Production materials (1985-2001) for books and broadsides published by Brighton Press, a San Diego (Calif.) fine press directed by Bill Kelly and Michele Burgess. Materials include correspondence with artists, production notes, woodcut blocks, etching plates, plate proofs, letterpress proofs, mock-ups, and trial housings. The archive is arranged chronologically by title of publication and includes the following books and broadsides: A) A COLORED POEM (1985), B) THE HOUSE THE POET BUILT (1985), C) MIDNIGHT CARNIVAL (1988), D) THE MOUSE AND THE WOMAN (1988), E) HARD TRAVELING (1989), F) JANET AND DELOSS: POEMS AND PICTURES (1990), G) PAPER OF LIVE FLESH (1990), H) SHE SAID: I TELL YOU IT DOESN'T HURT ME (1991), I) STERNBERG: A LIFE IN WOODCUTS (1991), J) ARTIFICIO PARA SOBREVIVIR = DEVICE FOR SURVIVAL (1992), K) DROUGHT (1992), L) FLAME (1992), M) PILGRIMS (1992), N) POEM MADE OF WATER (1992), O) SKIN OF GRACE (1992), P) TERRITORY (1993), Q) MAHLER:POEMS AND ETCHINGS (1994), R) PROCRUSTES INN REGISTER (1995), S) SEVEN PASSAGES TO A FLIGHT (1997), T) FORCE=EQUAL (1997), U) SLEEPING INSIDE THE GLACIER (1997), V) SWIMMING LESSONS (1999) and W) WHEN THERE WERE TREES (1999). Also includes administrative materials documentating the collaboration between Brighton Press and the artists it worked with.
Brighton Press Archive, 1985 - 2001 (MSS 486)
Extent: 32.3 Linear feet (10 archives boxes, 2 records cartons, 1 card file box, 181 oversize folders, and 26 art bin items)
Brighton Press, located in San Diego (Calif.), was founded in 1985 by Bill Kelly, a self-taught printer and artist. Kelly initially focused on the production of fine prints, but the publication of "livres d'artistes" and limited edition books soon became the dominant activity. In 1985, Michele Burgess and James Renner joined Brighton Press as apprentice printers. Currently Burgess, who studied painting and printmaking at the University of San Diego and received a master's degree in printmaking from the Cranbrook Academy of Art, co-directs the press. Renner serves as editorial director.
The Brighton Press staff of artists, poets and craftspeople specializes in intaglio, relief and letterpress printing. They work with sculptors, poets, painters, and playwrights at their studio facility and often facilitate collaborative works between artists and authors.
Notable poets and authors published by Brighton Press include Sandra Alcosser, Juvenal Acosta, Mary Julia Klimenko, Janet Lewis, C.G. Hanzlicek, Stephen Metcalfe, W.D. Snodgrass, John Steinbeck, Dylan Thomas, Emilio Adolpho Westphalen, and Nancy Willard. Artists whose work appears in Brighton Press books include Michele Burgess, Robert Cremean, Bill Kelly, Deloss McGraw, Manuel Neri, Oldrich Prochazka, James Renner, Faith Ringgold, Derli Romero, Harry Sternberg, Fernando de Szyszlo, and Julia Talcott.
The Brighton Press Archive documents the collaborations and production processes for most books and broadsides published between 1985 and 2001. Materials include correspondence with writers and artists, production notes, woodcut blocks, etching plates, plate proofs, letterpress proofs, mock-ups, and trial housings.
The archive is arranged in two series: 1) BOOKS AND BROADSIDES, and 2) ADMINISTRATIVE FILES.