Customer Reviews

The Private Press

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This review is for the CONTENT of the book:
THE PRIVATE PRESS by Roderick Cave.
This book is an overview of the "Private Presses" from the earliest times to about 1980. If you are not sure what a "Private press" really is, relax: Cave first deals with the issue of defining his subject, and admits forthrightly that the definition is to some degree personal.
There is a huge amount of information, sometimes multiple pages on a single press, but Cave does NOT attempt to provide comprehensive details on any single press. Rather he successfully provides a primarily chronological review of notable private printing throughout history. The author takes care to show the influences of presses upon their peers and successors. I found it very informative, and a good grounding in the subject. It is opinionated and intelligent.
AS AN OBJECT the hardcover revised edition that I acquired is a handsome and well made book. The book is well illustrated in b/w, though I would have appreciated even more illustrations as examples of press-work.
I highly recommend this as an introductory work on the topic.