Magic of Bookmaking

The magic of bookmaking . . . my brother, Bruce Black, spent a day with me while I was letterpressing my artist book, The Amichai Windows.

By Bruce Black

The magic of bookmaking started as a gift from my brother, Bruce Black.

He spent a day with me while I was letterpressing my artist book, The Amichai Windows.

We traveled together to Pyramid Atlantic Art Center in Maryland. As I went about setting up the Vandercook Universal I press, locking in, aligning the photopolymer plates, inking up, he took photos without my really noticing it.

That day I was printing one of the long poems by Yehuda Amichai, “My Son Was Drafted,” in the form of a letter. Little did I know it, but Bruce eloquently captured the art of letterpress. All of the stages were documented, from mixing the ink to cleaning the press.

A few months later, he gave me the book as a birthday present. It gave such a good picture of the letterpress process that I began to show it to libraries and museums who were considering buying my artist book. Both Yale University and the Library of Congress have bought The Magic of Bookmaking. It helps give one a good understanding of the intricacy and nature of the letterpress process.

This book is a must for anyone who would like to know and see how to letterpress.

Please take a look at some of the images from The Magic of Bookmaking in this gallery.