Tudor Black Press

The Tudor Black Press is also known as the Imprimerie Tudor Noir in France and was founded in England in 2005

 

​The Tudor Black Press is the private press of Hugh Macfarlane. It is housed in an old stone barn at a former farm situated in rural France.

The main pieces of the press are handset and hand printed, using an 1833 Johnathan & Jeremiah Barrett 18ins x 24ins Demy Albion press. The smaller ephemeral pieces, prospectuses and second colour work are printed using an 1872 Harrild & Sons 11ins x 16ins Post Folio Albion press. 

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THE AIMS OF THE PRESS

 

These are to produce high quality hand printed books on Poetry, Literature and Historical tracts, this will also include Private Press's and their work. Ancient works of the Greeks, and some things Scottish.

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THE TYPE

 

The press holds a number of proprietary faces that it uses in its printing, among these the favourites are Baskerville, Caslon Old Face, Bodoni and New Clarendon, the press also has a number of rare faces, borders and ornaments from the Blackfriars Type Foundry.

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THE NAME

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The press takes its name from the typeface Tudor Black. This face was used in an advertisement by one of my ancestors, this typeface was commissioned by Millar & Richard Typefounders in Edinburgh, Scotland. The punches were cut by Edward Prince, who also cut the famous typefaces for William Morris and his Kelmscott Press.  

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WHERE TO FIND BOOKS FROM THE PRESS

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The books and ephemera from the press can found worldwide, mainly in private libraries, however, some editions may be viewed at the Bodleian Library and the University of Tours in France.

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