Alligator Stew 3- Finally (1 Viewer)

I think this issue has nearly been the death of me, with a combination of dying computers, dying me (well, evil viral infection anyway), printing issues, blah blah blah.

Anyway, I'm pleased to announce that the contributor copies ship tomorrow, and then copies will be available for sale in April. There are only 50 numbered copies for sale and if you look at some of the contributors in the picture below you can see that irrespective of my workmanship you will want to own a copy.

Each issue is contained in letterpress card wraps with a letterpress title page (the black page below!) sewn binding and (I kid you not) 56 pages of poetry and full colour illustration. It is a fat chapbook which I am proud of. Due to the size and the professional printing of the guts this issue will be £9 +p&p. I'm giving you guys first dibs as so many people from here have supported my little rag. If you want to pre-order a copy drop me a PM and I'll keep one by, but no money required upfront.

That's it. Now here's some teaser photos (albeit slightly out of focus)...

AS3-COVERSHOT.jpg



AS3-TITLEPAGE.jpg



AS3-CONTENTPAGE.jpg



gay2.jpg


Wait, how did that last one get in there?
 
I got my contributor's copy today and it is gorgeous. You do beautiful work, Mr. Lally. Even the folder protecting the book during shipping (inside the regular mailing envelop) is a work of art. That is some huge letterpress type on the cover. Printed by anyone we know? Good to see so much art and, like someone said, all the ladies included.
 
I believe that Mr. Lally printed these himself. They were not printed by me, although I would have been proud to have that beautiful work mistakenly attributed to me!

Bill
 
The larger type for the cover is wood, and what I love about wood type is the little nicks and scratches that come through in the print. I'm not sure about using gold ink again though. It looks sexy, but it was a real pain to clean up after.

David's four page poem 'food stamps' was one of the first things I decided to include for this issue. For me, it captures something of the world we're living in right now and I'm genuinely proud to have published it. It is also accompanied by one of Jocelyne's brooding paintings.
 
Thanks for publishing my poem, Mr. Lally -- especially such a long one. I was glad to see Jocelyne's art in there, as well as Carol's and others'.
 
Gold is a big pain to clean up as is silver because it is oil based and drys pretty fast. I use rubber based when I can, but metallics are always oil based (or at least that is what I have heard). You can leave rubber based on the press overnight and it'll print the next day. With oil, you have a couple hours. With longer runs, it is best to clean the press halfway through and start new.

Also, some people print white first, then gold over it to really get it to "pop". Still, you need to have perfect registration to make that look good...

Bill
 
There is another method which involves metallic 'dust', but apparently you can only ever remove about 80% of it in the clean-up. Another problem with the gold was that I had to be a lot more careful about how deep an impression I went for, and how much ink was applied. As I use a studio's letterpress I was told I had to hand-roll as they didn't want me to ink up the rollers.

Despite the additional problems, I do really like metallic ink. A very good example is the silver ink on Hosh's Bospress book (in fact, the whole design for that is one of my favourite book designs.) The gold will also be appearing on my forthcoming release of Harry Calhoun's new book (also due in April), but then it's going to be put to one side for a while.
 
With longer runs, it is best to clean the press halfway through and start new.
Hmm. I guess I could see that for letterpress. But I used to do 20-30,000 runs on the offset presses with oil-based ink, only stopping long enough to unload/load another case of paper.

Rubber-based ink is easier to work with in a lot of ways, but if you have large solids in a long run (where the weight of the stack on the delivery end starts to become an issue), you need the drying speed of oil-based.

The best part of a long run though was if you were any good at setting up and running those presses, a long run meant a lot of time to read. ;) I used to love to see the 20,000 copy orders come in. Some days went like that, but some days were 20 different envelopes, or piddly shit like that that required constant attention.

How dare they monopolize my work time like that!
 
Got mine today. Excellent work, and the contents are tasty also.

Too many chicks, though...






;)
 
David's four page poem 'food stamps' was one of the first things I decided to include for this issue. For me, it captures something of the world we're living in right now and I'm genuinely proud to have published it. It is also accompanied by one of Jocelyne's brooding paintings.
I've looked at the picture of the TOC several times and I don't see David listed there. Is his a "special, unannounced guest poet" contribution?

Looking forward to seeing this.
 
Yeah, I'm not listed in the TOC, and at first I thought maybe the poem had been cut (and that would have been okay) but I'm right next to Jocelyn's painting. Find her and you found me.

I love reading your printer exchanges.
 
So sorry David, I'm sure I double checked the TOC, but maybe like your heart you presume it's there ticking! Last issue I, for some reason, gave one of the poets a new surname. I preferred my choice. Pig Ear Press...hmmm
 
That's totally okay. I like the idea of being a stealth contributor. It actually pleased me not to be listed but to be in there. Maybe I'm getting perverse in my old age?
 
Stew finally arrived on the edge of the continental shelf. Of course I read several at the back of the book first, then got intrigued at the varied and uniformly excellent illustrations. I have read about half the book so far and the poems are all fine. The layout is crisp, the cover dramatic, and the details were attended to beautifully
 
I just received my copy and find it beautiful. The presentation is very good, the cover and black thread a nice touch.
My cat has a good time dragging that little piece of thread around the room. Did you sprinkle catnip on it or what?
The poetry is very well worth reading.
So, thank you for choosing my man sitting in a waiting room to accompany David's piece.
Very nice, Mr.Lally!
 
I concur. Fine work, and a really fine design. If there were more mags out there like this, wouldn't have to be drunk tonight writing about it...
 
Yep, when it wears off you'll realise I've got all your wallets. Thanks again to everyone for their kind words. Once I can finish my new website it'll go on sale (although over half have been pre-sold)
 

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