Fine Print Records, circa 1950-1992, bulk 1974-1990
1. D’Ambrosio, Joseph - correspondence and printed ephemera, 1975-1989,
https://oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/kt6q2nc0kt_x441261121828
Carton 3, Folder 34 correspondence:
TLS J D’Ambrosio to S Kirshenbaum — 8–6–75.
Announcing Mooksie and Gracehopper, 2 polaroids sent, available 9-1-75: $65.00...
TLS J D’Ambrosio to S Kirshenbaum — 8–17–75.
This is an artist proof. Available through me or: James C. Frye, Books.The. relief serigraph (29 coats of ink) is gilded with 23K gold leaf. At first glance, a normal reaction is to run one's finger over it. Feel free to do so. It is designed to grow old grace-fully. The coat of ink directly below the gold is red and as the gold is worn away the red will slowly emerge. Also, body acids from the linger tips will discolor the gold giving it a "mottled" effect. When sufficiently worn, each cover should have a distinctive character of its own and resemble a work with a European background,
TLS J D’Ambrosio to FP attention Mr. Ritchie — 8–31–75.
Thank you for your comments on THE ONDT AND THE GRACEHOPER. And, of course, you may keep it as long as you need it. But,[please give it to] A gentleman in the San Francisco area…
TLS J D’Ambrosio to FP attn: Linnea Gentry —July 17, 1976.
The Compulsive Printer, Mr. Mundell, and I are pleased to announce that the printing of our latest work is complete and that the artist proofs are now ready. Enclosed are three Ploaroid shots of the new book.
The title of the new book is "circ circ circ TRAPEZE circus circus" or just plain "TRAPEZE" for short. The unique thing about it is that the hand sewn binding threads which hold the leafs in place exit through the spine of the book and make their way through eyelets in the frame of the cover to become an integral part of the serigraphed circus tent on the front cover; they are the straining ropes for the tent. This binding process takes two hours per book and boggles the mind when trying to keep all those threads on their own respective routes….
TLS J D’Ambrosio to S Kirshenbaum — 8–9–76, 2 pp.
…copy of the latest work, TRAPEZE… is an artist proof, one of seven, as they are the only ones bound at this time. I have started on the run of fifty copies and hope to have five done by the end of the week. Each book takes five hours to bind and it takes a great deal of concentration so binding will necessarily go slowly…The book will retail for $85 and can be obtained through me. Discounts are given to dealers….
TLS S Kirshenbaum to J D’Ambrosio— 1–8–77 2 pp.
Thank you for your renewal of the Fine Print subscription, and for the gift subscription, and for the beautiful prints you sent me, and for the lovely Christmas card you sent.
All these things actually make it harder rather than easier for ye to writ you at this time.
I am holding your subscription and your renewal because I fear you will be unhappy with us by the time you read the next issue of Fine Print.
I am sorry to tell you that the review of your book Trapeze will not be completely favorable. I'm sure you know that we are sincere when. we say we like your work, we like the imagination and daring with which you approach the art of the book, but the consensus of our editors was that the book had some serious flaws that had to be brought out. Because we have so enjoyed your friendship, we sincerely hope that you will not be affended [sic] by our appraisal and will take it in the spirit of constructive criticism which it was intended..…
TLS J D’Ambrosio to S Kirshenbaum — 1–16–77 2pp.
Thank you for the very, very, thoughtful and considerate letter. I am deeply touched that you would allow a loss of revenue for FINE PRINT in exchange for my personal feelings. Your action has made a friend for life… [gift subscriptions to fine art dealers Letterio Calapai and Feldman Fine Arts might disagree with with your criticism, so send the subscriptions to them and me] [rare book dealers Philip Deushnes and Anthony Rota are selling copies]. notes change of vinyl cover to canvas for Trapeze. Working on a bibliography: a free copy to all my dealers, and one to you, of course, but any after the first free copy will be $1 each.…
TLS J D’Ambrosio to FP attn Elaine Ginger — 7–15–77.
I am happy to hear that you plan to include THE CHECKLIST to 1976 in Fine Print. Sixty copies were printed. None were numbered.
a new book will be out soon, THE MOOKSE AND THE GRIPES, by James Joyce, The edition will be 75 copies. The first 25 copies will be in a larger case to accommodate a larger loose print of which there are 25. The next 50 copies will be in a smaller case without the loose print. Projected prices for the first 25 copies is $115.00; for the next 50 copies, $65.00. Let me know which one you would like to see when they are ready in late August or early September.
Note on copy of Checklist: Dear Sandy, This copy sent to you without charge for your reference shelf. Additional copies are $1 each.
Should you choose to mention this in FINE PRINT, here is some data: The cover is an original serigraph on Ingres paper over 4-ply rag boards. Endpapers are Ingres paper. Thread and linen tape complete the binding. Copies are $l each while they last.
TLS J D’Ambrosio to S Kirshenbaum — 10–20–77.
When I received the renewal notice [Mr. Mundell], I thought it was for me since I have not seen a copy of FINE PRINT for some time. I guess it just takes a little longer for fourth class mail to get to me.
Mr. Mundell advised me some time ago that his subscription was running out and under no circumstances should I give him a gift renewal. …I have been extremely busy lately. The new book, THE MOOKSE AND THE GRIPES, is out and its reception has been overwhelming. I am behind in filling orders at the present time the glue has to dry before I'll let copys go) but am slowly catching up. I sent FINE PRINT an announcement and asked/someone on your staff who wrote about the CHECKLIST which copy (the special or the regular edition) you would like to see but have not received a reply. Since last year's book, TRAPEZE recently purchased by The New York Public Library for its rare book collection), was poorly received by FINE PRINT, I have the feeling that you're not too interested in the new book. And, also, with Mr. Mundell's private battle with FINE PRINT, I feel your staff will show a bias against the new work. I hope I am wrong about this but until I am reassured, I'd better maintain a low profile with FINE PRINT. I continue to support your good work and will certainly renew my subscription when it is due.
TLS S Kirshenbaum to J D’Ambrosio — 12–22–77.
MERRY CHRISTMAS!! Yes, FINE PRINT still lives, though you might have doubted it from the slow way we answer our mail…
FINE PRINT has undergone some metamorphoses over the past few months…
I Imagine that the Mookse and the Gripes is long since out and perhaps even soid out already. IF you still wish to have it reviewed, please do send us a copy of the regular edition….Also, I am completely baffled and puzzled by what you call "Mr. Mundell's private battie" with FINE PRINT. I'm sure I have not idea what battle or even what skirmish he is having with us. But if he feels combative, so be it. Believe me, I have absolutely no bone to pick with him, nor would I let let any conceivable disagreement color my relationship with you or anyone else.I hope that our lapses in the press book department will be remedied in the current year with the arrival of a new subscription and advertising secretary which will take a lot of the annoying detail work off my shoulders and permit me to take better care of review matters….
TLS J D’Ambrosio to S Kirshenbaum — 1–1–78 2 pp.
Thank you for the letter of explanation. I apologize for the use of the word "battle" in my reference to Mr. Mundell and FINE PRINT….Please do not think that you are off my Christmas list because you did not receive a card this year — .. I have been so busy with THE MOOKSE AND THE GRIPES and the holiday rush that I am spinning. There are a few copies of left (this year's edition was a little larger - 75 copies instead of 50) ..I will send a copy to you. Plans for this coming year are a series of prints based on "Literary Figures." …
TLS J D’Ambrosio to S Kirshenbaum — 4–6–78.
Please accept this copy of THE MOOKSE AND THE GRIPES as a personal gift from me to you in appreciation for the communication of my work that FINE PRINT has offered in the past few years. It is not necessary to do a review on it as the edition is almost sold out; this fact makes this gift definitely not a"bribe" but a display of sincere appreciation. The red velvet and the gold leaf are meant to convey the papal splendor as the Mookse the Pope) goes out to confront the Gripes (his flock). Thus, as you will see, the Mookse is graphically represented as a moose with a fox face in papal dress.
TLS S Kirshenbaum to J D’Ambrosio — 78 2 pp.
… thank you for Your to the Mookse and the Gripes. … I don't believe I've ever
seen a more imaginative treatment of a James Joyce story.
July PF is going on the press this week. For the first time it will be printed on a cylinder press instead of a platen press –– so we're hoping the process will be speeded up somewhat. I think you will find it a particularly interesting issue as to the emphasis is illustration: wood-engraving and pochoir (the latter being kin to silk-screening of course)…
TLS J D’Ambrosio to S Kirshenbaum — 7–23–78 3 pp.
[new price OK]. If you review Mookse and the Gripes, don’t print a price. It will be in an exhibition titled "The Art of the Printed Book" at Westbrook College in Portland, Maine, September 12 through October 12 of this year in the Alexander Hall Gallery on the campus. …LITERARY FIGURES and is very near completion….
TLS J D’Ambrosio to S Kirshenbaum — 10–28–78 2 pp.
Here is a review copy of this year's book, LITERARY FIGURES….$225.00 …large sheets of paper cost a small fortune. The paper from Twinrocker in Brookston, Indiana, was the most expensive of all and I have already informed them that if I ever use their paper again (which is exquisite by the way), I would need a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts. …now in the Special Collections of The University of Illinois (Chicago Circle Campus) and was exhibited at a symposium titled METAMORPHOSES IN CREATIVITY at the University in October….
TLS J D’Ambrosio to S Kirshenbaum — 9–30–80.
…pleasure to see you at Waysgoose at UCLA récently.
I have a new miniature book out which I have not sent to you. Mr. Mundell, The Compulsive Printer in Portage, Indiana, and I, are still working together across 2200 miles. Our first project at that distance is the miniature I am speaking of. I'm afraid the printing has suffered while we got "our act together" and the miniature, EMILY & OSCAR, has printing which does not meet your standards. I bound it in tree bark and tiny leaves which I adhere to the board and then lacquer three coats. The binding is rather impressive and that must be why it has nearly sold out in only three months (I have 5 copies left as of this writing and no announcement was ever printed for it.) Of course it could be because of the poem I wrote about two leaves on separate trees which fall in love with one another, but it's probably a combination of both the story, binding, and graphics which make allowance for the printing.
But, we seem to be making progress and the miniature we are presently working on ( a story attributed to Dashiell Hammett) will have much improved printing quality. I will most likely send you a copy when it is completed.
The enclosed book cover is a direct outgrowth of my experimental binding. If you read paperbacks because you refuse to pay the price of hardcovers which do not have literary merit, you will like HARDBACK. I have a patent pending on it and the Hunter's Book chain here in the southwest is carrying it (plus a few private bookstores). Try it out - you'll see its merits as soon as you put a paperback into it - the spine expands and contracts. You'll also find that the paperback will "read" as a hardcover..…
TLS J D’Ambrosio to S Kirshenbaum — 9–12–83.
… I believe I will have some time in San Francisco before I head north to Gualala and Mendocino. And I will make plans to visit your new office.
I wonder if you have heard that the Los Angeles Central Library downtown has just had its very first bookbinding exhibition in which I showed six of my works. Romaine Ahlstrom did a wonderful and monumental job in pulling the whole exhibition together. And Kitty Maryatt did an excellent poster to commemorate the event. …Also, I recently created and am fabricating the binding for Carol Cunningham's new miniature (MASKS - The Sunflower Press, Mill Valley, CA.). I think you will be pleasantly surprised when you see it. Carol did an excellent job of printing. One sad note: Mr. Mundell, The Compulsive Printer of Portage, Indiana, passed away a year ago in August.
TLS J D’Ambrosio to S Kirshenbaum — 9–7–84 2 pp.
My compliments to you. Wally Dawes showed me FINE PRINT No. 2, Vol. 10. Enclosed, you will find a check for my subscription….Also enclosed, you will find two photos of my latest book…..BIRDS IN PARADISE (or) LIFE UPON A JAPANESE SCREEN. I wrote it, set the type for it, printed it and all the graphics, and I have bound it in black kid leather, gold kid leather, glass over an 8-color serigraph, with the pages sewn to bamboo rods on the spine. It takes one full week to assemble and bind the book. The edition is 50 numbered copies and 10 artist proofs. It comes with a black slipcase-like hinged case. The price is $1,000.00 per copy. The display case you see in the photo is optional at $75.00 each. Doyce Nunis, jr., Professor of History at USC (and member of The Zamorano Club) recently asked me if FINE PRINT had reviewed my new book. I told him that since it takes so long to put together, I am far behind in orders and I don't know when I will get a copy up to FINE PRINT for review. His solution was to ask you if someone down here could review it for FINE PRINT. He said that he would be glad to do it (USC already has their copy), or that Donald Read in Special Collections at Cal State, Northridge, could do it (they have a copy now also, or that Alan Jutze at The Huntington could do it (The Huntington will receive their copy either late this month or early October). Let me know how you feel about this procedure or if you just want to go ahead and contact any one of them directly. (over)
I now have my very own press (a Vandercook #3 similar to what Mr. Mundell had in Portage, Indiana), although I printed my new book on a Vandercook #5 at The Woman's Graphic Center here in Los Angeles. I set the type here, and then drove it over to print it. I will be in Ward Ritchie's new book that he is doing for Dawson's on Southern California Printers. I have accepted a proposal to do a limited edition book for Cal State, Northridge, Santa Susana Press. And I am working up a curriculum for an extension course there in The Book as an Art Form. I hope to be up in San Francisco in the middle of November for a special thing Edwina Evers is doing at Califia, and, at which time, Dianne Weiss (The Figment Press, Mill Valley) is trying to book my slide show at The Fort Mason Club….
TLS J D’Ambrosio to S Kirshenbaum — 8–29–88.
Norman Tanis at Cal State Northridge, told me that he is sending a copy of TYPE-FACES: WARD RITCHIE, A Photographic Study, by Amanda Blanco, to FINE PRINT for possible review. If you decide to review the portfolio, and, since I designed and produced it for Santa Susana Press, the following facts may be helpful to a reviewer.
Each page is printed on 2-ply archival board, which, since I have a Vandercook with a cylinder platen, had to be taped down to manage the curve of the paten and the stiffness of the board. And, of course, all type is hand set. The slate gray ink used in printing is normally darker in color, but I chose to lighten it to better compliment the gray tones of the black & white photographs. I hope the sculptural clam shell box is self-explanatory. The Della Robbia type-face is similar to the type-face used by Schmied in Paris when Ward Ritchie was experiencing his apprenticeship. The brown linen covering the clam-shell box was woven and produced in Rome, Italy. It is called Cialinen. If there are any other questions, don't hesitate to contact me.
I haven't forgotten my promise to send you a copy of my forthcoming retrospective bibliography (which I may end up calling "A Checklist") for review. It will cover the years 1970 through 1988. I hope it will be completed early next year.
TLS J D’Ambrosio to S Kirshenbaum — 1–27–89.
info about slides for kinetic book structures: A Traveling Exhibit–3 slides, Daisies Never Tell–2 slides. (the slides are in folder 35)
Folder 35 printed ephemera:
1. 1980 Poinsettia Christmas Card
2. Polaroid photos of Trapeze, 3 b&w, 1 color
3. 2 photos of Birds in Paradise
4. 5 color slides in Kodak envelope, 3 of A Traveling Exhibit and 2 of Daisies Never Tell
5. Reception at Paper Source Museum of Birds in Paradise
6. Checklist from 1982
7. Prospectus of Mookse and the Gripes
8. 5 early artist proofs from Trapeze
2. Fine Print Correspondence with Mr. Mundell, Compulsive Printer;
https://oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/kt6q2nc0kt_x441261121810
Carton 3, Folder 18
1. Copy of A Checklist (1977 book of D'Ambroiso's work)
2. TLS from S.R.Shapiro to S Kirshenbaum 3/10/75
Notes 4 books by E. Mundell being done for bookseller S.R. Shapiro regarding Bruce Rogers.
3.Handwritten note from Mundell to S Kirshenbaum 4/26 2pp.
After the 4 books mentioned by Shapiro appeared in Fine Print, E. Mundell writes that none of them have been issued, are being worked on and would like a correction printed.
4.Handwritten note from Mundell to S Kirshenbaum 5/15 2pp.
… please say the announcement was prmature and when they are available, notice will be given… I have had numerous inquiries about them.
5.Handwritten note from Mundell to S Kirshenbaum 6/24 2pp.
I have learned that … you are a book-seller…My purpose.. is to produce a directory of American private presses… data on the press, with a facsimile title page, To date, my list contains 1000–1100 presses, for which I now-have 500 examples… [I can] send you some samples of this compilation.
7.Handwritten note to Mr. Mundell 8/15/75, 2 pp.
I am most impressed with the number of presses you have noted… I am now in the process of cataloging a collection of press books and will gladly put you at the head of my mailing list…
8.Handwritten note from Mundell to S Kirshenbaum 8/21 4pp.
Thank you… I prefer to buy the books.… Weggand, the “Indian Kid’ printed 3 fine books on press marks…
[list of several presses]
9.Handwritten note from Mundell to S Kirshenbaum 8/23
This is the the list. Please don’t consider trying to fit it into “Fine Print" if I understand you to say you. might. Circulate it among friends or book people if you can.
10.Handwritten note from Mundell to S Kirshenbaum 10/31 2pp.
…My friend D’Ambrosio was quite pleased with the review. Me, I wonder who L.G. is and if its’ a printer. Concerning the list which I sent you— one of. your letters stated that you might be able to assist me in finding books. Please don’t waste any valuable space with another query. You’ve already printed one, and it brought me to tears….
