It was like that

[Newark] Vermont : The Janus Press, 2014. Octavo, hand-stitched boards in card wrapper, pp. [44]. text and reproduced manuscript on different types of handmade paper. A fine example of private press printing by the Auckland poet. Design and printing by Claire van Vliet, Janus Press. Printed in a limited edition of 150 copies. Presentation copy for noted New Zealand / Australian fine press printer ALan Loney, inscribed for him, with a signed letter from the printer, Claire van Vliet.

“Three poems: I am consoled by rows of cabbages, I do not want to be your…etc and Via Dolorosa appeared previously in Heavenly blue published by Poets Group in Christchurch New Zealand in 2002. The type is Helvetica and Bodoni with the small poems written in the author’s hand which was scanned by Ellen Dorn Levitt and printed letterpress from polymer plates at The Janus Press. The papers are from Barcham Green, St Armand and Japanese Kozo with the cover by Katie MacGregor and Nancy Leavitt. Some images were printed on an Epson NX515 digital printer using Durabright inks. The binding was executed by Audrey Holden” – Colophon.

‘Established in 1955 in Vermont by Claire Van Vliet (b. Canada, 1933), the Janus Press is the oldest private publishing press specialising in handmade books currently operating in the United States. The press has published and co-published over ninety handmade and hand printed books, more than a dozen broadsides (posters), several pamphlets, and numerous ephemeral pieces that are much acclaimed internationally throughout the book arts community. Typically Janus Press books are appreciated for not only the originality of their contents, but also the attention given to design, binding, typography, use of handmade papers, and printing, resulting in the creation of an entirely unique work of art. Claire named her press after Janus, the ancient Roman god of the rising and setting sun whose ability to simultaneously look forward and backward signified balance during the Renaissance. For Claire, Janus represents books that stand in tradition but are also highly experimental.’ – Janus Press : The New Zealand Connection. Auckland : Objectspace, 2014, p. 2