EIGHT PAGES OF LETTERPRESS

Moore, Wanda Allen

Duck Pond Ramblings, Number Seven

Lake Stevens, Washington: Wanda Allen Moore, Printed by John Horn. c1980.

A PRIVATE PRESS JOURNAL WHERE THE TYPOGRAPHY IS PART OF THE STORY.
A small letterpress journal by Wanda Allen Moore, produced within the American amateur press tradition and combining Moore’s writing with the craft of small-scale typography and printing.

Duck Pond Ramblings was Moore’s personal journal, and her participation in amateur journalism extended over many years. Records of the American Amateur Press Association show her repeatedly receiving recognition for fiction, poetry, and nonfiction from the late 1960s through the 1980s; Duck Pond Ramblings No. 11 itself received an honorable mention for prose nonfiction in 1988–89.

TYPE AS PART OF THE STORY.
Number Seven is particularly appealing as a printing object because its production is explicitly documented within the issue. The text was Monotype set at Golgonooza Letter Foundry in Italian Oldstyle and printed by John Horn, himself an active and award-winning amateur printer.

PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS: Textured stapled tan wrappers, the front printed in pale green and black with an elaborate repeating typographic ornament surrounding a central title panel. Approximately 5.5 by 4.5 inches; 8 pages.

The colophon identifies the text as Monotype set at Golgonooza Letter Foundry in Italian Oldstyle and printed by John Horn. Horn also designed the cover using Monotype strip border, ATF Cleland No. 1214 and Teague No. 321 borders, with Eve Antiqua Italic type. The colophon border is identified as ATF Cleland No. 1210.

CONDITION: Fine. No Flaws or Blemishes but minimal shelf handling; Still Gift Quality.

SIGNIFICANCE — THE AMATEUR PRESS TRADITION—PRINTING FOR THE LOVE OF PRINTING.
 Duck Pond Ramblings belongs to the long American amateur journalism tradition in which writers and printers produced small journals for exchange and circulation among fellow enthusiasts rather than for conventional commercial distribution.

Wanda Allen Moore was an established participant in that community. AAPA records document her work from at least the late 1960s into the late 1980s, including repeated recognition for fiction and poetry.

Printer John Horn was likewise active within the AAPA. His Leadstacker received recognition as a letterpress journal, and he was later honored for overall journal excellence.

Item #22363

Price: $14.00