Wayzgoose 2005: Book Arts in Grimsby

letters.jpg Thanks to a note from Paul Lisson who commented on an earlier post on Letterpress in Hamilton, I went to the 2005 Wayzgoose in the town of Grimsby, Ontario. Delightful event that has been happening for decades. I picked up the 2005 Anthology that has sampling of print signatures of artists and printers. I also met book artists and printers from the area like Will Rueter of Aliquando Press in Dundas. Anyway, I assume it was Rueter.

There was a table of the CBBAG Bookbinding folks, which I blogged before. It seems the closest letter press course is in Kingston, though George Walker teaches courses on book arts at OCAD.

OneZeroZero is a “Virtual Library of English Canadian Small Press”.

The Mackenzie Heritage Printery & Newspaper Museum in Queenston has demonstrations. It is in a restored building that belonged to William Lyon Mackenzie an early newspaper printer and advocate.

I also picked up an issue of DA – A Journal of the Printing Arts (DA 49, Fall/Winter 2001) which has an essay on Mackenzie museum (along with a nice print of a press by George Walker.)

One of the most interesting works I saw was by a QuÈbec book artist Denise LaPointe and P. Filion called “L’Esprit de la lettre”. It was a box with a small artist’s book for each letter of the alphabet.

Two web resources: Briar Press is a great online resource for letter press printers. It has an online museum, a collection of cuts (in postscript too) and classifieds you can drool over. (Why is it that all the affordable presses for sale are far away. A very useful resource and history is from Library and Archives Canada. See Canadian private presses.