The Sky's Gone Out

This'll be another quick one: have to get printing. Finally seeing some light through the trees: settled on a title for the new book, if only because everything but the title page & introduction are printed. Tried something for the intro this weekend: spent Saturday setting a spread, Sunday proofing & doing makeready. Then binned it all: not at all right (visually) for what follows.

So, faced with a ticking clock, a new scheme was hatched, one that resolved how to handle both the title (what it is, not how it's set on the page) and the introduction (content & layout). A minimalist scheme. During every attempted solution for this preliminary section, cutting it down to the most basic, fundamental information was in the back of the mind, yet things kept getting busy. Anyway, the paper from yesterday (Reg Lissel's HM Text is used for the 8-page preliminary section) is still damp and must be worked off today, both sides, so pressing on (ha!).

For short, let's just call the book Metal Type. That's what will be printed on the first page in the book (note we don't say "title page").

The book (7 x 10 inches, 40 pp.) is printed on nine different hand- and mouldmade papers. It will be published in an edition of 35 numbered copies, issued in two versions.

Deluxe Issue: Copies 1-15 will include two additional sections [16 pp]. The first will present four uncommon foundry types (Anker Romanisch, Carolus, Gallia & Kabel) in display sizes, borrowed from the collections of several friends, each printed in two colors on Barcham Green handmade paper. The second extra section will present titling (i.e. large) fonts of eight faces already shown in the book, printed on Barcham Green & Roma papers. (Close readers may find one or two other additions...) These copies will be bound in full vellum (a structure similar to the one she used for HM's Iskandariya, below) with gilt embellishments by Claudia Cohen, presented in a cloth traycase.

Press Issue: Copies 16-35 will be sewn & cased at HM. The (thin) boards will be covered in a printed patterned paper created by artist Dana Cromie. (The same paper will also be used to line the boxes for the deluxe copies.) The book will be wrapped in a semi-transparent printed paper jacket.

At this time, all of the deluxe copies are reserved for HM's regular distributors, as is a significant portion of the press copies. For anyone from outside the trade who is interest in securing a copy, the surest way is to contact one of our booksellers (listed at right).

Some of the Press copies will be issued before the end of the year. The rest, and all of the Deluxe ones, will be issued in early 2014.

Gotta get to work...