A45. Beater Time Tests

A45. Peter Thomas. Beater Time Tests. Santa Cruz, California: The Good Book Press, 1987.

14.5 x 11.5 cm (5 ¾” x 4½”), 46 pages, 48 copies.

Binding: Three-quarter-bound in blue, green, or red Morocco leather and multi-colored paper, handmade by Donna Thomas. Raised bands on spine. Title blind-stamped on spine. Paper: Blue or green, handmade by Peter Thomas. Printing: Letterpress. Typography: Hand set Weiss and Weiss Titling Series II; titles in blue. Illustration: Four linocuts by Donna Thomas. Sixteen paper samples bound in.

“The text describes the equipment, materials and the beating times for each paper sample. We were interested in making a book that would show how beating time effected paper strength and shrinkage. Each sample was pigmented a different color, both as a practical way to tell which sheet was which, and to add an element of visual beauty to the edition. The limitation of the edition was determined by the fact that one beater load of pulp would only make about fifty sheets of paper.”