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2 Book Arts arts du livre CAnAdA 2012 vol.3 no.1

A Printer’s Printer

interviewed by Tara Bryan

Jan Elsted

The range of illustrators, calligraphers and

authors mentioned in Hoi Barbaroi, the

twenty-fifth anniversary bibliography

of Barbarian Press, demonstrates the breadth of

Jan Elsted’s printing experience. The Barbarian

books I have had the pleasure of handling have

filled me with awe: elegant and expressive layouts

are printed so the various elements look as if they

fell effortlessly into place on the page. Jan speaks

of discovering her hands as she tore paper for the

first time, and the pages she has produced since

1977 show the passion, restraint, control, and dedi -

cation of one who derives great pleasure from the

challenges of producing a beautiful imprint.

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Book Arts arts du livre CAnAdA 2012 vol.3 no.1 3

pRiNTiNG wiTH TENdERNEss by Simon Brett

A wood engraver takes proofs on finishing a block, which prove, sometimes painfully, what he has done or failed to do. The balance between intentions and what can be achieved with the material is always uncertain, and while boxwood of-fers a close grain, and lemonwood a more open cut, generalities and intentions alike crumble before how a particular block behaves when the tool touches it. Engravers try to make a block that anyone can print, but often the sheets come back with the artist’s intentions only partly realized. Sometimes, how-ever, we have the privilege of having our blocks printed by a master such as Jan Elsted.

My first attempt at working with Jan was to send her a block so mangled with plugs (corrections which involve drilling out errors and inserting fresh wood; it is very hard to get them level) that even she could not print it. Then, one of the blocks for our Pericles fell apart in the press. But Jan managed to coax the required number of prints from it nevertheless: the printer’s equiva-lent of landing an airplane on the Hudson River without loss of life, I

TARA BRYAN: How did you learn to print; have you developed your own system over time?

JAN ELSTED: I learned by observing Graham Williams of the Florin

Press, and “boying” for him as he printed on a Columbian handpress.

Graham was a master at hand-inking and mixing inks, and was very

methodical in his approach. I credit his training for giving me the oppor-

tunity to hone my skills

on a handpress before

moving to automated

inking presses, and for

instilling in me a sense

of the high standards of

craftsmanship necessary

to fine printing. I am es-

pecially grateful for his

teaching of the special-

ized techniques of print-

ing wood engravings.

These have proven in-

valuable, for they have

given me the foundation

for what has become a particular specialization and joy: the printing

of engravings from the wood. I owe Graham another debt of gratitude

for offering life-saving practical advice regarding hand-printing the 121

blocks of Endgrain: Contemporary Wood Engraving in North America in

a large edition: “try using your vertical platen instead of the Albion.”

Seventy-three thousand impressions later, I showered many blessings on

his head. The purist in me gave way to common sense – as much as it

ever exists in a craft devoted to aesthetics rather than economics – and I

have been aspiring to that balance ever since.

As to my own system, I adhere to the somewhat contradictory goals

of “less ink, more impression” and “kiss impression,” and have adapted

the techniques of hand-printing to work on platen and cylinder presses,

solving problems by trial-and-error, and arriving at my destination

by going rather than by meticulous planning. I do enjoy taking pains,

whether in the details of “making ready” engravings or achieving colour

consistency. I love mixing inks, but know virtually nothing about colour

theory, and play until the blend seems right and Crispin responds with

“Yes, that’s what I was looking for.” Whether the ink dries on the page to

the desired hue is always a little variable, but involves that element of im-

provisational joie de vivre which we both enjoy. I stand in awe of printers

such as Gabriel Rummonds, Steven Heaver, or especially Russell Marat,

who can bring such scientific exactitude to their craft.

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think. She must enjoy a challenge.

In preparing layouts for Pericles, the relation of images to text was hardly the same two pages together, and in sending her, batch by batch, more than 140 blocks for a 130-page book, I kept her entertained. The blocks, ranging in size from full pages to the size of postage stamps, were engraved on a miscellany of woods from best boxwood to oddments that hardly sustained a cut, and were accompanied by my suggestions. If Jan quailed at these, she never showed it, even when it meant aligning blocks on different sheets across the gut-ter, in detail. Most rewarding and often tear-jerkingly so, every time I sent her a proof of how I thought the engraving should look, she sent back prints that looked infinitely better, richer where richness is required, and more delicate where tenderness was called for.

4 Book Arts arts du livre CAnAdA 2012 vol.3 no.1

Each book requires specific attention, depending on page and type

size, the choice of paper, and the nature of illustration, and I choose

the press appropriate to these. The handpress is still called into service

when a one-pull, multi-colour run is advisable, or when an engraving de-

mands individual inking techniques or is notably above type height. The

Vandercook (Universal III, usually) is generally the press of choice for

text for its consistency of inking and ease of set-up, and for engravings

where possible. It is not so adaptable, however, when it comes to the fine

detail of make-ready for blocks: a platen press allows for a more acces-

sible and efficient build-up of overlay.

TB: In what order do you print pages?

JE: I generally print pages signature by signature, two-up. We never

have enough type in case to print an entire book of text, so set and dis

[sort type back into the typecase] as we go. I will begin in the middle of

the signature and work to either end, usually with text first followed by

the images. However, I always proof the blocks and paste them in place

to be sure that text and image sit well together. Occasionally, I will print

a block while waiting for text to be ready, but it is a more nerve-

In the background, Jan prints on the Vandercook Universal III. In the foreground is the 1850 super royal Albion, and on the right, the 1854 foolscap folio Imperial.

For example, the block for the full-page engraving titled Descent of Diana was a good one, but as I worked up from the dark lower part into the radiance through

which the goddess descends, its limitations began to show. When required to sustain fine, fretted lines, or little shapes of fine-tinted shadow, it began to feel crumbly rather than crisp. When printed, the tiny remaining pieces of the surface, which should have appeared as separate marks, tended to congeal into blobs.

Book Arts arts du livre CAnAdA 2012 vol.3 no.1 5

wracking business as reprinting a page with a block on it is more

arduous and risky: blocks require far more preparation and sometimes

deteriorate over the course of a run.

TB: How do you decide which press to use for engravings?

JE: It depends on the state of the block (both height and condition); the ink-

ing (an area of the block may require less ink than the rest, or even hand-

dabbing with a small ink ball); the paper (page size and surface quality),

and most importantly, the degree and extent of make-ready required.

One of the mysteries of printing wood blocks on a cylinder press is that

sometimes the surface will just not take the ink: it seems to smear rather

than penetrate. In those cases, I transfer the block to a platen press and the

problem is generally solved. I have no particular answer for this, but just

accept it as one of the inevitable unknowns that makes life interesting.

TB: How do you choose and prepare your ink?

JE: Ah yes, ink: the bane of my existence. Just when I think I have the per-

fect ink, it is no longer available. I do have a stash of Carlson Woodcut

Black which I save for special occasions, to use for engravings only, that

The terms “super royal” and “foolscap folio” are indicators of the size of the presses’ platens; they were related to old handmade paper sizes.

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The lightness of the idea eluded me. However, back came the pages, and Diana was radiant: this was Jan Elsted after all. A great printer of wood engrav-ings does not only command ink, machinery, and paper in making her proof: she is also able, some-how, to enter into the mind of the wood engraver she is working with, to know better than he does himself what is in his heart, and then prove that. Furthermore, she told me, more than once, how much she enjoyed doing so. •

Over a career spanning 50 years, English engraver simoN BRETT has illustrated some 60 books, including two for Barbarian Press and many Folio Society classics, as well as making individual prints. His 98 signed wood engravings for The Play of Pericles are available as boxed sets. For more information: simon@ simonbrett-woodengraver.co.uk

6 Book Arts arts du livre CAnAdA 2012 vol.3 no.1

mAsTER pRiNTER, TEACHER, fRiENdby Andrea Taylor My first encounter with Jan was in June 2000, at her home and letterpress studio where she and husband Crispin taught the six- day CBBAG-organized intensive letterpress workshop. They brought us gently, but firmly, into the art of letterpress printing, when we six students each pro-duced a chapbook under their marvellous guidance. My chap-book, The Sea Child by Eliza Cook, was printed on their large 1850 super royal Albion handpress.

Since that class, I have come to greatly admire Jan’s incredible facility for printing, especially for printing wood engravings. I believe I would not be exaggerating to say she is one of the best printers of wood engravings in North America.

Jan has taught me so much over the years: I vividly recall one instance when I volunteered to assist with binding 21 Songs for several days, and at the end was rewarded with being allowed to help print one of the pages (William Cowper’s A Letter to a Friend ) from Founts & Circumstance on handmade

has a glorious black richness. It tends to be oily, however, so must be

spooned out and placed between absorbent paper for a day or two be-

fore printing to leach out the excess. Hostmann-Steinberg Letterpress

ink, made to a formula devised by hand-printer extraordinaire, Steven

Heaver, had the density, tack, and consistency perfect for both text and

images, but has been discontinued. After years of resisting rubber-based

inks, I have succumbed to Van Son inks recently, and enjoyed the advan-

tage of their openness, but not their greyness. Whatever ink I choose, I

take a dollop out of the can and mix it with cornstarch to stiffen it and to

achieve a more matte finish, and then leave it wrapped to settle for a day

or two. I am referring here to black inks only, the ultimate test I believe.

TB: Is there a difference in the way you approach printing engraved images on wood as opposed to those on other materials?

JE: I much prefer printing engravings on wood rather than on Perspex

(plexiglas) or Corian (countertop), or polymer, because I find wood more

forgiving: it breathes somehow, and responds to the slightest touch of

tissue pasted onto the make-ready. Abigail Rorer swears by her Corian

blocks, and she achieves stunning effects both in her cutting and print-

ing. I have printed them to good effect, but I find that an area which is

weak in the surface of the block is more resistant to levelling by underlay

or overlay than it would be on a wood block. They do have the advan-

tage, however, of not chipping or wearing down. Polymer is useful but is

the least alive. The purist in me has never quite died.

Simon Brett’s mock-up for a page of The Play of Pericles by William Shakespeare.

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Book Arts arts du livre CAnAdA 2012 vol.3 no.1 7

paper from Prague on the large Albion. Jan had a whole system of locking the type for inking parts of the layout in different colours, unlocking, then rearranging the inked type to lock up in another ar-rangement for printing to enable the multi-colour design to be inked and printed in one run. What an orchestration of repeated events to create this beautiful page! And what a lucky novice I was to be able to participate in the process.

When I had the good fortune to volunteer again at Barbarian for two- or three-day stretches, usually sorting type back into the type-cases, Jan taught me how to print on a Vandercook press, as I had pur-chased an 1,800-pound Vandercook and lodged it in my basement imme-diately upon finishing their course in 2000. With her generous guidance, I have been able to print six letter-press projects and to teach many continuing studies courses in letter-press at Emily Carr University. For all that Jan has taught me and for her friendship, I am truly grateful. • ANdREA TAyloR is a member of Dundarave Print Workshop on Granville Island in Vancouver. She is a painter, a printer of her own letter-press projects, and a teacher. and is a candidate to receive her mfA in Visual Art from Vermont College of Fine Art in 2014. www.andreataylor.ca

TB: What was most challenging about printing Pericles?

JE: The challenges were fascinating – and gratifying in the end. Simon’s blocks are always beautifully cut, with fine lines clear and articulated, and with an eye to the printing of them. However, the quality of the wood varied greatly, and some blocks were susceptible to wear through the course of printing the edition. At times, I had to fill in a divot with an im-provised inking ball before printing, or after printing, with a tiny speck of ink dabbed on the printed image with a scalpel. One laminated block fell apart when I tried dampening it to close up checks which had ap-peared (a technique I had used successfully before). Fortunately, I had finished printing the block in the edition of the book, but unfortunately, not in the suite of prints for the deluxe.

The complex page design became manageable thanks to the full mock-up Simon and Crispin had executed for every page in the book, and to the successive page proofs Simon included with each block. Some adjustments had to be made in the press, but the template was in place. The thrill for me was to participate in the creative process as the pages took precise shape in the press. No two openings were alike, and leaves had to be printed multiple times to accommodate black text, colours, and engravings: one sheet had to be run through the press 17 times.

TB: Do you print one book at a time?

JE: We usually have more than one book on the go. I often have two

books actually in the presses. At the moment, we are doing an especially

Simon Brett’s mock-up for a page of The Play of Pericles by William Shakespeare. The printed page showing different sizes of Jim Rimmer’s Duensing Titling.

8 Book Arts arts du livre CAnAdA 2012 vol.3 no.1

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complex juggling act: choosing poems for our seasonal series; matching stories to illustrations for Ingoldsby Legends; assisting our daughter with her latest fine press book; waiting for the arrival of monotype; and

planning ahead for major books on the Curwen Press and Simon Brett

TB: Is there one book you look back on as a turning point or leap in your development as a printer?

JE: Pericles is unquestionably my favourite book to date, because of the remarkable collaboration involved. I

danced with three special partners: Shakespeare, Crispin, and Simon are all very dear to my heart, and in the

process of working together our interactions evolved into the creative expression of what seemed like a single

mind. As happens in the best of marriages, we began to read each other’s thoughts without realizing it, and

responding instinctively in our various roles. The book became a living organism as it unfolded page by page,

and created its own inner logic. It felt inspired and true, and it has changed how I see the world and who I am in

ways I could not articulate but feel with certainty.

TB: How on earth do you manage to do everything you do?

JE: Juggling printing, teaching, and living the rest of my life is the ultimate challenge. Probably the answer is

that I do it because I must, because I love it all. Teaching gives me the inspiration that comes from engaging

with young minds and hearts, and complements the solitary, rather introspective life of the craftsman. Printing

enables me to participate in the process of making and brings mind and hand together in usefulness and beauty.

Working with Crispin has deepened the profound sympathy of spirit we share and allowed us to live with a

tangible common goal; we can look back at our lives and say, “Here they are – these books – this is what we

have done.” This is it, my life. All of it. • www.barbarianpress.com / www.tarabryan.com