We are often asked what is the definition of a private press book? Well, this is not as easy a question to answer as you may think. The definition of private press printing is, in essence, a press run outside the normal rules of printing and publishing. It has the influence of one person, or at most a small team brought to bear on its productions with the intent to produce books of excellent, perhaps unique quality, without too much economic pressure. The ability to add real value without too much extra overhead cost.
The modern private press movement as we know it today, might well be said to have come to fruition with William Morris and his Kelmscott Press. The movement flourished after the First World War with presses such as Doves, Essex House, Ashendene and the Golden Cockerel Press. The commercial pressures on a private press were and are difficult. By their very nature, the books produced by such presses are relatively expensive and tend to appeal to specialist collectors. By definition they tend to suffer during harsh economic times. Certainly the late 1920s and 1930s were hard times for these presses and they suffered, as T.E. Lawrence stated “a bad season for rich books”. Some owned by more wealthy owners could circumnavigate the difficulties and one such, producing lavish and tiny editions was Viscount Carlow at his Corvinus Press.
The tradition carries on in the modern age with John Randle and his Whittington Press, John having a wide influence on presses operating today. These include The Fleece Press, The Reading Room Press and a substantial number of others. Some presses focus on academic texts. some mix lavish production with texts. A notable recent press has been Castle Hill Press, bridging the two worlds of academia and fine production with its scholarly T.E. Lawrence texts.
A further aspect of the private press movement is the production of a prospectus advertising an individual volume or a group of volumes, most presses produce these and they have become highly collectable in their own right, sometimes more difficult to trace than the books themselves. You will find private press material flourishing within our inventory so happy foraging!
So, as the Golden Cockerel Press declared “Spring, Sunshine and a Chanticleer from the Golden Cockerel Press”.
