The Private Press collection contains books printed in the tradition of the Private Press movement begun by William Morris at his Kelmscott Press in England in 1891. These books were printed by hand, in limited editions, with as much emphasis on making an object of beauty as on reproducing a text. Morris influenced a generation of American, British and European printers to rediscover the pleasures of fine printing, decorative graphic design and illustration in books. Special Collections contains examples of the great presses of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century- Kelmscott, Doves, Ashendene, Vale, Essex House, Gregynog, Grabhorn, and Golden Cockerel. While the movement changed after the Second World War, fine printing in limited editions has continued to be produced by small presses. Special Collections has work by New Zealand presses and printers, such as Tara McLeod at Pear Tree Press, Alan Loney at Hawk Press, John Denny at Puriri Press, and Elizabeth Steiner. The collection also contains books produced by modern American, British and Australian private presses. |
