Publishing
Printed, bound, delivered
We work with individuals and private presses to produce the whole book, whether one offs or limited editions. You provide the material, whether it’s the written word or a collection of images, your autobiography or a family photo album, and we take care of the whole process; from proofreading to typesetting, through printing, binding and box-making. We specialise in one-offs and limited editions, with runs up to 500, and work closely with some of the country’s finest letterpress and digital printers, using the best paper and materials, all to conservation standards.
Have you finally got round to writing that novel or autobiography you always felt you had in you? Is granny’s beloved recipe book now finally falling apart and you’d like to pass it on to future generations? Whether it’s a Word document or a collection of recipes, poems or lyrics, paintings or sketches - anything that can be reproduced on paper can be put into a book. We can take a beloved book apart, scan each page, before putting the original back together and creating multiple facsimiles. From start to finish, you will have one point of contact who will guide you through the entire process.
Your words, your design professionally published
If you’re not sure of your skills as a wordsmith we can provide ghost writing, editing and proof reading services. We can also help with research to flesh out an ancestor’s life story. And we work closely with some of the country’s best landscape, interiors and portrait photographers if you would like to record your most precious surroundings and people. Do get in touch to discuss as (pretty much) anything is possible. We help bring to life the book that you never knew existed.
Previous Work
The Captain
A treasured collection of letters expanded into a family heirloom
Limited edition of 10 privately commissioned books based around a collection of letters charting a life from childhood home in the Highlands of Scotland via ship to Australia, the trenches of France and full circle to establishing a whisky distillery back in the Highlands. All the scanned letters were transcribed and researched, pulling together birth and death certificates, censuses and contemporary images to flesh out this fascinating life story. After typesetting and layout, they were printed by Senecio Digital on 160gsm Heritage Bookwhite paper, before hand sewing with specially commissioned hand marbled endpapers by Jemma Lewis and covered in full hand dyed fair calf from Hewit and Sons with recessed onlays of terracotta goatskin from Harmatan and Oakridge. They were then all encased in custom made solander boxes with laser engraved copper nameplates by 4D Modelshop. The leather was dyed to represent the grey granite of the stones that built the distillery, the gold of the barley and the tan of the whisky. One was presented to each descendant of of this illustrious founder of a whisky dynasty
This is Your Life
Presentation Book to Celebrate a 60th Birthday
A one-off book created to showcase a collection of photographs, memories, awards, any area this prolific subject had touched. Each chapter heading had a hand drawn motif. The material was collated and typeset before being printed on Heritage Bookwhite 160gsm and bound in full fair calfskin, painstakingly hand dyed British Racing Green through to Marine Blue. A backpared orange goatskin onlay depicts the recipient’s E-type and yacht and reflects his company’s livery. With hand marbled endpapers to match the colour scheme, orange leather headbands and a custom made clamshell box, this was a very special gift.
Every Girl’s and Every Boy’s Alphabets
A collaboration between artist Luke Martineau, poet Kate Bingham & bookbinder Kate Holland
Destined to be collectable classics, Every Girl’s and Every Boy’s Alphabets are a delightful marriage of Luke Martineau’s sensitive paintings and Kate Bingham’s thought provoking words, written to appeal to adults as much as to the puzzling younger mind, they celebrate childhood in all its wonderful variety. Characterised by a limited palette, bold colour, strong tone and a deep sense of love for their subject matter, these pictures are both intimate and universal in their themes and appeal. The original paintings were scanned, and the text was set in Martineau, a new font specially made for this project, then printed on 160gsm Heritage Bookwhite paper before being bound and presented in their own gift box, each edition is limited to 145 standard cloth copies (£95) and 5 luxury copies in full leather with onlays and gilding (£450). A further edition published by Graffeg is also available. Available to buy in the shop.
Joseph Rose. Working Drawings.
Facsimile of the working sketchbook of master plasterer to the architect Robert Adam
Facsimile of a sketchbook at Harewood House. With an introduction by Ashleigh Murray and full list of plates. Frome: Kate Holland. 2019. 230 x 160 x 18mm. Landscape. pp.144. Limited edition of 50, of which 48 ‘ordinary’ and 2 ‘extraordinary’. Extraordinary bound in full alum tawed calfskin with hand dyed calfskin inlays and blind and gold tooling. A plasterwork rosette by Hayles and Howe, gilded by Glenny Thomas, is inset into the front board. Hand coloured edges. Hand sewn silk endbands. Printed endpapers from an original watercolour. Ordinary are bound in full green cloth with gilt title. This book came about following an invitation to exhibit as one of the 26 makers selected to feature in the inaugural celebration of contemporary craft at Harewood House, Useful/Beautiful: Why Craft Matters. A preliminary visit to the house culminated in a behind-the-scenes tour of the archives. In one drawer was a small, nondescript, slightly battered book which revealed a series of working drawings by both Joseph Rose Senior and Joseph Rose Junior. The Roses were the pre-eminent master plasterers of their day and worked closely with Robert Adam on the ceilings at Harewood as well as on many other big houses, several of which feature in this book. It gives a fascinating glimpse into the minds of two incredible craftsmen working on highly significant commissions with some of the foremost architects and interior designers of their time. It is the perfect record of the link between commissioner, designer and craftsman. So often craftsmen fade into the background and I wanted to celebrate them especially for this celebration of craft. This book is not just intended to act as an important reference tool for those researching ornamental plasterwork or the work of Robert Adam but also to appeal to a wider audience with an interest in Georgian architecture or the history of interior design and craftsmanship. It is available to buy in the shop.
Artist’s diary
Commissioned by Messums Wiltshire
Limited edition of 100 diaries to celebrate the work of the sculptor Bridget McCrum. Week to a page printed on 160gsm Heritage Bookwhite with interleaved tracing paper printed with McCrum’s dynamic charcoal sketches of birds. Full grey goatskin with silver titling, specially commissioned hand marbled endpapers by Compton Marbling in the Messums colours, orange leather end bands, ribbon markers, slipcases.
