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Brighton Press Archive
MSS 0486  
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Table of contents What's This?
  • Descriptive Summary
  • Access
  • Acquisition Information
  • Preferred Citation
  • Publication Rights
  • Administrative History
  • Scope and Content of Collection
  • Indexing Terms

  • Descriptive Summary

    Creator: Brighton Press
    Title: Brighton Press Archive,
    Date (inclusive): 1985 - 2001
    Extent: 32.30 linear feet (10 archives boxes, 2 records cartons, 1 card file box, 181 oversize folders, and 26 art bin items.)
    Abstract: Production materials (1985-2001) for books and broadsides published by Brighton Press, a San Diego (Calif.) fine press directed by Bill Kelly and Michele Burgess. Materials include correspondence with artists, production notes, woodcut blocks, etching plates, plate proofs, letterpress proofs, mock-ups, and trial housings. The archive is arranged chronologically by title of publication and includes the following books and broadsides: A) A COLORED POEM (1985), B) THE HOUSE THE POET BUILT (1985), C) MIDNIGHT CARNIVAL (1988), D) THE MOUSE AND THE WOMAN (1988), E) HARD TRAVELING (1989), F) JANET AND DELOSS: POEMS AND PICTURES (1990), G) PAPER OF LIVE FLESH (1990), H) SHE SAID: I TELL YOU IT DOESN'T HURT ME (1991), I) STERNBERG: A LIFE IN WOODCUTS (1991), J) ARTIFICIO PARA SOBREVIVIR = DEVICE FOR SURVIVAL (1992), K) DROUGHT (1992), L) FLAME (1992), M) PILGRIMS (1992), N) POEM MADE OF WATER (1992), O) SKIN OF GRACE (1992), P) TERRITORY (1993), Q) MAHLER:POEMS AND ETCHINGS (1994), R) PROCRUSTES INN REGISTER (1995), S) SEVEN PASSAGES TO A FLIGHT (1997), T) FORCE=EQUAL (1997), U) SLEEPING INSIDE THE GLACIER (1997), V) SWIMMING LESSONS (1999) and W) WHEN THERE WERE TREES (1999). Also includes administrative materials documentating the collaboration between Brighton Press and the artists it worked with.
    Repository: University of California, San Diego. Geisel Library. Mandeville Special Collections Library.
    La Jolla, California 92093-0175
    Collection number: MSS 0486
    Language of Material: Collection materials in English

    Access

    Collection is open for research.

    Acquisition Information

    Not Available

    Preferred Citation

    Brighton Press Archive, MSS 0486. Mandeville Special Collections Library, UCSD.

    Publication Rights

    Publication rights are held by the creator of the collection.

    Administrative History

    Brighton Press, located in San Diego (Calif.), was founded in 1985 by Bill Kelly, a self-taught printer and artist. Kelly initially focused on the production of fine prints, but the publication of "livres d'artistes" and limited edition books soon became the dominant activity. In 1985, Michele Burgess and James Renner joined Brighton Press as apprentice printers. Currently Burgess, who studied painting and printmaking at the University of San Diego and received a master's degree in printmaking from the Cranbrook Academy of Art, co-directs the press. Renner serves as editorial director.
    The Brighton Press staff of artists, poets and craftspeople specializes in intaglio, relief and letterpress printing. They work with sculptors, poets, painters, and playwrights at their studio facility and often facilitate collaborative works between artists and authors.
    Notable poets and authors published by Brighton Press include Sandra Alcosser, Juvenal Acosta, Mary Julia Klimenko, Janet Lewis, C.G. Hanzlicek, Stephen Metcalfe, W.D. Snodgrass, John Steinbeck, Dylan Thomas, Emilio Adolpho Westphalen, and Nancy Willard. Artists whose work appears in Brighton Press books include Michele Burgess, Robert Cremean, Bill Kelly, Deloss McGraw, Manuel Neri, Oldrich Prochazka, James Renner, Faith Ringgold, Derli Romero, Harry Sternberg, Fernando de Szyszlo, and Julia Talcott.

    Scope and Content of Collection

    The Brighton Press Archive documents the collaborations and production processes for most books and broadsides published between 1985 and 2001. Materials include correspondence with writers and artists, production notes, woodcut blocks, etching plates, plate proofs, letterpress proofs, mock-ups, and trial housings.
    The archive is arranged in two series: 1) BOOKS AND BROADSIDES, and 2) ADMINISTRATIVE FILES.
    SERIES 1: BOOKS AND BROADSIDES
    A) A COLORED POEM (1985) -- Etchings by DeLoss McGraw and poem by W. D. Snodgrass. Six handcolored etchings. Six-stanza poem printed letterpress on Rives paper. Clamshell box covered with an etching printed on cotton. Edition of 50.
    B) THE HOUSE THE POET BUILT (1985) -- Etchings by DeLoss McGraw and poem by W. D. Snodgrass. Ten handcolored etchings. Ten-stanza poem printed on Rives paper. Clamshell box covered with an etching printed on cotton. Edition of 30.
    C) MIDNIGHT CARNIVAL (1988) -- Etchings by DeLoss McGraw and poems by W. D. Snodgrass. Ten handpainted etchings on Arches paper. Ten poems printed letterpress in ten colors on Rives paper. Clamshell box covered with a handpainted etching. Edition of 50.
    D) THE MOUSE AND THE WOMAN (1988) -- Woodcuts by James Renner and text by Dylan Thomas. Seventeen woodcuts. Short story printed letterpress on Rives paper. Handbound in cotton with handpainted woodcut. Edition of 180.
    E) HARD TRAVELING (1989) -- Etchings by DeLoss McGraw, text by John Steinbeck, Gary Soto, Woody Guthrie, and others. Ten handpainted etchings and four handpainted woodcuts on Arches paper. Handpainted clamshell box with inset photo and rubber stamp titles. Edition of 46.
    F) JANET AND DELOSS: POEMS AND PICTURES (1990) -- Etchings by DeLoss McGraw and poems by Janet Lewis. Nine handpainted woodcuts on Arches paper. Five poems and four translations printed letterpress on Rives paper. Clamshell box covered with handpainted cotton. Edition of 50.
    G) PAPER OF LIVE FLESH (1990) -- Etchings by Derli Romero and poems by Juvenal Acosta. Five chine colle etchings. Three poems printed letterpress in four colors on Arches paper. Concertina binding. Edition of 55.
    H) SHE SAID: I TELL YOU IT DOESN'T HURT ME (1991) -- Etchings by Manuel Neri and poems by Mary Julia Klimenko. Eight handpainted etchings on Waterford paper. Eight poems printed letterpress on Nideggen paper. Clamshell box covered with hand dyed silk and printed with an etching. Additional handpainted artist's proof. Edition of 25.
    I) STERNBERG: A LIFE IN WOODCUTS (1991) -- Woodcuts by Harry Sternberg. Forty autobiographical woodcuts printed on Sekishu paper. Letterpress printed on Guttenberg Laid paper. Bound in Richard de Bas paper and Japanese silk. Edition of 40. Deluxe edition of 40 includes complete suite of prints spoon-printed on Okawara paper.
    J) ARTIFICIO PARA SOBREVIVIR = DEVICE FOR SURVIVAL (1992) -- Etchings by Fernando de Szyszlo and poems by Emilio Adolfo Westphalen. Six etchings in five colors. Four poems printed letterpress on Alcantara paper. Handbound in leather and Rives paper printed with an etching. Edition of 45.
    K) DROUGHT (1992) -- Drypoint etching by Michele Burgess and poem by Sandra Alcosser. Broadside. Edition of 50.
    L) FLAME (1992) -- Etchings by Michele Burgess and poem by Sandra Alcosser. Broadside. Edition of 50.
    M) PILGRIMS: A ONE ACT PLAY (1992) -- Woodcuts by Julia Talcott and text by Stephen Metcalfe. Nine woodcuts in four colors. One-act play printed on Rives paper. Handbound with Fabriano paper printed with a two-colored woodcut. Edition of 30.
    N) POEM MADE OF WATER (1992) -- Engravings by Michele Burgess and poem by Nancy Willard. Five chine colle drypoints. Five-stanza poem printed letterpress in six colors on seven handpainted folios. Clamshell box covered with a drypoint printed on Moriki paper. Edition of 35.
    O) SKIN OF GRACE (1992) -- Eleven collage sculptures by Michele Burgess. Half bound in goatskin leather and vellum. One-of-a-kind.
    P) TERRITORY (1993) -- Etchings by Manuel Neri and poems by Mary Julia Klimenko. One original mixed media drawing and five lithographs printed on Kozo paper. Twenty-one poems printed on Arches and Sudare Lace papers. Bound in full hand tooled leather. Clamshell box. Edition of 55.
    Q) MAHLER: POEMS AND ETCHINGS (1994) -- Etchings by Oldrich Prochazka and poems by C. G. Hanzlicek. Eight etchings. Nine poems printed letterpress in two colors on Rives paper. Handbound in leather and paste paper. Edition of 55.
    R) PROCRUSTES INN REGISTER (1995) -- Engravings by Robert Cremean. Nine pages printed with drypoint engravings, sculptural embossing and multi-color holographic text on Arches paper. Clamshell box covered with linen. Edition of 21. Deluxe edition of 7 includes wooden box with mounted sculptural relief and copper plate.
    S) SEVEN PASSAGES TO A FLIGHT (1997) -- Etchings by Faith Ringgold. Nine handpainted and hand stenciled etchings. Autobiographical text printed on linen. Clamshell box covered with handpainted linen and fabric inlays. Edition of 30. Deluxe edition of 10 includes hand stenciled and hand sewn quilt.
    T) FORCE = EQUAL (1997) -- Engravings by Bill Kelly. Six drypoints with pochoir. Five poems printed letterpress in two colors on Rives paper. Concertina binding in paste paper and vellum. Edition of 30.
    U) SLEEPING INSIDE THE GLACIER (1997) -- Etchings by Michele Burgess and poems by Sandra Alcosser. Ten etchings and six collagraphs. Two poems printed letterpress on Roma, Lana, and Japanese handmade papers. Handbound in vellum and housed in a slipcase covered with paste paper and bearing a cast bronze sculpture. Edition of 35.
    V) SWIMMING LESSONS (1999) -- Etching by Michele Burgess and poem by Nancy Willard. Hand colored drypoint. Edition of 12.
    W) WHEN THERE WERE TREES (1999) -- Poem by Nancy Willard, prints by Michele Burgess and color by Merilyn Britt. Edition of 25.
    SERIES 2: ADMINISTRATIVE FILES
    The ADMINISTRATIVE FILES contain mainly correspondence documenting Brighton Press' collaborative efforts with the various artists and technicians to produce their fine press books and broadsides. Included are announcements, newspaper clippings, etchings, typescript drafts and photocopies of poems, monologues, and biographical materials, proofing records, production specification materials, original drawings, mock-ups, and samples of dyed papers and fabric. Of note are additions to PROCRUSTES INN REGISTER, (1994-1997) that include correspondence with Brighton's longtime, and sometimes contentious, collaborator, artist Robert Cremean, and which includes a detailed accounting of profits which Cremean had designated be paid to the Fresno Art Museum.
    The two new works in this accession include typescript copies of two poems by Chard deNiord entitled, "Adam's Lament" and "Eve's Lament," as well as correspondence with Brian D. Cohen of the Bridge Press of Bellow Falls, VT, who collaborated on the project. The files do not contain a sample of the broadside, Cohen's etchings nor any other information regarding this limited edition published in 1996 as "Adam and Eve's Lament."
    More extensive are the materials associated with the production of the book, WHEN THERE WERE TREES, (1999) which included a poem by Nancy Willard; drypoints and etching by Michele Burgess and paper color and design by Merilyn Britt. The files contain extensive correspondence spanning two years (1996-1998) between Burgess and Britt. This rich correspondence includes extensive discussion of Britt's use of natural bark materials to create dyes for paper and cloth used for the book, her search for additional types of bark, and includes samples of what different techniques of bathing the paper or cloth produced. Also included is the
    "editor's palette" which shows the papers actually used for each numbered edition (different editions had different-colored paper) and the edition's purchaser. Photographs document the collation of the printed book, where Britt joined the Brighton Press staff, in this near-final process.

    Indexing Terms

    The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.

    Subjects

    Brighton Press -- Archives
    Publishers and publishing -- United States
    Artists' books -- California -- San Diego -- Archives
    Artists' books -- 20th Century.

    Contributors

    Kelly, Bill, 1948-
    Burgess, Michele
    McGraw, DeLoss. -- Colored poem
    Snodgrass, W. D. -- (William De Witt), 1926- -- House the poet built
    Snodgrass, W. D. -- (William De Witt), 1926- -- Midnight carnival
    Thomas, Dylan, 1914-1953. -- Mouse and the woman
    McGraw, DeLoss. -- Hard traveling
    Lewis, Janet, 1899-1998. -- Janet and DeLoss
    Acosta Hernández, Juvenal. -- Paper of live flesh
    Julia, Mary. -- She said I tell you it doesn't hurt me
    Sternberg, Harry, 1904- -- Sternberg, a life in woodcuts
    Westphalen, Emilio Adolpho. -- Artificio para sobrevivir
    Alcosser, Sandra, 1944- -- Drought
    Alcosser, Sandra, 1944- -- Flame
    Metcalfe, Steve. -- Pilgrims
    Willard, Nancy. -- Poem made of water
    Willard, Nancy. -- Skin of grace
    Julia, Mary. -- Territory
    Cremean, Robert, 1932- -- Procrustes inn register
    Ringgold, Faith. -- Seven passages to a flight
    Kelly, Bill, 1948- -- Force = equal
    Alcosser, Sandra, 1944- -- Sleeping inside the glacier
    Willard, Nancy. -- Swimming lessons
    Hanzlicek, C. G., 1942- -- Mahler