January 2008 – Page 2 – Green Chair Press Blog

Turkish Mapfold

Recently someone who bought my blizzard binding bookmaking kit asked if I knew any other origami-like book folding methods. I immediately thought of the Turkish map fold. You might have seen it used in higher-end folded travel maps. I used it in one of my books — Summer — that’s it on the left, showing the fold opening up.
If you’d like to try making one, my friend David Rosen, who loves folded structures of all kinds, has a PDF with good clear instructions available on his website along with a bit of history and commentary about the technique. You can also see pictorial directions for making the turkish mapfold here.

UPDATE: David’s instructions are no longer available. Click here for directions. Click here to see a summary of instructions on how to make the fold plus several variations and ways to use the fold in a book.

Ladies of the Letterpress

At the San Francisco Center for the Book’s holiday fair last month, my PodPost friend Carolee was selling these Ladies of the Letterpress patches for her friend Jessica White of Heroes & Criminals Press. I immediately snatched one up for my printer’s apron, to go along with my other merit badges.

Jessica lives in Iowa and you can read about her press and bookmaking on her blog.

The Stable and Calming Aspects of Blue

Pantone Colors of the Year In a recent post about colors and names, I mentioned that I mix colors using the Pantone (nameless) color system. Well, turns out I was wrong about the nameless part — Pantone does name their colors. And even gives them attributes. An article last month in the New York Times reports that annually Pantone annoints a “color of the year,” and for 2008 it’s a purple-blue hue they call “Blue Iris.” The Pantone press release says “Blue Iris combines the stable and calming aspects of blue with the mystical and spiritual qualities of purple, and satisfies the need for reassurance in a complex world, while adding a hint of mystery and excitement”.
To the right are their color choices since 2000, although I’m surprised by the lack of green, as my green wood type prints are always my most popular.