
progress on Into the lagoon		A collection of images by Leslie Gerry with an early twentieth-century text
copies now available		The last step in production - binding by Ludlow Bookbinders - is complete and copies are now available. You can buy it online at our shop.
The book comes in a four-flap case in full cloth, the flaps secured with tape around buttons. Open up the first flaps . . . . . . and then the second pair to reveal the book which is quarter bound in red cloth with the title debossed in gold on the spine. One of Leslie's images from the book features on the front and back boards: To see the pages turned do watch this short video.


progress on Twelve poems from the Manyoshu		Woodcuts by Naoko Matsubara, inspired by Japanese poems
planned for late 2021		Most of the action on this new book is currently happening in Canada where Alan Flint is editioning the twelve woodcuts that Naoko Matsubara has prepared having been inspired by the dozen poems she has chosen from the Manyoshu.
For our part here at The Old School Press, the paper for the title sheet has been chosen and, yes, I did yield to the delicious torinoko kozo that Nancy Jacobi at the Japanese Paper Place in Toronto sent over for me to think about. That thinking didn't take long and the requisite number of sheets have gone to Alan for hand-tearing to the right size. They will be sent over to us with all the printed sheets when they are ready. As his work has progressed Alan has been sending over some photos and it's great to get a glimpse of what's happening 3,500 miles away. I'm compiling them into a picture diary which you can find here. I'll be adding to this as work proceeds both there and here, and I'll announce updates in future newsletters. Here's one photo from the sequence so far: One other decision has been made and that is that I shall be setting the text throughout in Optima. I have a good range though only small amounts in each size, enough however for these short poems and the ancillary texts on the title and colophon sheets. While work on the contents proceeds in Canada, over here we are working with Ludlow Bookbinders on the detailed design of the portfolio that will hold them. In a previous newsletter we previewed the large image that Naoko has prepared to wrap right around the binding. The material for the inside lining has to be chosen and the precise way that the flaps will work has to be decided. More anon.


news of Two shows of fine press books		Venues in Ludlow and Bath - we will be there!
both in November 2021		It has been so long since presses and buyers have been able to get together, and the third postponement of the Oxford Fine Press Book Fair was a great disappointment though understandable - around half of the exhibitors come from outside the UK and there was no guarantee that travel restrictions would be lifted sufficiently for them to make the trip.
However, we're delighted to report that - if you haven't heard already - two other events are being run in the UK, and details of them follow. Naturally, The Old School Press will be at both. To Have & To Hold 2021 An exhibition of Fine Press, Private Press, Artists’ Books & Fine Bindings Reed Contemporary Books, first floor, 6 Chapel Row, Bath BA1 1HN 13 to 27 November 2021, Monday to Saturday, 1000 to 1600. This is the first show Josie Reed has put on for a few years but follows on from those she did in the late 90’s and early years of the 21st century in her gallery at 6 Chapel Row in Bath and at various galleries in London. This is a selling exhibition that will be held in the beautiful panelled offices of Reed Contemporary Books on the first floor of 6 Chapel Row, a listed Georgian building just off Queen Square, close to the heart of Bath. Ludlow Fine Book Fair The Clive Pavilion, Ludlow Racecourse, Ludlow SY8 2BT 1030-1700 Saturday 6 and 1030-1600 Sunday 7 November 2021 This show is being organised by Ludlow Bookbinders (binders to The Old School Press amongst others). Forty stands are planned, showing beautiful books, traditional crafts, and artisanal supplies. Refreshments on course.

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Copyright © Martyn Ould 2021