Printing History News 15
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Printingprinting History history news 15 News 1 The Newsletter of the National Printing Heritage Trust, Printing Historical Society and Friends of St Bride Library Number 15 Summer 2007 New prize for accounts exploring how coming to this downland Extreme bookbinding: preserving of working in printing village transformed Gill’s life and work. a manuscript in Ethiopia by Lester It will examine Gill’s importance to Capon, Tuesday 2 October. the modern art movement in the early The Printing Historical Society is very Laser cutting and letterpress by twentieth century and show how his pleased to announce a new annual Danny Flynn, Tuesday 6 November. philosophy and work-practices lived prize, called ‘In the Print: The Donald Danny will talk about the books he on in Ditchling through Joseph Cribb Milham Award’. The prizes will be has made with artist and book- (1892–1967), his first apprentice, who awarded for the most useful personal, binder Eri Funazaki, the use of arrived with him in 1907. written accounts of working in the laser-cutting technology in both The exhibition includes examples twentieth-century British printing traditional letterpress printing and of Gill’s sculpture, wood-engravings, industry. The award is named after in commercial work for film and drawings, books, correspondence and Donald Milham, a letterpress machine advertising. archive material seen alongside works minder during his career, and has of his associates at Ditchling, many by Books and stuff: the quiddity of generously been set up by his son and Joseph Cribb. Material is drawn both artists’ books by Carolyn Trant another benefactor. Submissions will from Ditchling Museum’s collection of the Parvenu Press, Tuesday 4 go into the Milham Archive at the St and from private collections with many December. Artist Carolyn Trant Bride Library for study by historians pieces never before exhibited. There talks about her books and making in the future. Entries must reach the will be a display of material from the ideas work in organic materials. She Award co-ordinator by 5 November Ditchling Museum’s recently acquired will try to bring some real ‘stuff’ 2007. For further information and Evan Gill Collection. Collated by his with her. entry details, send a stamped younger brother over his lifetime, this addressed envelope to ‘In the Print’, substantial collection contains Eric Designer Bookbinders would welcome PO Box 4119, Wells ba5 2uf, or Gill’s childhood drawings, corres- suggestions for future lectures. Further e-mail [email protected]. pondence, photographs and books. details may be obtained from Rachel Many of these were printed by the St Ward-Sale or Julia Dummett on EVENTS Dominic’s Press on the Stanhope Press 01273 486718 or by e-mail at which is now on permanent display in [email protected]. Non-Latin typeface design. Conference, the Museum and used for workshops Tuesday 18 and Wednesday 19 Sep- and practical printing (see PHN 10). tember 2007. St Bride Library and This exhibition is curated for the the Department of Typography and Museum by Ruth Cribb, Joseph’s Journal of the Printing Graphic Communication, University of Cribb’s great-granddaughter, and Historical Society Reading, are collaborating on a two- Assistant Curator, Sculpture Depart- day conference on non-Latin typeface ment, at the Victoria and Albert John Trevitt has succeeded Peggy design. The conference will comprise a Museum. The exhibition is accom- Smith as editor of the PHS Journal, day of talks at St Bride Library and a panied by educational events for and hopes to publish number 11 by day of hands-on sessions at the Depart- adults, children and families. Further the end of 2007. He would be delighted ment of Typography in Reading. Reg- details and images may be obtained to receive proposals for articles of istration fees are £60 for the Tuesday from Hilary Williams or Janet Cragg ‘whatever length’ on the world-wide only, and £120 for both days; student on 01273 844744, or by e-mail on history of printing and its allied trades. fees are £40 and £80 respectively. For [email protected]. He may be contacted at Rose Cottage, further details see the St Bride website Church Road, Weobley, Hereford hr4 at www.stbride.org. Designer Bookbinders 8sd, telephone 01544 318388, e-mail [email protected]. Eric Gill and Ditchling: the workshop Lecture Series John Trevitt is a book designer and tradition. Exhibition at Ditchling editor, now freelance after years at Museum, 9 June–7 October 2007. It is The following lectures will be held Cambridge University Press and Col- 100 years since Eric Gill (1882–1940), at the Art Workers Guild, 6 Queen lins, an occasional book reviewer and letter-cutter, wood-engraver, sculptor Square, London wc1 at 6:30 p.m. dealer in old books. Catherine Arm- and type-designer moved to Ditchling Admission is £2.50 for students, strong ([email protected]) in Sussex. It was here that he spent £5.00 for members and £7.00 for continues as reviews editor, and Peggy his most creative years and this exhib- non-members. Nearest tube stations Smith remains Chairman of the Print- ition will celebrate this centenary by are Holborn and Russell Square. ing Historical Society. 2 printing history news 15 PHS Grants for 2007 The Ratcliff machine in the Museum lithographic origination on stone and came from the Curwen Studio and plate to the techniques of colour cor- The Printing Historical Society is hence was used for many years for rection for printing, which are today pleased to announce the following much more peaceful purposes – the performed by the computer. Cecil Bye grants, made to individuals in support work of artists. was also able to discuss the techniques of their research: used in map-making at the time of the Stanley Jones, Curwen Studio Director Great War which are still familiar to § Paul Dijstelberge, Leiden, The writes: him. Netherlands: Digital photographs of Dutch type, 1540–1700 The Curwen Studio was founded in Thanks were expressed to the many § Rebecca Herman, Leeds: George 1958 to perpetuate the idea of colla- friendly people who run the Printing Baxter Exhibition at the Leeds City borative printmaking with artists and Museum and who helped make the Art Gallery printers in the creation of original visit so worthwhile. limited edition prints made by litho- § Edward Law, Bennettsbridge, graphy. As a subsidiary of the former Ireland: The nineteenth-century Curwen Press, it has specialised in this process of anastatic printing Documenting the history area and now has a worldwide reputa- § Ann Pillar, Wonersh, near tion for the quality of its hand-drawn of the printing trade Guildford: Publicity materials of lithography. Using traditional stone, Michael Twyman Ludlow Typograph grained zinc and aluminium it also uses § David Shields, Austin, Texas, modern technologies where appro- Readers might like to know about a USA: The visual origins of the priate for contemporary artists. The clutch of related projects that have to ‘grotesque Italian’ display typeface company is situated at Chilford Hall in do with the history of the printing Linton near Cambridge, moving there, trade, three of which are based at the § Karen Weaver, Pittsburgh, in 1989, from London. Department of Typography and Pennsylvania, USA: Anne Ward, Largely for reasons of space and Graphic Communication at the Uni- eighteenth-century printer in York preservation, it was decided to present versity of Reading. Dr Rob Banham is the Ratcliff flat-bed offset machine to responsible for a one-year project Map printing by the John Jarrold Printing Museum at (funded by the Arts and Humanities Norwich. It had begun its life at the Research Council) to review and lithography Curwen Press in 1927, and joined the document representations of printing studio (with its printers) in Tottenham and typesetting in films and videos. He In February 2007 a visit to the John Court Road about 1965, where it would welcome input from others, par- Jarrold Printing Museum in Norwich formed the focus of the company’s ticularly about little known examples or was arranged by Stanley Jones of the edition-printing capacity for artists, episodes ([email protected], Curwen Press. It brought together until the move to Chilford Hall. Con- or 0118 378 6399). With Bernard Stanley Jones, Howard Anderson and tact is kept between us and the John Seward he is also updating NPHT’s Cecil Bye to discuss the procedures of Jarrold Printing Museum because of Register of printing equipment (orig- map printing by lithography during our shared interest in fine printing. inally compiled by Desmond Field) the Great War. Howard Anderson of Cecil Bye, seen in the photograph with a view to making it available on the Western Front Association writes: (below) with Stanley Jones, beside the the web. These two projects tie in well Ratcliff press, started work over eighty with an ongoing oral history project, The visit to the John Jarrold Printing years ago as an apprentice lithographer, focusing on the printing and allied Museum was arranged as part of a progressing through the process of trades, which was launched by John project on Great War maps run by volunteers of the Western Front Association. During the Great War, something like thirty-two million maps were printed by the British, many in Southampton at the Ordnance Survey. They used lithographic presses very similar to the Ratcliff machine at Jarrold’s Museum, pulling maps off stone and zinc. Some printing went on in France and Belgium behind the lines but not on such large machines. Some of the maps that still exist are at the Imperial War Museum in London. These are being scanned to make them available on DVD.