Friday, September 7, 2012

Bemboka handmade paper

I've now received the information I needed regarding Bemboka handmade paper, and will report later on the results of my enquiry - meantime, I'm interested to know how many books have been printed using Bemboka paper - if anyone has information, I'd be glad to have it, and I'll begin a list of them, with these to start with - 

William Shakespeare, The phoenix and the turtle, Escutcheon Press, Pearl Beach NSW 1991.

Donald Friend, An alphabet of owls, printed by Jim Walker at the Croft Press for Richard Griffin for Gryphon Books, Melbourne VIC 1981.

Thursday, September 6, 2012

Sylvan Type Works

a note to say that the Sylvan Type Works of Nicholas Summers is still operating at full capacity, in spite of the fact that his website is, shall I say, a little less mobile than he is just now. He asks people not to be fazed by that, and to contact him as you need, and he will attend to your enquiry. For myself, I am beginning to realise that Nicholas is emerging as a significant local Australian maker & supplier of much basic ancillary equipment for letterpress and handpress printing. In the recent Adventure & Art exhibition at the University of Melbourne, one of his father's books, Robert Summers, How is a man: commonplace book, (Escutcheon Press, Pearl Beach NSW 1999), a beautifully designed & printed work, was on display, along with a lovely simple rendering of Shakespeare's The Phoenix and the Turtle, pictured here - the paper is the legendary Bemboka handmade paper, an enterprise long gone now, but about which I'd like to know more - SO, anyone with information about Bemboka Handmade Paper, when they operated in Australia, why they closed down, where is the equipment now etc etc - I'd be grateful to hear from you - in any case, here's the Shakespeare, printed by Robert Summers, 1991, in 55 copies. . .