20th Century Private Presses and
Printing from Oak Knoll Books
20th Century Fine Printing and Private Press from Oak Knoll Books
By Michael Stillman
Oak Knoll Books has issued its 255th catalogue and the title is “Fine Printing & Private Press in 20th Century North America.” What’s amazing about Oak Knoll is that they issue catalogues in very specific niches, and then somehow manage to fill them with huge numbers of titles. In this case, Oak Knoll is offering 969 items for sale.
Much of the material comes from smaller, often short-run presses. Those who collect the work of these fine presses will want to look through this catalogue for their favorites. Names such as Grabhorn, Overbrook, Bird and Bull, and Castle are just a few of the names represented. There’s even one from the obscure Toothpaste Press out of West Branch, Iowa. Additionally, many of the books here offered are specifically about printing, paper, type, illustration, bibliography, and book collecting. Here are just a few, not particularly typical examples from this catalogue.
On January 9, 1961, a young Massachusetts senator spoke before his home state’s legislature. This brief address was captured and printed by the Overbrook Press. Less than two weeks later, that senator would become the nation’s 35th president and a legend would be born. Item 594 is An Address by John F. Kennedy Delivered Before the Massachusetts Legislature, January 9, 1961. Priced at $30. If, on the other hand, you collect unsuccessful presidential candidates, back in 1940 the Overbrook Press published Occasional Addresses and Articles, to which are Prefixed Biographical Sketches by Wendell Willkie. Willkie was the Republicans’ sacrificial lamb to FDR in the 1940 election. Item 608. $35.
Item 133 is a recent printing of Henry Morris’ Nicolas Louis Robert and his Endless Wire Papermaking Machine from Bird and Bull Press. Robert was the inventor of the papermaking machine, an advance Oak Knoll says “had almost as much impact as Gutenberg’s printing press.” The reason is that it allowed for the mass production of cheap paper, enabling large runs of inexpensive books to bring knowledge to everyone. This book includes copies of five of Robert’s original patent drawings. $400. For papermaking on a smaller scale, there’s Peter Thomas’ Start Making Paper. The book is actually printed on paper hand-made by Thomas and his children. Evidently, Thomas never expected this to become a bestseller, as he printed only 18 copies. It may not be old (printed in 1986), but it surely is rare. Item 880. $75.
If you’re looking for guaranteed rare books, items 11-15 are five titles by Marvin Albert printed by the Alexandria Press in the 1960s: The Magic Clown; Sifting of Infinity; Somewhere Coming Somewhere Going; The Tempest Myth; and This Fact of Man. All were limited to 24 numbered copies, except the last, of which there were but 15. Prices range from $25-$55.
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20th Century Private Presses and
Printing from Oak Knoll Books
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In 1938 the Archetype Press printed a limited edition of William Saroyan’s A Native American. A total of 450 copies were printed, and each bears Saroyan’s signature. This copy also includes a personal inscription from Saroyan to a Mrs. L.A. Bassana. Item 70. $300. Item 290, The Simple Song of Khatchik Minasian, by Minasian, was also a limited edition (300 copies) with an introduction by Saroyan. This, too, carries Saroyan’s signature along with that of the author. $150.
Those who have been struggling to increase opportunities in government for Mexican-Americans may find this title amusing: Morris L. Goodman, the First American Councilman of the City of Los Angeles. It turns out that when the first Los Angeles Council was seated, six of the seven members had been Mexican citizens prior to statehood. Item 505. $30.
In 1943, Overbrook Press, in tribute to Madame Chiang Kai-Shek, printed her Addresses Delivered Before the House of Representatives and the Senate of the United States, February 18, 1943. China had been overrun by Japan and was a war ally of the United States when she spoke. At the time, she had already served 15 years as China’s “first lady.” Who could have known her life had only just begun? She would live to see victory in the war, her government’s retreat to Taiwan after the Communists gained control in 1949, her husband’s death in 1975, and all kinds of changes to her land and the world before passing away last year at the age of 105. Item 589. $45.
Item 329 is a 1990 Foolscap Press reprint of Stephen Leacock’s 1911 story The Man in Asbestos. The Canadian writer had written of a future which, according to Oak Knoll, “described…a world where the inhabitants are clad in long-wearing suits of asbestos, where death has been eliminated…” Of course, such a world has never come and never will, because we now know that we are certainly not going to eliminate death by running around in asbestos suits. $85.
Speaking of Canada, Canadian collectors will be interested in B.K. Sandwell’s Our Canada. Privately printed in Montreal in 1930, it’s a Christmas book describing the beauty of that country. Item 775. $25.
For anyone needing to place a phone call to God, the Aralia Press offers a start with The Area Code of God by R.S. Gwynn. Item 52. $40. For those with a sense of irony, there’s Old Music Master… by Young E. Allison. Item 896. $25. Or how about an answer to the question everyone is asking, Who Will Run the Frog Hospital? You’ll have to buy Lorrie Moore’s book to find out as I certainly haven’t a clue. Item 813. $80.
Oak Knoll Press may be found on the web at www.oakknoll.com or reached by phone at 302-328-7232.
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