Postcard Project at Mountain House Press ~ Chillicothe

You many have noticed a very special postcard arrive in your mailbox recently. Sent to you has a membership benefit, and a way to keep in touch, this was printed on an iron handpress by Dard Hunter III, Johan Solberg, and Radha Pandey at the Mountain House Press, Chillicothe, Ohio.

The paper used was made ca. 1928-1933 by Dard Hunter himself. Lime Rock Mill was Dard Hunter's attempt at commercial high quality papermaking, and his first batch came out several months after the stock market crashed. Dard Hunter made enough paper at Lime Rock, Connecticut to be the source for the paper for his own books...and apparently our postcards! Darn! That's a lotta paper! (Source: dardhunter.com)

Enjoy this short story from Radha below!  



We arrived in Chillicothe for the 4th of July weekend all set to spend the weekend printing the FDH annual postcard at the Mountain House press with Dard Hunter III.

Dard gave us a tour of his grandfather’s beautiful home and grounds. We were absolutely in awe of the library, and the precious first editions of several hand printed books written by Dard Hunter. I hadn’t realized how many books had in face been written about papermaking in different parts of the world.

We spent the first day looking through galleys of set type and ornaments trying to decide what to use for the postcards. There were too many choices, and many familiar illustrations that we had seen in books about papermaking. We decided to print three postcards. One using a plate illustrating early watermarks, and the other two using found blocks and ornaments that were designed and hand cast by Dard Hunter II.

The paper we decided to use for the postcards was made at Lime Rock by Dard Hunter, and was generously donated by Dard Hunter III for this annual mailing.

Neither Dard nor us, had printed on the iron handpress before. It was a challenge trying to get the inking and impression right. The handpress had hanging on it, a hat given to Dard Hunter by Mahatma Gandhi, which kept us company through the night as we printed.

- Radha Pandey

Seed to Sheet: Ann Kalmbach Speaks at Gomez Mill House, Sunday, July 26th, 2015

Dard Hunter Mill, Photo: Chris Panetta, Red Hook NY

Ann Kalmbach, Director and Co-Founder of Women’s Studio Workshop Speaks on Seed to Sheet– Material Sourcing for Papermaking

On Sunday, July 26, at 1pm, Ann Kalmbach will present an introduction to Seed to Sheet, a project aimed at material sourcing for handmade paper. Ann is a co-founder and Executive Director of Women’s Studio Workshop, an artists’ workspace centered on printmaking, papermaking, photography, book arts and ceramics. It is the oldest and only residency program for women artists in the country.

Fine Books & Collections Features Dard Hunter

I just received a note from Rebecca Rego Barry, Editor of Fine Books and Collections, with whom I had worked on an earlier feature. She alerted me to an extensive article on Dard Hunter just published in Fine Books & Collections Magazine.

Here's a link to the article. Enjoy!

Dard Hunter to Enter Hall of Fame

Cathleen A. Baker and Arnold Grummer are very pleased to announce that their nomination of Dard Hunter as an 2008 inductee into the Paper Industry International Hall of Fame, Inc., was successful.

The P.I.I.H.F. is located in Appleton, Wisconsin; their website is http://www.paperhall.org/.



The mission of the P.I.I.H.F. is two-fold:
• to recognize people who have made preeminent contributions to the paper industry worldwide by inducting them into the Paper Industry International Hall of Fame, Inc.
• to display historical elements of the industry and to provide an education center for industry advancement.

Additionally, P.I.I.H.F. inductees are individuals who have “pioneered and/or helped the world’s paper and allied industries to flourish.” Hunter was nominated in the academic category.


The induction ceremony will be held on Thursday, October 23, 2008 at the Radisson Paper Valley Hotel in Appleton. Contact the P.I.I.H.F. at (920) 380–7491 to request an invitation/make a reservation, or Arnie at agrummer@sbcglobal.net.