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Canadian Trends:The History of Private Press Printing in Canada - Part II1970 - The Present 1970 - The PresentTHE TWO MOST ACTIVE AREAS of private press printing in Canada have long been Ontario and British Columbia. In general, the level of private press activity in a place is related to the size of the local commercial printing establishment. However, although Montreal is considered a large printing centre, Quebec has had a different tradition, one where livres d'artiste have flourished more strongly than the private press. Canadian private press activity flourished in the 1970s and 1980s. Ontario saw the establishment of the Poole Hall Press in 1972, the Dreadnaught Press in 1973, imprimerie dromadaire and Mad-Ren Press in 1976, Locks' Press in 1979, Thee Hell Box in 1981, Columbus Street Press in 1984, and Church Street Press in 1987. In British Columbia during this time were established Pie Tree Press in 1974, Cobblestone Press in 1975, Iona press in 1976, Slug Press in 1977, Barbarian Press in 1978, Winter Lily Press in 1979 and Cowan & Tetley in 1984. OntarioIn 1977, David Kotin, head of the North York Public Library's Canadiana Collection, brought together the work of 28 historic and contemporary private presses from Ontario in an exhibition called "Reader, Lover of Books, Lover of Heaven." The interest and awareness generated by this exhibit spurred William Poole, the new director of the Grimsby Public Art Gallery, and proprietor of Poole Hall Press, to organize the first Grimsby wayzgoose, in 1979. Similar in spirit to the meetings of the Guild of Hand Printers held in the 1960s, the wayzgoose offered an opportunity for owners of private presses, and artisans interested in printing and the book arts, to gather and discuss ideas and techniques. By the second year, the wayzgoose had evolved into a show where printers displayed and sold their work to an interested public. In 1981, the first Wayzgoose anthology was produced.
In response to the interest shown at the Grimsby wayzgoose gatherings, Bill Poole and his daughter Lyndsay Dobson produced the catalogue Canadian Private Presses in Print in 1983. This catalogue was the first of its kind to list up-to-date publications by private presses across Canada. Recent Arrivals and Other News followed as a mail-order service for Canadian private press books and broadsides. In 1983 the Ontario College of Art's first annual Book Arts Fair was held. In 1984 the Canadian Bookbinders and Book Artists Guild (CBBAG) was formed. Although originally an organization for bookbinders and book artists, CBBAG has become a valuable structure for owners and operators of private presses. In 1995 CBBAG organized the travelling exhibit Fine Printing: The Private Press in Canada, which travelled across Canada, stopping in New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Quebec, Ontario, Saskatchewan and Alberta. In 1996, the Loving Society of Letterpress Printers was founded by Will Rueter, of Aliquando Press. This society is a loose association of craftspeople working in the book arts. Its aim is to "promote fine letterpress printing and hand book binding." British ColumbiaIn 1965, the Alcuin Society was formed in Vancouver. Interested in literature, book history and the book arts, the Society hosts events of interest to private press printers and publishes a journal, Amphora. In 1986, the exhibit From Hand to Hand, A gathering of Book Arts in British Columbia was held and a catalogue published. Ocean, Paper, Stone by Robert Bringhurst was published in 1984, the catalogue of an exhibition "of printed objects, which chronicle more than a century of literary publishing in British Columbia." Although not strictly about private press printing, Ocean, Paper, Stone contained entries on presses and individuals involved in the printing culture of the West Coast. The FutureThe changes in the commercial printing trade since the 1970s have been rapid and ongoing. Letterpress printing was replaced first by photomechanical typesetting and then by the computer and digital typesetting. Modern private press printing grew with the decline of commercial letterpress printing, as proprietors were able to use equipment rescued from the wrecker's yard. Today, far from having the resources of the commercial industry at their fingertips, printers find the number of their suppliers has dwindled almost to nothing. Randal Speller likens their position to that, "say, of vintage car enthusiasts seeking spare parts." 1 This shift in technology has resulted in the rise of supporting trades and crafts. A network of skilled craftsmen interested in continuing the tradition of handmade objects continues to grow. British Columbian Jim Rimmer's career is a good example. Jim apprenticed as a printer from 1951 to 1957 and then worked for various BC newspapers until 1973. He set up his own graphic design business, and a year later founded his Pie Tree Press. Later, he learned to design, cut and cast type, a craft which has expanded his business and in which he continues today. Discussions about the role of technology in private printing are ongoing within the community of printers. Advancements continue to appear, such as computer typesetting and polymer plate technology. The polymer used in printing is a light-sensitive material which, by producing a relief plate, can retain letterpress printing with type set on a computer instead of painstakingly by hand. Traditionalism and the nature of the craft are prevalent topics of conversation within the community. As Speller says, "The ideological tension between craftsmanship and computerisation will determine much of the debate around the purpose and goals of the private press in the following decades." 2
1. Randall Speller. Canadian Notes & Queries. No. 58 3. William Rueter. Order Touched With Delight, 1982. Page [7] |
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