​​​​​​​Charles Hart’s Lithography: Its Theory and Practice

Georgia B. Barnhill, editor

​

Barnhill, retired curator, American Antiquarian Society, and author/editor of numerous books on printmaking, has long been interested in Hart's unpublished manuscript, Lithography: Its Theory and Practice, held by the New York Public Library. Recently transcribed, the manuscript will be published in its entirely with an introduction by the author. Hart was a "proofer" in the Endicott Co., one of the few long-surviving lithographic firms in the United States during the 1800s. Hart details how lithographs were made, writes of his personal experiences in the trade, and presents biographies of many of the personalities that worked for this firm in New York City. Publication is expected in late summer 2025.

​​​

_____________________________

 

The Hand Decays, the Writing Remains: Byzantine Scribes and Their Manuscripts

Nadezhda Kavrus-Hoffmann 

​​

This scholarly book delves into the intricate world of Byzantine scribes and the manuscripts they meticulously created. It investigates the social, cultural, and religious contexts that shaped the lives and works of these scribes, who played a crucial role in preserving the literary and theological heritage of Classical Greece and the Byzantine Empire. Through an in-depth analysis of various manuscripts, the book sheds light on the scribal practices, calligraphic styles, and the materials used in manuscript production. It also explores the transmission of texts, the influence of patronage, and the interaction between scribes and their contemporary intellectual milieus. This comprehensive study is a valuable resource for academics, historians, biblical scholars, and anyone interested in the legacy of Byzantine literary culture.

 

Dr. Nadezhda Kavrus-Hoffmann is a specialist in Greek paleography and Byzantine manuscripts. She is working as an independent scholar and has published numerous articles in scholarly journals. She is the author of catalogues of Greek manuscripts in American collections, including those of Brown, Columbia, and Harvard Universities, the University of Michigan, Dumbarton Oaks, and the Morgan Library & Museum. She resides in Glenmont, N.Y. and Washington, D.C. This book is expected to be published in late summer 2025.

 

​_____________________________

​

A Printer with My Hands: The Life and Work of Carl P. Rollins

Katherine M. Ruffin

​

From the Introduction: "As a member of a network of printers, designers, and bibliophiles associated with the “Renaissance in American Printing,” Carl Purington Rollins (1880–1960) helped transform graphic design and bibliographic studies in the United States. By applying the ideals of the Arts and Crafts Movement and design principles based on historical precedents to contemporary books and ephemera, this group of practitioners influenced the appearance of printed materials in twentieth-century America. This survey of the life and work of Rollins tells the story of the presses and collaborations with which he was involved." Publication is expected in late summer 2025.

 

Ruffin is Director of the Book Studies Program and a Lecturer in Art at Wellesley College in Wellesley, Mass. In addition to managing the college’s Book Arts Lab and the Paper-making Studio, she directs the activities of the Annis Press, the lab’s imprint. Katherine also teaches the history of the book at the School of Library and Information Science at Simmons University, and with John Kristensen of Firefly Press, she teaches a class on the History of 19th and 20th Century Typography and Printing at Rare Book School at the University of Virginia.

​

_____________________________

​

A Global Exploration of Birch Bark Books and Manuscripts

Marieka Kaye  •  Oa Sjoblom

​

Contributing authors

Kelly Church, Mary Hamilton French, Crystal Maitland,

Blaire Morseau, and Radha Pandey

 

The need to learn more about the history and material technology of birch bark in bookmaking arose when two conservators, Oa Sjoblom and Marieka Kaye, received damaged copies of Simon Pokagon’s (Pokagon Band of Potawatomi) birch bark books, The Red Man’s Greeting (1893) and The Red Man’s Rebuke (1893), at the Weissman Preservation Center, Harvard Library, and the conservation lab at the University of Michigan Library, respectively. These small and delicate books, letterpress printed on the bark of the North American paper birch and sold at the Chicago World’s Columbian Exposition in 1893, are frequently studied for their importance to Indigenous book history and the strong statements that Pokagon made, advocating for the rights of Indigenous communities. The damage found in the books made them unsafe to handle and repair was required to continue allowing use. Conversations with experts in related disciplines and current Indigenous artists working with birch bark were a vital part of these treatments and led to collaborative projects. For this essay, they interviewed Indigenous birch bark artists Kelly Church and Devon Kicknosway, and learned about how birch bark was harvested and prepared by the Anishinaabe.

 

Sjoblom and Kaye’s original focus for this research was North American birch bark books. These artifacts have been pillaged and pulled from their communities, and now is the time to focus on returning them, with respect for their true homes. According to Morseau, the descendants of the creators of these birch bark narratives are uniquely equipped to understand and preserve them. Speaking with conservators who had worked with these books, including Maitland and French, Sjoblom and Kaye were struck by the similarities and differences and felt their research would benefit from expanding their focus.

 

The global use of the material is the focus of this book, providing pathways to explore the similarities and differences in how birch bark has been used for books and manuscripts across the world in very different times. In our attempt to include contemporary artists in our discussion, we also stretch outside birch to include Radha Pandey’s study of the use of sanchi bark in India for books and manuscripts through her interview with artist Mridu Bora. This type of bark is harvested and prepared in much the same way as birch bark and reveals yet another dimension to the way bark has been used in the history of written culture. Expected in August 2025. 

​

_____________________________

​

The Typefounder's Hand Mould

R. Stanley Nelson

​

This long-awaited book, by the acknowledged expert on the subject, R. Stanley "Stan" Nelson, will be published in early Autumn 2025. Nelson is Curator Emeritus at the NMAH, Graphic Arts Division, where for decades, he gave typecasting demonstrations to museum goers. He soon began taking orders to make replica hand moulds for collections around the world. And it is fitting that he should write this book, which covers not only the history of the typemould, focusing on moulds from European collections, such as Museum of Plantin-Moretus, but Nelson also gives instructions about how to make a typemould.

 

"To some, typefounding may seem an unusually esoteric subject but consider that moveable type was the foundation for the success of Gutenberg’s integrated process for the mass production of books and writing using movable letters. It was the typemould that made accurate and efficient types both possible and economical. When considering the entire subject of printing history, typefounding represents an essential element that is worthy of much more attention than it has received. Thus this book."

  

_____________________________

​

In addition to the above titles, The Legacy Press will be publishing a few more titles in 2025. Keep watching this space! These new titles will be last new ones that will appear under my imprint. However, The Legacy Press will continue to issue reprints and new editions of previously published books, and Oak Knoll will continue to distribute The Legacy Press books. 

 

I thank everyone – authors, editors, customers, and donors – for supporting the work of The Legacy Press since it began publishing in 1997, and I hope you will keep in touch over the coming years. Once these new titles are at the printer, I will continue my research into the earliest Western-made wove papers in order to write a book on the subject; this book will not be published by The Legacy Press, however.