Unsung Bookmakers

‘Unseen Hands,’ on display at the Milberg Gallery for the Graphic Arts at Princeton University, traces centuries of women in printmaking.

By: Jillian Kalonick

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First page of Editorial Inserts of the Printing Exposition and Craftsmen Number of the American Printer by W. Parke Johnson in 1927.


   In an 1851 publication titled "Life in New York," 43 occupations are listed as "approved" for women; six involve bookmaking, among them "The Book Folder," "The Type Rubber" and "The Press Feeder."
   "Their descriptions make these activities sound almost unimaginably tedious, but in comparison to others, for example, ‘The Wool Picker’ and ‘The Chambermaid,’ they probably represented an improved situation — both financially and in working conditions — for many women," writes curator Rebecca Davidson in the accompanying text of the exhibition, Unseen Hands: Women Printers, Binders and Book Designers.
   Unseen Hands, on display at the Milberg Gallery for the Graphic Arts at Princeton University, traces centuries of women in printmaking, from the nuns of San Jacopo di Ripoli in the 15th century to publishers active in the 1990s.
   In the 19th century, women who worked in commercial printing were limited to jobs like folding printed sheets or sewing bindings, as "women were thought to be suited to folding, sewing and gathering," says Ms. Davidson.
   Women who stood at the type case were paid more, but the work was grueling. "People think it’s glamorous or artistic, but it can be extremely taxing or tedious, 12 to 15 hours per day. It’s picky, tiresome work."
   A pioneer in women’s printmaking was Emily Faithfull (1835-1895), a philanthropist who worked for women’s welfare. "She believed women should have the opportunity to learn a trade; back then, your opportunities were limited — a governess, a prostitute," says Ms. Davidson.
   Ms. Faithfull founded the Society for Promoting the Employment of Women in 1859, and employed only women compositors for her Victoria Press. She hired men as teachers, which led to hostility from the printer’s union. They damaged presses and poured ink on the women workers’ chairs, claiming that the "mixed shop" was immoral.
   Unseen Hands includes one of Victoria Press’ books, Te Deum Laudamus, "a 19th century equivalent of a book of hours," according to Ms. Davidson. The book is illuminated by Esther Faithfull Fleet, presumably a cousin or a sister of Emily’s. "It’s typical of these women — we know little about them," says Ms. Davidson.
   Augusta Lewis Troup (1848-1920) also broke new ground. She was a reporter for the New York Sun when she was 18, then a typesetter for the New York Era and New York World. She set type and wrote for Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony’s The Revolution; volume I, number 1, is included in Unseen Hands.

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Te Deum Laudamus, illuminated by Esther Faithfull Fleet in 1868.


   Ms. Troup went on to be the first woman to hold a union office, serving as corresponding secretary for the International Typographical Union in 1869, and serving as president of the Women’s Typographical Union.
   Bertha Goudy’s (1869-1935) name stands out because of the very letters she designed with her husband, Frederic William Goudy. They founded the Village Press; Bertha stayed in her husband’s shadow but did much of the work. Their fonts are still used today.
   Also side by side with her husband was Jane Grabhorn (1911-1973), who did writing, editing, typography, composition and binding for the Grabhorn Press and Colt Press, known for their volumes of Western American history, and her own Jumbo Press.
   In 1937, she published A Typografic Discourse for The Distaff Side of Printing, a book by ladies, from Jane Grabhorn’s typographic laboratory. In the volume, "she’s poking fun at men who get too uptight about typesetting," says Ms. Davidson.
   In her clever "typographic tenets," she breaks the rules of typesetting and her verses become visual jokes. She writes, "Either rape your words with/out shame or abash -/for a hypen is at best an emasculat/ed dash/Or a lionhearted printer you had bet/ter be/And let the letters fall according to/their destiny."
   Tenet number two is "Don’t be tied down like dunces/and fools/To quad ems picas and man made/rules/In this kind of trif-eling, let the male/wallow,/for women the freedom of wind and/of swallow."
   Also included in Unseen Hands is the title page of Are Women the Natural Enemies of Books? by Anne Lyon Haight, a response to an 1881 essay by Andrew Lang, titled Women (are) the natural foes of books. Mr. Lang, writes Ms. Davidson, "put them in the same category as damp, dust, dirt, bookworms, careless readers, borrowers and thieves."
   Perhaps one of the more powerful images in Unseen Hands is an illustration reproduced for the first page of Editorial Inserts of the Printing Exposition and Craftsmen Number of the American Printer by W. Parke Johnson in 1927. Editorial inserts demonstrated what printers were capable of doing; the illustration shows a brawny woman standing in front of the presses, proofing a page of newsprint.
   When Ms. Davidson found the original woodblock in the university’s collection, she was unsure of the subject’s gender, but tracking down the editorial insert revealed tell-tale rouge and high heels. Although it is difficult to know if at that time women did assume such roles at the press, the image represents a woman who can perform a range of publishing duties. Looking like Rosie the Riveter ahead of her time, as Ms. Davidson points out, she is capable of printing and proofing a page, and appears to be ready to deliver the results to the world.
   "I tried to bring out vignettes of women in typesetting, publishing, illustration, papermaking and binding," says Ms. Davidson. "We have people say ‘I’ve never heard of these women,’ and now they’re finally getting recognition."
   Writes Ms. Davidson in her introduction to the exhibit: "Much remains to be discovered, documented and written, though it is likely that many women — particularly those outside the mainstream — will remain forever unknown and ‘unseen.’ Each woman featured in this exhibition thus stands in for thousands of her sisters, known and unknown, who have loved books and printing, and gotten on with the work."
Unseen Hands: Women Printers, Binders and Book Designers will be on display at the Leonard L. Milberg Gallery for the Graphic Arts at Firestone Library, Princeton University, through April 13. Curator Rebecca Davidson will give a gallery talk March 2, 3 p.m. Tours are available by appointment. Gallery hours: Mon.-Fri. 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Sat.- Sun. noon-5 p.m. For information, call (609) 258-3197.