(High Tide Press) Typopolis: A Journey to the City of Type. Designed and printed by John Ross. Tipoteca Italiana Fondazione and the High Tide Press. [Italy. East Hampton, New York. 2002.] Accordion fold. 13.5″ x 9.5″. Printed in many colors mostly on Fabriano A5 Disegno, with some paper by J. Barcham Green. A Vandercook type 4c, a Kobold FAG Control 525 Automatic and a Vandercook 219 were used to print this book. Wood type is used to form various designs – a castle, a factory, a city, skyscrapers, a gorge, a bridge, and a tower. Text in English, Italian and Greek from various sources. Black cloth boards, with a recess on the front board containing a “mock” plastic printer’s type block with the title printed backwards in various colors. Black cloth slipcase with woodtype letterpress printed, brilliantly colored,full page title label. One in an edition of 25 copies, signed by John Ross. Fine.

Almost all the type is from the collection of the Tipoteca Italiana, with a few fonts from the High Tide Press in New York. In his Introduction, John Ross writes: “Five years ago … [I heard of] a newly forming type museum in a town about one hour north of Venice.

“… Clare Romano, my artist wife, and [I went] to the town of Cornuda, in the province of Treviso, to visit the just organized Tipoteca Italiana, a foundation created for the purpose of collecting and preserving the type and presses used in the letterpress printing industry. …

“The driving force behind this new museum of type and presses is Silvio Antiga, the president of the Foundation and a director of the printing firm of Antiga Grafiche, a thriving, high quality press for posters, fine books, and other commercial and industrial printed material. The unmatched energy and enthusiasm of Silvio Antiga is the prime reason why this new collection of type and presses has developed so rapidly and efficiently into one of the most complete collections in Italy.

“Antiga wrote to over sixty of the most prominent printing firms in Italy to ask if they would send their rarely used type and other equipment to form the core of the growing collection. The response was overwhelming and the new museum was flooded with thousands of fonts of type, scores of presses, type setting machines and other devices that had been outmoded by newer systems.

“Of course, this mass of material needed to be housed, so the Tipoteca bought and reconstructed a deconsecrated church nearby, erected new structures and designed new and efficient spaces to show some of the collected equipment. Several warehouses are storing more presses and type. Each press is repaired to working condition before it is displayed, a job which challenges their dedicated mechanics and technicians.

“I suggested to Antiga that a working printshop could be used to produce artists books, posters or prints to keep the letterpress tradition alive by artists and designers using the equipment collected in the Tipoteca. He agreed and this book is one of the first efforts to produce new work using old technology.”

A tour de force by Ross using old type to form not only text, but brilliantly colored illustrations.

Related posts:

1. Refinery – a 3-d book from John Ross
2. Metropolis, an artist’s book from John Ross
3. A Home for Hominstructs – John Ross and Russian Constructivism

(Wayzgoose Press) the terrific days of summer. Prose Poem by Ken Bolton. Katoomba. 1998. Accordion fold; 25p. each12.75” x 18.25”. Illustrated with multi-color graphic devices of collographs and monoprints, all hand-inked. Designed and letterpress printed on Magnani Incisioni 222 gsm by Mike Hudson and Jadwiga Jarvis. A separate 12p. folded illustrated Introduction by George Alexander printed on Mohawk Superfine in pocket of inside front cover. Bound in white leather with multicolored onlays and inlays.

Jadwiga Jarvis writes: “The orange ‘cloud’ shapes are collographs. After much testing and experimenting, we made the blocks out of a range of amorphous materials, wonderfully inappropriate for orthodox letterpress printing, and consequently managed to achieve something resembling an etched image which changed slightly with each pull. The graphic devices are monoprints, hand-inked on the press and later further enhanced with handpainting. In other words, each copy in the edition is unique. All in all, a huge, nerve-racking, but immensely satisfying job!

The other details … the author’s name is Ken Bolton. Bolton is a brilliant and significant contemporary Australian poet.

“This was more or less our departure point for the design of the book. The visual elements are all ‘the same’ but in constant transition, their colours, position on the page, relationship to each other and to the text ever-changing like the mood of the poem. The introduction will be an analysis/appreciation of the poet, the poem and our visual/typographic treatment of it.”

She also states: “Everything you have before you has been printed letterpress the hard way, ie. from original materials, not from …blocks. Even the squiggly line is a genuine lead rule, cajoled into performing acrobatics. The ‘binding’ involved gluing togetheralmost a half a kilometer of paper … by the time this job is finished we’ll be ready for a long holiday – in a Home for the Bewildered …!!”

We also have one regular binding of this book available for $2500.

Related posts:

1. Frankenstein, in a fine designer binding from Andrew Brown
2. Logan Elm Press and Papermill – A Letter of Columbus.
3. Paul Delrue binding of a John Clare poem

(Wayzgoose Press) the terrific days of summer. Prose Poem by Ken Bolton. Katoomba. 1998. Accordion fold; 25p. each12.75” x 18.25”. Illustrated with multi-color graphic devices of collographs and monoprints, all hand-inked. Designed and letterpress printed on Magnani Incisioni 222 gsm by Mike Hudson and Jadwiga Jarvis. A separate 12p. folded illustrated Introduction by George Alexander printed on Mohawk Superfine in pocket of inside front cover. Contained in a multi-colored cloth covered portfolio on which the title and some of the graphic devices are printed. No. 20 in an edition of 35 signed copies, of which 30 are for sale. Prospectus laid in. Small bump at lower outer side of box, else fine.

Jadwiga Jarvis writes: “The orange ‘cloud’ shapes are collographs. After much testing and experimenting, we made the blocks out of a range of amorphous materials, wonderfully inappropriate for orthodox letterpress printing, and consequently managed to achieve something resembling an etched image which changed slightly with each pull. The graphic devices are monoprints, hand-inked on the press and later further enhanced with handpainting. In other words, each copy in the edition is unique. All in all, a huge, nerve-racking, but immensely satisfying job!

The other details … the author’s name is Ken Bolton. Bolton is a brilliant and significant contemporary Australian poet.

“This was more or less our departure point for the design of the book. The visual elements are all ‘the same’ but in constant transition, their colours, position on the page, relationship to each other and to the text ever-changing like the mood of the poem. The introduction will be an analysis/appreciation of the poet, the poem and our visual/typographic treatment of it.”

She also states: “Everything you have before you has been printed letterpress the hard way, ie. from original materials, not from …blocks. Even the squiggly line is a genuine lead rule, cajoled into performing acrobatics. The ‘binding’ involved gluing togetheralmost a half a kilometer of paper … by the time this job is finished we’ll be ready for a long holiday – in a Home for the Bewildered …!!”

We also have received the very special Designer Binding in full leather of this book. One of only 2 copies.

Related posts:

1. Logan Elm Press and Papermill – A Letter of Columbus.
2. Ninja Press – The Real World of Manuel Cordova.
3. Janus Press – Rise: Governors Bay Sept/Nov 2000.

Bold, brash and colorful!

(Wayzgoose Press) Ockers. A prose poem by the poet called π.o. – or Pi.O. Katoomba. NSW. Australia. 1999. Concertina format. Approximately 40′ long when fully opened, folds into 14″ x 19.5″ pages. Conceived, designed and illustrated with linocuts by Mike Hudson, and the type set by Jadwiga Jarvis. All aspects of production were manually executed at the press by the two partners. Printed letterpress on Magnani Incisioni using a Western proof press. Printed cloth covered portfolio together with an Introduction and a Glossary of Ockerisms. No. 22 in an edition of 40 signed and numbered copies, of which numbers I-V are not for sale. Prospectus laid in. Fine.

This work was part of an ongoing series of extravagant typographic acrobatics – pushing the envelope with the marriage of exciting typography and exacting and complex illustration. All these factors combine to dramatize and express the energy and aesthetic shock of new contemporary poetry. The partnership of Jadwiga Jarvis and Mike Hudson has previously published Dada Kampfen un Leben und Tod (Dada fight for Life and Death) in 1996, and The Terrific Days of Summer in 1998. (Both these titles sold out on publication.) In this series of typographical exuberances they recently published their ‘tour de force’ – Ockers. Ockers is a prose poem by the contemporary Greek-born Australian poet called ?.o. – or Pi.O. (N.B. ?.o. wrote one of the two introductory pieces for Dada Kampfen.) It’s a satirical look at the “Ocker” phenomenon as seen through the eyes of a bemused outsider. The Ocker rage (one could hardly call it a ‘cultural’ movement) lasted for about a decade: films were made, fame and fortune achieved by some (Paul Hogan of “Crocodile Dundee” amongst them). In international terms, Jonathan Swift’s definition of a ‘yahoo’ as used in Gulliver’s Travels can be related to an Ocker.

The poem is a kind of social documentary of the events of the time. Since the whole thing was a bit of a joke, the work is treated assuch and designed a la comic book: voice balloons, thought bubbles, frames around the pages, etc. To keep in the spirit of ‘Ockerism’ (bold, brash and boisterous), and at the same time with the art/commercial art/comic book trends of the 60s and 70s, the illustrations (big, bold, boisterous and very colorful) have echoes of Roy Lichtenstein and Andy Warhol mixed in with pure Mike Hudson. The typography is, as ever, anarchic, using every sans serif known to man (plus a few unknown, hand drawn especially forthe occasion) and a few serifed type faces thrown in. The colors are numerous, the number of illustrations too great to count. The average number of passes through the press per page was EIGHT, often more … Partly due to the number of different colors used, and partly to the complexity of the layout – in a couple of instances four passes just to print all the black elements on the page.

The Wayzgoose Press’s books in this series are held by the following institutions: The National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC; Cary Graphic Arts Collection, Rochester Institute of Technology; Sterling Memorial Library, Yale; Marriott Library, University of Utah; Kennedy Library, California Polytechnic State; Green Library, Stanford University;University of Ohio Library, Athens; Louisiana State University Special Collections Library, Baton Rouge; The British Library, London;as well as in distinguished private collections.

As part of their grand trilogy of illustrated ‘in-your-face’ typographically exuberant book-making, this work, with its roistering,rollicking narrative, is arguably one of their best and boldest books!! The bulk of the edition was sold pre-publication.

Related posts:

1. Ken Campbell
2. Wayzgoose Press Ephemera
3. Paul Delrue binding of a John Clare poem

A work of great creativity inspired by Hollywood heroines of the 30’s and 40’s

(Wayzgoose Press) Dorothy Lamour’s life as a phrase book. By Noëlle Janaczewska. Introduction by the author. Katoomba. Australia. 2006. Bound as a concertina, the book consists of 11 triple-gate pages, folded to approx. 17” x 12”; opened each page measures approx. 24” x 17”.This typographic rendition of Noëlle Janaczewska’s play was conceived,designed and illustrated with multi-colored linocuts by Mike Hudson. Hand set in a variety of types by Jadwiga Jarvis. The book was printed in numerous colors with further illuminations by hand on some pages making each copy in the edition unique. Hand printed letterpress on Magnani Incisioni 220 gsm on a Western proof press, the book is contained in a brightly patterned cloth-covered box with the title printed on a recessed label and a purple ribbon tie. An edition of 30 numbered copies, signed by the poet, Jarvis and Hudson. Numbers I-V are not for sale. Of the remaining 25 copies, three are in designer bindings. Fine.

“Noëlle Janaczewska is an award-winning Sydney based playwright whose work has been staged locally and internationally, as well as broadcast on radio. Her play, Dorothy Lamour’s life as a phrase book, is the third in a series of monologues inspired by Hollywood heroines of the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s, and was written for a solo performer. In it, the ‘glamour girl’ made famous by her ‘road movies’ in which she co-starred with Bing Crosby and Bob Hope, finds herself in a poem instead of a movie and marooned in a dingy Sydney hotel. However, as Janaczewska’s characters do not conform to the romantic air-head type assigned to them in their films, Dorothy’s miscasting leads to much reflection and soul-searching.

“In order to maintain the spirit of a performance, we have given the book a theatrical setting; the hotel room, which appears on every one of the 11 gate-fold pages, is its ‘stage’. Onto this stage various scenarios (suggested by the text,but not a literal depiction thereof) are introduced. We aimed for the contradictions, confusions and contrasts, for the elusive and enigmatic, the tangential and bizarre. The ‘props’ range between curious and surreal, and include a chessboard, a maze, a giant pineapple, a clapperboard, and an overweight Ronald McDonald. (Oh yes, there is also Dorothy’s trademark hibiscus.) The introduction and colophon pages feature the same room/stage, but on these the set is empty and shown as if unlit, alluding to the characteristic hiatus of a theatrical presentation both before curtain-up and after the final curtain.” – Prospectus.

A tour de force.

Related posts:

1. Thorny Devil Press – The Sydney Morning.
2. Wayzgoose Press Ephemera
3. Larry Thomas – Gift of Life

(Wayzgoose Press) Orpheus through the Rear-Vision Mirror. Poem by George Alexander. Introduction by the poet. Katoomba. 2002. Book conceived and designed by Mike Hudson and handset in a variety of 14 point types by Jadwiga Jarvis. 32p. 13.5” x 9.5”. Profusely illustrated with collographs and monoprints hand-inked on the press thus making each copy in this edition unique. Multi-colored word panels, each hand-inked. All printing is letterpress, including the background, in numerous colors on cotton-alpha Magnani Incisioni. Graphic devices also hand inked. Several passes were needed to execute each procedure, with the total number of passes per page averaging a dozen. Contained in a thick paper ‘envelope’, and housed in a box covered in red cloth, printed with the title in blue. One of 32 numbered copies, signed by the poet, designer and printer. No. 20 of only 27 copies for sale in a total edition of 32 numbered copies, signed by the poet, designer and printer. Prospectus laid in. Fine.

“Since the early 1970s George Alexander has worn a diagonal path between literature and the visual arts, writing for performance, radio, and the printed page, as well as a diverse array of art criticism, … [His] work has been translated into French, Italian and German, and he has been the recipient of Fellowships from the Australia Council and the New South Wales Ministry of Arts. … He has published three literary texts, one of which was awarded the NSW Premier’s Award, 1999.” – Prospectus.

“This Wayzgoose Press production is the fourth in a series of contemporary Australian poets, and is, as usual, not only textually exciting, but typographically inventive and layered.

“The page is designed to resemble the ‘fold-out’ function of a route map (as with the Orphean journey narrative), and the whole work can be viewed when fully unfolded and laid open. There are cut-out shapes that camouflage themselves according to what, by chance, will insinuate itself behind them. An angry paint splatter … punctuates the stream of [words] and gives an edge to the growing sense of alienation suggested by the poem’s descriptions of reality.”- Prospectus.

The poem was specially commissioned for this truly exciting and unique work. Highly recommended as a great exhibition piece – a work that vividly demonstrates what is still creatively and technically possible using 500 year old methods of printing in a digital age!

When the poem is completely revealed the book opens up to approximately ten feet in length.

Related posts:

1. Wayzgoose Press Ephemera
2. Janus Press – Rise: Governors Bay Sept/Nov 2000.
3. Ninja Press – The Real World of Manuel Cordova.

(High Tide Press) Type Faces. Design and prints by John Ross. Quotes from various sources. High Tide Press. East Hampton, New York; Tipoteca Italiana Fondazione. [Italy.] 2007. 12.25” x 11” x 2.25”. Accordion Fold. Color prints created using only typefaces. The majority of the paper used was Fabriano Rosapina in several weights. Some of the quotations are on Speckletone tinted paper. Bound by James DiMarcantonio at the Hope Bindery in cloth, with the accordion fold book glued to the base of the box. The front of the box is almost covered with a painted wooden ‘mock-up’ of a printer’s tray which creates the title in reverse and painted in various colors, with the design forming a face. Red ribbon allows for ease of opening the box. Cloth covered board slipcase covered in the same material and inlay on both sides of a page of drawings for the prints as well as the title page. One in an edition of 20 copies, numbered and signed by John Ross. New.

Ross writes: “These symbolic faces, all made from existing type, are quoting statements on a adjoining, ranging from the comic to the critical. The prints and the text together form the essence of the book, which is a reflection on the variety of ways people live together.

“I am endebted to the staff of the Tipoteca Italiana for their encouragement, advice and technical help. The coordinator of this group, Sandro Berra was helpful in many ways, as translator, curator and map maker. … Of course, the entire Foundation would not exist without it’s charismatic and motivated president, Silvio Antiga, whose energy and enthusiasm was always present.”

Ross also states in the Colophon: “This collection of faces, made from type, was produced at the High Tide Press print shop in East Hampton, N.Y. and at the Tipoteca Italiana foundation in Cornuda, a town in the Veneto province of Italy. The enormous quantity of type and presses at the Tipoteca made this an ideal place to assemble this project.”

Note: Already in the collections of R.I.T., Rochester New York, & The Library of Congress.

Related posts:

1. Visible Cities from High Tide Press, based on Italo Calvino’s work, a Venetian fable
2. Venice Saved from the Sea, a High Tide Press book with fold-out etching
3. An Architectural Bestiary, from High Tide Press