Contemporary Fine Printing and the John Hay Library

The John Hay Library has had a long-standing interest in collecting modern fine printing, beginning with the productions of the famed Kelmscott, Doves, and Ashendene presses in the late 19th and early 20th centuries in England, and continuing today, with the publications of American presses such as Arion, Perishable, Greenhouse, and Janus. At present, a great deal of finely printed modern poetry is produced, and thus the Harris Collection of American Poetry and Plays has developed an excellent representative collection as part of its effort to collect all American poetry.

Since 1966, the Harris Collection has acquired the widely influential printing of Walter Hamady's Perishable Press in Mount Horeb, Wisconsin. His books, renowned for their quirky colophons and complex physical structures, are meticulously produced editions of the poetry of modern authors such as Robert Creeley, Diane Wakoski, and, occasionally, Hamady himself. Claire Van Vliet's Janus Press, many titles from which are held by the John Hay Library, is an outstanding example of the collaborative work of contemporary women book artists. Unlike many fine presses, Janus Press works in a number of styles: Margaret Kauffman's Aunt Sallie's Lament, a complex fold-out printed on overlapping cut papers, taking quilting as its inspiration and theme, is conceptually and structurally very different from W. R. Johnson's Lilac Wind, which consists of a single printed sheet in which the illustration is integral to the paper itself, produced by the "painted papers" technique.

The fine printing at the John Hay Library is regularly used by classes both at Brown and at the Rhode Island School of Design. Students visit the Hay for class presentations on the works of a single press, to examine the results of different techniques of papermaking, and to explore the interrelationships of text, typography, illustration, and physical structure in the creation of a modern fine press book. In recent years, it is with pleasure that the Library has been able to acquire the professional work of students who have begun their careers studying fine printing here at the John Hay.

One such notable contemporary book artist is Angela Lorenz, '87. Her work ranges from miniature books to ambitious productions that stretch the boundaries of what is ordinarily considered a "book." Her most recent work, The Hat's up to You, published in 1994, takes the form of a hatbox containing a series of paper hats with poetic text. The hats and box are three-dimensional prints; the text is both printed and executed by sewing machine needle punch. While an undergraduate at Brown, Angela studied with Prof. Walter Feldman of the Program in Visual Arts.

Two years age, Prof. Feldman expanded his offerings to students of printing and began teaching a two-semester course called "The Arts of the Book." This course has made extensive use of the contemporary fine printing at the John Hay Library. Several times each semester, the class visits the John Hay to see examples of modern fine printing with woodcut illustration, simple or complex binding structures, handmade paper, pop-up or movable illustrations, broadsides, and the like. During the first semester, students learn to make individual books, and in the second semester work in common on an edition of a single book. Class assignments have included pop-up books, alphabet books, and bestiaries; student work has been of remarkably high calibre, and has intriguingly demonstrated the inspirations and influences of the modern fine printing seen in the course of class visits to the John Hay Library.

The John Hay Library has also begun to collaborate with Prof. Feldman on another venture: the Brown Ziggurat Press. Conceived as an amalgam of the John Hay Library's interest in modern fine printing and Prof. Feldman's expertise in printing, the Brown Ziggurat Press was founded in 1990, through the generosity of Michael Mitchell '59 in honor of his wife, Brooke Hunt Mitchell '59. Prof. Feldman donated his personal printing equipment to the Press, and oversees all aspects of production.


An image from Songlines : Mosaics

To date, the Brown Ziggurat Press has produced two books. The first, published in 1991, is Brown Professor of English Michael S. Harper's poem in memory of artist Romare Bearden, Songlines: Mosaics, with accompanying art work by Prof. Feldman. Printed on a Vandercook Universal press in Garamond type on handmade papers (some made at Prof. Feldman's Ziggurat Mill), the edition consists of 65 copies, each signed by the author and artist, and issued in a handmade drop-spine box.

The second volume issued by the Brown Ziggurat Press is Denise Levertov's poem Range, commissioned in celebration of the 100th anniversary of women at Brown University, 1881 - 1991. Prof. Feldman printed the book in Palatino type on handmade papers, and created, cut, and printed the woodcuts. The text block is an accordion-fold sewn into handmade cloth covered boards, with a cast cameo on the front cover. Each volume in the edition of 100 copies is signed by the author and artist.


An image from Range

Thus, the John Hay Library's involvement in modern fine printing includes both building collections and actively participating in the teaching process through which those collections are made a vital part of student work. In addition, in its work with the Brown Ziggurat Press, the Library has the opportunity to make its contribution to contemporary fine printing and the publication of modern poetry, two areas central to its long-term collecting interests.

For those interested, numbered copies of Songlines: Mosaics by Michael S. Harper are available for purchase at $150, plus $12.50 shipping and insurance. Numbered copies of Range by Denise Levertov, signed by the artist are $200. Lettered copies of Range, signed by both the poet and the artist are $250. Shipping and insurance is an additional $12.50. Checks should be made out to Brown Ziggurat Press and mailed to the Friends office.

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