The Oxford Fine Press Book Fair

The Provincial Booksellers
Fairs Association

in association with the

ran the seventh

Oxford
Fine Press Book Fair
2005

on 5th and 6th November 2005

Gregynog Letterpress Prize
won by Susan Allix

An important new event at the 2005 Fair was the Gregynog Letterpress Prize offered for the best book printed letterpress since the last Fair. We were fortunate to have as judges the author and lecturer on letterpress, David Jury, the book dealer, Anthony Garnett, and printer at Gwasg Gregynog David Vickers. John Randle, President of the FPBA, made the presentation on behalf of Gwasg Gregynog to the winner Susan Allix, for her book Through Closed Doors.

The FPBA extends its thanks to the Directors of Gwasg Gregynog for sponsoring this prize.

The Judges' Choice Awards

Three people from the world of books nominate five books that they particularly like from the books on show and published since the last Fair. The judges are free to adopt whatever criteria they choose: fineness of printing, excitement, value for money, binding, use of materials, typography . . . it's up to them. Our brave judges this time round were printer and collector Jaap Schipper, printer and bibliographer Paul Nash, and book dealer Toby English.

The five winners (in alphabetical order) were:

Barbarian Press for Hoi Barbaroi: a quarter-century at the Barbarian Press.

Incline Press for Peggy Angus: Art for Life by Carolyn Trant.

Kickshaws for Many Thanks by John Crombie.

Midnight Paper Sales for Mayflies of the Driftless Region by Gaylord Schanilec & Clarke Garry.

The Old School Press for The Bricks of Venice by Peter Harris.


*Lecture programme*

11am :	Miles Wigfield on 'Delusions of grandeur - a biographical ramble through The Reading Room Press' Drawn by a love of typography, Miles Wigfield launched himself down the slippery slope in a serious way by buying an Albion and some type, and founding the Reading Room Press, in the wild belief that he could make it as a private press publisher.
12am :	Michael Mitchell on 'Why even private presses need good typography' (to be confirmed)
1pm :	Jeremy Greenwood on 'Edward Bawden - master of the linocut' Edward Bawden was a prolific painter and a designer of book illustrations, murals and advertising material. He was also a dedicated printmaker throughout his life, producing lithographs, copper engravings and, particularly, linocuts. The Wood Lea Press has just published Edward Bawden: editioned prints. Jeremy will give an illustrated talk on Bawden's prints together with a brief survey of his book illustrations.
2pm :	Jasia Reichardt and Nick Wadley on 'Gaberbocchus Press & the Themersons' They took the name from Lewis Carroll's Jabberwocky and between 1948 and 1979 published 60 books touched by the same unexpected originality. The aim was to produce best lookers rather than best sellers, and their authors included: Apollinaire, Jarry, Queneau, Russell, Schwitters, Stevie Smith.
3pm :	Ann Muir on 'Paper marbling' Ann Muir has built a reputation as one of the country’s leading marblers, her designs appearing in the fittings of well-appointed homes as well as on the covers of fine press books. She will be talking about marbling and giving a demonstration.


*Dealers exhibiting*

Peter Barnitt	Blackwells	Boxwood
Scott Brindred	Collinge and Clark	The Coupland Collection
Claude Cox	Toby English	Forest Books
Heritage		Carol Manheim
Phoenix	Printed Works	Michael Taylor Rare Books
Thomas Thorp	A and J Tucker	Geraldine Waddington
.Veronica Watts		Roger Ballantyne Way.


*Presses exhibiting*

Alembic Press	Susan Allix	Avenue Press
Babel, Germany	The Bamboo Art Studio, Italy	Barbarian Press, Canada
Bonnefant Press		Celtic Cross Press
Enitharmon Press	Evergreen Press	Ken Ferguson
First Folio Cards	Fleece Press	Fox Ash Press
The Gabriel Press	Gehenna Press, USA	Graven Image Press
Gwasg Gregynog Ltd	Hand and Eye Editions	The Happy Dragons' Press
Hedgehog Press	Hill Press, USA	Hirundo Press, Germany
Impact Press	Incline Press	Inky Parrot Press
Sarah Jarrett-Kerr & Jane Kennelly	Kickshaws, France	Simon King Press
Richard Lawrence	Lone Oak Press, USA	MK Publishers, Russia
Midnight Paper Sales, USA	Nahanni Productions, Canada	Nikodim Publisher, Russia
The Old Forge Press		The Old School Press
The Old Stile Press	The One Time Press	p's and q's Press
Parvenu Press	Piccolo Press	The Press on Scroll Road
The Primrose Academy	The Rampant Lions Press	Red Fox Press
Red Hen Press	Right-Hand Press	Redlake Press
Right Hand Press	Sherwin Beach Press, USA	Spoon Print Press
Strawberry Press	Talk Sense Press	Tern Press
Tideline Press, USA	Alan and Joan Tucker	Verdigris Press, France
Whittington Press	Woodcraft Press	The Wood Lea Press
Yellow Fox Press		The Yew Tree Press


*Suppliers exhibiting*

Stephen Conway (Bookbinders) Ltd	Harmatan Leather Ltd	J Hewit and Son Ltd
Chris Hicks - Bookbinder	Ann Muir Marbling	Paper Resources Ltd
John Purcell Paper	Salisbury Bookbinders	Shepherds, Bookbinders


*Societies exhibiting*

Designer Bookbinders		Fine Press Book Association
Oxford Scribes	Society of Bookbinders	Society of Woodengravers