Catalogue
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BLIND PIG PRESS
St. Catharines, Ontario
Gregory Smith, proprietor

The Blind Pig Press (a nickname for a speakeasy) was established in 1991 to provide an avenue for typographic understanding and experimentation and to provide an outlet for my burgeoning fascination with the book arts. The aim is to carry out all aspects of production -- writing, design, illustration, printing, binding, (editing & proof-reading are considered superfluous), eventually including papermaking, type design and casting. Wood engraving will be added -- as soon as I can figure out how to sharpen my spitsticker. 
The press's motto "Backwards into the 90s" is only half tongue in cheek. It may not seem like it, but there is an attempt (perhaps in vain) to expand the tradition of the printed word. Humour and spiritual issues are the main fodder for the texts.
Greg Smith

LD

1. Wings, by Rachel Madison. With 7 hand-tinted linocuts by Greg Smith.

St. Catharines, 1993. 20 pages. 14x9.4 cm. 50 copies. Printed on Noranda Forest Recycled Papers Antique Cream. Linocuts printed on Arches 90 lb watercolour paper using a 10x15 Chandler & Price. Quarterbound by hand.

LD

CAROLYN C. QUALLE
Calgary, Alberta

Carolyn C. Qualle is a book artist, printmaker and bookbinding teacher. Her work has been exhibited in Canada, the United States and Japan.
A life long interest in bookbinding is leading me to combine printmaking and hand bound books. The physicality of the book and its one to one relationship with the viewer are areas of current exploration.
My work is narrative. I strive for a layering of materials and meaning that continue to reveal.
Carolyn C. Qualle

2. Consequences of the earth's rotation , by Carolyn C. Qualle.

Calgary, 1995. 20 pages. 21.7x29.6 cm. 5 copies. Text is serigraphed on UV ultra paper. Cover is gum bichromate print on cloth. The cover print is "Wings". Text based on Introduction to astronomy by F.R Moulton, 1928 and Human and animal locomotion, by E. Muybridge, 1887.

disORIENTATION CHAPBOOKS
Calgary, Alberta
Nicole Markotic and Ashok Mathur

we feel there is a need for alternative perspectives in the publishing world. many powerful new poetic voices are overlooked, often because they resist the conventional. our goal is to publish "disoriented" voices, poets that speak in new and exciting ways against the mainstream poetry currently being published.
we try to publish work quickly, and within innovative formats which reflect the unconventional writing of these poets. often we collaborate with the artist to design the chapbook, usually the format resists the notion of 'book'.
Nicole Markotic

3. m^m, by Charlene Diehl-Jones.

Calgary, 1992. 45.8x60 cm.; folded, 16.6x10 cm. 250 copies. Set in Optima, Frutiger Roman and Lithos Bold typefaces and printed on newsprint stock.

4. Search procedures, or Lake this, by Erin Mouré.

Calgary, 1993. 28x55.7 cm. Accordian folded to 28x6.3 cm. 150 copies. Set in Optima typeface.

5. Tea, by Hiromi Goto-Tongu.

Calgary, 1993. 5 postcards. 11.1x15.2 cm. Tied with Japanese paper.

DROPLIT BOOKS
Toronto, Ontario
Erella Vent, proprietor

The press was started technically only in 1986 but I have been publishing my own books since 1980. I came to work on books not from a craft person point of view but more as a vehicle for content, (more accurately, art work). Now, I am more and more interested in learning better binding and all about better paper. I like miniature books. I think it is a more personal preference. Looking at a small book is a very private experience. This is what I bring to the press.
Aim of the Press: to bring like minded or unlike minded artists together.
Erella Ganon

LD

6. The adventures of my inner child, parts one - five, by Erella Vent. With drawings reproduced & rubber stamped illustrations.

Toronto, 1993. 5 volumes. 11.1x7.4 cm. 150 copies. Handwritten text reproduced on Classic Laid cream using xerography. Handsewn into marbled end papers & coated Bristol with printed paper labels.

"This journal has grown from my real feelings and experiences. In the process, I have discovered the true meaning of emotions as I dance from awe and joy to trepidation. A definite labour of love - dedicated to those who share my growing pains."
Erella Vent

LD

7. As the crow flies, by Doug Guildford, Erella Vent and Bridget Corkery. With 26 illustrations from hand carved rubber stamps, lino blocks, collage, some hand painted.

Toronto, 1992. 28 pages. 14.7x11.5 cm. 29 copies. Helvetica and hand carved rubber stamp typefaces printed on various papers by letterpress and by hand. Concertina-folded and handsewn into quarter cloth with printed paper over boards, a printed paper label on the front cover and a decorated ribbon marker.

LD

8. Salad daze, by Erella Vent. With 4 linoblock cuts and 9 eraser stamps.

Toronto, 1990. 24 pages. 7.5x8 cm. 30 copies. Hand lettered text and linoblock cuts printed on handmade paper from France & Malaysia using an Adana platen press. Handsewn into rubber stamped paper covers.

LD

ÉDITIONS DU JOUR
Montréal, Québec.

Montréal, 1968. [171] pages. 34.5x26.5 cm. 500 copies. Printed in red and black in Cartier type by Les Presses des Ateliers Optima. Illustrations in black. Designed at Les Ateliers de Gilles Robert. Bound in cloth-covered boards by Les Ateliers Émile Robitaille. Printed illustration in various colours on covers; white spine printed in red.
Signed by the author and the artist.

UA

LES EDITIONS LUCIE LAMBERT
Vancouver, British Columbia
Lucie Lambert, proprietor 

Lambert (born 1947) studied in Quebec, Paris and Strasbourg. She has been publishing her own livres d'artiste since 1978. Her earliest books were produced in Montreal and Paris, but her most recent work was published in Vancouver and Montreal.

FHTH

FIVE PUBLISHERS
Toronto, Ontario
Florence Vale, John Hartman, Michael Dobson, Julie & Stephen Gadacsy, proprietors.

11. a couch of grass, by Florence Vale. Twelve selected poems and a hand-tinted frontispiece by the author. With six illustrations by John Hartman.

Toronto. 1993. 36 pages. 23.3x25.8 cm. 50 copies. Handset Goudy Village & Goudy Old Style printed on Arches Cover using a 10.15 Chandler & Price.
Handbound by John Van Huizen in full linen over boards with gold stamping on the cover and spine. The accompanying slipcase was handmade by John Van Huizen.

LD

12. The trials of Eve = Les épreuves d'Eve, by Pnina Granirer.
With twelve full-colour reproductions of mixed media drawings.

Vancouver, 1989. 49 pages. 31.1x22.9 cm. 100 copies. Spectrum printed on mould-made Frankfurt using a Chandler & Price vertical platen press by Barbarian Press. Handsewn into cloth covered boards with a dust wrapper and a handmade wrap-around case of Canson paper.

LD

Colophon:
Les épreuves d'Eve est publié dans une édition tirée à 100 exemplaires sur papier Frankfurt moyen âge, sans acide, relié pleine toile et placée dans une jacquette imprimée. Le projet est de Crispin Elsted, la composition manuelle et l'impression typographique de Jan Elsted et Joy Tataryn. Les planches en couleurs ont été réalisées par Benwell-Atkins Ltée des oeuvres originales [Les épreuves d'Eve: 12 peintures sur papier, 76 cm par 56 cm; acrylique, crayon, collage, 1981]; les livres ont été reliés par Rasmussen Bindery. Une gravure sur bois, intitulée Apple Tree, gravée sur érable et imprimée à 25 exemplaires, accompagne ce volume.

GAUNTLET PRESS
Toronto, Ontario
Richard Outram and Barbara Howard, proprietors

"Barbara Howard and Richard Outram founded The Gauntlet Press in 1959, the better to learn something of the intricacies of typography, design and printing, and to further Ms Howard's interest in wood engraving and book-binding. The primary preoccupation of the Press has been to investigate various ways of combining most meaningfully image and word into a coherent, symbiotic whole."
Richard Outram

FP

13. Gardener , by Richard Outram. With a wood engraving by Barbara Howard .

Toronto, 1977. 4 pages. 25.5x18.5 cm. 40 copies. Handset in Bembo. Beige and black marbled paper covers.

Reader

14. Mermaid waiting , by Richard & Barbara Outram

[Toronto] 1967. Single sheet 41x19.5 cm.; folded once horizontally. Poem in black; one illustration in red and one in blue.

UA

GERARD BRENDER À BRANDIS
Stratford, Ontario
Gerard Brender à Brandis, proprietor

"The Branstead Press was my name for my books as long as I lived on my parents' country place [in Carlisle, Ontario] -- 1969-85 -- at which time I built my own house. Since that time I have simply published under my own name. I started producing a very small number of one-of-a-kind books with my engravings and people liked them so much that I decided to buy some type and a press and 'really' print books. So I came to printing from a desire to see my engravings given the best possible presentation. I love the fact that a book creates a private space for one or two people. There is no glass between viewer and engraving, as in the framed print. A book is portable; one easily turns it or carries it to the best light, which one rarely does with a framed work. And finally, there is the wonderful combination of the literary (textual) material as partner to the visual image. Perhaps I should also mention my delight in the tactile quality of some books, and I try to emphasize that in my own work, with rough paper, deckle edges, and fairly rough fabrics for bindings -- as little of the smooth and glossy as possible.

Because my reason for printing was to present my wood engravings, my books are at least as much picture as text, often more .... I also printed poetry, some by my sister but also by others; With a Cheerful Heart is a book of Ontario wild flowers with a text made up of quotations from Catharine Parr Traill; and there were three children's books. So you can see that there was no category of subject at all, just whatever I happened to be enthusiastic about at the time."
Gerard Brender à Brandis

FP

15. Mingling uneasy: selected poems, by Margaret Lang. With wood engravings by G. Brender à Brandis.

Carlisle, Ont., 1974. [46] pages. 27.1x21 cm. 60 copies. In slipcase.

"This book was conceived with the aim of combining the work of two artists who, though differing in many respects, both use concrete and natural imagery to interpret human life. The engravings are not intended to 'illustrate' the poems: nor do the poems attempt to 'explain' the engravings. Each work stands on its own but each gains a little from the juxtaposition of its neighbours.
The presentation of the books as individual items brings an artistic satisfaction in addition to that of the contents. The bulk of this work was done by G. Brender à Brandis: design, engraving & typesetting; the spinning, dyeing, & weaving of flax for the linen-bound copies; the printing & binding with the help of other hands. The material for the silk-bound copies was worked in batik by Ann Suzuki & Fay Dubois. The paper is handmade Tovil from J. Barcham Green Co., of Maidstone Kent."

16. With cheerful heart: a sampler of the botanical writings of Catharine Parr Traill. Edited and introduced by Mimi Scott. Accompanied by 35 wood engravings by Gerard Brender à Brandis.

Carlisle, Ont., 1983. [44] pages. 25.1x16.5 cm. 100 copies. Printed on handmade "Maidstone" paper from hand-set type and wooden blocks with an Albion press. Hand-bound in block-printed linen. All design and work was carried out by Gerard Brender à Brandis. (Including the title sheet, made from irises & recycled fibre, except for the text paper, which is from Hayle Mill in Kent, and the box (26x17 cm.) which is by the Bookcrafters of Toronto. Signed by the bookwright.

IMPRIMERIE DROMADAIRE
Toronto, Ontario
Glenn Goluska, proprietor

"Imprimerie Dromadaire began in Chicago where I was working for a foreign-language typesetting company and attempting, with little success, to print at home on a battered Poco proof press. Returning to Toronto to work at The Coach House Press, I found myself living in a veritable ghetto of hand printers ... The encouragement and advice of Will Rueter, Stan Bevington, and especially Robert MacDonald, whose press I used initially, led to a spate of broadsides and other ephemera. Now we have a Vandercook in the kitchen ... The press's main concerns are typography and letterforms, literature (particularly Russian) in translation, and an obsession with wood type."
Glenn Goluska in Reader, Lover of Books, p. 53.

OPS

17. Pauline Butling in Campbell Lake, by George Bowering.

Toronto, [1987] Broadside, 28x17.8 cm. 125 copies. Letterpress on white paper; title printed in blue, figure of a diver in yellow under the title.

Miki

ISLAND WRITING SERIES
Lantzville, British Columbia
John Marshall, proprietor

John Marshall of Lantzville, B.C., founded Island magazine in 1971 and issued the first chapbook under the Island imprint later the same year. To date there have been some half dozen broadsides and ten chapbooks all told. These are designed by Marshall and printed by Morriss [Printing].

OPS

18. The bowl, by Phyllis Webb.

[Lantzville, B.C.] 1981. Broadside, 35.5x20.1 cm. 126 copies. Signed by poet.

LOCKS' PRESS
Kingston, Ontario
Fred Lock and Margaret Lock, proprietors

The Locks "began printing in 1979, in Brisbane, Australia, but in 1987 they moved to Kingston. Their two main aims are to publish literature written before 1900 which deserves to be better known, combining handsome formats with scholarly texts, and to provide a vehicle for Margaret's illustrations. The press has published ten books, nine pamphlets and eight broadsides. The production is slow as everything is done by hand. The type is hand set, the type and illustrations are printed on a proofing press, and the sheets are bound by hand. The books are printed on handmade paper in small editions, between 35 and 85 copies. The texts reflect the Locks' interests. Fred is interested in classical Greek and Latin literature, medieval and eighteenth century English literature, and in translation -- about a third of the press's bibliography includes translations by him. Margaret looks for texts that can be illustrated with her woodcuts, and has a preference for didactic narrative. This has led to a varied book list: a translation from Semonides of Amorgos by Joseph Addison (the only book the press has published with illustrations by an artist friend), letters by Jane Austen, a fairy tale and a Latin poem by Samuel Johnson, a poem in Middle English and another in Provençal, a collection of nursery rhymes, a poem by Edward Lear, a story by Leo Tolstoy. Margaret, who designs the books, says 'I try to present the text in such a way that the viewer will feel compelled to read it.

The piece has succeeded if people find reading the text in that format, with those illustrations, a satisfying experience. My design is conservative: most readers will be unaware of the individual components of the design or of the decisions that went into making it. Nevertheless, the design accentuates certain aspects of the text, and I hope that the reader's remembrance of the text will be coloured by my imagination'."
Margaret Lock

FP

19. A Christmas carol, by Christina Rossetti. With 2 woodcuts by Margaret Lock.

Kingston, 1993. 12 pages. 19x13 cm. 45 copies. Handset Bembo printed on Twinrocker's Not-Quite White using an Eickhoff proofing press. Handsewn into Twinrocker's Black Denim.

LD

MAD-REN PRESS
Toronto and Ajax, Ontario
Soren Madsen, proprietor

The Mad-Ren Press was established in Toronto in 1976, with the help of Bill Poole of the Poole Hall Press, Grimsby, Ontario. The objective of the press was to treat books and printing as an art form. "We are striving for a blending of the pictorial work of the artist-printmaker and the letterpress presentation of the author."
Soren Madsen in Reader, Lover of Books, p. 107.

20. Milk recipes, with comments on cow families in Upper Cownada, compiled and with seven serigraphs by Wendy Cain.

Toronto, 1977. 16 pages. 15.5x28 cm. 27 copies. Handset in Cheltenham. Printed on pale blue-green paper, and sewn into white paper covers, both handmade by Soren Madsen at the Mad-Rag Press. The front cover includes laminates of beige and tan paper pulp to form the design of a walking cow (each cover design being unique).

Reader

MAMMOTH HALL PRESS
Toronto, Ontario.
Paul Hunter and Leah Springate, proprietors.

21. Gumball luck, by Leah Springate.With 15 handcut rubber stamp illustrations.

Toronto, 1992. 29 pages, 3.9x3.4 cm. 50 copies. Handcut rubber stamps stamped on Eaglestone Text by hand. Handsewn into stamped paper covered boards. Enclosed in a plastic gumball prize ball. Signed by the artist.

LD & FP

NEMO PRESS
Courtenay, British Columbia
Martin L. Wolf, proprietor

22. [Publish] That word, by Carol Neufeld.

Comox, B.C., 1993. Broadside, 42x30.5 cm. 50 copies. Handset Goudy's Italian Vandercook proof press. Signed by the poet.

LD

OMLETTE PRESS
London, England, and Calgary, Alberta
Mary Jo Major and Faith Gillespie, proprietors

"Omlette Press was named out of a box of assorted wood type donated by a friend, but containing three 'e's. We were delighted to dispense with the superfluous and (we thought) affected 'e', which came after the pure syllable, om. The year was 1980, the place was London, England, and the co-creators were Faith Gillespie, an American poet, and Mary Jo Major, a Canadian artist. Our first publication was a collaborative artists' book, Poemprints, in a limited edition of 42 copies. Omlette Press specialized in printing limited editions of poetry, wood engraving, and woodblock printing on our Vandercook press, and etching on our Rochat press. We used wood type to create posters advertising poetry readings, exhibitions and openings. The Omlette Press has now emigrated to Calgary, Alberta, and continues to publish and print limited editions."
Mary Jo Major

23. Loom: poem, by Faith Gillespie and wood engraving by Mary Jo Major.

London, England, 1984. Two loose sheets: text printed in Centaur type on Barcham Green paper. 37x26.2 cm. In a folder, wood engraving on Kayazubi, 24.5x18 cm. 100 copies.

FP

24. Poemprints. Printmaker: Mary Jo Major; Wordworker: Faith Gillespie.

London, [England] 1980. 51 pages. 33.2x26.3 cm. in folder 34.5x26.8 cm.; in slipcase 35.3x27.1 cm. 42 copies. Paper handmade by Richard de Bas in France. Typeface: Centaur designed by Bruce Rogers.

PAISLEY PRESS
Toronto, Ontario.
Mary Paisley, proprietor

Paisley Press was established by Mary Paisley on March 31, 1987. The eternal present of myth, history and spirituality, humour, eros, poetry, politics -- as concerns of Mary Paisley, are concerns of her press. Lynd Ward's novellas without words, among many other graphic works and noteworthy books, have been sources of nourishment and inspiration. And who knows what the future will hold for Paisley Press, now empowered to fill the blank pages!
Mary Paisley

25. Outlaws, by Mary Paisley. With 11 reproductions of photographs [of women Civil Rights activists].

Toronto, 1988. 28 pages. 28x19 cm. 20 copies. Typewritten text xerographed on hot pink Plainfield Offset. Handsewn into torn newspaper flyleaves & black Mayfair Cover.

LD

PAPADI PRESS
Toronto, Ontario
Kathleen Parle & Andrew Plewes, proprietors

26. Ice cream dreams , by Kathleen Parle. With linocuts by the author. 

Toronto, 1987. 12 pages. 7.7x7.7 cm. 12 copies. Various Intertype & handset types printed on St. Armand handmade paper using a Vandercook No. 4. Hand coloured linocuts. Bound in paper covered boards.

LD

PULP PRESS
Vancouver, British Columbia
Steve Osborne, Tom Osborne, Jon Furberg, D.M. Fraser and Greg Enright, proprietors

Pulp is a publishing collective founded in Vancouver in 1971 .... The press began by issuing literary chapbooks, and from 1973 to 1980 also issued a semimonthly magazine -- often a single folded sheet -- called 3 Pulp .... In 1982 the publishing arm was formally renamed Arsenal Pulp Press Book Publishers Ltd. and its production facility reconstituted as the Baseline Publication Trades Cooperative.

OPS

27. "and where are the women poets?" -- a reply, [by] Rosemary Catacalos.

Vancouver, 1974. (No.3 Two Bit Broadsheets). Broadside, 43.1x27.9 cm.

QUARRY PRESS
Kingston, Ontario

In March 1965, Tom Eadie announced in issue 14 of Quarry Magazine, the student literary magazine of Queen's University, that the issue in hand "marked the end of an era". No longer would it serve exclusively as the student magazine; it would become a quarterly and would open its pages to writers from across Canada. Also that year, the editors decided to launch a book with the Quarry Press imprint: The Beast With Three Backs (1965), a collection of poems by Tom Eadie, Tom Marshall and Colin Norman.

NL

28. Jewellery: a poem, by Gwendolyn MacEwen. Illustration by Joan Bray. 

Kingston [Ont., 1970?]. Broadside, 45.7x32.3 cm.

SERIPRESS
Toronto, Ontario
Barbara Caruso, proprietor

Seripress is even more difficult to categorize than most Canadian private presses. A concern for finely-crafted works is certainly one of its principles; so is the promotion of experimental, rather than traditional, poetry. Illustration dominates some of the works or, in several cases, actually forms the poem (note especially the bp Nichol / Barbara Caruso collaborations, in which no differentiation is made between author and artist). Most of Seripress's publications are (as the name suggests) reproduced by the silk-screen process; however, in some cases, the text is letterpress. Its concern with breaking down the traditional division between form and content while maintaining aesthetic principles places it at the forefront of experimental fine printing in Canada.

UA

29. H, an excursion, by bp Nichol and Barbara Caruso.

Toronto, 1976. [10] leaves. 15.5x15.5 cm. 60 copies. Printed in various colours. Issued loose in a black buckram folder printed in gold on the front.

SLUG PRESS
Vancouver, British Columbia
Peter Quartermain and Meredith Quartermain

This is the imprint for the Quartermains' basement letterpress operation. Dozens of broadsides have emerged from the press under several different series names, sometimes anonymously.

FHTH

Vancouver, 1980. Broadside, 33x28 cm. (Contemporary Broadside no.2). 100 copies.

STUFF
Toronto, Ontario
Edwin Jager and Rui Curveira, coordinators

From the introduction to each issue: STUFF is just that, a collection of stuff. The participants (Stuffees) for STUFF submitted their work according to an established format and the Stuffers stuffed it all into STUFF. No aesthetic or political opinions are imposed on the Stuffee's work, and everything that gets submitted gets into STUFF.
From Grace Murao's introductory article to the OCAP 16 Anthology: "STUFF appeared out of nowhere like a breath of fresh air or at least since we are in downtown Toronto, a breath of barely breathable air...What is this invasion? STUFF is "a collection of images, ideas, everyday things (like dirt)...a forum for...creative expression. Anyone and everyone can contribute to STUFF by submitting their work in black and white on an 8.5x11" bond paper using the layout instructions on the handout ... My personal hope is that STUFF have a long life in the real world since I am a true diehard fan of low budget, democratic forms of printed matter. Long live STUFF!!!"

LD

31. Stuff #5

Toronto, 1994. 63 leaves. 11x14 cm. 200 copies. Various typefaces reproduced on assorted papers (mostly Bond) using chiefly xerography. Unbound leaves enclosed in a cloth bag, closed with a button. Cloth bag sewed by Janet Bellotto.

LD

TALONBOOKS
Vancouver, British Columbia

The name Talon can be traced to a magazine founded by two Vancouver high school students in 1963 and brought by them to UBC. David Robinson joined the magazine in 1964 and Jim Brown in 1965. In 1967 three poetry chapbooks, edited by Brown, appeared under the combined imprint of Very Stone House and Talonbooks, and in the following year three more, edited by Robinson, appeared in Talonbooks' name alone. Gordon Fidler and Peter Hay joined the press in 1969--the year in which Talon published its first theatre script. In 1973 the company also began to publish fiction. Karl Siegler joined the press in 1974, and it is now owned by Siegler, Robinson, Fidler and Hay. To date it has published over 200 titles, all but a few of which are poetry, drama or fiction. The house has recently issued important work on the aboriginal literature as well; a re-edition of the anthropological papers of Charles Hill-Tout, and an important history of the collection of native texts in B.C., by Ralph Maud.

OPS

Vancouver, 1974. 89, [2] pages. 24.3x20.2 cm.

TRANSFORMER PRESS
Windsor, North Bay and Toronto, Ontario
Lise Melhorn, proprietor

I first started to make books as art objects in Sudbury in 1979, but they had no text. It wasn't until I came to Detroit in 1981 to enter the Wayne State University Art Department's M.A. (And now the M.F.A.) Programme that I took a Bookmaking class and learned to set type, and chose a press symbol.
Most of the books are unique objects or printed in very small editions. Not all of them are letter-press printed -- I also use rubber stamps. Hairy Legs, for example, is rubber-stamped on life-size, leg-shaped handmade paper pages, with a cover / stocking knit of yarn spun of silk & hair. I use the book form as my art medium because I like the intimacy, and the fact that the viewer / reader is forced to participate in the art work, instead of passively looking at it on a wall. I also like to be able to combine words with a visual message.
Lise Melhorn in The Canadian private presses in print.

Why Transformer? One of the many things I like about making paper is the process of making something new (& beautiful) out of garbage (i.e. cast-off clothes and household linens etc.) Making books involves a further transformation of the paper, and other materials. As well, in much of my current work, I am transforming the stories and the lives of women I know, into art. 
Even the press symbol has undergone a transformation. It used to be my father's logo for his electrical contracting business (mine & mill installation -- hence the headframe and the electrical transformers.)
Lise Melhorn-Boe

33. Anything can happen: a love story, by Lise Melhorn-Boe.

Toronto, 1989. 100 pages. 21.8x14 cm. 100 copies. Images and text clipped from men's and women's fashion magazines, assembled and photocopies. Unbound and enclosed by black elastic.

A shuffle book in which the reader can arrange and rearrange the pages to create any number of stories about male / female relationships in the 80's.

LD

34. Bad girls good, created by Lise Melhorn-Boe. Words by Debbie, Frances, Karen, Norma, Peggy, and Caroline.

North Bay, 1995. 10 pages. 21.6x14 cm. 100 copies. Computer Helvetica reproduced on Rolland New Life Opaque using xerography. Enclosed in a vinyl cover with paper fasteners.

What is a good girl? What's a bad girl? Several women share their stories from childhood. These are all tri-partite and can be read individually or mixed up for an even funnier look at life as a little girl. Images of favourite storybook girls become interchangeable too. Who is good and who is bad?

LD

35. Big black bag, by Lise Melhorn-Boe.

Toronto, 1988. 30 loose leaves. 28 copies. Photocopied "pages" enclosed in black Arches Cover paper "purse".

Purse contains over 30 "items", from an apple to a calculator to keys to a zucchini. These must-have objects are photocopied on bright pink card. On the reverse side of each image is an individual woman's list of what she has in her purse.

LD

36. Bound by convention, by Lise Melhorn-Boe. "Thank-you to the following women for the stories: Anonymous, Betty, Carolyn, Debbie, Debra, Dee, Elizabeth, Fran, Landon, Laura, Lisa, Nancy, Norma, Pat".

Toronto, 1989. 1 page. 66x76 cm. 10 copies. Pink rubber stamp text on Exeter pH neutral photocopied and hand stamped. Rolled & tied with pink ribbon in a box 10.2x66x7.6 cm. high.

This "book" is a corset, photo-copied image on one side, with bright pink machine sewing along all seam-lines. On the reverse the text is crammed in between the lines of stitching. This corset-shaped "broadside" has the theme of how people feel about being forced to wear clothes that make them feel uncomfortable physically or emotionally.

LD

37. Colour me dutiful, created by Lise Melhorn. "My thanks to the following women for their stories: Anne, Anonymous, Barbara, Betty, Bonnie, Carol, Carolyn, Carrie, Cathy, Charlene, Christine, Colleen, Debbie, Diane, Elsie, Ethel, Gerry, Gloria, Greta, Hester, Holly, Jean, Joan, Judy, Jocelyn, Karen, Liz, Lori, Lyndsay, Lynne, Margaret, Marianne, Marilyn, Mary, Mimi, Nancy, Norma, Pat, Pauline, Renee, Rosemary, Sandy, Sarah, Sheila, Su, Susan, Violet, Weesy. Thanks to Bill Tomlinson for casting my face in plaster and to Susan Grady for the title".

Toronto, 1986. 28 leaves. 17.5x11.5 cm. (oval). 6 copies. Rubber stamps impressed on handmade (cotton rag) paper. Enclosed in a handmade box, cover of which is a cast of artist's face.

This is a look at make-up. The text is printed on face-shaped pages in black (eye-brow pencil, eye-linter), turquoise (eye-shadow), pink (blusher) and red (lipstick) ....

LD

38. Come into my parlour, created by Lise Melhorn. "My thanks to the following women for their stories: Barbara, Becky, Betty, Bonnie, Christine, Dea, Debbie, Dorothy, Elsie, Ethel, Gerry, Joan, Judy, Karen, Kathy, Laura, Liz, Melanie, Marilyn, Mary, Nadine,Norma, Pauline, Pat, Rosemary, Randi, Weesy, Su".

Toronto, 1986. 16 leaves. 23x9 cm. (triangular). 500 copies. Computer typeset Gothic printed on Byronic text using offset litho. Fanfolded into folded handmade (cotton rag) paper cover, held together with a perm rod.

This is a funny look at beauty parlours and hairdressing, through the stories of 28 women.

LD

39. Family album, created by Lise Melhorn-Boe. Words by Frances, Penelope, Debbie, Karen, Norma, Margaret, Sheila, and Chris. With photographs reproduced. Photographs of Pat and Beryl Wortman, the artist's mother, Pauline Guilmore Meilman, Heather and Bonnie Lowe, Lise Melhorn, Margaret and Marie-Louise Melhorn, Elisabeth Laratta, and Riki Cooper.

North Bay, 1994. 8 pages. 21.6x14 cm. 100 copies. Computer New York reproduced on cereal straw / hemp paper using xerography. Enclosed in handmade cotton paper covers with kurotani (mulberry) endpapers and a plastic coil.

The artist's family photos of 3 generations of good little girls are paired with other women's personal stories (some funny, some poignant) about being a good girl.

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40. Good girls don't ..., by Lise Melhorn-Boe. With four pop-ups.

North Bay, 1994. 8 pages. 14x7.5 cm. 30 copies. Rubber stamped text and colour photocopy transfer images on handmade linen. Accordion-folded into a self-cover with a tab. Closed with a ribbon. Signed by the artist.

Pop-ups of the Virgin Mary are surrounded by rules for good girls, such as "Good girls don't make demands" and "Good girls don't complain."

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41. A lady always has beautiful shoes and a pretty hanky, created by Lise Melhorn

Detroit, Michigan, 1984. 5 pages. 14x14x1 cm. 20 copies. Handset Futura Medium printed on white & pink Japanese paper using a Vandercook proof press. Loose pages contained in a box. The text is printed on 5 hankies each with a different colour-Xerox-transfer-lace border.

Consists of statements by a variety of women about what they think a lady is. "The original hankies came from the collection of my mother, Pauline Melhorn, who always had a pretty hanky and is always a lady." (LM)

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42. Light and flaky: portrait of the artist's mother: a cookbook, by Lise Melhorn with a story by Pauline Melhorn. With 10 half-tone photos.

Detroit, Michigan, 1982. 32 pages. Approx. 22.5x16.5 cm. 190 copies. Handset Futura Demibold printed on Rising Parchment (100% rag) using a Vandercook proof press. Handmade paper covers from linen & cotton tea-towels, tablecloths, aprons and dish cloths. Signed by the artist.

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43. Playbook, by Lise Melhorn-Boe. Thanks to: Beth Cook, Caroline Langill, Sheila Maki, Pauline Melhorn, and David Melhorn-Boe.

Toronto, 1989. 12 leaves. 19.7x14 cm. 22 copies. Photocopied images on Exeter pH neutral paper. Bound between 2 sheets of black rubber held with 3 metal studs.

This is a 3-part flip book. Eleven images of women are cut at the waist and at the neck. Flipping back and forth, exchanging heads, torsos and thighs is fun -- it also points out how interchangeable are the looks, stances and "costumes" between fashion & pornographic photography.

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44. Powder puff pink , created by Lise Melhorn. Thanks to the following women: Anna-Mae, Anonymous, Cathy, Charlene, Debbie, Diane, Ellen, Ethel, Gloria, Jane, Jean, Joan, Laura, Linda, Lynne, Margaret, Marilyn, Martha, Pam, Pauline, Renee, Sandi, Sandy, Sarah, Sheila, Su, Sue, Weesy. Thanks to Greta Weekley and Colleen Oakes for their help. More thanks to the following men: Anonymous, Bob, David, Franco, Frank, Fred, Gerry, Jim, John, Kurt, Mike, Neil, Paul, Steve.

Detroit, Michigan, 1984. 12 pages. 11 cm. diameter x 3 cm. 20 ... copies. Handset Futura Medium printed on pink handmade paper, using a Vandercook proof press. Twelve loose round pages in a round box with powder puff.

It explores both women's (printed in pink) and men's (printed in blue) views on the colour pink.

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45. Suitable for success , by Lise Melhorn-Boe. With 12 photographs reproduced. Thanks to: Angie, Marie, Laura, Christine, Debbie, Lynne, Landon, Bonnie, Betty, Beth, Julie and Nancy for their stories.

North Bay, 1993. 24 pages. 22x9.1 cm. 100 copies. Helvetica typeset on a Macintosh Plus, laser printed and reproduced on Rolland Alkaline / Acid-free Offset using xerography. Handsewn into cotton rag paper handmade by the artist.

What should women wear to work? What do they wear? Includes rules from The Woman's Dress for Success Book by JohnT. Molloy and stories from women in a variety of professions humorously juxtaposed with fashion magazine images.

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46. What are little girls / boys made of?, by Lise Melhorn-Boe.

Toronto, 1989. 14 pages. 30x10.2 cm. 750 copies. Computer typeset, printed offset on Exeter pH neutral paper. Die-cut and accordion-folded.

A nursery rhyme book with a difference! This book compares nursery rhymes about girls to those about boys, pointing out how sexist they are. Printed in pink and blue and diecut into pages shaped like dresses or shirts and shorts.

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ZIGZAG PRESS
Toronto, Ontario
Liz Eakins and Kathleen Parle, proprietors

Liz & Kathleen are both associated with other presses but have joined forces to pursue books on topics of mutual interest. The pair first met at the Ontario College of Art in the Printmaking Studios. Liz now works at the Japanese Paper Place and Kathleen is a graphic designer. They will primarily be focusing on their prints but will also be doing some writing ....

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47. Milliner's memoirs , by Liz Eakins & Kathleen Parle. With 15 linocuts by Liz Eakins & Kathleen Parle.

Toronto, 1990. 32 pages. 10.2x10.2 cm. (octagonal). 50 copies. Linocuts and assorted type printed on moss-green Somegami using a Vandercook proof press. Handsewn into blue Ai end papers and plum Ichimatsu over light card. Enclosed with a miniature hat in a hat box with a printed label.

A humorous look at ladies' hats and the people who wear them. Each linocut illustration is accompanied by a short story told by the milliner. The edition varies because of the variety of hats and boxes, but remains similar in spirit.

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