
  17. Catalogue searchnsw.gov.au Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine
  18. The last lost doughnut: A morality play in four acts. Finlay Press. 1998.
  19. Pandora's cat. Finlay Press, Yabber Yabber publications. 2000.
  20. 1 2 Formingle: Musical composition for solo bass clarinet. Finlay Press. 1998.
  21. "Household : Eleven poems / Gary Catalano".
  22. Jabberwocky. Finlay Press. 1998.
  23. The seven proses. Finlay Press. 2000.
  24. Goodbye Eggcup. Finlay Press. 2006.
  25. Light and water: Forty prose poems: 1980-1999. Finlay Press. 2002.
  26. Harrison, Jennifer, 'Every night I know I have seen the best corot', Island, no. 93-94, Winter-Spring 2003, p.175-182 ( ISSN   1035-3127) (Review of Light & Water by Gary Catalano)
  27. A pile of hair: A short story. Finlay Press. 2003.
  28. Through hoops. Finlay Press. 2004. OCLC   224553745.
  29. Familiar objects. Finlay Press. 2005.
  30. Cat's eye. Finlay Press. 2008.
  31. I'll build a stairway to paradise. Finlay Press. 2008.
  32. Day by day: A selection from Poèmes quotidiens. Finlay Press. 2009.

Canberra School of Art

Finlay Press

Gary Catalano and Finlay Press

Finlay Lloyd