Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth (1807–1882)

The Three Kings

Sedona, Arizona: Laurence & Helen Hines, 1982.

A PRIVATE-PRESS CHRISTMAS KEEPSAKE FROM A DEVOTED AMATEUR PRINTER
One of 450 copies printed by Laurence and Helen Hines for their friends at Christmas.

LONGFELLOW FOR CHRISTMAS IN SEDONA.
+++ A handsome small-press presentation of Longfellow's Christmas poem recounting the journey of the Magi to Bethlehem, privately printed by Laurence and Helen Hines as their 1982 Christmas greeting.
+++ The Hineses chose an appropriately traditional format: deckle-edged papers, sewn construction, restrained typography, and printing in black and Christmas red. The result sits between a Christmas card and a private-press booklet—a personal seasonal greeting produced with the care of an experienced letterpress printer.

PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS: A CHRISTMAS GREETING IN BOOK FORM.
+++ Small octavo, approximately 5.5 by 4.25 inches, 8 pages. 
+++ Stapled tan handmade-style wrappers with deckled edges, the wrappers slightly oversized around the text block.
+++ Title printed in red on the front wrapper. Interior title and closing Merry Christmas likewise printed in red, with the poem in black. Text printed on white deckle-edged paper.

CONDITION: FINE — GIFT QUALITY. No flaws or blemishes noted. Wrappers, sewing, and text leaves clean and well preserved. Deckled edges remain crisp and attractive.

HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE: THE PRIVATE PRESS AS PERSONAL CORRESPONDENCE.
This modest booklet is a good example of a longstanding private-press tradition: the printer's Christmas keepsake. Rather than sending a commercially produced card, printers used their own presses to create small books, broadsides, and typographic greetings for friends, fellow printers, collectors, and correspondents.

Laurence Hines was not simply a casual hobbyist. Contemporary printing records place him within the American amateur and private-press community. The International Register of Private Press Names records Laurence Hines, his Private Press as registered circa 1982—the same year this booklet was produced.

Hines was also active in the world of traditional metal type. A 1984 American Typecasting Fellowship Newsletter records him obtaining a complete Ludlow setup with Goudy Oldstyle matrices and hauling the machine from California to Arizona behind his Volkswagen. The notice gives his address in Sedona. A later family notice described him as an avid letterpress printer for many years.

LONGFELLOW'S NATIVITY POEM.
The Three Kings retells the traditional journey of Melchior, Gaspar, and Baltasar, following the star to the Christ child and presenting their gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

SUBJECTS: Christmas Poetry, Private Press, Letterpress Printing, Sedona Arizona, Arizona Printing, Christmas Keepsakes, Gold Frankincense and Myrrh, Christmas Keepsakes.

Item #22469

Price: $24.00