May Day 2024 issue from Sutton Hoo Press

Ecclesiastes, Sutton Hoo Press, 2024

SOME BACKGROUND:
In 2009, when Sutton Hoo Press delivered its Memorial Day title, Breviary by Kevin Young, two future projects stood in galleys ready for printing. Alas, that is where those projects remained for 15 years and through a few moves. Chad had to tear down his Vandercook to move to a new home for his family, a small farm in Houston, Minnesota. Space was at a premium, and there was no good place to set-up shop straight away, and before there was, another move occurred, this time to Rollingstone Township in Southeastern Minnesota. He spent several years making the distressed property in this most beautiful part of the country livable, and a few more years making it suitable for gardening and animals. About 8 years in, the press still in pieces in the old uninhabitable farmhouse, a long time subscriber to Sutton Hoo Press asked for a broadside to be printed for an event. It had been a long time, but then was a good time. The press made its way into the old fiber mill that was now the farm home, and Sutton Hoo Press was operational again.

TODAY:
And now, Sutton Hoo Press customers are about to see their collections get company! The Long standing (long suffering?) forms of one project that were set 15 years ago have been printed and the binding completed. The Press is announcing its new title for 2024:

Ecclesiastes, with wood engravings by Ladislav Hanka, is available for ordering. The book is set by hand from Joanna types with justified margins. Chapter headings in the shoulders are set from American Uncial. The paper is handmade Iyo Glazed. Fewer than 100 copies were printed of which 60 are in a limp binding cased in a handmade Indian vegetable rush. Only 20-30 copies are cased in Bridget O’Malley’s handmade flax cover from Cave Paper. A vellum binding may be forthcoming, depending on supply and the availability of drop spine craftspeople. This book is very light, less than 5 ounces, and the design of the binding was executed to foreground this feature of the book.

FOR YOU!
Clients from Library Thing are here given the chance to receive their copies first from the earliest supplies. The prices quoted to Special collections libraries are as follows:

Indian Vegetable Rush edition: $375 + $10 shipping
Flax Cave Paper edition: $575 + $10 shipping

HOWEVER!!!!!!!!!! Library Thing members can use this discount code for 20% off: MAYDAY20

Visit: https://www.thelastpress.com/suttonhoopress/p/ecclesiastes

BY THE WAY, this is a site-wide code, use it on anything, as frequently as you like, until May 5, 2024!

Wes thu, Hal!

Chad Oness
Sutton Hoo Press

I’m wondering how people usually store these kinds of book, do you use slipcases or are they put in places like a box? All the fine presses I have so far are hardcovers, so they all fit nicely in a shelf.

This looks great! I placed an order this evening.

Thanks muchly for the coupon code, Chad, I've ordered the Cave edition. Was going to order last night but was knackered from my hike that day.

Folks looking to pad the cart with another great deal might wish to check out the Naming SE Special. For the regular price of the handsome Naming special edition, you also get the exquisite A Flock of Scarlet Doves and Rhumb Lines. A positive steal all together.

>3 CenSur: The Cave paper edition should stand on a shelf fine, like the Thornwillow Dispatches and other stiff covered square-cut books. If you go for the rush paper edition, probably a good idea to box it. Smaller books like this (such as chapbooks) I keep in binders, but one of this size is best boxed. Or get a bespoke slipcase, I have a few stored that way as well. This one would seem to warrant that approach.

>5 Shadekeep: any seller you particularly prefer? I see that Etsy has quite a few

>1 SuttonHooPress: what’s the length and width of this book?

I don't see it stated anywhere, but based on the portion I can read in one of the preview images, this looks to be the KJV translation. Might be worth including that info on the description page explicitly.

Yes, KJV. Suggestion noted.

I have had a standard copy of this book knocking about the house for a number of weeks now. It is a festival of textures--visual, tactile, and aural. I love walking by and picking it up and leafing through the text block and the sound of it dropping onto or shuffling across the table. I could go on. . . . It is very light weight, but with books like this, I slip them in the oversize shelf between a couple of sturdy LECs. The Cave paper edition is the same weight as the Indian Rush edition. The edges of both are turned in to aid against nicking. I was loathe to case this text block into boards.

I'm not a fan of slipcases, and drop spines add significantly to the price. Campbell-Logan in MN (https://www.campbell-logan.com/) might be a reasonable candidate for such a project. One could also find an archival box. The book, in the main is 11 3/4" tall and 9 5/8" wide and roughly 7/16" thick. Gaylord Archival has one that would do nicely for about $16.

Vellum is promised to arrive by week's end, and I will know more about the possibility of such a binding next week.

>6 CenSur: I previously had cases made by slipcasebooks.com, but their web address is not currently responsive. I've picked up good clamshell cases from flipchap and MuleMotherBooks, would probably ping flipchap again for a slipcase since they offer those now too, assuming one of the pre-defined sizes fits. Let us know if you go with someone else and have a good experience, it's handy to have such places on tap.

I've also considered Arcoalbum, and they seem to take custom measurements, so I may give them a go next time.