Jane Bissell Grabhorn

Jane Bissell Grabhorn
Born Martha Jane Bissell
(1911-06-29)June 29, 1911
San Francisco, California
Died October 1, 1973(1973-10-01)
San Francisco, California
Nationality American
Known for Typography, Bookbinding, Fine printing
Notable work
  • A Typografic Discourse for the Distaff Side of Printing, a Book by Ladies
  • Kamehameha, King of the Hawaiian Islands
  • McTeague: A Story of San Francisco
  • The Compleat Jane Grabhorn: A Hodgepodge of Typographic Ephemera
Spouse(s) Robert Grabhorn

Jane Bissell Grabhorn (1911-1973) was an American artist, typographer, bookbinder, and printer.

Early life

Jane Bissell was born June 29, 1911 in San Francisco. Educated in France, where she learned bookbinding, Jane Bissell returned to California as a teenager and became the student of Belle McMurtry Young, a prominent bookbinder. In 1932, she married Robert Grabhorn.

Career

Beginning in 1934, Jane Grabhorn acquired substantial knowledge of typography and printing through working at the Grabhorn Press, which was owned and operated by Robert Grabhorn and his brother, Edwin. In 1937, Jane Grabhorn established her own imprint, the Jumbo Press, which she used as a vehicle for experimentation and artistic expression. Named for a toy press, most of the products of the Jumbo Press were pieces of ephemera and displayed Jane Grabhorn's wit and interest in lighthearted feminist satire.[1][2] Her best known work for the Jumbo Press was her treatise, A Typografic Discourse for the Distaff Side of Printing, a Book by Ladies (1937),[3] which was included in the compilation, Bookmaking on the Distaff Side,[4] a collaborative feminist work by Jane Grabhorn, Edna Beilenson, Bruce Rogers, and others. Jane Grabhorn also wrote, illustrated, and published via the Jumbo Press A Guide & Handbook for Amateurs of Printing (1937).[5]

She founded the Colt Press (1938-1942) in San Francisco in 1938 with William M. Roth and Jane Swinerton. The Colt Press focused primarily on California-related subject matter.[6] Notable publications include their first, Lola Montez: The Mid-Victorian Bad Girl in California,[7] by Oscar Lewis (1938), as well as Kamehameha, King of the Hawaiian Islands,[8] by Marie Louise Burke (1939), which was chosen as one of the fifty "Books of the Year" by the American Institute of Graphic Arts, and McTeague: A Story of San Francisco, by Frank Norris (1941).[9] Jane Grabhorn did the typesetting for the press and worked without pay during most of this period. Although she attempted to continue operating the Colt Press single-handedly after Roth left to join the Office of War Information in 1942, they were forced to close the press. Jane then returned to work for the Grabhorn Press, where she was able to produce 15 additional titles under the Colt Press imprint. At the Grabhorn Press, she oversaw the bindery until its closure in 1965. She continued typesetting, her preferred avocation, for the rest of her life. Jane Grabhorn also continued to produce Jumbo Press publications throughout her life, much of which are compiled in The Compleat Jane Grabhorn: A Hodgepodge of Typographic Ephemera,[10] which she produced with her husband, Robert Grabhorn, and Andrew Hoyem at the Grabhorn-Hoyem Press in 1968. Jane Grabhorn died October 1, 1973 in San Francisco.[11]

Selected bibliography

References

  1. ↑ Sands, Jennifer (2010-01-01). Jane Grabhorn: a professional biography of a woman printer. pp. 51–66.
  2. ↑ Hart, James David (1985-01-01). Fine printing: the San Francisco tradition. Washington: Library of Congress. p. 32. ISBN 0844404721.
  3. ↑ Grabhorn, Jane Bissell (1937-01-01). A typografic discourse for the distaff side of printing: a book by ladies. San Francisco: Jumbo Press.
  4. ↑ Rogers, Bruce; Distaff Side; Frederic W. Goudy Collection (Library of Congress); Pforzheimer Bruce Rogers Collection (Library of Congress) (1937-01-01). Bookmaking on the Distaff Side. [New York]: [Distaff Side].
  5. ↑ Grabhorn, Jane Bissell (1937-01-01). A guide & handbook for amateurs of printing. San Francisco: Jumbo Press.
  6. ↑ Horowicz, Kari (October 20, 2006). "Grabhorn, Jane". Oxford Art Online. Oxford University Press. Retrieved March 17, 2016.
  7. ↑ Lewis, Oscar; Dean, Mallette (1938-01-01). Lola Montez; the mid-Victorian bad girl in California,. San Francisco: The Colt Press.
  8. ↑ Burke, Marie Louise; Dean, Mallette (1939-01-01). Kamehameha, king of the Hawaiian islands; the story of his life and of Captain Cook's visits to these islands in the years 1778-1779. San Francisco: Colt Press.
  9. ↑ Sands, Jennifer (2010-01-01). Jane Grabhorn: a professional biography of a woman printer. p. 93.
  10. ↑ Grabhorn, Jane Bissell; Grabhorn Press (1968-01-01). The compleat Jane Grabhorn: a hodge-podge of typographic ephemera, three complete books, broadsides, invitations, greetings, place cards, etc., etc. San Francisco: Grabhorn-Hoyem.
  11. ↑ Sands, Jennifer (2010-01-01). Jane Grabhorn: a professional biography of a woman printer. pp. 96–98.

External links

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