Prairie Press - The Private Press of Carroll Coleman

I was going to do a little write-up about this pioneer press (pun intended), but discovered that it's already been done. Mr. Coleman established his press in 1935 in Muscatine, Iowa. It was the first private press in that state. Harry Duncan was a friend of his. The press was active until about 1973. Mr. Coleman died June, 1989. The links below give you much more about this important printer and his press.

A Confirmed Typomaniac: Carroll Coleman and the Prairie Press by JOHN M. HARRISON

The Prairie Press, a Thirty Year Record by L. O. Cheever This is an automatic PDF download.

Wulling, E. G., (1975) “Carroll Coleman on Printing, with a Prairie Press Checklist, 1965-1975”, Books at Iowa 23(1), 11-33. doi: https://doi.org/10.17077/0006-7474.1373 This checklist continues that in Cheever (supra).

>1 Glacierman: Thanks for the write-up! I've only owned one Prairie Press book (Ecclesiastes, 1951). One of the hallmarks of that book is the use of American uncial, a face designed (and cut?) by Victor Hammer, who was Harry Duncan's "teacher" of the hand press. I find these midwestern printers of the mid-20th c. fascinating, especially that so much of this activity sprang from Iowa, of all places.

>3 DenimDan:

Re: Iowa and fine press printing

Believe it or not, at one time (1950 - mid 1960s) Iowa had one of the finest public educational systems in the United States, as did California. During this time, IQ testing in public schools was the rage. Students were given these IQ tests and, based upon the results, they were grouped together in advanced, average, and slow(er) groups of students, academically speaking. The intent, which was quite unfair and would never occur today, was to group the brightest students together, give them the finest teachers, and let them work and proceed at an advanced pace. The IQ tests that were administered were all devised in Iowa and were referred to as 'Iowa tests'. These IQ tests were a reflection of the advanced Iowa public educational system at that time, i.e., the State of Iowa's continual efforts to improve public school education for their students. The private press movement in Iowa in the 1960's and 1970's may have been a reflection of Iowa's interest in education at that time.

Re: American uncial type

Victor Hammer's American uncial type was used in many (most?) of his Anvil Press and Stamperia del Santuccio editions. Aesthetics aside, I find it tedious to read for any length of time and it is, in a sense, the anti-Doves typeface. For me, it is overly stylized and it interferes with and slows down anything I read in that type, i.e., it comes between the reader and the printed text. And, no, I have never find that my reading can eventually 'accommodate' this type. The Allen Press also had an unfortunate addiction to uncial typefaces and used them in ancient works of literature because they believed it gave them the appearance of a medieval manuscript.

>2 supercell: Well, excuuuuuse me. Just call me Fumble Fingers.

>4 dlphcoracl: This will drive you crazy then, Jack: written in the stick, one afternoon many years ago. Luckily only 50 collectors were subject to it, and now you who care to wait for the pics to load. . . Warts and all!

>6 SuttonHooPress: Just lovely!

>6 SuttonHooPress: Chad, that's very nifty. Thanks for sharing it with us.

>6 SuttonHooPress: That’s a lovely item, Chad. I really like uncial types (and that text is really enjoyable).

>9 ChestnutPress: I like the American Uncial as well. Hammer cut a few uncials. Harry Duncan once told me that American Uncial is the most beautiful type in his opinion, but for reading he liked Bembo the best. I agree with him, and with dlphcorcl, that for sustained reading, American Uncial is tedious. Unfortunately, too, almost any commercial reference to anything Irish also uses Hammer's uncial for advertising display. Nevertheless, since I have it, I like using it for display, and it will be featured in the next book. Since it is so stylized, it is very difficult to incorporate into design. I can't tell you how many times I've set something in Hammer's Uncial, then abandon using it for the project--certainly more times than I've used it in final design.

>10 SuttonHooPress: Honestly, I don’t find much of a readability problem. As with all different letterform types it is a matter of being (or getting) used to them. I never used to be able to read Civilté types with ease, but now it’s pretty easy

>4 dlphcoracl: I remember taking Iowa Tests! Never dawned on me that they originated in, well, you know. Despite the connection I failed to make between test and state, I think I did pretty well on them as a kid.

I largely agree with you about uncials generally. Victor Hammer was very good at only printing texts for which a uncial was the appropriate face, which makes sense, given that Hammer might as well have lived in 1555. The (over)use of the uncial in some Allen Press books seems to me one of their few shortcomings, although I still give them some leeway, as they always printed longer works. The Allens strike me as having fallen victim, a time or two, of loving a text face and printing in it when there were obviously better alternatives.

For anyone who likes their Uncial American in small doses: check out a little octavo from the Yellow Barn Press, "Our Debt to Monkish Men" (1987). Great subject and some nice John DePol wood engravings!

>6 SuttonHooPress: what a cool book! Writing in uncial in the stick?! pretty awesome man