A little while ago I saw a post on my friend Bill’s facebook wall. He had picked up a bunch of beautiful paper at an auction for a buck. A BUCK!!!

I was envious, and made it known. Bill, being the generous sort, suggested I come by and pick some up, and relieve him and his back of the trouble of having to haul many stacks of paper up into his attic. I said “Hell’s yeah!” and headed out to see him at his home base, Bottle of Smoke Press.

Bottle of Smoke Press is a small independent press dedicated to publishing beautifully printed and designed editions of poetry. The craftsmanship is superb, and the range of work that they produce is always varied yet always excellent. If there are any book or poetry lovers out there, pay attention! Bottle of Smoke’s limited editions are exquisite – beautifully crafted, often including original art and/or letterpress. Keep your eye out, in particular, for the upcoming Jack Kerouac and Ed White letters:

Jack Kerouac & Ed White All the Wild Thoughts: The Correspondence of Jack Kerouac and Ed White 1947-1969
Letters (2012), 150pp. 7″ x 10″ (17.8 cm x 25.4 cm). Published in a hardcover fine press edition.

There are 500 hardcover trade edition copies with dust jacket priced at $130 (pre-publication price is $105). Printed via letterpress in two colors on high quality paper, the edition is fully bound in book cloth and wrapped in a dust jacket and 100 numbered hardcover deluxe edition copies in clamshell priced at $475 (pre-publication price is $415). Fully-bound in leather and housed in a custom-made clamshell case that contains an original, copper printing plate used to
print the book. Signed by Ed White and FAILE. *

Just reading the description of the deluxe edition makes me giddy. But anyway. Back to the paper.

Bottle of Smoke is located in Dover, Delaware. Home of tax-free shopping, horse-racing, and the nearest mall to Chestertown. I make this drive in my sleep. You know, to go bet on some horses and such.

Bill welcomed me, and pretty much the first thing I saw when I came in were stacks and stacks of paper.

(this is actually only half of it…)

I was quickly distracted, however, by the beautiful, elegant, long-legged letterpress machine in the corner – a 1914 Chandler & Price New Style press.

What a beauty! Bill had an old copper plate nearby, something he had printed up a while ago.

I love the fine detail you can get out of copper plates. And the rich blacks that can be pulled out of them.

So yummy.

I got the grand tour of the whole operation (which is basically a one-man shop). It’s always fascinating to me to see other people’s studio spaces, how they work, how they organize, what materials they have on hand, where things go, what the work process looks like, what kind of tools they use. Bill had just purchased an old perforating machine that was just the coolest piece of hardware I’ve ever seen. Of course, I was so excited about it I totally forgot to take any pictures.

Anyway. I stacked the back of the van high with a variety of papers – leaning towards the blues, with some reds and a rich chocolatey brown as well. I have no idea what I’m going to use the paper for. I did this all while Matthew was gone on a business trip. When he returned, he wondered aloud at what project I was planning for. The Exercising-Matthew’s-back-moving-these-stacks-of-paper-into-our-attic Project, of course!

I know that someday, we’ll find the perfect job for them. In the meantime, I’m happy to know I’ve got some very fine sheets of paper under my roof, anticipating their future splendor like little hibernating bulbs. Just thinking about their potential makes me happy.

Thanks, Bill! Thanks for the paper, the tour, and the peek into your space.

Someday, my paper and I hope to do you proud!

*if you’re interested in checking out great work from Bottle of Smoke Press, have a look here.