The Wayzgoose Affair, signed, by Jadwiga Jarvis
(Wayzgoose Press) The Wayzgoose Affair. [By] Jadwiga Jarvis. The Wayzgoose Press. Katoomba. 2007. 177p. 14” x 11.5”. Black cloth boards with illustrated endpapers. Black and red dust jacket. One in an edition of 500 copies. Signed specially for us by Jadwiga Jarvis. New.
Carolynne Skinner, an Australian-based publisher and arts promoter, in writing about this book states: “In compiling The Wayzgoose Affair, Jadwiga Jarvis has used excerpts from her correspondence with friends, colleagues, supporters and, occasionally, detractors, to weave a story both instructive and amusing. She records the setbacks, successes, irritations and even disasters with a wicked wit and an often sharp and critical tone. No holds are barred. She begins with the setting up of the press, its search for a permanent home,and more-or-less chronologically descries the technical challenges, frustrations and pleasures of each project, complete with illustrations.”
Carolynne Skinner, writing in the November/December edition of The Book Arts Newsletter No. 38, of the School of Creative Arts,Department of Art and Design, UWE Bristol, UK, states in her review of The Wayzgoose Affair:
“Has there ever been a book like The Wayzgoose Affair? I doubt it, or if there will ever be another like it. Until now, books written by small press printers about the practice of book making have been few and slight – largely because most productions from the traditional private press fraternity are not much to write home about, particularly concerning their literary, historical or visual significance. Similarly, books written by private press biographers – whether about individual presses or the movement as a whole – have lacked colour, life and typographic spirit. Until the Affair.
“The Wayzgoose Affair is an admirable compilation of an extraordinary effort, maintained against the odds and for a time span that is all the more remarkable because it straddles the period that has seen the digitised typesetting and printing revolution establish new parameters of design thinking. Although this edition of 500 copies was printed commercially, it has all the hallmarks of a private press visualisation. Conceived and designed entirely “in house” on a PC, in its generous proportions, dramatic layout and idiosyncratic selections it pays homage to the pioneers of the manuscript book, when time and money were emphatically not the desiderata of production.”
Related items: Books About Books, Fine Printing & Private Press, Carolynne Skinner, Jadwiga Jarvis, The Wayzgoose Press, Wayzgoose Press