Talkin' Stamp Talk Blues Again. Just returned from Charlottesville, Virginia, where the stamp talk was delivered at Rare Book School, just a hop, skip, and a jump from Monticello. 07.14.10
Everything old is new again. A book we designed and printed for The Lone Oak Press way back in 2004 has just been released in a trade edition and for the Kindle by Counterpoint Press. Get yours here. 07.07.10
At the printer. Catalogue 66 (our twelfth) for the Veatchs has just been sent off to the printer. 06.26.10
At the printer. The Vade Mecum for the second week of Rare Book School's summer session. See more of the RBS redesign here and here. 06.09.10
At the printer. Ever wonder what it would have been like to summer in the Adirondacks with Mick Jagger, Robin Leach, and Gloria Vanderbilt? Now you don't have to. Read these 186 pages with 334 images of yesteryear. 06.08.10
Talkin' Stamp Talk Blues. Last night we participated in the Society of Printer's Pecha Kucha Night. Our subject? Postage Stamps by Type Designers: The Overlooked, a 7-minute survey of designers not covered in our 45-minute talk—which, incidentally, was last delivered in March at the Caxton Club in Chicago. Many thanks, Caxtonians! 05.05.10
David R. Godine, Assister. For a few minutes, David R. Godine worked for us. He quickly quit, though, because he didn't want to wear a name tag. I even let him write out that name tag himself. Everyone's gotta start out at the bottom, David. No exceptions. 04.30.10
At the printer. Although the updates have been few and far between, we're actually swamped swamped swamped with some of our most complex projects ever. Not so complex, was this nice little booklet we just sent off to the printer. See more here. 04.13.10
More Rare Book School. The redesign of Rare Book School continues slowly with the 2010 edition of the Travel & Housing Guide. See more here. 04.01.10
Another Site. Just launched is a new site for artist, collector, and shop-keeper Teal McKibben. Teal was in the very first issue of Art in America back in 1959. Learn all about her here. 03.01.10
So Many Awards. So Little Time. Part IV. Actually, we've never won any awards, but tonight Michael Russem was awarded the 2009 New England Art Award for the People's Choice for Best Book in New England sponsored by the New England Journal of Aesthetic Research. The book in question? The Certainty of Numbers. As thanks to all those who voted for Michael (or didn't vote for Michael), we're offering this title at a special award-winning price through the end of February. Get yours here. 02.08.10
This book, is a very very very fine book. Legacy Editions has just published a book we designed in 2008—and then again in 2009—and then again later in 2009. Love, Graham Nash contains reproductions of Graham Nash's handwritten lyrics for seventeen CSN and solo songs, photographs of Dylan, Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, and so on, and a CD of songs. Get yours here. 01.07.10
Stamps in Print. We probably should have mentioned this sooner, but we've got a short article about postage stamps by designers of metal typefaces in the current issue of Parenthesis: the Journal of the Fine Press Book Association. Available only to members, so sign up here. 12.07.09
Epherma Club. No, not that Ephemera Club (which, alas, has long been neglected by the Staff). It just seems as if we've been working on all sorts of ephemeral stuff. This past week saw us working on a spring campaign for the Massachusetts & Rhode Island Antiquarian Booksellers, the usual odds-and-ends for Pod, and the first pieces in a huge redesign for Rare Book School. For the latter, Lance Hidy will be designing a new logo while we work out the typography of everything else. The RBS Holiday Newsletter (above) was the first trial in the redesign. 12.06.09
Book Seventy. What we think was the seventieth fine press book designed and/or printed at Kat Ran Press was delivered to the binder this morning. Consisting of ninety-five forms, this one was an ass-kicker. Apparently, Huangshan: Poems from the T'ang Dynasty is practically out-of-print already with just six copies remaining. Get yours here and tell 'em we sent you. 11.30.09
So Many Awards. So Little Time. Part III. Actually, we've never won any awards, but we did design and print The Lone Oak Press's Mimpish Squinnies by Reginald Farrer with engravings by Abigail Rorer (see below), which just won the 2009 Gregynog Prize for the best book at the Oxford Book Fair. Congratulations to Abbie and the rest of the The Lone Oak Press team. 11.10.09
(De)Signed, Printed, Delivered. It's Hers. Just delivered The Matriarch of the Forest to Abigail Rorer's The Lone Oak Press. We raced to get this one done in time for Abbie to take bound copies to the Oxford book fair. Be sure to see the Headington Shark when you're over there. 10.13.09.
An Imprint Is Born. Longtime client, 21st Editions, launches a new line, Legacy Editions, with Gold: A Celebration of the 1980 Olympic Hockey Team in Words and Photographs, a book we designed earlier in the year. With an introduction by Al Michaels and an afterword by President Jimmy Carter, this books is solid gold. 10.02.09
Another job delivered. A little book for The Primrose Academy with engravings by Hilary Paynter which we designed, printed, and bound. Details about purchasing The Race will be posted here when available. 09.25.09
Postage Stamps by Type Designers: A Primer. More stamps. This time they're in the form of a talk to The Typophiles on Wednesday, September 23, at the National Arts Club. Details here. And download the announcement here. Incidentally, I gave the same talk to The Baxter Society last week, and they were kind and gracious hosts. Many thanks, Baxters. 09.14.09
Off to the printer. Just finished the design for Huangshan: Poems from the T'ang Dynasty with photographs by Michael Kenna—the 25th book we've designed and/or printed for 21st Editions. We'll be printing this one next month. Pre-order your copy here. 09.10.09
New site. We've just uploaded a new site for the American Printing History Association. See for yourself here. 08.24.09
At the printer. Just sent off the files for Love Haiku: Japanese Poems of Yearning, Passion, and Remembrance. Pre-order yours here. 07.29.09
Now shipping. Some Fifteen Books Carefully Designed, a modest survey of just a handful of the books we've designed over the last few years. We're happy to send a real-paper copy to our clients, potential clients, and collectors. Just call or e-mail and we'll send one right out. (Friends and the plain-old-curious will have to wait a while to recieve a copy.) 07.01.09
At the printer. Just sent the Veatchs' Catalogue 63 to the printer. Download your own copy here. 06.20.09
Katherine Russem Memorial Residency for Young Printers. Sam Jacoby of The Shackman Press was the first recipient of the above. Sam spent about a week at the Press printing A Reading for Group 47, a really well-made chapbook which puts most other chapbooks to shame. No joke. He did a great job. 06.15.09
Katherine Russem, R.I.P. 06.05.09
On a clear day you can see forever. Not much to show for April and May, but we have been busy on sample pages for a new 300-page book about a 250-year-old house in Egremont, Massachusetts; a book of haiku for Shambhala; updating Mollie Zanoni's site; teaching; completeing Some Fifteen Books Carefully Designed; and a few other things that presently escape our minds. 05.30.09
At the printer. Last week I sent off the files for the two-volume A Best of Fence for Fence Books. Page count? 950 pages. I can't claim to have read many of those 950 pages, but I did enjoy the essays by Jonathan Lethem and Rick Moody. Pre-order your copies here. 04.07.09
New Book (for real). To celebrate fifteen years of your Kat Ran Press, and the tenth book published by your Kat Ran Press, we're offering a new book about numbers: Bruce Snider's The Certainty of Numbers. Every copy has an original drawing by Michael Russem. Get your copy here. 04.07.09
New Book (sorta). We're distributing a new book published by Michael & Winifred Bixler. Mark Argetsinger's A Legacy of Letters is a thorough examination of Stanley Morison's type design program for Monotype. Get yours here. 03.31.09
Another Day, Another Site. Finally live is a new site for the Fine Press Book Association. If you like letterpress and handmade paper and hand binding and books made the old-fashioned way, the FPBA is the group for you. Learn all about it here. And be sure to check their blog to which we'll be contributing as time and interests allow. 03.23.09
Reviews In the News. Andy Polaine at The Designer's Review of Books just sent over his enthusiastic review of Designing the Mentoring Stamp, giving it 4.5 out of 5 stars: For those weary of digitalia, this will be a welcome pause. For those learning or teaching design, this should be essential reading. For everyone else, you should still read it, it’s a gem. Read more here. 02.24.09
Another Day, Another Site. Tomorrow we'll start on Catalogue 62 for the Veatchs, which reminds us that they (the Veatchs) recently announced the new site we designed for them in the summer. We planned the structure and typography, but all of the programming was carried out by their son, Andrew. See for yourself here. 02.22.09
Close Enough. This site for bookbinder Sarah Creighton is pretty much done. There are some odds and ends to take care of, but we have nothing to do as we wait for our morning toast to toast, so we thought we'd finally make a new post to this News section. 02.21.09
Good Company. Designing the Mentoring Stamp was selected for inclusion in the Bookbuilders of Boston 52nd Annual New England Book Show. Apparently, the book falls into the Professional, Illustrated Book category along with books published by David Godine, The MIT Press, and University Press of New England /Hood Museum of Art. See these and others on Tuesday, April 21, at the Fairmont Copley Plaza in Boston. 01.23.09
Paperless Catalogue. We work on catalogues for booksellers, so why wouldn't we work on a catalogue for Pod, our favorite shop in Brookline Village? I'm not sure how much electricity is used to look at this, but I do know this catalogue doesn't waste any paper. That's pretty green. Download one for yourself here. 12.02.08
So Many Awards. So Little Time. Part II. Actually, we've never won any awards, but we did design and print 21st Edition's The Everywhere Chronicles by Jaime Baldridge, which earned the 2008 Lucie Award for Best Photography Book Publisher of the Year. Congratulations to Steve and the rest of the 21st Editions team on their second Lucie. (Their first award was for Sally Mann.) 11.20.08
Postage Stamps by Type Designers: The Master Collection. After many years of research, cataloguing, and collecting, we've finally made our collection of postage stamps available to the public. See stamps by Eric Gill, S.L. Hartz, Hermann Zapf, Erik Spiekermann, Lance Hidy, Jean-Benoit Levy, and thirteen others here. Don't forget to sponsor a page so we can get all of the stamps online. 10.23.08
News and reviews. Because we're working on books and Web sites that won't be done any time soon and thus shouldn't be mentioned, it seemed a good time to point out that there have been a number of recent reviews and articles about our work. In no particular order, consider reading Barry Moser's review of Designing the Mentoring Stamp, or Jerry Kelly's review, or this article about Inspired Design, or this Harvard Crimson article about the class Michael is teaching. Designing the Mentoring Stamp was also excerpted in Philateli-Graphics, a publication of the Graphics Philately Association. 10.20.08
Impending lecture and reception. On Sunday, September 28, Lance Hidy and I will be will be giving brief lectures at Smith College. The lectures will precede the opening reception for Inspired Design: The Mentoring Stamp, a show of 29 bindings and supplemental materials from the Kat Ran book, Designing the Mentoring Stamp. I don't know for sure, but I bet there'll be cheese and crackers, too. For more details, download the postcard here. 09.25.08
What are we working on this afternoon? A little prospectus for Mimpish Squinnies: Reginald Farrer's Short Guide to Worthless Plants—a book we designed and printed for The Lone Oak Press in 2006. Poor Abigail Rorer has been engraving and printing the illustrations for all this time. Get your copy here. 09.17.08
At the printer. Being printed at Studley Press this week is volume one of Joel-Peter Witkin's The Maxims of Men Disclose Their Hearts, which we designed earlier in the summer. The second volume of plates will be printed at Kat Ran Press in the coming weeks. Order yours here. 09.08.08
Finished copy. Just received a copy of Haiku Mind: 108 Poems to Cultivate Awareness and Open Your Heart, the second book we've designed for Shambahala Publications. Get yours here. 09.02.08
What are we doing this week? Designing the second, revised, and expanded edition of The Double Escape. Rather than letterpress and offset printing, the publisher is trying out Lulu.com. We'll let you know when copies are for sale. Or, you can pick up a copy at the publisher's September 10 lecture at the Peabody Essex Museum. To learn about the first edition, click here. 08.25.08
[The Double Escape is now available here.
09.15.08
From Anacreon to Zapf. Just sent the Veatchs Arts of the Book sixtieth catalogue to the printer. Download other catalogues we've designed for the Veatchs here. 08.20.08
Inspired Design: The Mentoring Stamp. From August 10 through December 20, the Mortimer Rare Book Room at Smith College will be showing twenty-nine bindings of our edition of Lance Hidy's Designing the Mentoring Stamp as arranged by thirty members of the New England Chapter of the Guild of Bookworkers. A full-color catalogue (designed by us) is available for purchase here. Also on display are a number of Lance Hidy's posters, sketches, and drawings, and a small showing from our collection of postage stamps designed by type designers. For more information about this exhibit, click here. The above book, by the way, was bound by C.L. Ingalls, and photographed by Stephen Petegorsky. 08.15.08
Off the press. Just finished printing Bruce Davidson: Central Park in Platinum. Designed by Skolkin + Chickey and published by Verso Limited Editions. Get yours here. 08.13.08
Finished copy. Just received a copy of Quiet Mind: A Beginner's Guide to Meditation, the first book we've designed for Shambahala Publications. Get yours here. 07.24.08
Web design. Did you know we also design Web sites? It's true. Above is one we recently finished for Mollie Zanoni. More are in the works. 07.07.08
Super busy. Since our last update almost six months ago we've worked on so many books that our shelves fell over from all the new additions. No joke. Books and catalogues have been designed for 21st Editions, Shambhala Publications, the Veatchs Arts of the Book, Fence Books, and Smith College (to name but five). The Library of Congress also bought a complete collection of our work. "The Failure of Fine Printing" was published (again) in The Fellowship of American Bibliophilic Societies Newsletter. Our health, too, has been good, although we presently have chest colds. 05.14.08
Type in Cambridge. In keeping with our habit of adding to this site on holidays, we've added a new page to our resources section: A whole page of type and lettering which we've come upon near our Cambridge Offices. See more here. Be sure to check there often for updates—but don't let it get in the way of your social obligations. Thanksgiving.07
Our Thoughts in Print. Part 2. The online e-journal (Is that redundant?) The Bonefolder has reprinted our "The Failure of Fine Printing" with a new postscript in its fall 2007 issue. Download the issue (4.5 MB) here. 11.02.07
New Book! After working on this title for six years, we've just picked up fifteen boxes of books from Acme Bookbinding. For details, consider clicking here. 10.30.07
New Brother Site! We don't use exclamation points lightly, but we've set up a second site to show off Michael Russem's drawings. Yes, there are plenty of more important things upon which we should be working, but it's a holiday. 07.04.07
What I'm Researching? Postage stamps. Every single postage stamp designed by anyone who ever designed a typeface. There are about 500 stamps designed by Hermann Zapf, Eric Gill, Jan van Krimpen, Erik Spiekermann, and Lance Hidy (to name but five). The stamp above is by Walter Brudi. Check back for news of the complete collection which I'll be offering for sale and showing online. 05.30.07
Home Sweet Home. We've moved back to Massachusetts. Listen here. 05.15.07
What Are We Working On Today? Taxes and some design odds and ends for The Bridge, The Odes of Pindar, and Mont-Saint-Michel. 03.27.07M
So Many Awards. So Little Time. Actually, we've never won any awards, but we did design the University of Delaware Library's Ezra Pound in His Time and Beyond by Jesse Rossa, which has won a 2007 Leab Exhibition Catalogue Award. Congratulations to Jesse for being recognized for his fascinating catalogue. 03.26.07M
The Weather. Wicked nice. 03.25.07M
What I'm Reading Now? Penguin Special: The Story of Allen Lane, the Founder of Penguin Books and the Man Who Changed Publishing Forever by Jeremy Lewis. 03.25.07M
Our Thoughts in Print. The February 2007 issue of the Caxtonian, the journal of Chicago's Caxton Club, has my article "The Failure of Fine Printing: Why the beautiful book isn't so beautiful and the ugly book isn't so ugly." The gist of it is that a beautiful book isn't necessarily a well-designed book. It kicked-up some online dust for a few days, and we received too many thoughtful and insightful e.mails to count (or quickly respond to). Consider downloading the article here. It won't take more than a few minutes to read, but it will stay with you forever. 02.15.07M
What I'm Reading Now? An Eames Primer and The Work of Charles and Ray Eames: A Legacy of Invention. Consider downloading a transcription of Design Q & A here. 02.14.07M
The Weather. Nice. 02.13.07M