The Petrarch Press » Search Results » Oak Knoll

Oak Knoll Camaraderie

pressadmin — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 04:43:54 +0000

RETURNING FROM THE BEAUTIFUL early fall colors at Oak Knoll to the unusually warm and dry climate in the Sierra foothills just brings home the point of how varied the world, and the world of fine press is. This year seemed more personal and more poignant as we met our old friends and eased others into the fold of fine press camaraderie.

Wonderful stories were told by Henry Morris about his Bird & Bull Press, whose first booklet he sold for $3 and was happy to find selling in 1980 for $900. We appreciated his tip about using the magic flat rate postal service boxes which, much to the dismay of his postman, came from all parts of the U.S. stuffed full of lead type for his newest book The Private Type Casters, but most importantly Henry Morris reminded us all about how fun this work really is.

Meanwhile, Graham Moss (Incline Press in the UK) had written some new lyrics to an old popular melody (“A-nutting we will go”) and printed them beautifully as a keepsake for this memorable weekend. Gathering in Bob Fleck’s garden on Saturday evening, Graham passed out copies of his keepsake to the entire crowd and led us all in rousing rendition of the song when Henry emerged from the house.

There's many a bold printer
Whose work looks much the same
But one we know who will stand out
Henry Morris is his name...

We were pleased with the caliber of guests drawn to this years event and appreciated being a select part of the panel discussion with other printers and librarians. A memorable slice of pre-meeting communication included the musings of one pressman on the state of the fine press world today:

"In one sense the survival of the press world seems an impossible task due to the contextual scope of the decaying culture, the rise of anti-intellectualism and the decline in reading (or the ascendance of aliteracy). All of which is reflected in the non-funding of libraries, the lack of encouragement to create content and the economic squeeze on the press world."

While most of us shared his views, we still seemed to flourish this year as the committed following of fine press lovers continued to find their way to our table.

At Oak Knoll 2008 we previewed our newest publication, Canticle of the Creatures by Francis of Assisi, in original Umbrian text with English translation by John Venerella. Though we will have many handmade paper copies available, by the end of Oak Knoll Fest, the parchment copies were already sold out! If you want more information on this publication please see our announcement here and to purchase this beautiful book contact us by clicking here.

Oak Knoll Excitement October 2008

pressadmin — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 09:36:05 +0000

WE ARE COUNTING THE DAYS till the next Oak Knoll Fine Press Festival in New Castle, Delaware on October 4th and 5th. Known as a regular exhibitor now, after our participation four years running, we have made many close friends and look forward to sharing the 50th anniversary celebration of Henry Morris. We will even be meeting the pressman himself on Friday as the Petrarch Press was one of only ten presses (along with Henry Morris’ Bird & Bull Press) selected to participate in a special symposium that deals with the “nuts and bolts” of producing, selling and buying private press books.

For details about the 15th annual Oak Knoll Fest visit visit their website.
We hope to see you there!

Oak Knoll Fest in the Fall

kimberly — Mon, 20 Aug 2007 22:31:47 +0000

ONCE AGAIN THE PETRARCH PRESS will be traveling to the East Coast for Oak Knoll Fest XIV on October 6th and 7th, 2007. This is our third year and we are pleased to be gaining a following. We will be showcasing our newest publication, The Gospel According to Philip, both in handmade paper and parchment editions. This special Gnostic text is an elegant jewel, hand set in a continuous block with red ornaments denoting paragraph breaks. Stop by our booth and we will be happy to tell you the many behind the scenes stories associated with the making of this book.

For more information about the Oak Knoll Book Festival, visit their website. We look forward to seeing the early fall colors, joining our old friends and meeting new faces. And we are always inspired by wonderful work of our peers.

Thank You Oak Knoll Book Lovers

kimberly — Mon, 16 Oct 2006 23:19:40 +0000

BACK FROM THE BEAUTIFUL fall days and crisp air of New England, we had a wonderful time at Oak Knoll. It was great to reconnect with David Vickers, of the Gregynog Press in Wales, and we were grateful to finally meet Wesley Tanner of Passim Editions in person, after extended email dialog. He was very knowledgeable and became something of a mentor for us. (Thank you Wesley!) There were many creative new books exhibited and we got to catch up with several old friends over a pint at the local tavern after the show.

Thanks to Oak Knoll Books for hosting once again this important contribution to the fine-press community. And thanks to so many of you for stopping by our booth. It was nice to recognize some faces from last year and also meet many new book lovers. Your encouraging comments and feedback are why we attend. If you did not sign up on our mailing list at the fair, you can do so now on the Contact Us page. Then we can keep you up to date with our new publications and let you know what book fairs we will be attending next.

Returning to New Castle in October

kimberly — Fri, 18 Aug 2006 23:22:24 +0000

Our second showing at Oak Knoll is coming up soon. The Petrarch Press will be exhibiting again at this East Coast fine-press book fair in old New Castle, Delaware on Saturday and Sunday, October 7th and 8th, 2006. We are looking forward to seeing the many friends we met last year, including David Vickers of Gregynog Press who invited us out to visit the beautiful Gregynog Hall estate in Wales. This year we will bring along new staff to experience the show and enjoy the beauty of this charming New England colonial town. Come meet us there so we can catch you up on all the new happenings at the Press, including our upcoming publication of The Gospel According to Philip.