There’s a Kentucky treasure in the Basement of the Special Collections Research Center – one that’s keeping a centuries-old tradition alive.
Founded in 1956, the King Library Press is dedicated to carrying on the craft of producing books and broadsides using equipment, techniques, and materials first developed in the fifteenth century and perfected up through the mid-twentieth. Every aspect of the publishing process, from typesetting and printing to decorative paper design and book binding, is performed by hand.
One of the premier teaching presses in the country, the KLP is renowned for the artistry and craftsmanship of its products, which include dozens of books and hundreds of broadsides, keepsakes, and other ephemera, all printed on its numerous hand-operated presses.
These unusual and rare materials, made up especially of works by Kentucky authors and other unpublished manuscripts, constitute one of the most interesting and intimate collections at UK Libraries.
The Press is open Tuesdays and Thursdays from morning to early afternoon. To learn more, email KLP Director Paul Evans Holbrook at peholbr@post.harvard.edu.
UK students, faculty, and staff, along with the wider Lexington community, can get a taste of the unique process of letterpress printing during the Spring 2025 Book Arts Weekend featuring artist Virginia McClure.
At 7pm on Friday, April 11, McClure will offer a free public lecture on Waldseemüller’s Map – the first European map to use the name “America” for the newly-discovered lands across the Atlantic – and discuss the monumental task of reprinting the map using letterpress methods. A catered reception will precede the lecture beginning at 6:30pm, and RSVPs are appreciated.
On Saturday, April 12, McClure and the KLP will host a hands-on workshop that gives participants the opportunity to create a small globe from a selection of historical globe gores. The workshop runs from 9am to 3pm, and RSVPs are required.
Beautiful, technically sophisticated, and deliciously tactile, the KLP has an ever-growing collection of handmade printed items – and printing materials – spanning its nearly 70-year history.
One of the most unique books produced by the Press is the Kikkuli Text on the Training of Horses. Originally written ca. 1350 BC in the Hittite language using cuneiform signs, the text is the earliest surviving manual of horse training.
The Press has two editions of the Kikkuli Text. The first, printed in 1977, was designed to evoke the clay tablets of the original, using three-fold narrow sheets set in capital letters and laid in cases of linen.
The second edition, printed in 2010, was printed in Caslon type on photopolymer plates, printed by hand, and sewn in a Japanese binding that evokes the shape of the cuneiform wedge. It includes an illustration of a Hittite chariot, taken from an Egyptian bas-relief carving of the battle of Qadesh, along with a drawing of the opening lines of the cuneiform text.
One of the newest additions to the KLP collection is Ann Colcord’s 1996 translation of Luigi Pirandello's play Ma non è una cosa seria (It's Not Really Serious). Type-setting for the project began in February, 2000, with an anticipated completion date of 2005 optimistically printed on the title page.
The project would be completed only 17 years behind schedule, finishing at last in 2022. Progress was slowed by the very worn state of the type used to print the play: Victor Hammer’s American Uncial, cast at the Stempel Type Foundry in Frankfort, Germany in the 1950s and used at the Stamperia del Santuccio in Florence and the Anvil Press in Lexington before making its way to the KLP.
Hammer, a Vienese artist and one of the few great 20th-century practitioners of hand-cutting type, was the husband of KLP founder Carolyn Reading Hammer. In 1927, while living in Florence, Hammer built a common wooden press using parts of an old oak wine press. It was given to UK in 1958 and is still in use by the KLP.
The most voluminous materials in the KLP’s collections are broadsides, keepsakes, and other ephemera. Numbering in the hundreds, they adorn every surface of the cozily chaotic Press: framed on the walls, wrapped in plastic and offered for sale, or stacked in piles on tables and cabinets.
Pithy or inspiring quotations, artistic and poetic collaborations, and even the hypothetical 500th year of Shakespeare (in distant 2116) have occasioned the printing of broadsides – one-sided, single-sheet prints that often feature bold typefaces, multiple colors, and woodblock illustrations. For years, the KLP has printed the winning submissions to the UK Poetry Broadside competition, co-sponsored by the Press and the UK English Department’s Master of Fine Arts Creative Writing Program, and which now line the walls of that bookmaker’s paradise.
The Press produces commemorative cards and keepsakes in conjunction with events across campus or the community. From the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment or the 250th anniversary of Lexington to the dedication of new Libraries collections or as markers of Libraries events, few notable occasions pass without an imprint from the Press.
A survey of the KLP’s collection would not be complete without the many items necessary to create these books and broadsides: most notably, typefaces and engravings.
Enormous typeface cabinets spread throughout the Press hold dozens of letterpress fonts, from the handcut type designs of Victor Hammer to the machined punches of the many serif, sans-serif, script, and display fonts used across ongoing projects.
Notable among the engravings used to illustrate books and broadsides are the 260 unique John DePol wood engraved blocks recently donated to the Press by Cathleen A. Baker. Best known for his remarkable Benjamin Franklin keepsake illustrations, DePol was one of the finest wood engravers of the 20th century. Ms. Baker’s gift, currently being processed by the SCRC, greatly expands the Press’s makeready options for future printing projects and adds new vibrancy to a resource that has served UK students, faculty, staff, and the Commonwealth as a whole for almost 70 years.
Inspired to become a book artist and make a mark on the KLP’s collection? Apprenticeships and volunteer opportunities are available to all majors at the undergraduate and graduate level and to all faculty, staff, and community members regardless of prior experience.
Working with the Press is an unparalleled opportunity to learn the craft of letterpress printing from world-renowned experts and gain a deeper historical understanding of the book as a form and the tradition of type that sustains it.
The lifeblood of the Press, apprentices and volunteers have a hand in creating all of the materials in the KLP collection. They contribute to all aspects of the publishing process, depending on personal interest and the needs of the press.
They can also take the lead in writing, designing, and producing materials of their own. Isabelle Pethtel '22 started volunteering at the Press during her sophomore year. As a senior, she carried out a year-long independent study, working with the Press to create her own children’s book, King of the Coop.
Isabelle wrote the story, engraved linocut prints, printed the book on one of the KLP’s Chandler & Price presses, then watercolored the illustrations and bound the book by hand. She was recognized with the Dean's Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Scholarship for her work.
