rubber letterpress teaser (1 Viewer)

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I may add some recent production photos, to further whip you into a bibliomaniacal frenzy.

Found some bookcloth I'd squirreled away, so there will be blue cloth hardcover and a reddish brown cloth, as well as possibly another color cloth that I may need to buy. I'm hoping to start on the first hardcover today.
 
let me know what your preferred color of bookcloth is and what size you would like and I'll send you some. I have probably 50 yards of various colors of bookcloth. No kidding.

Bill
 
Hot damn, Bill! Thanks. Because this book is small, odds and ends would work. I'll do some figuring and get back to you. Much appreciated.
 
Here are some photos from making the covers for the paperbacks:

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The linoleum block before being inked.

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The inked block, ready to print.

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I roll out some ink in a metal tray and then roll it onto the block, lay the paper over the block and rub the back of the paper with a spoon.

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When I pull away the paper, the ink has been transfered to it from the block.

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A bunch of covers, before they have the title.

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The titles are printed, one letter at a time, with this alphabet stamp set.

...I didn't get any hardcovers made today. Spent all afternoon trimming a bush that was turning into a tree and taking over one side of our house. But soon...
 
It's great to see how projects like these start taking over dining room tables and such. Just keep things out of the bathtub and you'll be fine. The paperbacks are looking great, which bodes well for the hardcovers.
 
I do my printing on the kitchen table, and spread out pages to dry on the dinning room table. I have a ping pong table upstairs that I call my desk, but right now it's covered in Steve Richmond letters and books (a writing project) and there's no space for working on anything else there. I've been eyeing an usued bath tub upstairs -- might make a good area for a darkroom on another project I have planned.
 
One of the things I learnt on this forum is about how exciting is to 'make' a book. The closer I got to something like this were some binding classes at high school. I applaud you, gentlemen.
 
It is exciting to make a book. A lot of work, but there's satisfaction in seeing it evolve. What I like is that it is such a physical thing. It's analog, real world, wrestling with physical matrials.
 
Thanks, kilgore. This may be the last project that I use this rotary press for. It's showing it's age. I compared the printing I've just done with it to that in a book I published years ago, Ideal Tourist, and the print is now far less sharp and precise. I think that's because the rubber rings at the edges of the press drum that hold the lines of type in place have lost their strength. They are stretched out and the type shifts about as I print. I was constantly repositioning it as I printed. I may buy a different one on eBay, one that hasn't been used much. Mine is effectively worn out. These old toy printing presses are very cheap on eBay. Anyway, I made it behave as well as possible, but there are small defects in the printing, which, I think, gives the book character, or makes it fucked up, depending on your perspective.

Bought the paper for the endpapers yesterday. A cool pale green Mango paper with leaves and flowers of Mango plants in it. It's machine made but looks like handmade paper. I normally don't like green, but I loved this shade immediately. Still experimenting with the first hardcover. Had to do some surgery on it due to a miscalculation. It's full blue cloth, with a printed label. I'll post a photo when it's done. Now I need to feed the dog her chicken.
 
I did a little letterpress printing downtown in Portland and I loved it when I got a letter or two with a nick. It was a cool little difference between the "e" in the word "the" and the "e" in the word "hell." I can't wait to find a press of my own.
 
I've done a fair amount of 1 color screenprinting and love it when different editions are marked by 'junk in the screen'. Those little errors are just great. I've been poking around to find an actual printing press, and just today came across an AB Dick 8820, which I'm terribly tempted by, but man, what a COMMITMENT!
 
I've never used an offset press but I have a feeling it's not simple. Also, parts and servicing may be hard to come by if it's an obsolete model.
 
Servicing of small offset presses was typically done by the operator, which is why I asked if kilgore was "good with tools" in the other thread. If you aren't mechanically inclined it's not going to be an easy road. Aside from repairs, they need constant mechanical adjustment to provide good results. Especially an older press, which, I would assume, the 8820 is.

When you run one of those things you're like an Oakie in Grapes of Wrath driving an old jalopy across the desert toward California. You have to be able to feel potential problems in subtle variations and vibrations of the steering wheel...or in the sound of the engine. And you have to be able to fix the shit when it fails or you'll end up sitting by the side of the road for a long, long time.

Damn, that's a good book.
 
More pictures. The paperbacks are all bound and ready, and the hardcovers are coming along. I finished the first, prototype hardcover, which is shown below.

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A bunch of paperback copies.

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A paperback.

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Stamp letters used to print the title on the covers.

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Labels for the hardcovers.

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Prototype hardcover with Mango endpapers.

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Prototype hardcover, before I pasted on a label.

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Prototype hardcover with it's label. I'm not sure about the cream paper at the bottom of the label. I'm thinking I may trim it off on other copies. Or should I keep it?

As you can see, the paperbacks have the grave headstone printed in black while the hardcovers have it in violet ink.

All the boards are cut for the hardcovers, and all the labels are printed. Also, all the Mango endpapers are cut. Couldn't find my big papercutter (it's about 24 by 24 by 5 inches, and heavy -- how can I misplace something like that? But it hasn't turned up after a half hour search of the house) -- so I cut the endpapers by hand.

The paperbacks are staple bound, but the hardcovers will be sewn. I've done enough prep work that it shouldn't take much more time for me to have enough hardcovers completed to make a "for sale" announcement. Stay tuned...
 
Those mango endpapers are spectacular. Seriously great touch there. But are they really endpapers? You've got what looks like cream endpapers "outside" the mango paper.

My 2 cents on the hardcover labels is that I'd vote for trimming off the cream bottom border. More work for you, though, so do whatever you like.
 
You're right about the Mango not being a real endpaper, Purple Stickpin. The Mango paper is very thin, like a tissue, and I'm not sure it's strong enough to act as a pastedown sheet, holding the book in the covers. I thought it might rip loose, so I made it more a sheet surrounding the text, with a cream color endpaper that is the same stock as the printed text.

It won't take much work to trim off the cream bottom of the label -- a few seconds -- so if I decide it looks better, I'll do it that way. Maybe I'll make a second test copy like that to make sure I like it.
 
A favorite thread watching this from beginning to end. 2nd Stickpin's vote on the trim but either way it's a beautiful production.
 
Thanks, Stav. I'll trim the bottom of the labels. I think it'll look better.

I just got a package of book cloth from Bill Roberts, a generous donation by him, and it is beautiful stuff, and in my favorite colors. The hardbacks are going to be nice looking, with lots of variety.
 
The pages for the hardcovers are now all collated and sewn. Next up: making the case bindings for the hardcovers. That involves gluing the cloth over all the boards I recently cut. I like the approach I'm taking with this project of doing one step for all copies, a step at a time. By doing the same step over and over on different copies, I get more skillful, the results are better, and it goes faster than if I was binding each copy from start to finish, one at a time. And it's moving right along.
 
Coming from anyone else, Black Swan, that might be a bit intimidating (they're wtaching me!), but from you, it's reassuring.
 
Just finished making 20 case bindings for the GHOST hardcovers and I'm feeling a bit like Bill Roberts. Then again, 3/4ths of the cloth I used was left over pieces from BOSP projects so it's not surprizing I would be thinking of Bill. And all those different colors and textues of cloth look great glued to boards. Not much more to do on this project: paste the sewn books into the case bindings and then glue on the labels. Maybe done in a couple weeks.
 
I found this thread very captivating. It's nice to see how much care and effort is put into a project like this. I've only recently got interested in artist books and the small press. It's really added another dimension to the 'book' for me if that makes any sense. I recently went to an artist book/small press festival at the scottish poetry library in Edinburgh and was blown away by the beauty of some of the books on show. The quality of the physical materials used in the production of these books, as well as the content of the work seemed like such amazing value for money when compared to most of the stuff i see on the best seller shelves in waterstones. Anyway, thanks for the insight David, you've greatly contributed to my growing interest in the small press.
 
Hi nogg -- thanks for the props. I wasn't able to work on the book last week and probably won't this week, due to other demands, so it's behind schedule, but I'm itching to get back to it. So close to being done.
 
Today I pasted the sewn books into their cloth-covered case bindings. A little tricky, but not hard. They're looking good. All that remains for me to do is trim the labels and paste them on the hardcovers, then I'll offer both hardcovers and paperbacks for sale.
 
I should have been done with the hardcovers by now but the past week was gobbled up by having to repair my bathroom floor (we were in danger of falling through the hole were the floor boards were rotted by water leaks). I'm finishing up the floor job today (or in the next few days) and then it's back to trimming the labels and gluing them on the covers. Frustrating to be so near completion with the books and have to go do something difficult and boring like house repairs.
 
The book is finally done. I'll post photos and announce copies for sale later today, in a new thread, and start taking orders then. I have to say the hardcovers came out fantastic, thanks to the cool variety of book cloths donated by Bill Roberts. They look great. Thanks, Bill!

Several of you have asked to reserve copies and they are reserved. I have a list and I haven't lost it (yet) in this madhouse (but it's a madhouse with a nice bathroom floor.)
 
Bill:

I'll give payment info in the "official" announcement, coming shortly. Your copy of the hardcover is gratis, in thanks for the book cloth, and for a lot of other reasons having to do with what a great human being you truly are. I'm keeping copy #1, you get copy number #2.
 
It should be noted that those pieces were scraps. I use a LOT of bookcloth so I have a lot of larger scraps.

note to group... Anyone that wants to try their hand and start a small press, I am more than happy to send you some stuff and help you along with any technical advice. It does my heart good to see new presses pop up. Plus, this forum has a bunch of talented writers to ask for a poem or story to get you started. I would even be willing to letterpress a broadside for your press if you were serious about it... You just pay the actual costs that I have to pay.

Just a thought... There are too few small press publishers that care about great writing AND great presentation. We need more people that get it...

Can you make a living at it? No, of course not, but it is rewarding and you can make a few bucks.

I'm not sure what I would do without BoSP.

Bill
 
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