Oldham, England: Incline Press, 2023. Softcover. Number 7 of 60 copies printed on handmade Two Rivers paper. An additional 80 copies were printed on Zerkall paper. Signed by the author at her introduction. Hand set, printed, bound and published by Helen Morley and Graham Moss, proprietors of Incline Press. They write: "Poetry, book design and typography working together. It was an issue of some importance among private presses in the 1930s, expressed and addressed in passing by Francis Meynell of the Nonesuch Press: if poetry is better read slowly for sense, rhythm and understanding, how can the publisher assist by designing a book that slows the reader? Part of Meynell’s answer was to use italics, but we wonder if that goes quite far enough. Nancy Campbell’s poem, Song for the small hours, was published in the Spectator in 2022, and is printed here for the first time as a separate piece. Presented as unadorned typography, and deliberately set to add another answer to Meynell’s concern. We think it works very well; although our answer could be applied to any poem, here it works to perfection, so long as you are willing and able to let it." Nancy Campbell writes poetry, essays and non-fiction books. Among her works are her recent poetry book, Uneasy Pieces, and Thunderstone, a memoir of love, loss and a vintage caravan.

The poem and title page use Baskerville types; the introduction and colophon are set in Bell type. This is a poem about letter writing, so all copies are sewn onto re-used vellum strips from old legal documents. This is a non-adhesive binding, using a heavy blue card paper from Two Rivers.Title and author on front cover. The bottoms of the book's cover and the fore-edge of the text are untrimmed. A lovely edition in fine condition. Measures 5 x 9 inches. Unpainted [20 pages printed on recto only plus colophon]. PI/050423. Fine.

Item #36549

Price: $120.00