One of the survivors
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1Django6924
So many of the companies George Macy and his successors used for the Limited Editions Club and Heritage Club are gone, but a few are still around. This month I was in Vermont on my way to Quebec to see my stepson at Bishop's University, and since an unexpected, covid-related event required I stay in the Green Mountain state an additional day, I thought I would look for a fine press printer to visit and lo!--there was a listing for Stinehour Editions in Lunenburg! Of course the Stinehour Press printed some of the most beautiful later LEC's, including Waverley, The Iceman Cometh, Roxana, On Conciliation with the Colonies, Winesburg, Ohio, and one of my especial favorites, The Circus of Dr. Lao. So I drove to Lunenburg.
Rather than being in an industrial complex it is located in a house in the country with a beautiful view of a river. Unfortunately no one was there, and I couldn't tell much through the front glass door as the lights were off, but it definitely looked like a print shop--pretty much as you can see on the website for Stinehour Editions:
https://www.stinehoureditions.com/about
Here are the pictures I took:
Rather than being in an industrial complex it is located in a house in the country with a beautiful view of a river. Unfortunately no one was there, and I couldn't tell much through the front glass door as the lights were off, but it definitely looked like a print shop--pretty much as you can see on the website for Stinehour Editions:
https://www.stinehoureditions.com/about
Here are the pictures I took:
2blue.eyes2
Thanks for sharing the pictures. Too bad you were unable to meet anyone who could talk about the history of the press and the books they published.
3Glacierman
Technically, the Stinehour Press closed in 2009.
This from the Dartmouth Library archives:
Stinehour Press (1953-2009)
Dates Existence: 1953 - 2009
Biography
The Stinehour Press was first established as the North Country Press in Lunenberg, Vermont, by Roderick Stinehour. After a cease and desist order from another North Country Press, the firm changed its name to Stinehour Press in 1953.
Stinehour learned the trade of printing from Ernest Bisbee, a farmer and seasonal job-printer. Stinehour purchased the business in 1950 upon Bisbee’s death. He then transformed the Press into a printer of scholarly and fine art books.
Learning much of his craft from Ray Nash at the Dartmouth College Graphic Arts Workshop, Stinehour fashioned a press that would become known for its attention to detail and high level of collaboration with clients. Rather than developing a uniform “Stinehour style," the press focused on accuracy and clean design aesthetics informed by the clients’ needs.
Although offset printing was becoming more common, the Stinehour Press continued to complete a majority of their work using letterpress printing, with Monotype equipment.
After many collaborative efforts with the Meriden Gravure Company of Meriden, Connecticut, known for its high quality printing of images, the Stinehour Press acquired Meriden Gravure in 1977. Subsequently Stinehour centralized its printing (both text and images) in 1989 in Lunenberg, VT, with Harold Hugo becoming a director and chairman of the board. Stinehour later added an on-site bindery in 1979. As printing technology advanced, the Press continued to invest in newer equipment in order to compete with lower cost presses. These expensive investments posed a financial strain on the company. The Press closed its doors officially in 2009.
Stinehour Editions is the business of Roderick Stinehour's son, Stephen. He carries on in his father's tradition, but SE is not the same as the Stinehour Press; it is no longer a letterpress shop. In fact, one of the services they offer is printing limited editions by inkjet. Whether or not they do occasional letterpress work I cannot say.
I don't think any of the printing establishments used by Mr. Macy are still around. Even the printing arm of Cambridge University Press was sold to MPG Group in 2012. They no longer print the books they publish.
Cherish the private presses, for they are all that's left.
This from the Dartmouth Library archives:
Stinehour Press (1953-2009)
Dates Existence: 1953 - 2009
Biography
The Stinehour Press was first established as the North Country Press in Lunenberg, Vermont, by Roderick Stinehour. After a cease and desist order from another North Country Press, the firm changed its name to Stinehour Press in 1953.
Stinehour learned the trade of printing from Ernest Bisbee, a farmer and seasonal job-printer. Stinehour purchased the business in 1950 upon Bisbee’s death. He then transformed the Press into a printer of scholarly and fine art books.
Learning much of his craft from Ray Nash at the Dartmouth College Graphic Arts Workshop, Stinehour fashioned a press that would become known for its attention to detail and high level of collaboration with clients. Rather than developing a uniform “Stinehour style," the press focused on accuracy and clean design aesthetics informed by the clients’ needs.
Although offset printing was becoming more common, the Stinehour Press continued to complete a majority of their work using letterpress printing, with Monotype equipment.
After many collaborative efforts with the Meriden Gravure Company of Meriden, Connecticut, known for its high quality printing of images, the Stinehour Press acquired Meriden Gravure in 1977. Subsequently Stinehour centralized its printing (both text and images) in 1989 in Lunenberg, VT, with Harold Hugo becoming a director and chairman of the board. Stinehour later added an on-site bindery in 1979. As printing technology advanced, the Press continued to invest in newer equipment in order to compete with lower cost presses. These expensive investments posed a financial strain on the company. The Press closed its doors officially in 2009.
Stinehour Editions is the business of Roderick Stinehour's son, Stephen. He carries on in his father's tradition, but SE is not the same as the Stinehour Press; it is no longer a letterpress shop. In fact, one of the services they offer is printing limited editions by inkjet. Whether or not they do occasional letterpress work I cannot say.
I don't think any of the printing establishments used by Mr. Macy are still around. Even the printing arm of Cambridge University Press was sold to MPG Group in 2012. They no longer print the books they publish.
Cherish the private presses, for they are all that's left.
4booksforreading
>1 Django6924:
Thank you very much for the photos! There is so much nostalgic feeling in these images! And the surroundings are beautiful, too.
I have just received Aristotle Politics and Poetics - a gorgeous book, and guess what? It was printed at the Stinehour Press. :) I can't help seeing my book in a different light now after looking at the photos above.
Thank you very much for the photos! There is so much nostalgic feeling in these images! And the surroundings are beautiful, too.
I have just received Aristotle Politics and Poetics - a gorgeous book, and guess what? It was printed at the Stinehour Press. :) I can't help seeing my book in a different light now after looking at the photos above.
5laotzu225
As an ex-new Englander, seeing those photos of Vermont makes me wistful. Glad to learn about the history of the press. >3 Glacierman:
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