An occasional newsletter about forthcoming books and events
 

August 2026

In this newsletter . . .

progress on Bembo's Aetna

progress on Pilgrimage Views

a book from our backlist

Pietro Bembo discusses with his father his climb of Mount Etna during an eruption - an extract from his 1495 book De Aetna.

Progress on Bembo's Aetna has been good and we are almost ready to send the materials off for binding. I have enough of the 14pt Hunt Roman to hand-set seven pages at a go, so it's feasible to make the book up in eight-page sections.

I set pages 1-6 of a two-sheet section, print the sheet with pages 3 and 6 on one side and 4 and 5 on the other, distribute those pages, set pages 7 and 8, and then print the sheet with pages 2 and 7 on one side and 1 and 8 on the other. Here is the type for two pages on the bed of our 30-inch Western proof press.

The Barcham Green 'Boswell' paper I am printing on has a crisp, toothy, and thoroughly hand-made feel and definitely needs to be damp when printed. For some reason, printing on damp paper is curiously pleasing, if slow. I've been printing during the current heatwaves so keeping a pile of paper damp as it goes through the press has made it even more important to keep it in a plastic bag until the last minute, transferring it to another as it comes off the press. I interleave the sheets with sheets of plastic film to prevent any chance of set-off from one sheet to another. As soon as all the necessary sheets have been printed on one side, the type for those two pages comes off the press, and the type for the two pages on the back of the sheet goes on, to be printed straight away while the sheets are still damp.

As the now backed-up sheets come off the press I interleave them with 300gsm blotting, and once all the sheets have been backed up, the pile of printed sheets and interleaving blotting is put under a weighty box of 48pt quads to press it down. The following day the printed sheets are interleaved with fresh blotting sheets and left for a further day, after which they are perfectly dry and flat and ready for folding. Once all the printing is complete, the sheets are folded and gathered.

Finally I have a small pile of gathered book blocks ready for binding - just fifty-five copies of which about fifty will be for sale. I'm currently waiting for a supply of the Canson paper which will be used for the end-papers and also for the paper that goes on the boards. I already have the line block made for a graphical image to go on the front board, to be revealed when I have the bound books back from the binders.

The book will be quarter bound in leather with the title tooled in gold on the leather on the front board.

The price is still to be fixed but will be around £200 plus shipping. Email us now if you would like to reserve a copy (no obligation).

Copies are expected from the binders soon

I'm expecting bound copies of Pilgrimage Views from Ludlow Bookbinders imminently and will be sending out copies to customers who have reserved copies. At that point it will also be available via our online shop.

A book from our backlist

An appropriate choice for today's newsletter is one of our earlier books also set in the Hunt Roman. You can read more about it here and order it from our online shop.

The book describes the collaboration between the designer of the Hunt Roman, Hermann Zapf, and typographer Jack Stauffacher in the 1960s.

The Hunt Roman makes a fine page.

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Copyright © Martyn Ould 2026