FINE PRESS EPHEMERA 7: Pie Tree Press, Windhover Press, Wm. James Assoc., and Yolla Bolly Press.
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1Glacierman
THIS IS THE SECOND OF THREE POSTS DEALING WITH SEVERAL PRESSES AT ONCE.
FIRST, PIE TREE PRESS, THE PRIVATE PRESS OF JIM RIMMER. Jim was a noted printer and type designer, with Kaatskill being one of his more well-known designs. Jim died in 2010, unfortunately. Jim was, by all accounts, a super person. My contact with him was unexpected and brief. I had placed a classified ad in the old Fine Print magazine (this was in the seventies, I forget what year) seeking to buy a copy of an issue I had missed. Jim just up and sent me his, gratis, along with some items from his Pie Tree Press. Blew me away. Items from Pie Tree rarely come on the market. I have been looking, off and on, for years, and haven’t seen anything until lately, and it is a commissioned piece...and a bit pricey. I am blessed to have these two items.
This is printed on a 9" x 22" sheet of Strathmore Artist, a heavy, wonderful paper. It was folded in thirds and the cover printed on one panel. It is a pleasure to hold and read. And yes, the paper is made for watercolor, but it holds letterpress very well.
ONE ITEM FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF IOWA’S WINDHOVER PRESS. The University’s lab press was taught & run by Kim Merker, himself a former student of Harry Duncan who was ensconced at the U of Nebraska at Omaha. There will be a separate post for Harry and his students at UNO. Kim had his own press, the Stone Wall Press, but unfortunately, I have no ephemera from that press, although I did briefly correspond with him.
ONE ITEM FROM THE WILLIAM JAMES ASSOCIATION.
And yes, this actually is printed crooked! I thought it was the result of my mis-aligning the item in the scanner, but upon examination of the item, I discovered it was actually printed this way.
THE FINAL PRESS IN THIS POST IS THE YOLLA BOLLY PRESS, WHO DID SOME PRETTY AMAZING THINGS.
END OF PART TWO. PART THREE TO FOLLOW SHORTLY.
FIRST, PIE TREE PRESS, THE PRIVATE PRESS OF JIM RIMMER. Jim was a noted printer and type designer, with Kaatskill being one of his more well-known designs. Jim died in 2010, unfortunately. Jim was, by all accounts, a super person. My contact with him was unexpected and brief. I had placed a classified ad in the old Fine Print magazine (this was in the seventies, I forget what year) seeking to buy a copy of an issue I had missed. Jim just up and sent me his, gratis, along with some items from his Pie Tree Press. Blew me away. Items from Pie Tree rarely come on the market. I have been looking, off and on, for years, and haven’t seen anything until lately, and it is a commissioned piece...and a bit pricey. I am blessed to have these two items.
This is printed on a 9" x 22" sheet of Strathmore Artist, a heavy, wonderful paper. It was folded in thirds and the cover printed on one panel. It is a pleasure to hold and read. And yes, the paper is made for watercolor, but it holds letterpress very well.
ONE ITEM FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF IOWA’S WINDHOVER PRESS. The University’s lab press was taught & run by Kim Merker, himself a former student of Harry Duncan who was ensconced at the U of Nebraska at Omaha. There will be a separate post for Harry and his students at UNO. Kim had his own press, the Stone Wall Press, but unfortunately, I have no ephemera from that press, although I did briefly correspond with him.
ONE ITEM FROM THE WILLIAM JAMES ASSOCIATION.
And yes, this actually is printed crooked! I thought it was the result of my mis-aligning the item in the scanner, but upon examination of the item, I discovered it was actually printed this way.
THE FINAL PRESS IN THIS POST IS THE YOLLA BOLLY PRESS, WHO DID SOME PRETTY AMAZING THINGS.
END OF PART TWO. PART THREE TO FOLLOW SHORTLY.
2dlphcoracl
The Yolla Bolly (YB) Press is a sad tale of what could have been (and should have been). See link below for a brief history of the YB Press.
https://www.librarything.com/topic/306042
The Robertsons published private press books that spoke to them, books they had read that registered and reflected their deep sensibilities for the environment and the strength and goodness of the human spirit. After a decade of publishing small, well crafted books they finally hit their stride with the first of what would prove to be a series of folio-sized books with the edition of The Winged Life: the Poetic Voice of Henry David Thoreau, a splendid collection of less well known Thoreau material selected and edited by poet Robert Bly. The rest (as they say) is history. A series of stunning folio-sized books would follow between 1987 to 1998 - The Inland Whale by Theodora Kroeber, My First Summer in the Sierra by John Muir, One of the Missing by Ambrose Bierce, Zapata by John Steinbeck, The Man Who Died by D.H. Lawrence, The Bread of Days. Eleven Mexican Poets, and Theseus by Andre Gide. These book were flawlessly printed by a gifted young pressman, Aaron Johnson, using the finest papers and materials throughout. Splendid woodcut illustrations were a highlight of these books.
At their pinnacle, the YB Press was one that book collectors followed with keen interest and every other book was an event to be celebrated (and acquired), similar to the first two decades of the Arion Press. Sadly, this came to an abrupt halt when James Robertson had a massive stroke in 2001, dying one week later at the age of 66. Their later year folio-sized books are treasures and they certainly are a high point in my library.
https://www.librarything.com/topic/306042
The Robertsons published private press books that spoke to them, books they had read that registered and reflected their deep sensibilities for the environment and the strength and goodness of the human spirit. After a decade of publishing small, well crafted books they finally hit their stride with the first of what would prove to be a series of folio-sized books with the edition of The Winged Life: the Poetic Voice of Henry David Thoreau, a splendid collection of less well known Thoreau material selected and edited by poet Robert Bly. The rest (as they say) is history. A series of stunning folio-sized books would follow between 1987 to 1998 - The Inland Whale by Theodora Kroeber, My First Summer in the Sierra by John Muir, One of the Missing by Ambrose Bierce, Zapata by John Steinbeck, The Man Who Died by D.H. Lawrence, The Bread of Days. Eleven Mexican Poets, and Theseus by Andre Gide. These book were flawlessly printed by a gifted young pressman, Aaron Johnson, using the finest papers and materials throughout. Splendid woodcut illustrations were a highlight of these books.
At their pinnacle, the YB Press was one that book collectors followed with keen interest and every other book was an event to be celebrated (and acquired), similar to the first two decades of the Arion Press. Sadly, this came to an abrupt halt when James Robertson had a massive stroke in 2001, dying one week later at the age of 66. Their later year folio-sized books are treasures and they certainly are a high point in my library.
