TITANIC LETTERPRESS VIDEO

Thanks to Rich Gilligan for shooting the footage and to Alex Bradley for the edit. Click here to see the promo video for the book on Vimeo.

WEBSITE FOR THE BOOK

The book now has it's own new website where you will find details, photography and video. Kindly built by Mary Plunkett.


www.albertandernest.com

Colm Tóibín visits Distiller's Press

Colm Tóibín dropped by yesterday for over an hour and a half to see the book as it nears the end of production. Since coming on board to write the foreword he has been in contact many times and has been great to work with. After a quick tour of the press we spent a long while analysing each and every illustration up close. Colm has meticulously signed all copies of his foreword with his own beautiful fountain pen. We're delighted with this development and we must thank Colm for his generous support of this project from the outset.

'ALBERT, ERNEST & THE TITANIC' (pre-launch sale)

This day 100 years ago Titanic steamed into Queenstown, Co. Cork. This was to be the last time she would weigh anchor before heading across the Atlantic towards New York. To celebrate this event I'm now offering ten copies of my book for sale at a discounted rate.


Albert, Ernest & the Titanic tells the story of the Titanic’s ill-fated on board printers, Abraham ‘Albert’ Mishellany and Ernest Corbin as they travel on the ship’s doomed maiden voyage.

Irish author Colm Tóibín writes in his foreword for the book: “As we mark the centenary of the sinking of the Titanic, we are reminded of the amazing gallery of prose and poetry prompted by the events of 1912. However, as well as the passengers, we cannot forget the skilled craftsmen who worked on the ship.”

Letterpress printed at Distillers Press, NCAD, Dublin, Ireland. The book runs to 176 pages with 40 linocut illustrations and is hand bound in a limited edition of 36 copies.

Albert, Ernest & the Titanic will be launched on June 8th 2012, priced at €950. Ten copies are available to purchase pre-launch at a special price of €850. These copies are accompanied by a signed and very limited edition print of one of the book’s illustrations. The discounted rate ends when these ten are sold or on June 8th, whichever comes first.

Images: Mock up of binding, Colm Tóibín's foreword, foreword coming off the press, foreword as hand set.


Production Details.
Foreword: Colm Tóibín
Illustrations: 40 linocuts 230 x 230mm.
Type: Hand set in newly cast Garamond (Hand & Eye, London), Grotesque light and Grot no. 8 (Stephenson & Blake, early 20th century)
Paper: Zerkall 225gsm mouldmade, deckled edge kept throughout.
Inks: Rubber based black, blue and 'Titanic Coal Ink' (made from coal recovered from the reck site).
Binding: Exposed glueless bind, hand bound in hard case, blind embossed with tipped in title. Binding by Tom Duffy.
Presses: Printed on a 1960's ADWEST double crown proofing press and a 19th century treadle platen.
Measurements: 15 inches x 13 inches x 2.5 inches approx.
Edition: 36 copies in total. 6 for private distribution, 30 for sale. All copies editioned and signed.

For further information please contact me.

+353 87 9626365 or jamie@fjord.ie

TITANIC TYPE

As mentioned in a previous post I've been experimenting with a quirky typeface over the last few months. The face first appeared in the 1870's and was digitally redrawn in recent years. The face caught my attention because it appeared on an advert for the Titanic in 1912. More on the history of the face is in that previous post. The complete latest version of the face has been laser cut in 4mm birch ply. It has been illustrated with an abstract horizon which is similar in feel to carnival and circus poster types of the 19th Century. It measures 216 points high / or 18 lines / or 3 inches. Another reason for getting the type made at this stage is that I've been asked to show at an upcoming exhibition called 'Crafting Type' and I intend to show this typeface as a traditional printing form created using contemporary techniques. From the press release: "Dublin’s Grand Canal Dock is soon to be hit with Ireland’s only established creative festival, ‘OFFSET 2012’. To celebrate this bringing together of all things graphic and cutting edge, an exhibition curated by Orlaith Ross entitled ‘Crafting Type’, will cross the craft and design divide by exploring the creations of Ireland’s finest visual elite." This exhibition runs in conjunction with OFFSET, a weekend I've been looking forward to since the last OFFSET two years ago!

 

COAL INK

An hours grinding with a heavy pestle and mortar produced a very fine dust out of a piece of coal, approximately the size of the piece I have which was salvaged from the Titanic wreck site. This dust was then mixed in varying amounts to a transparent base (Pantone Transparent White) before printing. The results were interesting and when the prints dried the ink was stable - it didn't wipe away under normal conditions. With the next experiment I hope to be able to achieve consistentcy so that I can print all the title pages of the book with very little variation in colour. The type I experimented with here is the typeface that will be used for the title page - S&B Gtot no.8.

ILLUSTRATIONS (post 2)

Further to yesterday's post, here are some more proofed illustrations. They are a mix between both narratives and not in any particular order. The printers were aged 27 and 52. Myself and my father have acted as models for many of the printer's illustrations.