1dlphcoracl
Jamie Murphy of The Salvage Press has just announced the release and launch date for his newest publication entitled 'Town', which is the term locals refer to Dublin city as. It is his first publication since his magnum opus 'A Modest Proposal' by Jonathan Swift, published to considerable acclaim last year and winner of the Judges' Choice Award at the FBPA Oxford Fine Press Book Fair in March 2018 (see link).
https://vimeo.com/230147801
"Town' is a suite of poetry by Annemarie Ni Churreáin revolving about present-day Dublin, illustrated with photography by Rich Gilligan highlighting the less traveled areas of Dublin. It is being issued in an edition of 80 copies as follows:
Standard: Nos. 1-50 bound in painted cloth over boards, housed in a cloth covered slipcase. Copies i-iv are similarly bound and reserved for collaborators in this publication. Cost: 880 euros.
Deluxe: Lettered A-Z and bound in full alum tawed goat and house in a painted cloth-covered solander box. Accompanied by a separate portfolio containing eight additional original photographic prints. Cost: 1550 euros.
In a departure from his previous editions, the bindings for 'Town' are being executed by Craig Jensen at BookLab II, San Marcos, Texas - a truly top notch bookbinder.
There is a 20% pre-publication discount if ordered before July 17th. A link to the promotional video is given:
https://vimeo.com/277675093
Additional information regarding the evolution of 'Town' can be found directly on Jamie Murphy's Twitter page:
https://twitter.com/thesalvagepress?lang=en
Contact Jamie Murphy directly for a printed prospectus or to place an order.
https://vimeo.com/230147801
"Town' is a suite of poetry by Annemarie Ni Churreáin revolving about present-day Dublin, illustrated with photography by Rich Gilligan highlighting the less traveled areas of Dublin. It is being issued in an edition of 80 copies as follows:
Standard: Nos. 1-50 bound in painted cloth over boards, housed in a cloth covered slipcase. Copies i-iv are similarly bound and reserved for collaborators in this publication. Cost: 880 euros.
Deluxe: Lettered A-Z and bound in full alum tawed goat and house in a painted cloth-covered solander box. Accompanied by a separate portfolio containing eight additional original photographic prints. Cost: 1550 euros.
In a departure from his previous editions, the bindings for 'Town' are being executed by Craig Jensen at BookLab II, San Marcos, Texas - a truly top notch bookbinder.
There is a 20% pre-publication discount if ordered before July 17th. A link to the promotional video is given:
https://vimeo.com/277675093
Additional information regarding the evolution of 'Town' can be found directly on Jamie Murphy's Twitter page:
https://twitter.com/thesalvagepress?lang=en
Contact Jamie Murphy directly for a printed prospectus or to place an order.
2Sorion
The full alum tawed goat is very very appealing. Alas releasing at the perfectly wrong time. In the fall I’d purchase this in a heartbeat. I love Jamie Murphy’s work and find him the most exciting press working right now.
3venkysuniverse
>2 Sorion: Where are you able to see the full alum tawed goat?. Is it in the prospectus?
4Sorion
>3 venkysuniverse: No I looked up alum tawed goat on google and found pictures of it. Now assuming it's full and not quarter as it says all I can say is that it looks fabulous and I'm excited to see the release photos in a couple weeks here. Luxurious is how I would describe what I think it will look like from the sample photos of the leather.
5venkysuniverse
>4 Sorion: Oh ok. I googled now as well and looks really lovely. However the price for that version is above my budget, so will have to hold on for now.
6dlphcoracl
Jamie Murphy's NYC launch of his newest book 'Town' was well received this week. First copies will be shipped in about two weeks directly from the bindery - Craig Jensen and Booklab II - in San Marcos, TX. For those of you unfamiliar with Jensen's work and reputation (note: he is considered one of the foremost fine bookbinders in the world) the link below will be useful.
http://www.nawakumpress.com/collaborators-list/craig-jensen
http://www.nawakumpress.com/collaborators-list/craig-jensen
7Sorion
>5 venkysuniverse: >6 dlphcoracl: Struggling with this one. I’m in love with it visually. The price though for what is no doubt a rather short work, I’m assuming less then 50 pages from the looks of it, is difficult to reconcile to say the least. I love Jamie Murphy’s work but the prices are difficult to come to terms with for the length of the works he’s releasing. Any thoughts?
8dlphcoracl
>7 Sorion:
Your assessment is correct and this is indeed becoming problematic. I still purchased the deluxe copy of ‘Town’ because the book design is so innovative and visually stunning but the literary content is less than stellar, ten rather short poems. Jamie Murphy wants to feature and highlight the work of female literary figures in Ireland - going forward, I am going to take a pass on most poetry collections from ALL private presses. I simply don’t relate to them. Say what one will regarding the Arion Press but their books of poetry are substantial and feature a generous collection and selection of poems, e.g., the Elizabeth Bishop, Jorie Graham and Seamus Heaney (Stone from Delphi) books.
Incidentally, Jamie is finishing 2018 with two additional books of poetry, one entitled ‘Nine Silences’ from a female poet named Doireann Ni Ghriofa and ‘Darklight’ from John Fitzgerald. ‘Nine Silences’ appears to have a decidedly feminist bent and it is an easy pass for me as I find this topic increasingly tiresome. After these two books, Jamie is taking a one- year sabbatical from publishing (no books in 2019) and will spend the year teaching.
As an aside, the private press that I believe was most successful in not falling into the private press rabbit-hole of publishing what they loved and not what would prove interesting to a general audience of readers and book collectors is the Allen Press. Note that in over a half century of publishing and a bibliography of 55 or 56 books, they NEVER published a collection of poetry. Smart decision on their part, I might add.
Your assessment is correct and this is indeed becoming problematic. I still purchased the deluxe copy of ‘Town’ because the book design is so innovative and visually stunning but the literary content is less than stellar, ten rather short poems. Jamie Murphy wants to feature and highlight the work of female literary figures in Ireland - going forward, I am going to take a pass on most poetry collections from ALL private presses. I simply don’t relate to them. Say what one will regarding the Arion Press but their books of poetry are substantial and feature a generous collection and selection of poems, e.g., the Elizabeth Bishop, Jorie Graham and Seamus Heaney (Stone from Delphi) books.
Incidentally, Jamie is finishing 2018 with two additional books of poetry, one entitled ‘Nine Silences’ from a female poet named Doireann Ni Ghriofa and ‘Darklight’ from John Fitzgerald. ‘Nine Silences’ appears to have a decidedly feminist bent and it is an easy pass for me as I find this topic increasingly tiresome. After these two books, Jamie is taking a one- year sabbatical from publishing (no books in 2019) and will spend the year teaching.
As an aside, the private press that I believe was most successful in not falling into the private press rabbit-hole of publishing what they loved and not what would prove interesting to a general audience of readers and book collectors is the Allen Press. Note that in over a half century of publishing and a bibliography of 55 or 56 books, they NEVER published a collection of poetry. Smart decision on their part, I might add.
9Sorion
>8 dlphcoracl: I’m glad to know I’m not alone. Jamie’s talent is incredible I just hope that he doesn’t hurt himself in the long run with some of the choices he’s making. I’ll Be passing on The Town. 10 poems just doesn’t provide the value his price is asking for.
Artistic talent does not nessecarily always coincide with a gift for picking what to publish but often can compensate for a less then desirable subject.
The Salvage Press is still the first place my money will go if the product is right however.
I cannot find anything about the Allen Press online. Can you provide a link to some information about them?
Artistic talent does not nessecarily always coincide with a gift for picking what to publish but often can compensate for a less then desirable subject.
The Salvage Press is still the first place my money will go if the product is right however.
I cannot find anything about the Allen Press online. Can you provide a link to some information about them?
10dlphcoracl
>9 Sorion:
Seek and ye shall find - and then some !!!
The Allen Press still remains one of the best kept secrets in the private press book collecting world and the prices for their books remain much lower than they should be for their superlative quality. I own nearly their entire bibliography (57 of 58 books) and there isn't a loser in the lot.
In 2011 I wrote an introductory article for Chris Adamson and his Books and Vines fine & private press website to introduce his readers to the Allen Press and this will help get you started (see link).
https://booksandvines.com/2011/09/21/allen-press-of-lewis-and-dorothy-allen/
20 of their 55 books are included in Books and Vines review articles, all with detailed high resolution photographs, and this will further introduce you to these marvelous books (see link).
https://booksandvines.com/index-of-book-reviews-by-publisher/
And remember: on the Books and Vines website if you left-click with your mouse over a photo it will enlarge. If you then left-click a second time over the already enlarged photo, most will enlarge even further, giving you a highly detailed macro view. This will enable you to see the quality of the handmade papers and the legendary Lewis & Dorothy Allen letterpress printing using a variety of 19th century hand presses.
Bon appétit.
Seek and ye shall find - and then some !!!
The Allen Press still remains one of the best kept secrets in the private press book collecting world and the prices for their books remain much lower than they should be for their superlative quality. I own nearly their entire bibliography (57 of 58 books) and there isn't a loser in the lot.
In 2011 I wrote an introductory article for Chris Adamson and his Books and Vines fine & private press website to introduce his readers to the Allen Press and this will help get you started (see link).
https://booksandvines.com/2011/09/21/allen-press-of-lewis-and-dorothy-allen/
20 of their 55 books are included in Books and Vines review articles, all with detailed high resolution photographs, and this will further introduce you to these marvelous books (see link).
https://booksandvines.com/index-of-book-reviews-by-publisher/
And remember: on the Books and Vines website if you left-click with your mouse over a photo it will enlarge. If you then left-click a second time over the already enlarged photo, most will enlarge even further, giving you a highly detailed macro view. This will enable you to see the quality of the handmade papers and the legendary Lewis & Dorothy Allen letterpress printing using a variety of 19th century hand presses.
Bon appétit.
11dlphcoracl
>9 Sorion:
With regard to the Salvage Press 'Town' I viewed the deluxe edition of this book first and foremost as a superlative example of The Arts of the Book and as a book of modern photography - a superb example of book design and production values. The photography was reproduced with extreme care, the Czech handmade paper from the Velké Losiny Mill is superb, the binding in full white alum-tawed goatskin by Craig Jensen is world class and the clamshell box design with hand-painted cloth cover and extra suite of original Rich Gilligan photographs is unique. The poems by Annemarie Ni Churreáin were tolerable, but nothing I would have purchased as a stand alone book.
I agree with you - Jamie is falling into the Private Press Rabbit Hole and increasingly publishing what HE likes and not what his subscribers like or want. His focus on poetry collections from Irish poets who are not especially well known outside of Ireland, with emphasis on female poets, will make his work increasingly limited in appeal. By contrast, the Barbarian Press (Vancouver) has negotiated this delicate balance far more successfully, imho. Although poetry collections are usually a bit of a reach for me, the Barbarian Press edition of Constantine Cavafy poems ('The Splendour of a Morning') was spot on - a generous collection of poems from an outstanding 20th century poet who was not well represented in private press editions.
With regard to the Salvage Press 'Town' I viewed the deluxe edition of this book first and foremost as a superlative example of The Arts of the Book and as a book of modern photography - a superb example of book design and production values. The photography was reproduced with extreme care, the Czech handmade paper from the Velké Losiny Mill is superb, the binding in full white alum-tawed goatskin by Craig Jensen is world class and the clamshell box design with hand-painted cloth cover and extra suite of original Rich Gilligan photographs is unique. The poems by Annemarie Ni Churreáin were tolerable, but nothing I would have purchased as a stand alone book.
I agree with you - Jamie is falling into the Private Press Rabbit Hole and increasingly publishing what HE likes and not what his subscribers like or want. His focus on poetry collections from Irish poets who are not especially well known outside of Ireland, with emphasis on female poets, will make his work increasingly limited in appeal. By contrast, the Barbarian Press (Vancouver) has negotiated this delicate balance far more successfully, imho. Although poetry collections are usually a bit of a reach for me, the Barbarian Press edition of Constantine Cavafy poems ('The Splendour of a Morning') was spot on - a generous collection of poems from an outstanding 20th century poet who was not well represented in private press editions.
12gmacaree
>10 dlphcoracl: I second dlphcoracl's recommendations -- I think that the Allen Press constantly hit the nail on the head with the quality of their work and the wisdom of their selections. The only other press I collect that seem comparable in that regard are Yolla Bolly.
13Sorion
>10 dlphcoracl: Now that is the sort of rabbit hole I love to jump down. Thank you for the write up of The Allen Press. Greatly enjoyed reading what I could of them last night and will definitely be looking to add them to my collection in the future. Truly impressed.
>12 gmacaree: Yolla Bolly is another on my list of things I specifically look out for. Their work is fantastic.
>11 dlphcoracl: You're view of Town is why I was so torn. For all the reasons you listed I was very interested. It is however a disappointment in actual literal content. That is what I cannot get past.
>12 gmacaree: Yolla Bolly is another on my list of things I specifically look out for. Their work is fantastic.
>11 dlphcoracl: You're view of Town is why I was so torn. For all the reasons you listed I was very interested. It is however a disappointment in actual literal content. That is what I cannot get past.
14dlphcoracl
>11 dlphcoracl:
Sort of like saying:
"Aside from that, Mrs. Lincoln, how did you enjoy the play?"
And that is the rub. The literary content is not impressive but everything else about the book is. I rationalized it by saying that I was collecting it primarily as a book with interesting photography that represented The Arts of the Book with innovative design and use of superb materials. Unfortunately, the price is very steep for a book that is not a good read.
Sort of like saying:
"Aside from that, Mrs. Lincoln, how did you enjoy the play?"
And that is the rub. The literary content is not impressive but everything else about the book is. I rationalized it by saying that I was collecting it primarily as a book with interesting photography that represented The Arts of the Book with innovative design and use of superb materials. Unfortunately, the price is very steep for a book that is not a good read.
15gmurphy
>13 Sorion:
>14 dlphcoracl:
I couldn’t agree more with the above discussion on ‘TOWN’ and would also support the view that the books issued by The Allen Press and Yolla Bolly Press are outstanding (in particular,check out The Yolla Bolly ‘My First Summer in the Sierra’ and ‘My Winged Life’).
A book of poetry issued by The Salvage Press which,I think,is worth its published price,is ‘Winter’.
Another recommendation I would make from The Salvage Press catalogue is ‘Maldon’,one of the Press’s more affordable publications.
>14 dlphcoracl:
I couldn’t agree more with the above discussion on ‘TOWN’ and would also support the view that the books issued by The Allen Press and Yolla Bolly Press are outstanding (in particular,check out The Yolla Bolly ‘My First Summer in the Sierra’ and ‘My Winged Life’).
A book of poetry issued by The Salvage Press which,I think,is worth its published price,is ‘Winter’.
Another recommendation I would make from The Salvage Press catalogue is ‘Maldon’,one of the Press’s more affordable publications.
16dlphcoracl
>13 Sorion:
Ironically, there are striking parallels between the Allen Press and the Yolla Bolly Press:
1. Both were started and operated by husband-and-wife teams.
2. Both presses were Californian.
3. Both presses started their careers doing work for other publishers (Allen Press = Book Club of California; Yolla Bolly Press = Sierra Club) before starting their own independent presses.
4. Both presses insisted that all of their publications contain illustrations, with emphasis on wood-engravings and woodcuts.
5. Both presses prided themselves on using the finest handmade papers and materials (exotic cloths for their bindings and slipcases) for their editions.
The only area they diverge is in their selection of material. The Yolla Bolly press published a number of pleasant but rather lightweight works and they were certainly more quirky and independent, i.e., not primarily concerned with how the literary content appealed to a wider audience. By contrast, in over a half-century the Allen Press selections were near-flawless. Excluding their first tranche of books which were small editions printed for the Book Club of California, the only major miss (for me) was their edition of 'Jealousy' by Alain Robbe-Grillet, a literary work of dubious merit.
Ironically, there are striking parallels between the Allen Press and the Yolla Bolly Press:
1. Both were started and operated by husband-and-wife teams.
2. Both presses were Californian.
3. Both presses started their careers doing work for other publishers (Allen Press = Book Club of California; Yolla Bolly Press = Sierra Club) before starting their own independent presses.
4. Both presses insisted that all of their publications contain illustrations, with emphasis on wood-engravings and woodcuts.
5. Both presses prided themselves on using the finest handmade papers and materials (exotic cloths for their bindings and slipcases) for their editions.
The only area they diverge is in their selection of material. The Yolla Bolly press published a number of pleasant but rather lightweight works and they were certainly more quirky and independent, i.e., not primarily concerned with how the literary content appealed to a wider audience. By contrast, in over a half-century the Allen Press selections were near-flawless. Excluding their first tranche of books which were small editions printed for the Book Club of California, the only major miss (for me) was their edition of 'Jealousy' by Alain Robbe-Grillet, a literary work of dubious merit.
17dlphcoracl
>15 gmurphy:
I own both 'Maldon' and 'Winter' and agree with both recommendations. 'Winter' is an excellent example of how a poetry collection can be meaningful and of interest to a wide audience - a collection of poems dealing with the Irish experience and involvement in World War I from a variety of early twentieth-century Irish literary figures, spanning a wide swath of backgrounds and social status.
I own both 'Maldon' and 'Winter' and agree with both recommendations. 'Winter' is an excellent example of how a poetry collection can be meaningful and of interest to a wide audience - a collection of poems dealing with the Irish experience and involvement in World War I from a variety of early twentieth-century Irish literary figures, spanning a wide swath of backgrounds and social status.
18jveezer
I had a conversation with Jamie at CODEX about the paucity of female authors in private press publishing and was very excited that he was publishing some Irish poetry by women. Alas, I cannot afford his books usually, or I would be all over Town (pun intended). I wish him great success with this book.
I love what I've seen of the Allen Press but don't own anything other than the bibliography, which is lovely. They published two women: Gertrude Atherton and that old fine/private press standby Edith Wharton. I'd love to see those two books.
I love what I've seen of the Allen Press but don't own anything other than the bibliography, which is lovely. They published two women: Gertrude Atherton and that old fine/private press standby Edith Wharton. I'd love to see those two books.
19dlphcoracl
>18 jveezer:
The Edith Wharton and Gertrude Atherton books can both be seen on the Book and Vines website using the links given to Sorion in post >10 dlphcoracl: .
The Edith Wharton and Gertrude Atherton books can both be seen on the Book and Vines website using the links given to Sorion in post >10 dlphcoracl: .
20Sorion
>15 gmurphy: >17 dlphcoracl:
I also own Maldon and Winter and Winter especially is one of my most treasured books. I consider it an unmitigated success in every way. AND to top it off it fits into one of my main focuses with poetry which is WW1 poetry.
Winter in taking the war from the Irish perspective really excited me for the future of TSP in regards to the Irish perspective on life, love, war etc. I don’t know. Still very torn yet still very excited to see what Jaimie does in the future!
>16 dlphcoracl: These are the sorts of things that can really intrigue someone who is new to collecting(within the last 5 years) and doesn’t have a focus yet. Thank you for posting this sort of information as there is a paucity of info in general online regarding the finer details of private presses.
I also own Maldon and Winter and Winter especially is one of my most treasured books. I consider it an unmitigated success in every way. AND to top it off it fits into one of my main focuses with poetry which is WW1 poetry.
Winter in taking the war from the Irish perspective really excited me for the future of TSP in regards to the Irish perspective on life, love, war etc. I don’t know. Still very torn yet still very excited to see what Jaimie does in the future!
>16 dlphcoracl: These are the sorts of things that can really intrigue someone who is new to collecting(within the last 5 years) and doesn’t have a focus yet. Thank you for posting this sort of information as there is a paucity of info in general online regarding the finer details of private presses.
21kdweber
Stop telling people about the Allen Press (or the Yolla Bolly Press for that matter). These are not the books you are looking for! At least wait until I've bought a full set.
>18 jveezer:. The Wharton and Atherton books are both wonderful. Highly recommended.
>18 jveezer:. The Wharton and Atherton books are both wonderful. Highly recommended.
22ultrarightist
Listen to >21 kdweber:!
23Jamie_Murphy
Dear fine press friends,
I've just been looking for an article online and came across this thread. I hope you will allow me to swoop in and share a few thoughts.
Firstly, to those of you who have ever bought my books, please accept my heartfelt thanks, the preservation of my little imprint is down to you. To those of you who continue to buy fine press books from any living makers, again please accept my heartfelt thanks, the preservation of this entire field is down to you.
My love for and appreciation of fine press came about due to my background as a typographic designer. I found this area of book-making to be the closest fit for what I wanted to achieve in my work. As a designer and letterpress printer, by book projects consume very moment of my life. If I'm not physically printing, I'm designing, composing, drawing, researching, testing, discussing, planning, dreaming up the next book. With each and every book I'm trying to attempt something new to me — processes, techniques, materials etc — as I'm always trying to push myself to grow and learn from every project.
My earlier books came about simply because the copyright-free content was available to me and I enjoyed bringing new shape and meaning to those texts — solely as a designer and printer — precisely the approach to fine press that in many ways bores me now. As has been noted above, I recently made a decision to concentrate on working with Irish female writers. Female writers are criminally overlooked in contemporary fine press and in my view they have the most relevant things to say. So instead of just rehashing old texts in time honoured layouts and bindings, I've decided to work with young and upcoming female writers on new and interesting collaborative book projects. This move is hugely satisfying and wonderfully rewarding. Regarding Annemarie's contribution to TOWN, I agree that the content is rather scarce and I will hold my hands up as I commissioned the work (but I received exactly what I asked for and wasn't left short). If you feel that the quality of the writing is not to your taste then I can totally respect that, but personally, I think these poems are ever so strong — well researched, sensitive, articulate, sharp, poignant, rich with historical context, all of them making an expression on a variety of subjects at the heart of the book — Dublin city, or 'Town' as it is referred to by locals.
Regarding the pricing, I think it's important to understand just how much time and resources go into making a book like this through letterpress. This is not a large edition of several hundred copies printed on an automatic cylinder machine, funded by hundreds of subscribers and government grants, this is a small edition printed slowly on a pretty heavy 1960s proofing press, funded entirely by me personally. Let me try to detail each element of TOWN here: the 80kg of type was cast fresh in Germany from the original mats before being distributed here into seven cases; the type was composed by hand with particular attention given to macro adjustments — eg. accents in the text were created by transplanting the accent from é to other vowels, using a small file under magnifying glass; the printing was completed on a Western double crown proofing press, two pages at a time; the images were shot on 35mm film on the streets of Dublin before the full edition of 10 x 8" handprints (860+) were made by Barbara Wilson in London; following months of research, the handmade paper was created for this project by the Losiny Vilké Mill in Czech Republic, it carries the watermarks of both the Mill and the press; the binding was designed and figured out by Craig Jensen in Texas, the images had to be tipped in by hand and so the structure had to reflect the additional bulk brought by the photographs; I trialled and painted over 500 square feet of book cloth by hand for the edition resulting in each copy being visually unique. The project took about 10 months from start to finish.
As a way of documenting the project I commissioned a video to be made as we progressed, that can be seen here:
https://vimeo.com/293573663
A complete walkthrough of the deluxe book can be found here:
https://vimeo.com/293573066
I have just released a new book this weekend called NINE SILENCES, although not yet photographed more info on that can be found on my website. Before I take a year away from making books to concentrate on family, I'll be releasing one further book, DARKLIGHT — again info on the website: https://thesalvagepress.com
Please feel free to follow my daily trials on Instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/thesalvagepress/
I'm more than happy to answer any questions regarding my work and of course I would very much like to hear from anyone who has a passion for these types of books, I myself am an avid collector and have a reasonable collection representing many of the most interesting fine press printers working today. I don't usually collect books by deceased makers, instead I try to support those who are still working.
Thanks for reading!
Jamie
I've just been looking for an article online and came across this thread. I hope you will allow me to swoop in and share a few thoughts.
Firstly, to those of you who have ever bought my books, please accept my heartfelt thanks, the preservation of my little imprint is down to you. To those of you who continue to buy fine press books from any living makers, again please accept my heartfelt thanks, the preservation of this entire field is down to you.
My love for and appreciation of fine press came about due to my background as a typographic designer. I found this area of book-making to be the closest fit for what I wanted to achieve in my work. As a designer and letterpress printer, by book projects consume very moment of my life. If I'm not physically printing, I'm designing, composing, drawing, researching, testing, discussing, planning, dreaming up the next book. With each and every book I'm trying to attempt something new to me — processes, techniques, materials etc — as I'm always trying to push myself to grow and learn from every project.
My earlier books came about simply because the copyright-free content was available to me and I enjoyed bringing new shape and meaning to those texts — solely as a designer and printer — precisely the approach to fine press that in many ways bores me now. As has been noted above, I recently made a decision to concentrate on working with Irish female writers. Female writers are criminally overlooked in contemporary fine press and in my view they have the most relevant things to say. So instead of just rehashing old texts in time honoured layouts and bindings, I've decided to work with young and upcoming female writers on new and interesting collaborative book projects. This move is hugely satisfying and wonderfully rewarding. Regarding Annemarie's contribution to TOWN, I agree that the content is rather scarce and I will hold my hands up as I commissioned the work (but I received exactly what I asked for and wasn't left short). If you feel that the quality of the writing is not to your taste then I can totally respect that, but personally, I think these poems are ever so strong — well researched, sensitive, articulate, sharp, poignant, rich with historical context, all of them making an expression on a variety of subjects at the heart of the book — Dublin city, or 'Town' as it is referred to by locals.
Regarding the pricing, I think it's important to understand just how much time and resources go into making a book like this through letterpress. This is not a large edition of several hundred copies printed on an automatic cylinder machine, funded by hundreds of subscribers and government grants, this is a small edition printed slowly on a pretty heavy 1960s proofing press, funded entirely by me personally. Let me try to detail each element of TOWN here: the 80kg of type was cast fresh in Germany from the original mats before being distributed here into seven cases; the type was composed by hand with particular attention given to macro adjustments — eg. accents in the text were created by transplanting the accent from é to other vowels, using a small file under magnifying glass; the printing was completed on a Western double crown proofing press, two pages at a time; the images were shot on 35mm film on the streets of Dublin before the full edition of 10 x 8" handprints (860+) were made by Barbara Wilson in London; following months of research, the handmade paper was created for this project by the Losiny Vilké Mill in Czech Republic, it carries the watermarks of both the Mill and the press; the binding was designed and figured out by Craig Jensen in Texas, the images had to be tipped in by hand and so the structure had to reflect the additional bulk brought by the photographs; I trialled and painted over 500 square feet of book cloth by hand for the edition resulting in each copy being visually unique. The project took about 10 months from start to finish.
As a way of documenting the project I commissioned a video to be made as we progressed, that can be seen here:
https://vimeo.com/293573663
A complete walkthrough of the deluxe book can be found here:
https://vimeo.com/293573066
I have just released a new book this weekend called NINE SILENCES, although not yet photographed more info on that can be found on my website. Before I take a year away from making books to concentrate on family, I'll be releasing one further book, DARKLIGHT — again info on the website: https://thesalvagepress.com
Please feel free to follow my daily trials on Instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/thesalvagepress/
I'm more than happy to answer any questions regarding my work and of course I would very much like to hear from anyone who has a passion for these types of books, I myself am an avid collector and have a reasonable collection representing many of the most interesting fine press printers working today. I don't usually collect books by deceased makers, instead I try to support those who are still working.
Thanks for reading!
Jamie
24Sorion
>23 Jamie_Murphy: Jaimie thank you so much for taking the time to post here. I hope you understand that any questions and criticisms that are offered on this forum here are offered from a place of love for your work.
You (along with Foolscap and Whittington) have entered that rarified air where expectations are so high that they can be impossible to live up too. At least for me.
As to cost... We all get it. Still going to complain about it though! ;)
I’ll let others more educated then I ask the question and piggy back off them. Darklight is very intriguing visually from only that single image.
You (along with Foolscap and Whittington) have entered that rarified air where expectations are so high that they can be impossible to live up too. At least for me.
As to cost... We all get it. Still going to complain about it though! ;)
I’ll let others more educated then I ask the question and piggy back off them. Darklight is very intriguing visually from only that single image.
25Caeleb
Hello to all. I learned of Librarything just yesterday, when this thread came up in a discussion with a collecting acquaintance. I did a bit of poking around & see that this is not the first time Jamie Murphy has proven himself to be diplomatic & thoughtful in addressing comments about the pricing of his books, comments that might not be made if the details of the productions were read more closely. I won't be jumping into discussions much, but this issue – the economic realities of contemporary fine press publishing – has been of interest to me for some time, so for what it's worth I attempted a quick costing for Jamie's book Town.
(To pre-empt suspicions that I am a ringer: I don’t know Jamie, he doesn’t know me, I don’t own & haven’t actually seen any of his books, just what’s online.)
I don't know what the deluxe copies were issued at, but let's guess three times the regular-copy price. That nets total possible revenues for the project at about £110,000. But he appears to offer a lower pre-publication price: I don’t know how much, but let’s say (discounted) advance sales reduce his total possible net by £10,000, so now his maximum possible return is £100,000.
His up-front costs for the type, paper, photos (which were printed by someone else, so there's her labor to include) could be around £10,000. The bindings, for the two states, probably come in north of £20,000 (this assumes he had the entire edition bound; binding as orders come in always is a false economy). He says the project took 10 months. That probably wasn’t 10 months full time, but I bet it totaled about 6 months (1,100 hours): assume he wants to earn at least minimum wage (£10/hr in Dublin), that’s about £10,000 in his labor alone. It looks like the shop he uses is at the college where he works, so maybe he has no actual rent & equipment costs; if he does, they could be equal to the labor costs (most of it being rent & associated issues, like insurance).
So his out-of-pocket expenses are £30-35,000, and his own labor (i.e. time not spent earning an actual wage somewhere else) is £10,000, totaling just under half the project’s maximum possible net. Even if the specifics are off, I bet the total's pretty close.
Jamie touches on the matter of working with commissioned (vs public domain) material. I suspect he’s trying to offer the artists involved with his projects some actual monetary return for their work. Most small presses buy the poet off with copies of the book. What the artist’s fee might be for Town I have no idea, but let’s say it’s the proceeds of 5 regular-copy sales, about £4,000. Times two (photographer), so now his maximum net is down somewhere between £45-50,000 – about what he laid out for this project. That’s the money he’ll need to fund the next project – forget about any profit. (BTW, kudos for being self-funding vs going the subscriber route: presses that rely on subscribers keep publishing the same book over & over, to keep the subscribers happy. If someone likes everything an artist does, either they’re not looking/listening closely enough, or the artist isn’t moving.)
No one gets rich publishing these kinds of books. The people involved do it despite the lack of remuneration. Collectors need opportunities to become knowledgeable of materials and methods, to understand the cost and labor implications between, say, a book with wood engravings vs one with stone litho prints (the latter being much more difficult & time-consuming to print). Bindings aren’t just about the materials used: perhaps most important is the structure, and whether it’s the one best suited for the text block. Richard-Gabriel Rummonds’ Printing With the Iron Handpress provides an insightful introduction to appreciating letterpress printing, and also aspects of typography, paper and binding (you can skip the purely technical/operational chapters). Likewise, despite its title, Lewis Allen’s Printing with the Handpress is a good primer for anyone interested in fine-press printing and publishing. (And is the Allen Press really a secret to anyone interested in 20th century fine printing? With all the copies of the BCC facsimile bibliography around at bargain prices?) Dip into Dard Hunter’s Papermaking, and find opportunities to flip through any of his Mountain House publications (especially Papermaking by Hand in America). Henry Morris’ Number 13 offers practical insights to papermaking and printing. I’m at a loss for a useful introduction to/overview of bookbinding techniques: most contemporary sources are either entirely technical or written for the craft/DIY crowd. Maybe flip through Bernard Middleton’s Restoration of Leather Bindings and Edith Diehl’s Bookbinding, see what sinks in? And there’s nothing like the actual laying on of hands, if ever the opportunity to take a one-day course in printing or binding arises.
Any errors or boneheadery in the above are entirely mine. I simply wanted to second Jamie's comments about understanding the actual costs that go into publishing books like these. No one should apologize for wanting fair compensation for their work. By developing our technical knowledge – in addition to eye and taste – we collectors can assess whether the price asked is reflective of the materials, craft & talent involved. Whether we can – or choose to – afford it is a personal matter, and not the publisher’s concern.
(To pre-empt suspicions that I am a ringer: I don’t know Jamie, he doesn’t know me, I don’t own & haven’t actually seen any of his books, just what’s online.)
I don't know what the deluxe copies were issued at, but let's guess three times the regular-copy price. That nets total possible revenues for the project at about £110,000. But he appears to offer a lower pre-publication price: I don’t know how much, but let’s say (discounted) advance sales reduce his total possible net by £10,000, so now his maximum possible return is £100,000.
His up-front costs for the type, paper, photos (which were printed by someone else, so there's her labor to include) could be around £10,000. The bindings, for the two states, probably come in north of £20,000 (this assumes he had the entire edition bound; binding as orders come in always is a false economy). He says the project took 10 months. That probably wasn’t 10 months full time, but I bet it totaled about 6 months (1,100 hours): assume he wants to earn at least minimum wage (£10/hr in Dublin), that’s about £10,000 in his labor alone. It looks like the shop he uses is at the college where he works, so maybe he has no actual rent & equipment costs; if he does, they could be equal to the labor costs (most of it being rent & associated issues, like insurance).
So his out-of-pocket expenses are £30-35,000, and his own labor (i.e. time not spent earning an actual wage somewhere else) is £10,000, totaling just under half the project’s maximum possible net. Even if the specifics are off, I bet the total's pretty close.
Jamie touches on the matter of working with commissioned (vs public domain) material. I suspect he’s trying to offer the artists involved with his projects some actual monetary return for their work. Most small presses buy the poet off with copies of the book. What the artist’s fee might be for Town I have no idea, but let’s say it’s the proceeds of 5 regular-copy sales, about £4,000. Times two (photographer), so now his maximum net is down somewhere between £45-50,000 – about what he laid out for this project. That’s the money he’ll need to fund the next project – forget about any profit. (BTW, kudos for being self-funding vs going the subscriber route: presses that rely on subscribers keep publishing the same book over & over, to keep the subscribers happy. If someone likes everything an artist does, either they’re not looking/listening closely enough, or the artist isn’t moving.)
No one gets rich publishing these kinds of books. The people involved do it despite the lack of remuneration. Collectors need opportunities to become knowledgeable of materials and methods, to understand the cost and labor implications between, say, a book with wood engravings vs one with stone litho prints (the latter being much more difficult & time-consuming to print). Bindings aren’t just about the materials used: perhaps most important is the structure, and whether it’s the one best suited for the text block. Richard-Gabriel Rummonds’ Printing With the Iron Handpress provides an insightful introduction to appreciating letterpress printing, and also aspects of typography, paper and binding (you can skip the purely technical/operational chapters). Likewise, despite its title, Lewis Allen’s Printing with the Handpress is a good primer for anyone interested in fine-press printing and publishing. (And is the Allen Press really a secret to anyone interested in 20th century fine printing? With all the copies of the BCC facsimile bibliography around at bargain prices?) Dip into Dard Hunter’s Papermaking, and find opportunities to flip through any of his Mountain House publications (especially Papermaking by Hand in America). Henry Morris’ Number 13 offers practical insights to papermaking and printing. I’m at a loss for a useful introduction to/overview of bookbinding techniques: most contemporary sources are either entirely technical or written for the craft/DIY crowd. Maybe flip through Bernard Middleton’s Restoration of Leather Bindings and Edith Diehl’s Bookbinding, see what sinks in? And there’s nothing like the actual laying on of hands, if ever the opportunity to take a one-day course in printing or binding arises.
Any errors or boneheadery in the above are entirely mine. I simply wanted to second Jamie's comments about understanding the actual costs that go into publishing books like these. No one should apologize for wanting fair compensation for their work. By developing our technical knowledge – in addition to eye and taste – we collectors can assess whether the price asked is reflective of the materials, craft & talent involved. Whether we can – or choose to – afford it is a personal matter, and not the publisher’s concern.
26kdweber
After meeting Jamie at Codex 2019 and having the pleasure to personally examine a number of his available books, I've just order a copy of Town.
27ChampagneSVP
Did anyone who went to the fair this weekend pick up one of the “Screw Putin” cards Jamie distributed? He’s all out but I’d really love to get my hands on one!
