Wind Chimes

On the heels of this week's snow and sleet, the wind has come howling in. Today at the Press we're feeding the woodstove, catching up on reading and writing, and going over proofs of Wind Intervals, the new chapbook of poetry by Jeff Schwaner.

View fullsize

“What is the sound of a loosening of leaves
like forgetting hands just before they drop
to our sides?”

— Jeff Schwaner, in the title poem "Wind Intervals"

One of our favorite poets, Jeff brings to his work a deeply engaging mixture of observation, introspection, and connection. We are honored to be publishing his next chapbook of seven poems, carefully selected and printed by Emily Hancock.

Recently, we invited Jeff to the Press to record some of his poems. Let these whet your whistle for the rest of the book!

View fullsize

Wind Intervals will be published in two formats, a Standard Edition and a Special Edition. We are currently taking pre-orders of both.

STANDARD EDITION

• 150 numbered copies
• hand-set in Bembo types (cast by the Bixler Letterfoundry in NY)
• two original illustrations
• letterpress printed on our 1909 Golding Pearl treadle press
• Mohawk Superfine text paper
• Hahnemühle Bugra covers
• hand-bound at the Press
• $24

SPECIAL EDITION

• 35 signed and numbered copies
• hand-set in Bembo types (cast by the Bixler Letterfoundry in NY)
• two original illustrations
• letterpress printed on our 1909 Golding Pearl treadle press
• Revere Book mouldmade text paper
• St Armand handmade covers
• hand-bound at the Press
• $35

To pre-order a copy, please email Emily Hancock at stbrigidpress@gmail.com, or fill out the form below.

Mark your calendars ~ the official book launch for Wind Intervals will be April 28th, at 7pm at Black Swan Books in Staunton, Virginia! (Pre-orders will ship that day.)

Thanks Friends, and hold onto your hats!

St Brigid Press

View fullsize

"Deep Peace..." Celtic Notecards

"DEEP PEACE  of the running waves to you

DEEP PEACE  of the flowing air to you

DEEP PEACE  of the shining stars to you

DEEP PEACE  of the quiet earth to you

DEEP PEACE  of the gentle night to you

DEEP PEACE  of the God of peace to you"

~

Our roots are showing here at St Brigid Press. From our name to our green-themed color scheme, we don't mind sharing a bit of our Celtic lineage. Which is why we were honored to accept a commission for notecards featuring this ancient Irish blessing. From occasions of joy to expressions of sorrow, the gift of peace is always welcome.

Letterpress printed on our 100-year-old foot-treadled presses, these "Deep Peace" cards are made of thick, 100% cotton Holyoke Paper. The typeface is the beautiful "American Uncial," which was first designed in 1943 by Victor Hammer, and is resonant of millennia-old scripts. We hand-set each metal letter and space, and added lovely penline flourishes from the Dale Guild Type Foundry for ornament. Inks are oil-based and color-fast.

These "Deep Peace" cards are now available in our online STORE, as well as at Stone Soup Books and Cafe in Waynesboro, Virginia, in singles or packs-of-three (all with matching envelopes).

For whatever occasion, these notecards offer the beauty and peace of their heritage, along with the care and craft of their creation.

With thanks, and all best from the Press,

St Brigid Press

PS: Listen to Emily Hancock tell NPR's Martha Woodroof how St Brigid Press got its name: (48-second interview)

POST-A-POEMS! Celebrating National Poetry Month

Greetings and Happy Spring, Friends!

Just in time for the start of National Poetry Month on Tuesday, St Brigid Press has created pre-paid postcards featuring three wonderful poems by Emily Dickinson. These cards are hand-set and letterpress printed in lovely colors on our 1909 Golding Pearl treadled press. The back of the USPS-compliant cards have plenty of space for your personalized note, and include the postage stamp.

To order direct, click HERE. If you are in the Waynesboro, Virginia area, pick up these postcards at Stone Soup Books.

Share the gift of poetry this month  ~  POST-A-POEM!

All best to all,

St Brigid Press

Letterpress PocketNotes

Now available from St Brigid Press -- Letterpress PocketNotes!

We are glad to introduce a sweet little line of letterpress printed journals, in five dandy designs and one handy size. At about 4.5" tall and 3.25" wide (closed; 6.5" wide open), these blank booklets are perfect to slip into a pocket or satchel and go wherever you do. Printed on our 1909 Golding Pearl treadle-powered press, the sturdy cream-colored covers brightly display five themes: "Fly Fishing," "Piper Airplane," Golden Sun," "Sailing Ship," and "Notes." Inside, 40 pages of warm-white paper await your thoughts, lists, ideas, and art. All are hand-bound with linen thread.

Offered only through our website, please see our SBP Online Store for ordering information.

Thanks, friends, and all the best from St Brigid Press.

~

Printing Presses at St Brigid Press

Greetings Friends! With the pressroom here at SBP now rounded out with four vintage presses, we thought you might like a closer look at the marvelous machines that do the heavy work of printing everything from coasters to books. I've created a new page on this site that gives a brief description and a couple of photos of each press.

To learn a little more about the 3000+ pounds of cast iron and steel, click here: Printing Presses at SBP.

With thanks, and all best to all,

St Brigid Press

A New Press and a New Space

Warm greetings to all from St Brigid Press! There is much news to share here, beginning with the homecoming of a new (old) printing press ~ a Golding Pearl Number 3, built in Franklin, Massachusetts in 1909.

A couple of adventurous friends and I trekked to Florida at the end of April to visit Gary Johanson, a delightful printer, artist, musician, and techie who had lovingly restored this press over the past few years. Found derelict in a Florida barn, the machine was lucky to have been discovered before rusting into oblivion. Gary spent untold hours dismantling, cleaning, restoring, and reassembling, and she is now in very good working order ~ has even finished several printing jobs already, all with her native excellence and elegance!

As you can see, this press has a flywheel and treadle (reminds me of my mother's old Singer sewing machine), which means that multiple prints can be made in relatively short order. When she gets rolling, the Pearl operates smoothly and quietly ~ much more so, in fact, than the desktop laser printer in my office! Here's to the continuing relevance, ingenuity, and artistic capabilities of some of the 19th century's technologies!

Paste the link below in your browser's web address field to see a ridiculously unprofessional short video clip of this press in action (hope to make a better one soon) ~

http://www.flickr.com/photos/stbrigidpress/6976307112/in/set-72157629920341693/

With the addition of the Pearl, it became clear that St Brigid Press was straining at the seams of her original space (a very small, enclosed room in the basement, which nonetheless has very good lighting, a window, and a utility sink ~ also the washer/dryer, a long cabinet/counter, and, at night, the dog!). So, with that realization we began to plan how the larger, open portion of the basement (with walk-out door and big window looking south) might serve the needs of the Print Shop.

After extensive excavations of various piles of "stuff" everywhere, the walls and floor-spaces of this room came into view. Last week, I applied blue foamboard to the cinderblock walls, to help moderate summer and winter temps (and to provide a nice place to attach posters, photos, cork, etc.), and this week I hope to paint the sheetrocked wall a nice warm color. A dark and dingy basement this will hopefully not be!

Next challenge ~ moving all the presses and equipment into their new places in the "new" space.

Many thanks to all for your continued interest and support of St Brigid Press, and best wishes for the remaining weeks of Spring.

Blessings,

Emily