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. Book collecting is the Collecting of Books including seeking locating acquiring organizing cataloging displaying storing and maintaining whatever books are A printing press is a mechanical device for applying pressure to an inked surface resting upon a medium (such as paper or cloth thereby transferring an image 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. A gramophone
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 characters such as William Morris. William Morris (24 March 1834 – 3 October 1896 was an English Architect, Furniture and Textile designer artist writer and socialist associated The movement is often considered to have been sparked by the founding of Morris' Kelmscott Press in 1891. William Morris (24 March 1834 – 3 October 1896 was an English Architect, Furniture and Textile designer artist writer and socialist associated Those involved in this trend created well-made books with an emphasis on a book as a work of art and skill, rather than a mere medium for the transferral of information. It was an off-shoot of the Arts and Crafts movement, and represented a shift from the cheap mechanised book production methods which became prevalent in the Victorian era. The books were made from high quality materials, and were often produced by hand. Additionally, books were often produced as a single creative entity with strong consideration given to illustration, format and typeface. The movement slowly dwindled away with the worldwide depression in 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. "
Notable private presses
- Ad insigne pinus in Augsburg from 1594 to 1619. Augsburg is an independent City in the south-west of Bavaria.
- Strawberry Hill Press — the Officina Arbuteana — of Horace Walpole. The Strawberry Hill Press was established on the 25th of June 1757 at Strawberry Hill, by the house's owner Horace Walpole. Horace Walpole 4th Earl of Orford ( 24 September, 1717 &ndash 2 March, 1797) more commonly known as Horace Walpole, was a politician
- The Press of Gaetano Polidori. Gaetano Polidori (1764-1853 was an Italian writer and scholar living in London.
- Daniel Press in Oxford from 1874 to 1903.
- Kelmscott Press set up by William Morris in 1891. William Morris (24 March 1834 – 3 October 1896 was an English Architect, Furniture and Textile designer artist writer and socialist associated William Morris (24 March 1834 – 3 October 1896 was an English Architect, Furniture and Textile designer artist writer and socialist associated
- The Mosher Press set up by Thomas Bird Mosher in 1891 in Portland, Maine. Thomas Bird Mosher (1852-1923 was an American Publisher. He is notable for his contributions to the Private press movement in the United States Portland is the largest city in the US state of Maine and the County seat of Cumberland County.
- Roycroft Press set up by Elbert Hubbard in 1895. Roycroft was a reformist community of Craft workers and artists which formed part of the Arts and Crafts movement in the USA Elbert Green Hubbard ( June 19 1856 &ndash May 7 1915) was an American writer publisher artist and philosopher
- Doves Press founded by T. Doves Press was a Private press based in Hammersmith, London, between 1900 and 1916 J. Cobden Sanderson and Emery Walker in 1900.
- Trovillion Press at the Sign of the Silver Horse, set up by Hal W. Violet De Mars Trovillion (1890-? and Hal W Trovillion (1879-1967 were publishers based in Herrin Illinois who operated local newspapers and a Private press Trovillion in Herrin, Illinois in 1908. Herrin is a city in Williamson County, Illinois, United States.
- The Golden Cockerel Press founded by Harold Midgley Taylor in 1920. Golden Cockerel Press was a major English Private press operating between 1920 and 1961
- Nonesuch Press founded in 1922 by Francis and Vera Meynell, and David Garnett. Nonesuch Press was a Private press founded in 1922 in London by Francis Meynell, his wife Vera Mendel and David Garnett.
- The Perishable Press Limited founded by Walter Hamady in 1964. Walter Hamady (born September 13, 1940) or in full Walter Samuel Haatoum Hamady, is an American artist book designer papermaker poet and teacher
- Something Else Press operated by Dick Higgins from 1964 to 1973. Something Else Press was founded by Dick Higgins in 1963 It published many important texts and artworks by Higgins Gertrude Stein, George Brecht, Dick Higgins (born Cambridge England 1938 died Quebec Canada 1998 was a composer poet printer and early Fluxus artist
References
- Johanna Drucker, The Century of Artists' Books. New York: Granary Books, 1995.
Dapyx Software network: MP3 Explorer | Ebook Manager | Zenithic