Private press
Encyclopedia
Private press is a term used in the field of book collecting
to describe a printing press
operated as an artistic or craft-based endeavor, rather than as a purely commercial venture. The term is also used in the record
collecting field to describe records released in small runs by individuals, as opposed to records released by record labels.
, Sir Emery Walker
and their followers. The movement is often considered to have begun with the founding of Morris' Kelmscott Press in 1890, following a lecture on printing given by Walker at the Arts and Crafts Exhibition Society
in November 1888. Those involved in the movement created books by traditional printing and binding methods, with an emphasis on the book as a work of art and manual skill, as well as a medium for the transmission of information. Morris was greatly influenced by medieval printed books and the 'Kelmscott style' had a great, and not always positive, influence on later private presses and commercial book-design. The movement was an off-shoot of the Arts and Crafts movement, and represented a rejection of the cheap mechanised book-production methods which developed in the Victorian era. The books were made with high quality materials (hand-made paper, traditional inks and, in some cases, specially-designed typefaces), and were often bound by hand. Careful consideration was given to format, page-design, type, illustration and binding, in order to produce a unified whole. The movement dwindled during the worldwide depression of the 1930s, as the market for luxury goods evaporated. Since the 1950s, there has been a resurgence of interest, especially among artists, in the experimental use of letterpress printing, paper-making and hand-bookbinding in producing small editions of 'artists' books', and among amateur (and a few professional) enthusiasts for traditional printing methods and for the production 'values' of the private press movement.
Book collecting
Book collecting is the collecting of books, including seeking, locating, acquiring, organizing, cataloging, displaying, storing, and maintaining whatever books are of interest to a given individual collector. The love of books is bibliophilia, and someone who loves to read, admire, and collect...
to describe a printing press
Printing press
A printing press is a device for applying pressure to an inked surface resting upon a print medium , thereby transferring the ink...
operated as an artistic or craft-based endeavor, rather than as a purely commercial venture. The term is also used in the record
Gramophone record
A gramophone record, commonly known as a phonograph record , vinyl record , or colloquially, a record, is an analog sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove...
collecting field to describe records released in small runs by individuals, as opposed to records released by record labels.
Private Press Movement
The term 'Private Press' is often used to refer to a movement in book production which flourished at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries under the influence of the scholar-artisans William MorrisWilliam Morris
William Morris 24 March 18343 October 1896 was an English textile designer, artist, writer, and socialist associated with the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood and the English Arts and Crafts Movement...
, Sir Emery Walker
Emery Walker
Sir Emery Walker was an English engraver and printer.Born in London, Walker took an active role in many organisations that were at the heart of the Arts and Crafts movement, including the Art Workers Guild, the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings and the Arts and Crafts Exhibition...
and their followers. The movement is often considered to have begun with the founding of Morris' Kelmscott Press in 1890, following a lecture on printing given by Walker at the Arts and Crafts Exhibition Society
Arts and Crafts Exhibition Society
The Arts and Crafts Exhibition Society was formed in London in 1887 to promote the exhibition of decorative arts alongside fine arts. Its exhibitions, held annually at the New Gallery from 1888–90, and roughly every three years thereafter, were important in the flowering of the British Arts and...
in November 1888. Those involved in the movement created books by traditional printing and binding methods, with an emphasis on the book as a work of art and manual skill, as well as a medium for the transmission of information. Morris was greatly influenced by medieval printed books and the 'Kelmscott style' had a great, and not always positive, influence on later private presses and commercial book-design. The movement was an off-shoot of the Arts and Crafts movement, and represented a rejection of the cheap mechanised book-production methods which developed in the Victorian era. The books were made with high quality materials (hand-made paper, traditional inks and, in some cases, specially-designed typefaces), and were often bound by hand. Careful consideration was given to format, page-design, type, illustration and binding, in order to produce a unified whole. The movement dwindled during the worldwide depression of the 1930s, as the market for luxury goods evaporated. Since the 1950s, there has been a resurgence of interest, especially among artists, in the experimental use of letterpress printing, paper-making and hand-bookbinding in producing small editions of 'artists' books', and among amateur (and a few professional) enthusiasts for traditional printing methods and for the production 'values' of the private press movement.
Notable private presses
- Ad insigne pinus in AugsburgAugsburgAugsburg is a city in the south-west of Bavaria, Germany. It is a university town and home of the Regierungsbezirk Schwaben and the Bezirk Schwaben. Augsburg is an urban district and home to the institutions of the Landkreis Augsburg. It is, as of 2008, the third-largest city in Bavaria with a...
from 1594 to 1619. - Strawberry Hill PressStrawberry Hill PressThe Strawberry Hill Press was established on 25 June 1757 at Strawberry Hill, by the house's owner, Horace Walpole. He called it the Officina Arbuteana, and many of the first editions of his own works were printed there. The first works printed at Strawberry Hill, on 8 August 1757, were two odes...
— the Officina Arbuteana — of Horace Walpole. - The Press of Gaetano PolidoriGaetano PolidoriGaetano Polidori was an Italian writer and scholar living in London. He was the son of Agostino Ansano Polidori , a physician and poet who lived and practised in his native Bientina, near Pisa, Tuscany....
. - Daniel PressDaniel PressThe Daniel Press was a private press run by Charles Henry Olive Daniel and members of his family. Daniel began printing in 1845, when still a schoolboy, at Frome in Somerset, and continued to print books and ephemera well into the twentieth century, latterly at Oxford where he ultimately became...
in Oxford from 1874 to 1903. - Kelmscott Press set up by William MorrisWilliam MorrisWilliam Morris 24 March 18343 October 1896 was an English textile designer, artist, writer, and socialist associated with the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood and the English Arts and Crafts Movement...
in 1891. - The Mosher Press set up by Thomas Bird MosherThomas Bird MosherThomas Bird Mosher was an American publisher. He is notable for his contributions to the private press movement in the United States.-Early life:...
in 1891 in Portland, MainePortland, MainePortland is the largest city in Maine and is the county seat of Cumberland County. The 2010 city population was 66,194, growing 3 percent since the census of 2000...
. - Roycroft Press set up by Elbert HubbardElbert HubbardElbert Green Hubbard was an American writer, publisher, artist, and philosopher. Raised in Hudson, Illinois, he met early success as a traveling salesman with the Larkin soap company. Today Hubbard is mostly known as the founder of the Roycroft artisan community in East Aurora, New York, an...
in 1895. - Doves PressDoves PressDoves Press was a private press based in Hammersmith, London. It was founded by T. J. Cobden Sanderson before 1900 when he asked Sir Emery Walker to join him . Cobden Sanderson commissioned the press's type, which was drawn under Walker's supervision, and set up the Doves Bindery to bind the books...
founded by T. J. Cobden SandersonT. J. Cobden SandersonThomas James Cobden-Sanderson was an English artist and bookbinder associated with the Arts and Crafts movement.He was born in Alnwick, Northumberland, as Thomas James Sanderson...
and Emery WalkerEmery WalkerSir Emery Walker was an English engraver and printer.Born in London, Walker took an active role in many organisations that were at the heart of the Arts and Crafts movement, including the Art Workers Guild, the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings and the Arts and Crafts Exhibition...
in 1900. - Dun Emer PressDun Emer PressThe Dun Emer Press was an Irish private press founded in 1902 by Elizabeth Yeats and her brother William Butler Yeats, part of the Celtic Revival. It was named after the legendary Emer and evolved into the Cuala Press.-History:...
, founded by Elizabeth YeatsElizabeth YeatsElizabeth Corbett Yeats , known as Lolly, was born at 23 Fitzroy Road, London. She was the daughter of the Irish artist John Butler Yeats and sister of W. B., Jack and Susan Mary "Lily" Yeats. She trained and worked as an art teacher and was a member of William Morris's circle in London before her...
in 1903 - Gregynog PressGregynog PressThe Gregynog Press, also known as Gwasg Gregynog, is a printing press and charity in Wales.Founded in 1922 by the sisters and art patrons Margaret and Gwendoline Davies, the press was named after their mansion Gregynog Hall. It rose to prominence in the pre-war era as among the more important...
(1922-) Founded by Gwendoline and Margaret Davis - Trovillion Press at the Sign of the Silver HorseTrovillion PressViolet De Mars Trovillion and Hal W. Trovillion 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.In 1904, after Hal left Indiana University, he moved to Herrin...
, set up by Hal W. Trovillion in Herrin, IllinoisHerrin, IllinoisHerrin is a city in Williamson County, Illinois, United States. The population was 12,501 at the 2010 census. It is home to Country Musicstar David Lee Murphy, the hometown of baseball's Cleveland shortstop Ray Chapman, and the hometown of San Diego State University men's basketball coach Steve...
in 1908. - The Golden Cockerel PressGolden Cockerel PressGolden Cockerel Press was a major English private press operating between 1920 and 1961.The Press was founded by Harold Midgley Taylor in 1920 and was first in Waltham St Lawrence in Berkshire where he had unsuccessfully tried fruit farming...
founded by Harold Midgley Taylor in 1920. - Nonesuch PressNonesuch PressNonesuch Press was a private press founded in 1922 in London by Francis Meynell, his wife Vera Mendel, and David Garnett.-History:Nonesuch Press's first book, a volume of John Donne's Love Poems was issued in May 1923. In total, the press produced more than 140 books. The press was at its peak in...
founded in 1922 by Francis and Vera Meynell, and David Garnett. - Rampant Lions PressRampant Lions PressThe Rampant Lions Press was a fine letterpress printing firm founded by Will Carter and continued by his son Sebastian . It started life as a private press in 1924, when Will was still a schoolboy. After the war, his interest in printing was such that he decided to try to establish the Press on a...
founded by Will Carter in 1924 and continued by his son Sebastian until 2008. - Nancy CunardNancy CunardNancy Clara Cunard was a writer, heiress and political activist. She was born into the British upper class but strongly rejected her family's values, devoting much of her life to fighting racism and fascism...
's Hours Press in France from 1928 to 1931. - The Perishable Press Limited founded by Walter HamadyWalter HamadyWalter Hamady or, in full, Walter Samuel Haatoum Hamady, is an American artist, book designer, papermaker, poet and teacher. He is especially known for his innovative efforts in letterpress printing, bookbinding, and papermaking...
in 1964. - M. Bernard LoatesM. Bernard LoatesM. Bernard Loates is a Canadian artist, lithographer and publisher in the manner of the private press movement. The private press movement refers to a printing press or publishing method that is artistic based, with great attention to detail as opposed to commercially based...
, A Private Press, founded in 1968. - Happy Dragons' PressHappy Dragons' PressThe Happy Dragons' Press is a non-profit private press in North Essex, UK, which publishes limited edition volumes of poetry using letterpress printing methods. There are currently two series produced by the press, the Dragon Poems in Translation series and the New Garland series...
founded in 1969. - Something Else PressSomething Else PressSomething Else Press was founded by Dick Higgins in 1963. It published many important Intermedia texts and artworks by Higgins, Ray Johnson, Gertrude Stein, George Brecht, Daniel Spoerri, Bern Porter, John Cage, Emmett Williams and others. The Something Else Press was an early publisher of...
operated by Dick HigginsDick HigginsDick Higgins was a composer, poet, printer, and early Fluxus artist. Higgins was born in Cambridge, England, but raised in the United States in various parts of New England, including Worcester, Massachusetts, Putney, Vermont, and Concord, New Hampshire.Like other Fluxus artists, Higgins studied...
from 1964 to 1973. - PrivatePress.com the private press movement with today's technology.
- Stanbrook Abbey PressStanbrook AbbeyStanbrook Abbey is an abbey built as a contemplative house for Benedictine nuns. It was founded in 1625 in Cambrai, Flanders, then part of the Spanish Netherlands, under the auspices of the English Benedictine Congregation.-History:...
, which was revived by Dames Hildelith CummingHildelith CummingDame Hildelith Cumming was a British nun and musician. Born as Barbara Theresa Cumming, she was a convert to the Roman Catholic faith.She was head printer for Stanbrook Abbey from 1956 until her death in 1991...
and Felicitas CorriganFelicitas CorriganDame Felicitas Corrigan OSB was an English Benedictine nun, author and humanitarian.She was born Kathleen Corrigan into a large Liverpool family, and developed a talent as an organist. In 1933, she entered Stanbrook Abbey in Worcestershire as a nun, and eventually became director of its choir...
. - John FassJohn FassJohn Stroble Fass was an American graphic designer and a printer of fine press books. Fass designed books for the leading American publishers of limited edition books. Collectors of private press books also remember John Fass for the handcrafted books he printed on a tabletop printing press in his...
The Hammer Creek Press, founded by John Fass in 1950.