Dolmen Press was an Irish book publisher founded by Liam and Josephine Miller in 1951.
History
In 1951 Liam acquired an Adana hand press from
Blanaid and
Cecil Ffrench Salkeld
Cecil Ffrench Salkeld (9 July 1904 – 11 May 1969) was an Irish painter, printmaker, critic and writer.
Early life and family
Cecil Ffrench Salkeld was born in Assam, India on 9 July 1904. His parents were Henry Lyde Salkeld, a member of the I ...
on loan
which they had used for their
Gayfield Press, with a case of
Bodoni
Bodoni (, ) is the name given to the serif typefaces first designed by Giambattista Bodoni (1740–1813) in the late eighteenth century and frequently revived since. Bodoni's typefaces are classified as Didone (typography), Didone or modern. Bo ...
type.
Some accounts state that the first publication of the press was 500 copies of a collection of four ballads, ''Travelling Tinkers,'' by
Sigerson Clifford.
Others believe that the first publication printed was
Thomas Kinsella
Thomas Kinsella (4 May 1928 – 22 December 2021) was an Irish poet, translator, editor, and publisher. Born outside Dublin, Kinsella attended University College Dublin before entering the civil service. He began publishing poetry in the early ...
’s ''The Starlit Eye''.
The Press took printing jobs from publishers as well as theatres, art galleries, businesses and individuals.
The Press later printed using an Albion flat bed press and
Caslon
Caslon is the name given to serif typefaces designed by William Caslon, William Caslon I in London, or inspired by his work.
Caslon worked as an Engraving, engraver of Punchcutting, punches, the masters used to stamp the moulds or Matrix (printi ...
type.
Founded to provide a publishing outlet for
Irish poetry, the Press published the work of Irish artists and other artists, such as
Elizabeth Rivers, working in Ireland. The scope of the press grew to include prose literature by Irish authors as well as a broad range of critical works about
Irish literature
Irish literature is literature written in the Irish, Latin, English and Scots ( Ulster Scots) languages on the island of Ireland. The earliest recorded Irish writing dates from back in the 7th century and was produced by monks writing in ...
and
theatre
Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors to present experiences of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a Stage (theatre), stage. The performe ...
. The Press published a variety of works by
W.B. Yeats, as well as the Yeats Centenary Series. In 1969, the Press published Thomas Kinsella's translation of
The Táin which took 15 years from concept to final publication and featured
illustrations
An illustration is a decoration, interpretation, or visual explanation of a text, concept, or process, designed for integration in print and digitally published media, such as posters, flyers, magazines, books, teaching materials, animations, vi ...
by
Louis le Brocquy. The Press created the Brogeen Books division in the 1980s for books aimed at young readers. The Press operated in
Dublin
Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...
from 1951 until Liam Miller's death in 1987.
The
National Library of Ireland
The National Library of Ireland (NLI; ) is Ireland's national library located in Dublin, in a building designed by Thomas Newenham Deane. The mission of the National Library of Ireland is "To collect, preserve, promote and make accessible the ...
purchased the Dolmen Press collection of
ephemera
Ephemera are items which were not originally designed to be retained or preserved, but have been collected or retained. The word is etymologically derived from the Greek ephēmeros 'lasting only a day'. The word is both plural and singular.
On ...
in 2009 from Jack Gamble of Emerald Isle Books.
Dolmen Press Collection contains 387 items published by Dolmen as well as the Freyer Dolmen Press Collection, containing 446 Dolmen Press imprints.
Book series
* The Irish Theatre Series
Irish Theatre Series (Dolmen Press) - Book Series List
publishinghistory.com. Retrieved 31 December 2019.
* The Tower Series of Anglo-Irish Studies
Further reading
*
*Maurice ed. (2001). ''The Dolmen Press: a Celebration.'' Dublin: Lilliput Press.
*
*Skelton, Robin, "Twentieth-Century Irish Literature and the Private Press Tradition: Dun Emer, Cuala, & Dolmen Presses 1902-1963" ''The Massachusetts Review'', Volume 5, Number 2, Winter 1964, pp. 368–377.
References
External links
Dolmen Press Collection
Library of Trinity College Dublin
Freyer Dolmen Press Collection
Library of Trinity College Dublin
Dolmen Press Collection - Printing Block Series
digital collection at the Z. Smith Reynolds Library, Wake Forest University
Wake Forest University (WFU) is a private research university in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, United States. Founded in 1834, the university received its name from its original location in Wake Forest, north of Raleigh, North Carolina. The R ...
Dolmen Press collection
at University of Victoria, Special Collections
{{Authority control
Publishing companies of the Republic of Ireland
Publishing companies established in 1951
Book publishing companies of Ireland
Irish companies established in 1951