Why We Do It

Have you ever marveled at the beauty of an Austin Healey, or appreciated the craftsmanship of an antique roll top desk and thought, “They just don’t make things like that any more”? Have you ever found a beautiful old book in your grandfather’s study

Volunteers Printing

Have you ever marveled at the beauty of an Austin Healey, or appreciated the craftsmanship of an antique roll top desk and thought, “They just don’t make things like that any more”? Have you ever found a beautiful old book in your grandfather’s study, or discovered a gem in the rare book collection at your library and wondered why books today don’t give you the same thrill to hold and enjoy?

We have. And we are passionate about bringing that joy back! The aim of the Petrarch Press is to preserve the tradition of fine press printing and share the beauty of fine press with this generation, the next generation and many generations to come. We create, by hand, letter by letter, page by page, lasting fine-press editions of important world literature for today’s fast paced world. And in doing so we teach the skills necessary to keep the tradition alive and share the beauty of traditional fine-press books with the public. We maintain a library with historical examples of fine-press printing and reference books on all aspects of the book arts: calligraphy, press operation, punch cutting, and with bibliographies of the great historical fine presses. We have restored several antique presses and have all the tools needed to produce fine press books. We still know how to print on parchment and we are keeping this costly and time consuming form alive. Instead of making books that rely on graphics and images, we focus on elegant typography and printing craftsmanship.

Of course we appreciate the advances of this modern world (you are, after all, reading this on our web site), but if you gave us a choice between a classic Bentley and a new Toyota, you know which one we would pick.