Postcard Project Preview!

In just a week or two, members of the Friends of Dard Hunter will be receiving something special in the mail. As part of an effort to keep in touch, and a membership benefit, members will receive a letterpress printed, handmade paper postcard. This postcard project is part of Bull & Branch Press, an expanded idea of Bull & Branch which includes real-life, printed ephemera, in addition to a spring issue newsletter.

Paper Connection International made a generous donation of handmade papers for this project. Paper Connection is known for carrying superior fine art and specialty papers made by skilled crafts people in the East. Be sure to check out their webshop and follow Paper Connection on Facebook! From the Paper Connection website:

Lauren Pearlman Sugita founded Paper Connection International in 1995 with the commitment of ensuring the art of handmade, traditional Japanese paper (washi) and handmade paper in general was preserved into the future. Through import, distribution, and education, Paper Connection has not only been an essential source of washi(Japanese paper), but over the years, Paper Connection has become known for its comprehensive collection of handmade papers from all over the world.

The papers used for these postcards include:

Hakudoshi Koba-  This is a Japanese 2-ply paper made in Kochi Prefecture, Japan.  Highly textured, this paper is typically used as wallpaper and mostly made with sulphite (wood pulp) with sand and bark embedded in top layer.

Kin Unryu Mint HW  This is multi-ply paper made in Anhui Province, China, sprinkled with gold flakes. Made from blue sandal wood and other bast fibers.

Lokta single-color Dyed and embedded with Sawdust waste.   Lokta papers come from Nepal and are made from lokta fiber (a cousin of gampi fiber).

Card Stock Koume on Grey, Coconut and Pink  This is a Japanese lace, rayon paper with a watermark plum blossom (koume) pattern, laminated to cardstock, also made in Kochi, Japan.

The International Printing Museum in Carson, CA was also a generous sponsor for this postcard. The International Printing Museum is a public non-profit organization and was founded in 1988 by David Jacobson and Ernest A. Lindner and features The Lindner Collection of Antique Printing Machinery. Keep scrolling for photos from Colin Browne, Friends of Dard Hunter VP of Publicity & Outreach making the postcards!

The postcard front features Dard Hunter's bull and branch watermark/pressmark, and a Roycroft design from the frontispiece of "The Boy from Missouri Valley" by Elbert Hubbard.

Also, look for some very cool vintage stamps on your postcard from Coast Philatelics!