Instructor: Robert Desmarais (Bruce Peel Special Collections). Description: Barbarian Press is a small letterpress printing house which has been publishing limited edition books by hand for nearly 50 years. As a husband and wife team, Crispin and Jan Elsted operate their press on a large wooded acreage in Steelhead, British Columbia where they carry out their painstaking work as private press printers and publishers. Reflecting on the press’s style, the Elsteds explain on their website how they approach bookmaking: “The design and making of beautiful books is only secondarily a matter of self-expression; its first excellence is to serve the author and the reader” (www.barbarianpress.com/aboutthepress.html). This hands-on workshop will introduce participants to the fine craftsmanship of the press’s output, from binding designs to wood engravings, by providing them with opportunities to handle and discuss books that reflect a distinct bookmaking style. This in-person workshop is open only to the University of Alberta community and is capped at 8 participants.

The website for Bruce Peel Special Collections offers detailed information about this series of workshops as well as information about research and exhibitions.