![[Pickering pressmark]](Pickering.aldi.jpg)
Next from the press:
The Book Work of E. R. Weiss, by Gerald Cinamon
The first monograph in English of the German artist, poet, typographer, book designer and the teacher of Elizabeth Friedlander, is written by Jerry Cinamon, author of Rudolf Koch: Letterer, Type Designer, Teacher (Oak Knoll/British Library, 2000). This new book promises to be an important contribution to the history of an overlooked master of all 20th-century book arts from type design to binding. In addition to the many tipped-in plates showing Weiss's own work, we have commissioned three fine printers from the US who hold Weiss types in high regard to present examples from their own holdings: Leonard Seastone will design and print a broadsheet at his Tideline Press, Jerry Kelly has printed a sample of Weiss Fractur at his Kelly-Winterton Press and Phil Driscoll is setting a Weiss pamphlet in Weiss Intertype.
Constructed
on Lines of Truth & Beauty:
the Books of William Pickering, by Bernard Warrington
We are in the process of publishing what we think can justly be called the first major book about the publisher and antiquarian bookseller, William Pickering. The text is based on a series of scholarly articles first published in journals during the 1980s, which the author continued to revise as his collection and research grew. The illustrations will all be from Pickering's books, and will include bi-folia of original leaves and prints from surviving original wood blocks.
Pickering published books from 1820 to 1852, and was the first commercial publisher to use cloth binding, to have a page in a leaf book (1827), to successfully apply allusive typography when reprinting ancient texts; and he is also credited with spearheading the revival of Caslon Old Style types at the end of the 1830s. Though he developed an eye as a book designer rather than as a printer, he is justly regarded as the successor of such printers as Baskerville and Bensley, and is the link between them, William Morris, and the revival of fine printing that followed in the 20th century.
We admire him for his commitment to high production values and his belief that book publishing is as much about producing worthwhile texts to such values as it is about making money. Well, he did go bankrupt, but what's that compared to a legacy of fine books, we ask ourselves? Further details will be given as the book grows, but there will be a subscription list to help get this fine volume completed, so let us know if you are likely to want a copy - there will be extra pieces associated with the subscription copies for no extra cost.
William Pickering signalled his homage to the great sixteenth-century printer Aldus Manutius with his pressmark: the Aldine Dolphin and Anchor entwined with the words Aldi Discip. Anglus - The English disciple of Aldus.
A Bread & Cheese Bookseller: the autobiography of James Weatherley, a 19th-century Manchester bookseller
James Weatherley's autobiography comes from the vaults of the archive of Chetham's Library. Written in the 1860s and previously unpublished, Weatherley's hand-written text is here transcribed, introduced and annotated by Chetham's Librarian Dr. Michael Powell and the noted Manchester historian Terry Wyke. Richly illustrated from the Library's collection of early 19th-century Manchester ephemera, Weatherley's story vividly depicts the few joys and many vicissitudes of a life as a "bread and cheese bookseller", one of those working at the lower end of the book trade. Whether selling from a shelf hung round his neck or from a street stall or shop, he always struggled against his drinking habits. During the Peterloo Massacre he sat in a pub round the corner, and at one time had to walk to the debtors' prison in Lancaster. Several times he chased after an elusive Caxton that would change his fortune, never getting close enough. James Weatherley's story paints a striking portrait in Manchester during the difficult times of change in the early 19th century.
Book on playing cards delayed
A delay in the stencilling process has meant that our playing card book Woodcut Courts and Pochoir Pips has been put on hold. Although the type is set, the paper purchased, and many of the tip-ins printed, this delay has stymied production. As soon as work recommences on the hand colouring, we will be issuing a prospectus for this long-overdue project. Watch this web site for details.