Friday, April 15, 2022

Resistance by Simon Armitage, a poem about the war in Ukraine – preview in New York – April 23, 2022

Solmentes Press will preview Resistance by Simon Armitage at
the Manhattan Fine Press Book Fair on Saturday, April 23, from 10 am to 5 pm at St Vincent Ferrer Church, 869 Lexington Avenue at 66th Street, New York, NY



David Esslemont responds to Simon Armitage’s poem written in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022. "It's war again", writes the British poet laureate. Esslemont's illustrations reflect the recurrent and ubiquitous nature of war: he combines contemporary and archive photographs with his own drawings and images from some of his previous books, and weaves calligraphic words drawn from not only the poem but also transcripts of Pathé newsreels, a list of wars spanning three thousand years, Putin’s menacing declaration of his mission (written in Russian), the Ukrainian national anthem, news headlines, and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s speech to the British parliament.

The poem is set in Genau, a typeface designed by Aleksey Popovtsev. 
Edition of 30 copies, 13.5 x 8 ins, paper covers, in a cloth-covered drop back box – $800.Publication: May 2022

Solmentes Press will donate 10% of net sales to Ukraine TrustChaina group of volunteer teams helping families in Ukraine.


Friday, March 8, 2019

Manhattan Fine Press Book Fair 2019

Saturday March 9, from 10 am to 5 pm
St Vincent Ferrer Church, 869 Lexington Avenue at 66th Street, New York, NY


Solmentes will be showing his Descriptive Bibliography, a work-in-progress and Pizza from Scratch together with other titles such as Taxi Driver Curry – come and meet the Pizzaiolo!



The Fine Press Book Association
in collaboration with the Manhattan Vintage Book & Ephemera Show is pleased to announce the sixth annual
Manhattan Fine Press Book Fair
on Saturday, March 9, 2019.
This is an addition to the Vintage Book Fair, known colloquially as the "Shadow Fair." It is a less-formal, less-expensive fair held during the same weekend as the New York Antiquarian Book Fair at the Park Avenue Armory. This year, as it was last year, it will be located right around the corner from the main fair at the Park Avenue Armory. However, it will take place only one day: Saturday, March 9.
Exhibitors:
Central Booking, Brooklyn, NY
Ann Covell, Brooklyn, NY
Double Elephant Press, NYC and Northampton
Edition Schwarze Seite, Scheer, Germany
Elies Plana, Barcelona, Spain
Fox Ash Press, Cambridge, UK
Leslie Gerry Editions, Gloucestershire, UK  
Patti Harden, Linthicum, MD
Heavy Duty Press, New York, NY
Intima Press, Mindy Beloff, New York, NY
Charles Jones, Nacogdoches, TX
Sal Taylor Kydd
Lead Graffiti, Ray Nichols + Jill Cypher, Newark, DE
Leopard Studio Editions, Rochester, NY  
Nancy Loeber, Brooklyn, NY  
Luminice Press, Philadelphia, PA  
Russell Maret, New York, NY 
Midnight Paper Sales, Gaylord Shanilec, Stockholm, WI  
Mixolydian Editions, Petaluma, CA  
Petrarch Press, Oregon House, CA 
Pied Oxen Press, Hopewell, NJ
Sarah Plimpton Artist Books, New York, NY
Port Press, Sherman Oaks, CA 
Prototype Press, Oakland, CA
Maddy Rosenberg, Brooklyn, NY 
Seymour Press, Minneapolis, MN
Sherwin Beach Press, Chicago, IL
Solmentes Press, Decorah IA
Starshaped Press, Chicago, IL
Tideline Press, [no website], West Sayville, NY
Titan and Weald, New York, NY
Turtle Light Press, Rick Black, Arlington, VA
Two Hands Press,, Los Angeles, CA
Two Ponds Press, Rockport, ME
Wolfe Editions, Portland, ME
Woodcraft Press, Tonbridge, Kent, UK
Vladimir Zimakov, Boston, MA

Thursday, February 21, 2019

A Visual Feast - Bromer Gallery, Boston, MA

21 February – 3 May, at the Bromer Gallery, 607 Boylston St, Boston, MA

Here's a selection of my books, fine bindings, linocuts, woodcuts, digital prints, calligraphy, and a watercolor you'll find on display.

Pizza from Scratch

"Burning Weeds" linocut from Pizza from Scratch


"Wheat – July" linocut from Pizza from Scratch

"Pepperoni Pizza" linocut from Pizza from Scratch

"Stock/1" woodcut from Chili: a recipe
"Stock/2" woodcut from Chili: a recipe



"Yellow Blackberryleaf flower" digital print from Florilegium Solmentes

John Keats poem "To Autumn", calligraphy (9 x 6ft) – also available in book form


"Grasmere", watercolor – details were used to illustrate William Wordsworth's The Prelude



Wordsworth The Prelude
For more information visit solmentes.com

The Bromer Gallery is a new gallery within Anne Bromer's bookstore at 607 Boylston St. in Boston, MA.

Monday, February 11, 2019

Dimitry Sayenko wins a Pepperoni Pizza at the Codex Book Fair

Solmentes Press is delighted to announce the winner of the prize draw at the Codex Book Fair in Richmond, California was fellow artist, printer and bookbinder, Dimitry Sayenko from Saint Petersburg, Russia. Поздравления Dimitry!

Dimitry Sayenko (Nikodim Press) with David Esslemont (Solmentes Press)

Dimitry won a signed copy of the limited edition linocut "Pepperoni Pizza" by David Esslemont from his book, Pizza from Scratch.



Prize Draw
To win a copy of the print, visitors to the Solmentes Press table at the Codex Book Fair (February 3–6) put their business card or name and email address in a bag from which a winner was drawn at the end of the fair. Read more about Pizza from Scratch and buy copies of the print ($300), visit solmentes.com.

Thanks to everyone who entered to win the print and for their interest in Solmentes Press.

Sunday, February 3, 2019

Win a Pepperoni Pizza Print!



Here is your chance to win an original limited edition signed print by David Esslemont – "Pepperoni Pizza" a multi-color linocut from Pizza from Scratch. 

To enter the draw you must visit the Codex Book Fair in The Craneway Pavilion, 1414 Harbour Way South, Richmond, CA 94804 between Sunday 3 and Wednesday 6 February. 

Go to the Solmentes Press (table #5 - in the front row opposite the main fair entrance) and place your business card in the box provided (or write your name and email address on a slip of paper). One winning entry will be drawn by an exhibitor from the book fair at the Codex Gala Dinner in the Berkeley City Club on Wednesday 6 February.

Good luck and enjoy what is sure to be a spectacular book fair. Full details of the Codex book fair and Symposium can be found on the Codex Foundation website.

Sunday, October 21, 2018

Booked for the Evening – A fundraiser to benefit the Newberry's collection

Help The Newberry, Chicago's independent research library since 1887, acquire a copy of Solmentes Pizza from Scratch.


Ruggles Hall, 6–8 pm on Thursday October 25, 2018 Open to the Public

From the Newberry's website:

"Booked for the Evening will give you a one-of-a-kind opportunity to interact with our librarians and curators, learn about the often unseen work they do, and raise important funds to support the growth, processing, and preservation of the Newberry’s world-class collection.
The Newberry’s curators and librarians have carefully selected a wide array of materials to be presented at Booked for the Evening, representing many areas of the collection. Guests will enjoy cocktails and hors d’oeuvres, view and learn about the rare materials on display, and bid to “adopt” the items, enabling their acquisition, processing, or preservation.
We hope you will support our efforts to build and care for our collection."
For more information, contact Jo Anne Moore at (312) 255-3556 or moorej@newberry.org

Tuesday, April 24, 2018

The Winners of the Solmentes Prize Draws in Oxford and New York

Solmentes Press is delighted to announce the winner of the prize draw at the Oxford Fine Press Book Fair was fellow printer William Bentley from Califorina. Congratulations William!

William Bentley of The Petrarch Press, winner of
 the Solmentes Press prize draw at the
Oxford Fine Press Book Fair

William won a signed copy of the limited edition linocut "Heirloom Tomatoes" by David Esslemont from Pizza from Scratch.

***

The winner of the Prize Draw at the Manhattan Fine Press Book Fair on March 10 was John Snyder from Philadelphia. Congratulations John!

Jon Snyder (left), winner of the prize draw at the Manhattan Fine Press Book Fair
being presented with his print, "Heirloom Tomatoes"

Prize Draw
To win a copy of the signed original print “Heirloom Tomatoes” a hand-colored linocut by David Esslemont from Pizza from Scratch, visitors to the Solmentes Press table at the book fairs put their business card or name and email address in a box from which a winner was drawn at the end of the fairs. Copies of the print can be purchased for $200 (£148) at solmentes.com.

Thanks to everyone who entered to win the print and for their interest in Solmentes Press.

Heirloom Tomatoes


Monday, March 19, 2018

Oxford Fine Press Book Fair

Saturday March 24, and Sunday March 25
The Kassam Stadium, Grenoble Road, Oxford, OX4 4XP, tel; 01865 337600

Solmentes will be showing the new book Pizza from Scratch together with other titles such as Taxi Driver Curry and Ink on the Elbow – come and meet the Pizzaiolo and . . . 


Jon Snyder (left), winner of the prize draw at the Manhattan Fine Press Book Fair
being presented with his print, "Heirloom Tomatoes"
Enter the prize draw to win an original signed print by David Esslemont from Pizza from Scratch (see Terms and Conditions below).





Organized by the Provincial Booksellers Fairs Association in conjunction with The Fine Press Book Association. Three lectures are planned for Sunday:

11.00am: Alexandra Franklin and Richard Lawrence on the Bodleian Library’s Sonnets printing project

12 noon: Peter Lawrence on ‘William Morris and Wood Engraving: The Earthly Compromise’
2.00pm: Ferdinand Ulrich on ‘Hermann Zapf, Jack Stauffacher, and the birth of a type’

Exhibitors include presses, specialist book dealers, trade suppliers, and related organisations. 


1
Incline Press
49
Caliban Press
2
Janus Press
50
Solmentes Press
3
Ken Ferguson
51
Book Arts Center Halle
4
Stella Press
52
Susan Allix
5
Studio House
53
Bonnefant Press
6
The Hedgehog Press
54
AlbertoTallone Editore
7
Walking Bird Press
55
Linda Landers Fine Books
8
Yew Tree Press
56
Alexandra Frohloff Prints (13)
9
Grapho Editions / Parrot Press
57
BABEL
10
Reading Room Press / The Blue Print Press
58
Inky Parrot Press/Artist Choice Editions
11
Private Libraries Association
59
Altazimuth Press & Tom Paine Press
12
Society of Wood Engravers
60
Hand & Eye Editions
13
Old School Press
61
Elies Plana
14
Old Stile Press
62
Editions Verdigris
15
Parvenu Press
63
Strawberry Press
16
The Fork and Broom Press
64
St James Press
17
The Lytlewode Press
65
Paekakariki Press
18
Whittington Press
66
MKB Editions
19
Woodcraft Press
67
Petrarch Press
20
Andy English (The Isle Handpress)
68
Sherwin Beach Press
21
Evergreen Press
69
Nomad Letterpress
22
Fleece Press
70
Lone Oak Press
23
Foolscap Press
71
Maria Veronica San Martin
24
Greenboathouse Press
72
Julian Smith
25
Oxford Scribes
73
Cheltenham Rare Books
26
Oxford Guild of Printers
74
Boxwood Rare Books & Prints
27
Ludlow Bookbinders Ltd
75
Bond Books
28
Leslie Gerry Editions
76
Ballantyne Way
29
ottoGraphic
77
Ariadne Books
30
Russell Maret
78
Vacant
31
Midnight Paper Sales
79
Veronica Watts
32
Salvage Press
80
Blackwell's Rare Books
33
Kate Holland Bookbinding
81
Michael Taylor
34
Paper Resources
82
Maggs
35
John Purcell Paper
83
Michael Morris
36
Andy Moore Calligraphy
84
Scott Brinded
37
Designer Bookbinders
85
Tracey Bush
38
Harmatan Leather Ltd
86
Woodbridge Rare Books
39
Harmatan Leather Ltd
87
Wykeham Books
40
J Hewit & Sons Ltd
88
Jennings Fine Art / Fine Press Poetry
(A Moorhouse)
41
J Hewit & Sons Ltd
89
Valeria Brancaforte Prints
42
Illouz
90
Leopard Studio Editions
43
Mixolydian Editions
91
Shirley Sharoff Editions
44
Impress
92
Rickaro Books
45
Design for Today
93
Reed Contemporary Books
46
Nikodim Press
94
Sophie Schneideman Rare Books
47
Chevington Press
95
Lux Mentis
48
p's and q's Press


Prize Draw
To win this signed original print (£148 value), “Heirloom Tomatoes” a hand-colored linocut by David Esslemont from Pizza from Scratch visit the Solmentes Press table (#50, first floor) at the Book Fair and put your business card or name and email address in the box provided. A winner will be drawn at the end of the fair.
Heirloom Tomatoes, linocut
Terms and conditions

1. By submitting your personal information you agree to receive emails from Solmentes Press containing offers and developments that we think may interest you. You will be given the opportunity to unsubscribe on every email that we send. 2. The closing date of the Prize Draw is 5 pm on March 25, 2018. 3. One winner will be chosen from a random draw by an exhibitor at the Oxford Fine Press Book Fair.  The draw will take place on March 25, 2018, at 5 pm. 4. The winner will receive the original signed print, “Heirloom Tomatoes” a hand-colored linocut by David Esslemont. 5. The winner will be notified on March 25, and if not present must provide a postal address to claim their prize. 6. Only one entry per person.

Podcast: David Esslemont on the history of the Gregynog and Solmentes Presses

Gregynog Hall Nigel Beale aka The Literary Tourist , came to visit and recorded our conversation in which he asked me about the history...