New HM Prospectus Full of Lies

A new four-page prospectus for books to be published by HM in 2012 is being mailed out over the next week. Sadly, close reading reveals at least one major untruth: the lead article claims copies of the new Types/Paper/Print specimen book will include "one duplicate leaf printed on handmade paper." The presumption was that there would be sufficient extras from the copies printed on handmade paper (for the 10 deluxe copies of the book, which include the text in full on three different papers: Guarro laid, handmade, and Arches Wove). But there weren't, and so the plan was abandoned. Meanwhile, David Clifford was busy at Black Stone Press printing the prospectus, which was already out of date. C'est la vie. There were some extras, so some copies may sneak out with the extra leaf: the rare "duplicate leaf" variant.

The prospectus also fails to report that the three copies of the HM Drop Box, featured on the last page, are in fact all sold. They were, however, sold to booksellers, so they're not entirely out of play.

A PDF version of the prospectus is available from the home page of the HM site.

Types/Paper/Print: Cased Close

Getting into the thick of sewing copies of Types/Paper/Print and making the cases.

The sections were trimmed to 8 x 12 inches before sewing. The nipping presses become the bottleneck, and the solution is to complete each copy from sewing through casing in, rather than working through each stage of the process for the entire edition. The book is sewn and the spine pasted up; while it sets, the case is made. Then the book gets stuffed in the case, nipped and pressed while the next copy is prepared. After 30 minutes (the time it takes to sew a copy and make the case) between boards in the nipping press, the book is added to a small stack in a second press and left for about 24 hours. Boring, repetitive work. Even worse than printing. But at least something different for a while.

The endpapers are, alas, tipped on, a tactic we have always dismissed as something akin to a clip-on tie. But in this instance, for this book, it made sense, in part because it allowed us to make the slight adjustment in the press for the papers to be used in Claudia's deluxe copies (which most definitely will not be tipped on; hence the need for an increase to the space between what will be the doublure and the fly). For the front of the book we printed 48-pt Perpetua:

For the back, 60-pt De Roos semi-bold:

The cases are being covered in a variety of Payhembury hand-marbled papers. Labels printed in gold are set on to the spine and front board, as shown above.

Getting into the binding of Types/Paper/Print has reminded us of the book that was, if not exactly a model, at least an inspiration. It's a specimen book issued by the Alcuin Press in 1928, beautifully printed in various types on Batchelor's Kelmscott paper.

The book opens with a page set in 72-pt Cloister,

followed by a spread set in 36-pt, and then settles into a variety of faces in book sizes.

The text is an interesting precis of the fine press movement and the history of printing, concluding with a brief summary of the press's abilities in, and philosophy toward binding. In this instance, an elegant quarter-cloth case made with thin board.

Moebius' Trip

A celebration for the life & work of Jean Giraud, who died last weekend, was held in his home town of Paris last night. A very cool man. Check out Graphitti Designs' translated versions of L'Incal, and then watch The Fifth Element. Duster fans should look up his Lt Blueberry series.

Mr Milroy's Gate to a Wonder World

That's the title that Shinsuke Minegishi gave to the new wood engraving he made as a frontis for Types/Paper/Print. We'd suggested something that riffed on the form of a handpress, and he was particularly taken with the honeycomb pattern on the Ostrander Seymour's platen. Voila. Very cool. And a teasing precis to the retrospective of his printmaking that HM will be publishing.

The block (image approx. 2 x 4 inches) was printed by Shin on gampi. It will be mounted on a printed sheet, bracketed between the title and his name, facing the book's title page. Shin will sign below the print in each of the  ten deluxe copies.

Printing of the text pages was completed last weekend, and copies have been collated. We may have enough extras printed on the Arches and handmade to sneak a few into some of the regular edition (i.e. replacing the Guarro sheets).

Claudia Cohen will be binding the deluxe copies in April, so those copies should be shipping in early May. The regular copies will start coming out of the HM studio by the end of March. Meanwhile, a four-page prospectus of upcoming projects (including T/P/P) was being printed this week by David Clifford at Black Stone Press. Copies will be included with orders for the new book, and there will also be a general mailing.