1Glacierman
FINE PRESS EPHEMERA 4: Incline Press
The Incline Press was started by Graham Moss in 1993 in the English town of Oldham where it is still in operation today at 36 Bow Street. Oldham is located in the Greater Manchester area. The building housing the Press was originally a small cotton mill.
The Press has issued over a hundred books in its lifetime and continues to produce books, broadsheets, chap books, etc. on its presses: a table-top Adana, Vandercook proofing press, Arab treadle press, an Auto-Vic, and the Victoria Art Platen press. The Press also has a Ludlow type caster. In addition, the Press does its own binding for the most part and thus has the necessary bindery equipment and materials. The Press does excellent work, and any Fine Press collection should have several examples of their work in it.
Incline Press, Graham Moss and Kathy Whalen, proprietors. 36 Bow Street, Oldham, England, OL1 1SJ, England. Phone (+44) (0)161 627 1966. E-mail: graham_moss@inclinepress.com. Web site: https://www.inclinepress.com/
There are a lot of images and it will take several posts in this thread to show them all. Some of their prospectuses are chapbooks by themselves and are sewn into wrappers, others are single sheets of various sizes printed on one or two sides.
A NOTICE FROM 2009.
The Incline Press was started by Graham Moss in 1993 in the English town of Oldham where it is still in operation today at 36 Bow Street. Oldham is located in the Greater Manchester area. The building housing the Press was originally a small cotton mill.
The Press has issued over a hundred books in its lifetime and continues to produce books, broadsheets, chap books, etc. on its presses: a table-top Adana, Vandercook proofing press, Arab treadle press, an Auto-Vic, and the Victoria Art Platen press. The Press also has a Ludlow type caster. In addition, the Press does its own binding for the most part and thus has the necessary bindery equipment and materials. The Press does excellent work, and any Fine Press collection should have several examples of their work in it.
Incline Press, Graham Moss and Kathy Whalen, proprietors. 36 Bow Street, Oldham, England, OL1 1SJ, England. Phone (+44) (0)161 627 1966. E-mail: graham_moss@inclinepress.com. Web site: https://www.inclinepress.com/
There are a lot of images and it will take several posts in this thread to show them all. Some of their prospectuses are chapbooks by themselves and are sewn into wrappers, others are single sheets of various sizes printed on one or two sides.
A NOTICE FROM 2009.
2Glacierman
PROSPECTUS FOR E. R. Weiss: The Typography of an Artist BY GERALD CINAMON
Professor Weiss is relatively unknown on this side of the pond (USA/Canada), as his work was almost entirely Continental (German). However, I have a copy of the only book he designed for an American publisher, the Limited Editions Club Four Gospels. It is a marvelous production, from the design, to the paper and binding. It is a joy to behold. I consider it one of the LEC's best books.
This one is on my bucket list for certain!
EDIT 5/31/22: It has been acquired!
AND THE ANNOUNCEMENT
Professor Weiss is relatively unknown on this side of the pond (USA/Canada), as his work was almost entirely Continental (German). However, I have a copy of the only book he designed for an American publisher, the Limited Editions Club Four Gospels. It is a marvelous production, from the design, to the paper and binding. It is a joy to behold. I consider it one of the LEC's best books.
This one is on my bucket list for certain!
EDIT 5/31/22: It has been acquired!
AND THE ANNOUNCEMENT
3Glacierman
RANDOM NOTES, 2007
4Glacierman
RANDOM NOTES, 2013: WRAPPER
6Glacierman
MORE INTERESTING PROSPECTUSES
AND A COUPLE OF ENVELOPES FROM THE PRESS
AND A COUPLE OF ENVELOPES FROM THE PRESS
8grifgon
I just recently learned of the Incline Press' work, and have been trying to decide which of their books will be my first. Any recommendation? (And thanks, of course, for the wonderful ephemera. I've learned a lot about the press by reading through it.)
9kermaier
I have a few of the Incline Press' lesser publications, including:
Bound books:
- Randall Davies Books of Nonsense
- Boccaccio's Minerva, Mantone & Circes
Chapbooks:
- There Is a Lady
- Jabberwocky
- A Lullaby (Richard Rowlands)
All of it is nicely printed, often on interesting papers, and always delightfully quirky.
(I also have a fair whack of ephemera that they've sent along with my orders!)
Bound books:
- Randall Davies Books of Nonsense
- Boccaccio's Minerva, Mantone & Circes
Chapbooks:
- There Is a Lady
- Jabberwocky
- A Lullaby (Richard Rowlands)
All of it is nicely printed, often on interesting papers, and always delightfully quirky.
(I also have a fair whack of ephemera that they've sent along with my orders!)
10dlphcoracl
>8 grifgon:
Good luck finding anything of reading interest from the Incline Press. Although Graham Moss is an excellent printer using a variety of fine papers, 98% of the Incline Press bibliography is of no interest to me. This is beyond “quirky”, this is simply irrelevant - a mish-mash of ill-conceived topics on books about books (the notable exception being his excellent book on Emil Rudolf Weiss) and obscure authors & poets. Very frustrating.
That said, the Incline Press published a nice edition of The Deserted Village by Oliver Goldsmith and The Long Journey, a poetry collection by Robert Louis Stevenson, but nothing else from this press has remotely interested me.
Good luck finding anything of reading interest from the Incline Press. Although Graham Moss is an excellent printer using a variety of fine papers, 98% of the Incline Press bibliography is of no interest to me. This is beyond “quirky”, this is simply irrelevant - a mish-mash of ill-conceived topics on books about books (the notable exception being his excellent book on Emil Rudolf Weiss) and obscure authors & poets. Very frustrating.
That said, the Incline Press published a nice edition of The Deserted Village by Oliver Goldsmith and The Long Journey, a poetry collection by Robert Louis Stevenson, but nothing else from this press has remotely interested me.
11Glacierman
>10 dlphcoracl: Vive la différence! We differ greatly here, as I am very much interested in "books about books" and Incline has published several of great interest to me beyond the book on Weiss. The book on Lowinsky's book illustrations would definitely find a place in my library for one. There are others. I would love to add a copy of Incline's edition of Dickens' A Christmas Carol as well. It was illustrated by Chris Burke and issued 2005.
12kronnevik
Ann Muir's Harvesting Colour is a favorite in my collection. It's an absolutely delightful read and the twelve large fold-outs (one for each month) of Muir's hand marbled papers are stunning. I have one of the 20 or 25 specials but the regular edition is beautiful too. There's an article on Books & Vines with photos.
13dlphcoracl
>12 kronnevik:
Muir’s book on marbled paper is indeed delightful, one that I overlooked. My bad.
>11 Glacierman:
We will have to “agree to disagree” on this one. It is not that I categorically dislike Books About Books, it is that I dislike the Incline Press books in this category with the exception of their excellent book on Rudolf Weiss and typography.
I certainly have a number of books reflecting various aspects of the Arts of the Book, notably from the Whittington Press and Dard Hunter’s Mountain House Press. A bit later this evening I will list several books in this vein that are not astronomically priced to illustrate the point.
Muir’s book on marbled paper is indeed delightful, one that I overlooked. My bad.
>11 Glacierman:
We will have to “agree to disagree” on this one. It is not that I categorically dislike Books About Books, it is that I dislike the Incline Press books in this category with the exception of their excellent book on Rudolf Weiss and typography.
I certainly have a number of books reflecting various aspects of the Arts of the Book, notably from the Whittington Press and Dard Hunter’s Mountain House Press. A bit later this evening I will list several books in this vein that are not astronomically priced to illustrate the point.
14dlphcoracl
Private Press Books About Books.
For anyone seriously interested in the various aspects of fine & private press printing, i.e., typography, book design, hand-made papers, etc., the following books are recommended:
1. Whittington Press: Portraits of Presses, Fine Papers at the Oxford University Press, The Fell Imperial Quarto Book of Common Prayer: An Account of its Production, A Miscellany of Type, Chinese Ceremonial Papers, and A New Specimen Book of Curwen Pattern Papers.
2. The Art of the Book published by the Studio Press in 1914 and 1951. The 1951 edition was written by Charles Ede five years after founding the Folio Society publishing house.
3. Henry Morris and the Bird & Bull Press (1958-2013). This was a fine press devoted almost exclusively to publishing private press books on various aspects of The Arts of the Book. Morris's particular interest was in fine hand-made papers and this is reflected in the B&B publications, which invariably use some of the finest hand-made papers available, e.g., Barcham Green, etc., or papers hand-made by Morris himself. Researching the B&B bibliography will enable you to discover dozens of books in this genre - the B&B press has a bibliography of approximately 75 books.
4. Ornata by John Grice, Evergreen Press (2016). John Grice and his Evergreen Press are one of the finest letterpress printers and presses in the United Kingdom. Grice is a particular favorite of Jamie Murphy of the Salvage Press, himself a top drawer printer and book designer. Ornata means "Ornament" and in this book Grice takes the reader on a graduate course in fine press ornaments and printing as seen through the eyes of a master printer and book designer. The book itself is a tour de force of ornamentation and superb printing. If you have a serious interest in The Arts of the Book, Ornata is a "must have".
5. Dard Hunter and the Mountain House Press. I include this only for the sake of completeness and the importance of Dard Hunter's lifetime body of work. Dard Hunter devoted his life to traveling around the globe to a variety of cultures, examining, photographing and documenting the history of hand-made papers in each ancient cultures. While doing so, he also collected as many specimens and examples of these papers as was possible for him to take back with him to the United States. These papers were then incorporated into his own private press books (the Mountain House Press), describing what he saw and learned in each of these visits.
The Mountain House Press books are landmarks in the history of twentieth century private press books, both historically and as superb examples of private press printing. They are extremely expensive and beyond the financial reach of most collectors. If you live near a university with a fine & private press collection and library, inquiring with regard to examining these books firsthand will prove quite rewarding.
For anyone seriously interested in the various aspects of fine & private press printing, i.e., typography, book design, hand-made papers, etc., the following books are recommended:
1. Whittington Press: Portraits of Presses, Fine Papers at the Oxford University Press, The Fell Imperial Quarto Book of Common Prayer: An Account of its Production, A Miscellany of Type, Chinese Ceremonial Papers, and A New Specimen Book of Curwen Pattern Papers.
2. The Art of the Book published by the Studio Press in 1914 and 1951. The 1951 edition was written by Charles Ede five years after founding the Folio Society publishing house.
3. Henry Morris and the Bird & Bull Press (1958-2013). This was a fine press devoted almost exclusively to publishing private press books on various aspects of The Arts of the Book. Morris's particular interest was in fine hand-made papers and this is reflected in the B&B publications, which invariably use some of the finest hand-made papers available, e.g., Barcham Green, etc., or papers hand-made by Morris himself. Researching the B&B bibliography will enable you to discover dozens of books in this genre - the B&B press has a bibliography of approximately 75 books.
4. Ornata by John Grice, Evergreen Press (2016). John Grice and his Evergreen Press are one of the finest letterpress printers and presses in the United Kingdom. Grice is a particular favorite of Jamie Murphy of the Salvage Press, himself a top drawer printer and book designer. Ornata means "Ornament" and in this book Grice takes the reader on a graduate course in fine press ornaments and printing as seen through the eyes of a master printer and book designer. The book itself is a tour de force of ornamentation and superb printing. If you have a serious interest in The Arts of the Book, Ornata is a "must have".
5. Dard Hunter and the Mountain House Press. I include this only for the sake of completeness and the importance of Dard Hunter's lifetime body of work. Dard Hunter devoted his life to traveling around the globe to a variety of cultures, examining, photographing and documenting the history of hand-made papers in each ancient cultures. While doing so, he also collected as many specimens and examples of these papers as was possible for him to take back with him to the United States. These papers were then incorporated into his own private press books (the Mountain House Press), describing what he saw and learned in each of these visits.
The Mountain House Press books are landmarks in the history of twentieth century private press books, both historically and as superb examples of private press printing. They are extremely expensive and beyond the financial reach of most collectors. If you live near a university with a fine & private press collection and library, inquiring with regard to examining these books firsthand will prove quite rewarding.
15Glacierman
>14 dlphcoracl: Thanks for the great post. It would seem with that additional information in your last two posts that you and I are pretty much on the same page. It is just that I reacted negatively to your original post as it seemed pretty dismissive of things, but it is now quite clear that is not the case.
BTW, I have some more Incline ephemera I overlooked previously. It will show up soon as Part 2.
BTW, I have some more Incline ephemera I overlooked previously. It will show up soon as Part 2.
16dlphcoracl
>16 dlphcoracl:
You are partially correct - I am not dismissive regarding the topic of The Arts of the Book and Books About Books and the private press books in this category. I AM, however, fairly dismissive of the Incline Press, not because of its quality and artistry but because of its quirky and obscure selections. Graham Moss is one of the most respected letterpress printers and book designers in the U.K. but there is very little in the Incline Press bibliography I find interesting. Aside from the 2 or 3 books I have mentioned above, I have given this press a pass.
You are partially correct - I am not dismissive regarding the topic of The Arts of the Book and Books About Books and the private press books in this category. I AM, however, fairly dismissive of the Incline Press, not because of its quality and artistry but because of its quirky and obscure selections. Graham Moss is one of the most respected letterpress printers and book designers in the U.K. but there is very little in the Incline Press bibliography I find interesting. Aside from the 2 or 3 books I have mentioned above, I have given this press a pass.
17ultrarightist
>16 dlphcoracl: What about their Boccaccio book?
18dlphcoracl
>17 ultrarightist:
I own too many little books!
I have a soft spot in my heart and brain for small, elegant private press books and euphemistically refer to them as "Little Treats". Most often, they are collections of poetry or essays from classic literary figures. I do own a copy of 'Minerva, Mantone and Circes' by Boccaccio and it is delightful. The wonderful paper and fine letterpress printing are a given with anything Graham Moss does but what makes this book special are the decorative headpiece, tailpiece, initial letters, and illustrations cut in wood by Charlotte Whittingham and Mary Byfield in the 1840s. I certainly wish the Incline Press did more books similar to this!
I own too many little books!
I have a soft spot in my heart and brain for small, elegant private press books and euphemistically refer to them as "Little Treats". Most often, they are collections of poetry or essays from classic literary figures. I do own a copy of 'Minerva, Mantone and Circes' by Boccaccio and it is delightful. The wonderful paper and fine letterpress printing are a given with anything Graham Moss does but what makes this book special are the decorative headpiece, tailpiece, initial letters, and illustrations cut in wood by Charlotte Whittingham and Mary Byfield in the 1840s. I certainly wish the Incline Press did more books similar to this!
