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The Latin Press was a small
letterpress Letterpress printing is a technique of relief printing for producing many copies by repeated direct impression of an inked, raised surface against individual sheets of paper or a continuous roll of paper. A worker composes and locks movable t ...
printing Printing is a process for mass reproducing text and images using a master form or template. The earliest non-paper products involving printing include cylinder seals and objects such as the Cyrus Cylinder and the Cylinders of Nabonidus. The ...
business (not, strictly speaking, a
private press Private press publishing, with respect to books, is an endeavor performed by craft-based expert or aspiring artisans, either amateur or professional, who, among other things, print and build books, typically by hand, with emphasis on Book design ...
, although it is sometimes described as such), run by Douglas "Guido" Morris (1910–1980). He became interested in printing in his twenties and first experimented with type and a home-made press in
Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...
in 1934. In the following year Morris bought his first iron hand-presses (a small Albion press and a larger
Columbian press The Columbian press is a type of hand-operated printing press invented in the United States by George Clymer, around 1813. Made from cast iron, it was a very successful design and many thousands were made by him and by others during the 19th cent ...
) and established the Latin Press at Langford, near
Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...
, undertaking some of his earliest work for
Bristol Zoo Bristol Zoo was a zoo in the city of Bristol in South West England. The zoo's stated mission was to "maintain and defend" biodiversity through breeding endangered species, conserving threatened species and habitats and promoting a wider underst ...
. Morris was a passionate printer and typographical designer, but he was not a good businessman and had to move several times, suffering a series of difficulties and bankruptcy before being called up for active service in 1940. He suffered a breakdown during the War, and for a short while ran a tea-shop with his first wife, Doreen. In 1946, after the break-up of his marriage, he moved to St Ives in
Cornwall Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...
and re-established the Latin Press. Here he printed
poster A poster is a large sheet that is placed either on a public space to promote something or on a wall as decoration. Typically, posters include both typography, textual and graphic elements, although a poster may be either wholly graphical or w ...
s, catalogues and other
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 ...
for the local artistic community, and had his most settled period, continuing to operate until 1953, when the Press was again declared bankrupt. Later he worked as an editor and as a guard on
London Underground The London Underground (also known simply as the Underground or as the Tube) is a rapid transit system serving Greater London and some parts of the adjacent home counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and Hertfordshire in England. The Undergro ...
. In 1969 an article about his life and work appeared in The Private Library, and interest in his printing was revived, not least with Morris himself, who bought a small press and began to print again, this time calling his press the "Officina Mauritiana" or "Officina Guidonis". He printed some ephemera and pamphlets between 1970 and 1974, but did not produce work on the scale, or of the quality, of his Latin Press days. Morris's printing was chiefly "jobbing" work, and he saw himself as a fine jobbing printer. He disliked printing books, although he printed several, for various clients over the years, which work he usually regarded with disdain. He did, however, attempt to launch an artistic/literary periodical called ''Loquela Mirabilis'' of which only three issues appeared in 1936 and 1937 before he was forced to abandon the project. While at Saint Ives, he also instituted a series of pamphlets called the ''Crescendo Poetry Series'' which was a little more successful, including new work by a number of contemporary poets (as well as by Morris himself). The first Crescendo pamphlet appeared in 1951 and the eighth, and last, in June 1952. Morris generally used
Bembo Bembo is a serif typeface created by the British branch of the Monotype Imaging, Monotype Corporation in 1928–1929 and most commonly used for body text. It is a member of the "Serif#Old-style, old-style" of serif fonts, with its regular or ro ...
type for his work at the Latin Press, though he did possess other typefaces and once remarked that he believed he had made a mistake in selecting Bembo as his "house" fount. When he re-established his press in 1970 he bought Van Dijck types instead. Morris was a handsome man, with a charming manner, wit, intelligence and intellectual curiosityInformation gathered by P.W. Nash, 2001-2009, from those who knew Morris. – qualities which helped him in his many, often short-lived, relationships with women, and in his business dealings (though his financial skills were somewhat limited, and he developed an unfortunate reputation for taking on work which he could not complete and for not paying bills). Specimens of his printing have been collected since the 1930s, and major collections can be found at the
Bodleian Library The Bodleian Library () is the main research library of the University of Oxford. Founded in 1602 by Sir Thomas Bodley, it is one of the oldest libraries in Europe. With over 13 million printed items, it is the second-largest library in ...
, the
British Library The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom. Based in London, it is one of the largest libraries in the world, with an estimated collection of between 170 and 200 million items from multiple countries. As a legal deposit li ...
(although currently (2008) the main portfolio of ephemera is missing), the
Newberry Library The Newberry Library is an independent research library, specializing in the humanities. It is located in Chicago, Illinois, and has been free and open to the public since 1887. The Newberry's mission is to foster a deeper understanding of our wo ...
at Chicago, and the
Bibliothèque Nationale de France The (; BnF) is the national library of France, located in Paris on two main sites, ''Richelieu'' and ''François-Mitterrand''. It is the national repository of all that is published in France. Some of its extensive collections, including bo ...
, as well as in several private collections. An exhibition of his printing was held at the
Tate Gallery Tate is an institution that houses, in a network of four art galleries, the United Kingdom's national collection of British art, and international modern and contemporary art. It is not a government institution, but its main sponsor is the UK ...
, Saint Ives in 1995.


References

** Anthony B. Baker, et al. "The quest for Guido" in ''The Private Library'' 2nd series, 2:4, Winter 1969, pp. 38€“187. ** Michael Bridge. ''Guido Morris and the Latin Press in St Ives, 1946–1953: an introduction''. St Ives: Bridge, 2005. ** Michael Bridge. ''Guido Morris: telling the town: the Latin Press, St Ives, 1946–1953''. St Ives: Bridge, 2003. ** Alan Livingston. ''Guido Morris, a fine printer: an evaluation''. St Ives: Tate Gallery, 1995. ** Paul W. Nash. Unpublished archive of research (Nash is preparing a bibliography and history of the Latin Press). ** David Wilkinson. ''Guido Morris, fine printer: the last chapter? A catalogue of the late printings ...''. St Ives: Book Gallery, 1995. {{Authority control Book publishing companies of the United Kingdom Small press publishing companies Companies based in Cornwall St Ives, Cornwall