The Distaff Side
:: women as printers from the fifteenth century
to the present day
The exhibition attempts to represent the different kinds of women printers, and the different work they did, between the fifteenth century and the present day.
Event Venue :
Exhibition Room
St Bride Printing Library
Bride Lane (off Fleet Street)
London EC4Y 8EQ
Exhibition Dates and Times :
Wednesday 8 March to Thursday 27 April 2006
Tuesday–Thursday 12:30–5:00pm
Wednesday 12:30–9:00pm
Preview and Opening Lecture :
Tuesday 7 March, 5:30–7:00pm
Preview : 5:30 pm
Lecture : 7:00 pm : £5, £3 concessions
Exhibition : The Distaff Side
The history of women in the printing industry, both as printmakers and operators of private presses, is the history of a minority. The earliest women to work with type, ink and presses were members of religious communities or the heirs of men who had died without male issue. In England the Stationers' Company and the printing unions made it very hard for women to establish themselves as printers, and it was only in the twentieth century that it became generally acceptable for those on the 'distaff side' to enter the trade. Even then it was not easy, and the majority of those working in the industry today are male. Nevertheless, throughout the history of printing in the West women have worked as printers. Some have attempted to storm the walls of the traditional industry, some have quietly joined the family business, while others viewed their work quite differently: as therapy, as rebellion, as a genteel hobby, as an educational tool, or as a means of creative expression.
Exhibition Lecture : Working in a thin space : Harrington & Squires
Harrington & Squires was founded in 2002 by graphic designers Chrissie Charlton and Vicky Fullick to bring letterpress printing and hand-made graphics into contemporary use. With an emphasis on traditional letterpress printing and beautiful paper, it is their intention to produce products which feel and look different from the mass-produced.
In this talk Chrissie and Vicky will further explain their rationale for setting up their workshop and describe how they approach the work they do.
Exhibition Curator :
Paul W. Nash, exhibition curator, works as a freelance bibliographer and printing historian. He was formerly a rare books librarian at the Bodleian Library and the Royal Institute of British Architects. He is editor of The Private Library and Printing History News, and has written on private presses and architectural books. He is currently researching a book on the Samson Press, which was operated on a commercial basis by two women between 1930 and 1967, and on which he spoke at the Hidden Typography Conference at St Bride in 2003.