I am a hand bookbinder and a rare book librarian, privileged to live in the Pioneer Valley, with its remarkable book arts community. This chapbook, issued in the 350th year of the life of Northampton, documents this unusual group’s past and present and looks toward its future. I say unusual, because many of us are practicing what others consider outmoded crafts — letterpress printing, not desktop publishing, hand bookbinding, paper decorating, and writing with pen and ink. In this book I hope to demonstrate how and why we exist in this concentration in this beautiful place.
from the Foreword by Barbara Blumenthal
