PENCLOS
enclosures for thought
An unhurried correspondence with paper, walnut ink, and the quiet labour of the hand. We bind small editions, set type by candlelight, and keep a slow record of the things that ought not be forgotten.
Within these pages: a colophon, a list of works, a brief on materials, a calendar of small private readings, and an address at which letters of any sort are gladly received.
signature ii Colophon
The word colophon arrives from the Greek — the finishing stroke. We have set the present folio in Cormorant Garamond, with display capitals from the metal-cut tradition of IM Fell English, and a humanist sans of Libre Franklin for the smaller voice.
Pages are unbleached cotton rag (#f4ede2). Inks: carbon black, walnut, burnt sienna. Bindings: linen thread over hand-cut boards. The marginalia are kept in a faded walnut at seventy percent — loud enough to be present, quiet enough to be optional.
specimen of the type
the palette
- cotton rag#f4ede2
- carbon ink#2c231b
- walnut, diluted#5c4e3c
- burnt sienna#8b5e3c
- tarnished gold#c4a265
- linen thread#b8a88a
- umber wash#d4a574
- dark calf#1e1812
signature iii A List of Works
Each edition is hand-sewn in numbered runs of fewer than fifty. Pricing is by enquiry. The following entries are catalogued in the order of their setting.
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i.
Quires for an Idle Hand
MMXXA folio of seven blank signatures, edges deckled, sewn with linen thread. For the keeping of small notes, addresses, and the names of trees.
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ii.
Letters from a Slower Hour
MMXXITwelve correspondences set in IM Fell English on a Vandercook proof press. Walnut-ink illuminations on every recto.
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iii.
A Chapbook of Small Enclosures
MMXXIIIA pocket octavo of eighteen prose miniatures, each on the subject of an envelope, a pocket, or a kept thing. Bound in raw umber linen.
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iv.
The Penclos Calendar
MMXXVIA perpetual leaflet of saint-days, ink-receipts, and the dates of small private readings. Printed annually, distributed by hand to subscribers.
signature iv On Materials
We keep an open ledger of every material that passes through the workshop. The following is its present state, transcribed for the curious.
“The grain of the paper is the first sentence the press will write.” — from a notebook, MMXXII
- papers
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- cotton rag, unbleached, 120gsm — vellum-warm
- handmade kozo, 60gsm — translucent at the edge
- laid Hahnemühle, 90gsm — visible chain lines
- parchment finish, 110gsm — foxed by intention
- inks
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- carbon black — fired pine, ten parts to one
- walnut, diluted — aged six summers
- burnt sienna drawing ink — for marginal notes
- tarnished gold leaf — 23 carat, on size
- bindings
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- linen thread, natural — waxed by hand
- dark calf leather — for closed editions
- raw umber book-cloth — for the workaday folios
- cotton end-bands — sewn in two colours
signature v
Calendar of
Small Readings
Through the year we host quiet evenings in the workshop — eight or ten chairs, a kettle, and one or two of our editions read aloud. Letters of interest are answered in the order received.
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12May
A reading of Quires for an Idle Hand
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04Jun
An evening on walnut ink
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29Jul
Letters from a Slower Hour, in full
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16Sep
The autumn binding session
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21Nov
Calendar release & subscriber tea
signature vi Of Correspondence
Letters of any sort are gladly received. We open the post on Mondays and reply by hand within the fortnight. The address below is sufficient.
by post
Penclos Atelier
no. 14, Linotype Lane
the Old Foundry Quarter
EC1V 9XZ
by hand
Tuesdays — Fridays
from xi until v in the afternoon
or by appointment, gladly
Here ends the present folio. May the next one find you in good ink.