Production Narrative

by J. Drucker

The cover images for this book were produced while travelling. I had seen my brother in Minnesota and then headed by train to Austin, Texas, to see my friend Janet Felsten. I cut the line block there and printed it, along with the colored swatches, done with potato and some cardboard. Then I took the prints on the train with me when I headed out to California, and used markers, water, brushes, and such while riding. When I got to Oakland the production was delayed by circumstances (relocation, work in the warehouse, finding a job, other realities) while I was working on the texts. The type was set and printed in 1980, since that is the date on the book. It is all in my Stymie, and so I know it was my type, but whether I had acquired my Vandercook by the time this was printed or not I can't recall. I had to have bought the press sometime in that period, because I know I had it by the time we were doing Third Man and Poets' Theater productions in 1980.

Critical Analysis

by J. Drucker

Design Features

typographic: The multi-levelled text and the several weights of 12 and 10 point bold, medium, and light Stymie were a happy match in this book. The slab-serif face suits the cover image, with its bold outline. The overall typographic design felt sure and strong and the type printed well, clean and dark, but not over-impressed.

imagery: The only image is the cover, and the photographic sources in family albums are burned into memory. A portrait of my brother, painted by my father in a naive fashion, hangs in the living room of our Rittenhouse Square childhood home (it hung for years in the hall, above a small chest with tools in it). The posture and style of that image are also present in this work.

graphical: The multi-level layout is the most striking feature of graphical organization, and is used to embody and underscore the conception of a portrait as a slow revelation of information.

openings: The vertical format of the book makes the openings into a top and bottom, rather than side by side, with the top revealing the inner level of the page before.

turnings: Each turning reveals a longer page strip, allowing more text and description.

development: A spatial dimension (lengthening) increases along with the textual elaboration.

'S crap 'S ample

Agents

Johanna Drucker

type: initiating

role:
author
printer
artist

nationality:
born: United States
active: United States
citizenship: United States

dates:
birth: 1952-05-30

Publication Information

edition type: editioned

publisher: Druckwerk

place: Oakland, California, probably using Betsy Davids' press in her barn in Berkeley.

dates:
publication: 1980-00-00

edition size: 80

Measurements

horizontal: 5.5 inches closed

vertical: 10.25 inches closed

depth: .2 inches closed

Production Information

production means:
letterpress (local)
painting (local)

binding: other pamphlet stitch

substrate:
bookBlock: paper

media:
other paint (AAT)
ink (local)

Appearance

format: codex (AAT)

cover: The cover is made from a thick, ivory-colored paper. Printed on the paper is the title, 'S crap 'S ample, at the top, and thin lines at the bottom that get thicker and farther away from each other as tehy progress down the page. Pasted on the front is a figure painted on white paper that looks like a large-headed baby in diapers with its hands on its hips.

color: yes

Content

pagination: unpaginated 16 pages

numbered?: numbered

signed?: unsigned

Colophon

none

Exhibition Information

exhibition history: In larger exhibitions of my books, see c.v.

Related Documents

manuscript type: texts

location: artist's archive

note: none