Pegana Press Celebrates 10 Years

It was about this time in July 10 years ago that Mike unpacked the restored Vandercook sp15 press which had just shipped from the Midwest to its new home in the Pacific Northwest, and Pegana Press became a part of our lives.

We feel very lucky to have come so far with this endeavor from a part time obsession to a full time business creating the kinds of books inspired from our early days of book collecting.  We want to thank others like us, who have supported our efforts by collecting our letterpress, hand made Pegana Press Books.  Together all of us keep the press alive.

Spring at Pegana Press

Printing Another Book

Mike is in with the press.  He’s printing another page from Dark Dreamlands II.  I just saw him looking through a magnifying glass to evaluate ink on the paper.

Keeping Pegana Press Running

It’s not all type-setting, printing, and binding.  We lead an integrated existence at the press.  Over the years, we’ve created a balance that allows us to spend less on living expenses, which enables us to put money into making books, which in turn generates income to pay the bills.

While Fall/Winter is the season I can devote to binding the books that Mike prints during the Spring/Summer season, this is the time of year I devote to growing/raising food on our small homestead.

I just got back from the post office where I mailed a couple of books off.  Our post office used to be housed in the general store in a very small community in East Olympia.  I really love that drive.  The community is mostly small farms and homesteads.  The general store is still there, but the post office has expanded to a new building.

Since I was close to the farm store, I drove out to pick up straw.  I can get two bales into the back of the Prius.  After a wet and cold winter, I need to change out the straw in my small barn where the hens like to lay their eggs.  A happy, healthy flock is a big part of our home economy, and allows us to use more income on making books and less on feeding ourselves.

On my way back home, I pass (I kid you not) the cider mill, which is a working farm.  They make fresh donuts daily, and who could resist home-made pastries?  It seemed like the perfect way to celebrate the end of the tax filing season, so I pulled in.  I drove home with the tempting aroma of fresh sticky buns made with a cider glaze.

When I got home, Mike was still printing so I share here, a photo of the page he is currently working on.

And that’s a little peek into life here at the press...

If you’re interested in hand made letterpress books and you would like to help support Pegana Press check out our website or take a look at our Patreon page.

An Update for February 2019

 

It’s still early in 2019 and we’ve already released Clark Ashton Smith Poseidonis Cycle II, a deluxe letterpress edition with illustrations by Justine Jones and an introduction by Donald Sidney-Fryer.




In February, we released a letterpress chapbook of H.P. Lovecraft’s story, The Moon-Bog with illustration by Jim Pitts.



And Mike just finished a fine letterpress broadside of Edgar A. Poe’s poem The Conqueror Worm with illustration by Harry Clarke.

Which brings us up to date with the doings at Pegana Press.

You can see these and other works on our website at PeganaPress.