An occasional newsletter about forthcoming books and events
 

December 2020

In this newsletter . . .

two books with wood engravings from our backlist

soon to be published: Making paper at Abbey Mills

an earlier Zoom talk:
Printing books at Oxford University Press, 1670-1780 - now available online

Engravings by Paul Kershaw and Simon Brett

At nightfall on the shortest day

An evocative text by Peter Davidson matched with a moody wood-engraving by Paul Kershaw. A few copies are still available of this very limited edition at £55 each plus p&p.

This was a pleasing technical challenge all round. I printed Peter Davidson's text on a dampened hand-made paper, probably from the Batchelor mill, on our big proof press, but the two blocks that Paul Kershaw engraved for the illustration went on the Albion where make-ready is a great deal easier. There is some very subtle engraving in the upper block which rather made me nervous but it printed just fine. You can see a little more of the book at our website.

If you'd like to buy a copy just email us with your name, postal address (and a phone number if you're outside the UK) and we'll work out the shipping cost and email an invoice which you can pay online with a credit card.

A long story

For this title we matched Andrew Motion's four-part narrative poem with four fine engravings by Simon Brett. Like Davidson's text, Motion's poem was set in Fournier italic. You can see a little more of the book at our website. Copies are £72 each plus p&p.

If you'd like to buy a copy just email us with your name, postal address (and a phone number if you're outside the UK) and we'll work out the shipping cost and email an invoice which you can pay online with a credit card.

How it was done with esparto grass, with sample papers from the mill

This is now with the binders and we look forward to seeing how it looks later this month.

There will be just 65 copies for sale. (Subscribers will receive their copies automatically with the usual 15% discount.)

I've only just finished distributing all the type - possibly more than I have ever hand-set for a book, in five or six different typefaces. It was also the first time I've used a case of a large wooden ornament that I acquired years ago, where I cannot remember. In a recent newsletter I included an image of the cover paper that I've printed with it, and here's how it looked on the bed of the proof press. It had the right feel, but I suspect it's one of those things you can only use once!

If you're wondering why the waves are going in the same direction in the type as in the printed sheet, it's because there are two sets of waves, one going one way and one going the other. I used one set for the front cover and the other for the back.

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Copyright © Martyn Ould 2020