Portraits of Presses. Photographs by Ski Harrison of Fleece, Gregynog, I.M. Imprimit, Old Stile, Rampant Lions, Rocket, Tern, Whittington & CTD; with commentaries by the printers. [ 2 vols, de luxe edition ]

Whittington Press, Risbury, first de luxe edition, 1997. Limited edition of 27 specially bound copies with an additional portfolio of photographic prints of each press and signed by the photographer and all the printers, from a total edition of 500 (of which 350 were for sale). . 2 vols, quarter leather and patterned paper boards, 28 x 30 cm, ,. xi, 53 pp, [70] pp of plates ;separate portfolio of nine prints ( 1 per press) signe don the mounts by the photographer. The de luxe edition of this very attractively printed work. From a review by James Ferguson: "..Portraits of Presses, a remarkable new book published by one of the doyens of the business - John Randle of the Whittington Press in Gloucestershire. It gathers essays on a selection of British printers, illustrated with sets of black-and-white photographs taken by Ski Anderson. Anderson worked for more than two years at pictures of Albion and Heidelberg presses, platens, friskets and tympans, pressmen and presswomen and cases of old wooden type. She used exposure times of 15 to 30 seconds and no flash. The results are powerful, ruminative, absorbing; and, of course, beautifully printed. CTD of Twickenham, whose tritone process and perfectionism were responsible for the reproduction, are themselves the subject of an eloquent essay by John Randle." Includes seven examples of printers' works (some folded), tipped in. "One platen press looks much like another, but each takes on its own personality in the hands of its owner, and in his or her workshop. This is what this book seeks to convey in these photographs, a difficult task which Ski has so admirably tackled. Her photographs will provide a record of a moment in private press activity in the mid-nineties, the result of a renaissance that started twenty or more years ago, just as letterpress was beginning to be abandoned by the printing trade. Private presses will not be able to rely upon a supply of industry's redundant machinery for much longer, and Portraits of Presses may turn out to be a memorial to a golden age of rehabilitated Albions and discarded platens." - from the introduction. Contents: Introduction; The Photographer's View; Simon Lawrence: The Fleece Press; David Esslemont: Gwasg Gregynog; Ian Mortimer: I. M. Imprimit; Nicolas McDowall: The Old Stile Press; Sebastian Carter: The Rampant Lions Press; Jonathan Stephenson: The Rocket Press; Nicholas and Mary Parry: The Tern Press; John Randle: The Whittington Press; John Randle:Mind and Eye at CTD. Copy No. xxvii (the last of the 27 "specials"). Fine set in a somewhat scuffed publisher's box with leather spine-label.