The Handmade Papers of Japan

Newtown, PA: Bird & Bull Press, 2001. Hardcover. Fine. Hardcover. Number 57 of 170 copies, signed on the title page by Sidney Berger. The Bird & Bull Press was one of America's oldest private presses, started in 1958 by Henry Morris - who describes a private press as "someone who prints books or ephemera related to his personal interests..." By starting the press Morris was hoping to "make use of the product of a new hobby - hand paper-making." Many of the books published by Bird & Bull dealt with book related subjects, such as paper-making, printing, illustration, book binding, and typography. Henry Morris and his press thus played an important role in the study, preservation, and dissemination of printing history. In 2013, Morris announced that he was ending his press's 55 years of activity due to advanced age and difficulty finding exciting projects. This magnificent book reprints the original text of the 1952 book by Tindale, and includes a biography of Tindale and account of the genesis and production of the book by scholar Sidney Berger.

In his introduction to this magnificent book from his press Morris writes: "From the day I discovered Tindale's book in 1967 I have always felt it was probably the finest work on Japanese papermaking that has, or ever will be published....Tindale stands alone and deserves his special place in the world of paper scholarship. The new material in the present volume , which has been painstakingly researched and edited by Sid Berger, provides a vast amount of information about [Tindale], of whom until now we knew very little. The same can be said regarding the details of the production of the work, and all of this makes us appreciate Tindale's great book even more." Following the text of Tindale's book as Volume II, the press compiled as Volume III a beautiful contemporary collection of samples of Japanese papers provided by the Japanese Handmade Paper Association along with two samples of Chinese papers and a section of Japanese papers labeled Volume IV: The Watermark Collection. Bound by the Campbell-Logan Bindery in black cloth with a quarter bound in morocco orange with a black title label. Gilt ornament of Japanese writing to front cover. Printed on Zerkall Mouldmade Paper at the Bird & Bull Press with Dante types. Prospectus inserted. Housed in an orange cloth covered clamshell box with black title label to spine. Very slight sunning to front cover of the clamshell. Book is otherwise in fine condition. Measures 9 x 12 inches. 197 pages plus several extra-illustrated half-titles printed on an assortment of Japanese papers.