I was slow to hear the sad news that the great Los Angeles bookseller Michael R. Thompson passed away in August. Michael was a valued supporter of HM (it was through him that our books first got into the University of Toronto’s Thomas Fisher Library), and a source of advice on more than one occasion. He also provided a number of the high-spots on my bookshelves: the three-volume Grabhorn bibliography, the Laguna Verde bibliography, and the copy of William Andrews Clark’s Kelmscott and Doves press collections from which the text for HM’s next book was set are just a few of the titles. He loved helping collectors acquire coveted items, but he hated when I sold one book to buy another - he felt it diminished the long-term process and goal of building a personal collection.
Much of my early education in books, collecting, printing and publishing came from booksellers, either directly or through their catalogues. When I started HM, I knew the handful of booksellers who specialized in fine press books, and I judged my progress by if and when HM books got into their catalogues. Michael was one of those booksellers, and it was tremendously satisfying when, around 2005, our work caught his attention. Michael’s business will continue, under the direction of his long-time associate Carol Sandburg, who has also been a tireless promoter of HM. We look forward to the continued connection, and the memories of Michael it will always stir. There’s a good tribute to Michael by Bruce McKinney here, with links to a few other memorials.
AND ANOTHER THING!
Details of the next book have been finalized and it will hit the press this month. The Kelmscott & Doves Presses, an essay by Alfred Pollard with leaves from The Golden Legend (1892) and the English Bible (Vol. 1, 1903) will be set in Centaur and feature original calligraphy on the title page, the essay’s opening, page numbers and initial letters throughout by Martin Jackson. It will be printed in two colors (the calligraphy in red) with the handpress on dampened Arches wove (160 g) paper. Each of the leaves will be presented in its own opening, hinged and sewn to the gathering to allow for easy turning. It will be a large book (10 x 15 inches, 30 pp.) to accommodate the Bible leaf. The edition of 50 copies (plus 5 H/C) will be issued in two states: copies 1-12 will form the “Written” issue, with all of the calligraphy in each copy scribed by Martin. These copies will include the best leaves available, and be bound by Claudia Cohen, in a handmade-paper binding tooled in gilt, with a box. Copies 13-50 (the “Printed” issue) will reproduce his calligraphy from polymer plates, and be cased at HM in decorated paper over boards. The issue price for the Printed issue will be $750. We anticipate having copies ready to ship in January, 2019 (followed a few months later by the Written copies).
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