Printing Bookmarks

Many of the bookmarks I’ve seen during my research on the topic for the University of the West of England's Bookmarks VII project date from the beginning of the twentieth century – they were produced using letterpress and type-high blocks. I decided to return to letterpress for my own design, and visited the Old Stile Press, where I printed the bookmarks on the Albion hand press from polymer plates. Nicolas McDowall snapped the following photos during one of my dawn stints on the press.

Bookmarks

I'm taking part in 'Bookmarks VII: Infiltrating the Library System' organised by The Centre for Fine Print Research at the University of the West of England. This an annual series of international distributions of bookmarks made by book artists.

I began my research by interviewing Peter Scott, bookseller and bibliophile. Peter has amassed a collection of thousands of ephemeral items found inside books, from the common faux-leather tasseled National Trust souvenirs to unexpected items such as army cap tallies, slices of bacon and bus tickets.

As Peter says in the interview, which can be downloaded as a podcast from the title link above, "Bookmarks, whether they’re ready-made or serendipitous, make an interesting study on their own because they are part of – not of bibliography – but of readership – the actual use of the book."

Bookmarks: Infiltrating the Library System

Yesterday I travelled to Purley to interview my old colleague from the antiquarian booktrade, Peter T. Scott, about his bookmark collection. Peter has collected bookmarks for over forty years, obeying the shop injunction to remove ephemera from incoming volumes. He has found army badges, a plethora of bus tickets, and even a rasher of bacon between the pages! While conducting the interview I found myself gazing down the barrel of a Vickers machine gun in Peter's den; bookmarks are not his only passion.

Book Marks: Infiltrating the Library System, is an ongoing, annual international distribution of bookmarks made by book artists, curated by the Centre for Fine Print Research at the University of the West of England. The aim is to get more people to appreciate work in the format of the artist's book.

The bookmarks in past series have been made from a variety of media: old library cards, recycled embroidery, papers, photography, digital print, screenprint, laser-cutting, photocopied, folded, cut and sewn. The bookmarks are collated into sets and sent to participating galleries, bookstores and libraries for free distribution.

My contribution will feature quotes from the interview, which will be available as a podcast for the duration of the project. Below, a taster from Peter's collection.