Canadian Small and Fine Press
Canada has had a flourishing private press movement since the 1930s. The Fisher Library has attempted to collect as many of the books, pamphlets and broadsides issued by these presses as possible. Two examples are Ontario's Shanty Bay Press and British Columbia's Barbarian Press.
Shanty Bay's Circus is a spectacular example of its hand-printed books. Published in an edition of sixty copies in 2002, it contains poems on circuses by D.H. Lawrence, Gwendolyn MacEwen, Rainer Maria Rilke, P.K. Page and Kenneth Koch, each accompanied by a pochoir - a highly refined stenciling technique.
Since its publication in 1995 of the acclaimed and wildly successful Endgrain: Contemporary Wood Engraving in North America, Barbarian Press has specialized in books featuring wood engravings. It initiated a series of books called Endgrain Editions, each of which showcases the work of a single engraver. A fine example of its craftsmenship is Endgrain Editions 3: Peter Lazarov, published in 2003, containing approximately fifty engravings from the Bulgarian artist.
Additional Barbarian Press material can be found in the Barbarian Press Papers.
Images: Title page and illustration from Circus: Five Poems on the Circus, Shanty Press; Print from Peter Lazarov : A Selection of Engravings, Barbarian Press.
