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Chad Pastotnik, Deep Wood Press

~ Fine letterpress and intaglio printing ~ 30 years in 2022.

Chad Pastotnik, Deep Wood Press

Tag Archives: The Hunter Gracchus

Preview ~ Franz Kafka, The Hunter Gracchus

04 Wednesday Feb 2015

Posted by Deep Wood Press in CODEX, Future Projects, Letterpress, The Hunter Gracchus

≈ 7 Comments

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Chad Pastotnik, Deep Wood Press, fine press books, Franz Kafka, intaglio prints, literature, The Hunter Gracchus, Weiss type

Here is a small preview of my newest book project that will be available to view at Codex later this week. The latest working prototype for The Hunter Gracchus by Franz Kafka which is a short story I fell in love with decades ago and now, finally, I get to have my way with it.

I’ve already gone over most of the details of having a new English language version made in an earlier post but late last week I received the final working draft from my translator, Jamie Lee Searle. Now I can finally commit to some of the intaglio prints I’ve been working on for the book. Only one of them is ready to show and it is still just a proof but I think I’ve narrowed it down to 4 or 5 others that will be used in the book. They are all mostly moody and tonal created with mezzotint, roulette and stipple with a little bit of burin work. I will be using 14pt Weiss for body type and currently the page size is about 7 ¾ x 9 inches. I’ve been liking the results so far using 175gsm Somerset Book paper for the intaglio printing, the velvet surface and moderate sizing content is wonderful for tonal print work and text is beautiful with the dampened sheet.

All of this is subject to change of course, the margins, and title page particularly, will vary as I experiment some more but here are pictures for proof of concept. The fragility and delicacy of the intaglio prints will definitely make this a short edition of no more than 60 books if I’m lucky.


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Kafka, Dublin, Berkeley, Seattle and leather bits….

10 Saturday Jan 2015

Posted by Deep Wood Press in Book Bindings, Future Projects, Lectures, Letterpress, PR and Media releases, Workshop

≈ 1 Comment

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Chad Pastotnik, Codex Book Fair and Symposium, Deep Wood Press, Franz Kafka, Jamie Lee Searle - Franz Kafka, National Print Museum, Seattle, Seattle Book Arts Guild, The Hunter Gracchus, University of Puget Sound

I wish I had some beautiful pictures of new work to add to this post but alas, sometimes running a business and being an artist has nothing to do with actually making art! Fear not, the pictures are coming soon.

 

The Hunter Gracchus

The most newsworthy part of “not actually making art” is probably the long negotiating process I recently concluded with a literary translator from the UK who I have retained to create a new rendition of Franz Kafka’s The Hunter Gracchus. Gracchus is a project I’ve been waiting on for at least a decade and after yet another round earlier this summerFranz Kafka trying to secure rights to reprint from Schocken/Random House was a bust. I needed permission to reprint the original translated version by the husband and wife team of Edwin and Willa Muir in the 1940’s. I decided to look further into Kafka’s estate and was happy to discover that his works are now considered out of copyright in both the EU and USA – in the German anyway.

Here’s where Jamie Lee Searle comes into the picture. There are more translators available for hire in the the EU for reasonable rates than the US, go figure, and most based in the US are busy academics so I had some research and inquiries to make before I could even approach someone I felt competent for the project. While I can’t read German I admired the breadth and selection of titles that Jamie has done and she is quite well regarded by her peers so I sent her an inquiry last October about the project. I am happy to say I will be getting the first drafts in the next few days and hope to have at least some prototype pages to show at Codex next month. I’ve recently acquired the matrices for casting the typeface Weiss in 4 sizes and with luck the Linotype will cooperate and give me 50 good lines as it is bitterly cold outside right now at 6º (-14 C) and it is difficult to convince any of these old cast iron and steel behemoths to perform well in these temps.

Dublin

I’ve also been working on a presentation binding for the last of the deluxe editions of The Heart of Darkness. This binding is for an exhibit at The National Print Museum in Dublin, Ireland which I am happy to be part of along with 24 other invited fine press printers from around the world. There are just a couple copies of this book left in the regular edition and this is the last of the deluxe copies for sale. A good run for a book that was finished 4 years ago and was probably the most fun project that I did in partnership with Chester River Press.

Berkeley − codex

I’ve been working on more presentation bindings/deluxe editions of my most recent books in preparation for the CODEX Book Fair and Symposium coming up in February 8th – 11th where I will be at my table full of Deep Wood Press books. There will definitely be pictures of unique bindings and books gracing this blog in the very near future as these projects near photo worthy stages so please stay tuned.

” Over 200 of the world’s most distinguished book artists and artisans, private presses, and fine art publishers will be exhibiting their work at the upcoming biennial CODEX International Book Fair. This is the largest book fair of its kind in the world today!

  There is no better place to find and collect the world’s greatest contemporary artist books, fine press books, and fine art editions than at CODEX. Now in it’s 10th year, CODEX has been acknowledged as the leading International Fine Press and Artist book fair. Exhibitors are coming from Germany, UK, Italy, France, South America, The Netherlands, Mexico, Israel, China, Austria, Poland, Australia, Russia, and Japan. The event also attracts special collections librarians, curators, and private collectors from all over the world. “This is THE place to see the latest work from ‘the best of the best’ “ states Peter Rutledge Koch, Founder of the CODEX Foundation.

  Coinciding with the Book Fair is a two-day CODEX Symposium that takes place at the Anna Head Alumnae Hall in the mornings before the Book Fair on February 9 & 10. “

– see you in Berkeley at CODEX, come join the madness!

Seattle − workshop & lecture

I’ll also be teaching a workshop and giving a couple talks in Washington state  immediately following Codex on February 12th – 16th. I am teaching a workshop for the Seattle Book Arts Guild on the 14th & 15th from 9:00am-5:00pm Reduction and Multi-block Color Printing with Linoleum Blocks for Letterpress at Pacific Lutheran University, Tacoma, see here for contact information. I’ll be giving a talk which will be an overview of the evolution of Deep Wood Press over the past 23 years for the Guild on the 12th and also at the University of Puget Sound on the 13th.

 

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spine label detail
Green Man (1994)
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the linoleum blocks for "The Path" center spread
the linoleum blocks for “The Path” center spread
Along with Youth by Ernest Hemingway broadside
Along with Youth
The 6th etching for the book, "Entitled"
The 6th etching for the book, “Entitled”
Glenn's intaglio plate
Glenn’s intaglio plate
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Page spread from The Frogs Who Wished A King by Aesop, versified by Clara Dotty Bates.
Page spread from The Frogs Who Wished A King by Aesop, versified by Clara Dotty Bates.
The Frogs Who Wished a King
Deluxe copy of Heart of Darkness
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Presentation binding for The Chesapeake Voyages of Captain John Smith
Presentation binding for The Chesapeake Voyages of Captain John Smith
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Title Page
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Bower by Terrance Hayes
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The Trout in Winter
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Saturnalia
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Deluxe copy of The Intruder
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opening spread for the Frogs Who Wished A King by Aesop
Opening spread for the Frogs Who Wished A King by Aesop, intaglio engravings by Chad Pastotnik.
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Ripping Oblivion
deluxe binding of The Intruder
deluxe binding of The Intruder
Page spread from The Frogs Who Wished A King by Aesop, versified by Clara Dotty Bates.
Page spread from The Frogs Who Wished A King by Aesop, versified by Clara Dotty Bates.
Deluxe copy of The Intruder
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The Changeling’s Exile
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A printed sheet next to the type form
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Deluxe Mad Angler Poems
prototype for deluxe edition of "The Intruder"
Deluxe edition prototype
Don Etherington binding of The Intruder
Don Etherington binding of The Intruder
If detail
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Don Etherington binding of The Intruder
Don Etherington binding of The Intruder
Deluxe copy of The Path
Cover of The Frogs Who Wished A King by Aesop, versified by Clara Dotty Bates.
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Deluxe Mad Angler Poems detail
Deluxe copy of The Changeling's Exile
1,000 Artist's Books
1,000 Artist’s Books
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type hand-set on a curve
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detail of “The Intruder” cover
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There Be Monsters.
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CD packaging
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Title page from Killing the Bear by Judith Minty
Title page from Killing the Bear by Judith Minty
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Opening spread for Minisens
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"The Intruder" cover
The Mad Angler's Manifesto
The Mad Angler’s Manifesto
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Title page for the book There Be Monsters
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Deluxe Mad Angler
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Spread from Heart of Darkness
Spread from Heart of Darkness
Glenn's remark
Glenn’s remark
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Opening spread for There be Monsters
Opening spread for There be Monsters
a pile
a pile
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Killing the Bear by Judith Minty, deluxe edition binding & slipcase
Killing the Bear by Judith Minty, deluxe edition binding & slipcase
Killing the Bear by Judith Minty
Killing the Bear
Custom bound journal, commissioned work
Custom bound journal, commissioned bindery work
The Path
The Path
Wind prom
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front cover
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Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad, regular edition binding
Heart of Darkness
Some books produced at Deep Wood Press
Some books produced at Deep Wood Press. The John Barth book “Browsing” was printed here at DWP for The Literary House Press (Washington College, MD) by James Dissette, my sometimes partner in crime in printing for Chester River Press.
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If
Center Spread
Center Spread
Opening spread from Changeling's Exile
Chained books at Chetham's Library in Manchester, England where I was a keynote speaker at a letterpress conference.
Chained books at Chetham’s Library in Manchester, England where I was a speaker at a letterpress conference.
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the process
the process
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Title page from Heart of Darkness
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Trout page spread
Tree (1991)
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"The Intruder" cover
The Intruder
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