Talk:Private press

Fine press
Our article fine press says that category includes both commercial and private presses which suggests that private presses are non-commercial. Section "History of fine press" refers to the Art Nouveau movement, William Morris, and the Kelmscott Chaucer.

Is there a business difference? Is "private press" a book collecting term without a different meaning? Should the articles be merged?

--P64 (talk) 20:57, 5 June 2013 (UTC)


 * I think historically there's a fair amount of overlap in the categories, but calling something a "fine press" is an aesthetic judgment about the artistic quality of the printing and design; calling it a "private press" means it is a printing operation run by an individual (or by a small group) more or less as a hobby (although in some cases the hobby of a lifetime's work). Some self-described "fine presses" may be longstanding commercial concerns; "private presses" might not do "fine" work (although most probably strive to). I think in practice most printers who would use the term "private press" for themselves would also consider themselves "fine press" printers; but not all "fine press" operations would consider themselves "private presses." See:


 * http://www.abebooks.com/books/RareBooks/collecting-guide/what_books_collect/small-fine-private-press.shtml


 * http://www.circuitousroot.com/artifice/letters/press/noncomptype/fine-and-amateur/index.html


 * 850 C (talk) 00:50, 6 June 2013 (UTC)


 * Thanks. That is clear enough and the article leads fit. But the body of this article, section 1 "Private press movement", is undue emphasis under a misnomer. Evidently his section is about the "fine press movement" and most or all of its content should appear there (fine press, currently a nearly-bare list rather than a Start article). The movement is either secondary or incidental here.
 * I invited the main editor from 2008 to comment. --P64 (talk) 15:30, 7 June 2013 (UTC)

Private Press Books
The Private Libraries Association, a United Kingdom based society, for many years produced an annual publication detailing many Private Press Books published in the previous year. The descriptions would include details such as size of the book, the number of pages, the type of printing press used, the typeface and type size used.

https://www.plabooks.org/publications/annual-bibliography/

Legal Deposit in the United Kingdom
English law regards a Private Press book in the same way as a Commercial book as regards Legal Deposit. Thus the British Library has conserved copies of many Private Press books.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legal_deposit#United_Kingdom