February 9: Discussion
Core
- Benjamin Franklin, The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin (1916), Chapters 2-7.
Note: You can mostly skim this text, but read the sections describing work in the print shop, which are spread through these chapters, closely), external website - Amaranth Borsuk, “The Book as Content” from The Book (2018), resource via library
- Claire Battershill, chapters 1-2 (“Historicizing” & “Learning”) from Women and Letterpress Printing, 1920-2020, resource via library
Penumbra
- Kai-wing Chow, “Reinventing Gutenberg: Woodblock and Movable-Type Printing in Europe and China” in _ Agent of Change_ (2007), resource via library
- Marcy J. Dinius, “‘Look!! Look!!! at This!!!!’: The Radical Typography of David Walker’s Appeal” (2011), resource via library
- Ellen Cushman, “We’re Taking the Genius of Sequoyah into This Century’: The Cherokee Syllabary, Peoplehood, and Perseverance” (2011), resource via library
- Sarah Werner, Parts 1-3 Studying Early Printed Books, 1450-1800 : A Practical Guide (2019), resource via library.
- Kandice Sharren, Kate Ozment, and Michelle Levy, “Gendering Digital Bibliography with the Women’s Print History Project” (2021), resource via library
- Rachel Sagner Buurma, “Indexed” from The Unfinished Book (2021), resource via library
- Johanna Drucker, “Letterpress Aesthetics,” in Letterpress Printing: Past, Present, Future (2023), resource via library
February 13: Composition Lab
Lab Prep: Our print labs will involve potential messes of several kinds, including ink, oils and solvents, and simple dirt. We do have protective gear such as aprons and gloves, but even so I would not recommend wearing your best linen suit; please wear something that you won’t mind getting dirty.
In preparation for this week’s lab, please do the following:
- Choose your favorite definition of “The Book” from the definitions Amaranth Borsuk compiled while writing The Book and published along with an introduction to the project, in the American Book Review. You can read them in those articles (I recommend the PDFs for the best designed experience).
- Watch videos 2-9 in this orientation playlist from my previous press (watch from “Investigating a Composed Form of Type” to “Woodcuts”). These will explain the basics of typesetting with a close-up video of the process and allow us to jump into our lab more quickly. This should take 30-40 minutes in total, but please pay close attention—the details are important.