Printingprinting History history news 23 News 1 The Newsletter of the National Printing Heritage Trust, Printing Historical Society and Friends of St Bride Library Number 23 Summer 2009 ST BRIDE LIBRARY Glyn Farrow, clerk to the governors Pierre Delsaerdt: The typographic and director of St Bride Foundation design of C. Plantin’s dictionaries DONATION said ‘We are deeply appreciative of the compared with the layout of Robert Klaiber family for this generous dona- Estienne’s lexicographic work. Work- The St Bride Library has received a tion. It is indicative of the strong sense ing with Cornelis Kiliaan, the compiler generous donation of £15,300 from of community among the staff, volun- of the Dictionarium Teutonico-Latin- departing assistant librarian, Elizabeth teers and visitors to St Bride Founda- um, Plantin had a wider array of type- Klaiber and her family (including her tion’. faces to draw upon to manipulate the parents Isabelle and Bruce Klaiber). It The new mobile shelving follows macro- and micro-structures of his will be used to fund the St Bride Foun- recent renovation work to the library dictionaries than did Robert Estienne. dation’s continuing redevelopment including the construction and opening This work will compare the two in programme, which aims to improve of the new reading room in 2007. A terms of their relative ‘retrieval’ access to the 50,000 books, 3,500 second phase is also planned, to create qualities. periodicals, catalogues and directories even more storage space to house the and numerous artefacts including more historic printing collections. Fiona Ross: Linotype’s letter-drawings than 1,500,000 pieces of historical for hot-metal Tamil characters (1936): type which the Library holds. provenance and use. Drawing on This contribution will be specifically PHS Treasurer Linotype’s archives at the University used to increase the capacity of the of Reading, the work will be a study foundation’s main archive by one and Ken Brooks will retire as Treasurer of of the design decisions made in 1936 a half times through the installation of the Printing Historical Society at the on the proportions of characters, new mobile shelving. This will replace 2010 AGM next March. The Society the shapes of counters, letter-fit and the current static shelving, making is in sound financial shape and the kerning, which affected the resulting room for additional shelves and leaving Treasurer advises on new publishing Tamil typography. space to create a much-needed demon- projects and other activities (such as stration area. the Grants programme). Membership Sydney J. Shep: Printers’ libraries and Elizabeth started working at St records are also part of the remit, and the Typographical Press System. The Bride three years ago as a volunteer, arranging for the annual examination role of late nineteenth-century typo- while completing her Masters in the of the accounts. A few hours a week is graphical journals as ‘nodes in a global History of the Book at the School of all that is necessary to keep up with the network of social and cultural ex- Advanced Study’s Institute of English tasks, which are vital to the Society, change’, in particular for colonial out- Studies at the University of London. now in its forty-fifth year. PHS officers posts, and the role of libraries parallel While at St Bride, she undertook pre- are elected for three years. Candidates to the St Bride Library in educating and ventative conservation on the collec- for this important office should contact informing the trade, are to be studied. tion of historic type, dating back to the Chairman or the Secretary for fur- This forms part of Dr Shep’s larger 1680. In 2007, on completion of her ther details. project on ‘The Printers’ Web’. thesis, she began working as assistant librarian. Elizabeth is now leaving St Bride to commence her PhD studies in DONALD MILHAM PRIZE her native Canada. PHS Grants and Prizes Elizabeth said ‘It was my dream to The following people were awarded come to London and study. While The following have been awarded Donald Milham prizes in the final doing this, I was lucky enough to research grants for 2009: (2009) round of awards: discover St Bride Foundation and its community. Leading up to my depart- Diane E. Booton: Hand-me-downs: 1st prize ure from the Library and London, my (re)use of blocks and plates by Mr Brian Hooper (£300) family saw an opportunity to assist in brothers Etienne Larcher at Nantes the long term conservation, preserva- and Jean Du Pre at Paris. The first and 2nd prizes tion and accessibility of the historic only Book of Hours printed in Brittany, Mr Dave Gladwell (£200) books and artefacts in St Bride Library by Larcher, will be studied as an ex- Mr Thomas Fox (£200) and to be a part of the Library’s future ample of the use of certain illustration Mr John Geoffrey Turner (£200) in a way that will benefit the Founda- blocks by different printers, and the Mr Jack R. Edwards (£200) tion and its visitors for many years to role of illustrations in this early printed Mr Robert A. Hamer (£200) come.’ book. Mr Robert Oswald Bradley (£200) 2 printing history news 23 EVENTS sellers, ten trade-suppliers and a range information for ordinary people in the of societies (including the Friends of St nineteenth century. Their typography Book History Workshop, Lyon Bride and the NPHT) will be exhibit- was typically archaic and their illustra- ing. There will also be a programme of tions were re-used time and again. Print- lectures on the Sunday. Admission is by ed crudely on poor-quality paper, with The seventh annual session of the Book catalogue (£5.00), valid for both days. a short lifetime anticipated, the survivals History Workshop will be held at Lyon, provide a window into British life and France, on 1–4 September 2009. It popular culture in the 1800s. This ex- offers four advanced courses aimed at Friends of St Bride hibition is a rare chance to see some of a variety of specialists who encounter the broadsheets in the Library’s collec- questions related to the history of the Library AGM tion, and complements Broadsheet bal- book, printing and graphic communi- lads, a theatre experience by Occam’s cation in the course of their work. Each The Annual General Meeting of the Razor Theatre Company and St Bride course is taught by a leading internati- Friends of St Bride will be held on Foundation, inspired by the Library’s onal expert in the field with emphasis Tuesday 30 June at 6:00 p.m. at the collection and contributing to the on the study of original documents. Library. Business will be followed at ‘Story of London Festival’. The four classes run simultaneously at 7:00 p.m. by: Analog source: letterpress the École normale supérieure, lettres et in an American design education, an sciences humaines, Lyon, with sessions illustrated talk by Professors Ashley Donald Milham, apprentice and John Pigford and William Deering. at the Lyon Printing Museum, the rare journeyman Printer, 1915–2006 books department of the City Library They will speak about the Raven Press and Enssib. at the University of Delaware as a place Peter Milham The tuition fee is 490 euros. In order of unbridled experimentation and to facilitate access to collections of orig- phenomenological education. Many Editor’s note: This is the third and inal documents the number of partici- examples of student work from the final part of a serialisation of Peter pants is limited to twelve per class. It is Visual Communications Program are Milham’s memoir of his father, and not possible to register for more than intended to incite a lively conversation consists of an appendix of brief one class for the four days. Fifteen about the value of letterpress in con- histories of the printing companies rooms are available in the École nor- temporary design teaching. All are Donald worked for. The previous male supérieure’s facilities for visiting welcome. £7.00 on the door (£5.00 parts appeared in issues 21 and 22. researchers, which are located in the concessions, £3.00 FoSB members). grounds of the school. Reservations are Amalgamated Press made on a first-come-first-served basis and are considered definitive only once St Bride Exhibition In 1899 a plot of land at Gravesend payment has been received. Lyon also which had originally been part of the offers a wide range of hotels at all Breathing broadsheets. 6 June–3 July Rosher estate was sold to the Harms- prices. The four courses are: at St Bride Library. Admission is free worth printing works. Alfred Harms- but please call ahead to check avail- worth, later Lord Northcliffe, founded 1 Paper and watermarks as bib- ability. Broadsheets were a cheap and and published several magazines and liographical evidence (in English). plentiful source of entertainment and periodicals, and formed Amalgamated Tutor: Neil Harris 2 Physical (analytical) bibliography (in French). Tutor: Dominique Varry 3 Introduction to the study of incunabula (in English). Tutor: Kristian Jensen 4 Printed ephemera under the magnifying glass (in English). Tutor: Michael Twyman Further details, and an application form, can be found at ihl.enssib.fr/ fichiers/mepIHL-UK.pdf. Fine Press Book Fair The 2009 Fine Press Book Fair will be held again at Oxford Brookes Univer- sity, Gipsy Lane, Oxford, on Saturday 7 November (11:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.) and Sunday 8 November (10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.). Some eighty fine and private presses, fifteen specialist book- Amalgamated Press in 1934 printing history news 23 3 Press in 1901.