Behind-the-Scenes at Thornwillow Press

Behind-the-Scenes at Thornwillow Press

Photos Courtesy of Thornwillow Press

See historic printing machines in action on a virtual behind-the-scenes tour of Thornwillow Press in Newburgh, New York with founder Luke Pontifell!

  • Learn about the traditional processes that go into the making of a fine press limited edition

  • See a Heidelberg flatbed cylinder letterpress, employing the technology invented by Gutenberg over 500 years ago

  • Get up close to engraving/die stamp presses, historical examples of intaglio printing include the etchings of Rembrandt, and US currency

  • View a book sewing and edge gilding prepared by hand in Thornwillow’s very own bindery

About the event:

Thornwillow is a living museum that houses a remarkable collection of historic equipment that is used every day in pursuit of their mission: to teach and perpetuate the related arts and crafts of the written word. Currently on press is Thornwillow’s Centennial Edition of James Joyce’s Ulysses; as well as Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery,” the latest title in their monthly subscription box series, The Thornwillow Dispatch.

In this virtual tour, you’ll get to see some of the historic machines in action and learn about the projects currently being printed. In addition to sharing publications of the press, founder  Luke Pontifell will discuss the work of the not-for-profit Thornwillow Institute, engaged in uniting a local and global community of book makers and book readers, while revitalizing a distressed historic corner of New York – down the street from George Washington’s Revolutionary War headquarters in a complex of 19th-century brick factory buildings in historic Newburgh.

About Luke Pontifell and Thornwillow Press

Pontifell began the Press in 1985 while in high school, and over the intervening decades Thornwillow has become one of the leading fine press publishers in the world. Thornwillow has published works by Toni Morrison, John Updike, Roz Chast, Tim O’Brien, Calvin Trillin, and Lousie Gluck, among many others. Thornwillow publications are in the permanent collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Morgan Library, the New-York Historical Society, the Smithsonian and the White House.

Attendees will receive a link to join the webinar after completing the registration.

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