It’s Fine Press Friday!
This week we present The Tragedie of King Lear by William Shakespeare, with woodcuts by Claire Van Vliet, printed in 1986 by Michael Alpert for the Theodore Press in Bangor, Maine, in an edition of 160 copies, signed by the artist. This edition presents the 1623 First Folio text of William Shakespeare’s play. The book was printed on paper made by hand especially for this production at the paper studio of Katie MacGregor and Bernie Vinzani, in Whiting, Maine. The type for the text is hand-set Spectrum, with Times New Roman for display. Text preparation, typographical design, setting and presswork were done by Michael Alpert at the Theodore Press.
Claire Van Vliet’s woodcut illustrations were printed by the artist at the Janus Press in West Burke, Vermont. The birch covers were individually decorated by Van Vliet, who designed the binding with Nancy Southworth of Lancaster, New Hampshire.
The prospectus notes:
“This extraordinary edition of Shakespeare’s greatest tragedy has been created by Mr. Alpert to be a work of “private theatre.” Monumental in scale, it is still meant to be read, to help the reader simply and profoundly experience Shakespeare’s play through the medium of the book. To illustrate the edition, Claire Van Vliet has created thirty-nine woodcuts. Dark and potent, the cuts bring to mind the themes of elemental nature of the unnatural which dominate the play.”
View more Fine Press Friday posts.
–Sarah, Special Collections Graduate Intern