A look at original prints & printing blocks cut by José Guadalupe Posada

 At 10:30 the Chesapeake Chapter met in the Prints & Photographs Division of the Library of Congress to see the original printing blocks cut by José Guadalupe Posada that are held in the collection of the Library of Congress.

J.G. Posada (February 2, 1852 – January 20, 1913) was a Mexican political printmaker and engraver. Working at the turn of the last century Posada specialized in lurid, sentimental and comic images with satirical acuteness and social engagement for the popular press. His chapbooks and broadsides sold for a penny or two and, in a way, were the tabloid press of the day. Politics, crime, fashion, fairy tales, prognostications and social satire were his subjects.

He  joined the staff of a publishing firm owned by Antonio Vanegas Arroyo and while at this firm he created a prolific number of book covers and illustrations. Much of his work was also published in broadsides depicting various current events.

He died largely unknown and was buried in a pauper’s grave about 1913, but his work was rediscovered by the Surrealists, and later generations  of artists have embraced his melodramatic graphic works. Today he is something of a cult figure.

The opportunity to see this work firsthand strengthened the need for students of design and the book arts to see things in the flesh so they can see techniques and textures that just cannot be understood from a printed image or a website.

Also it is worth pointing out that belonging to a diverse group such as the Chesapeake Chapter often pulls one into experiences one would never have on one’s own and which can become important milestones in one’s education and career.

Chris Manson (shown above left) is a letterpress printer & woodcut artist whose personal interest in Posada instigated the plan for this meeting. Chris is shown talking to Catherine of the LoC.

Chris (above, not below) addressing our Posada-starved group.

Sara Duke (above) provided us with the history of the collection of J.G. Posada work which is part of The Caroline and Erwin Swann Collection of Caricature and Cartoon. The Swann Collection contains 2,085 drawings, prints, and paintings related to the art of caricature, cartoon, and illustration spanning the years 1780 to 1977. Most of the images are cartoons, comic strips, and periodical illustrations reflecting such aspects of society as political and economic conditions, social mores, employment, domestic life, families and children, relations between the sexes, and superheroes, drawn by American artists between 1890 and 1970.

The image below is of the J.G. Posada print shop taken circa 1900 by an unknown photographer. Used with permission of Wikimedia Commons.

You can read more and find links to Posada’s life and work through Wikipedia by clicking here.

Bill Roberts and Donald Farren take a close look at the engraving technique of several zinc printing plates.

A nice view of one of the zinc printing plates. Posada drew and handcut approximately 20,000 illustrations of all sizes for printing. Many of those were done for penny sheets from the publishing firm owned by Antonio Vanegas Arroyo.

It was definitely a day for skull sightings.

Posada’s work is almost always woven through with skeletons.

Pat Manson, Catherine, and Manon Theroux look at some of the research in the exhibition catalog, Posada’s Mexico.

Jill Cypher and Tray Nichols check out details in a child’s game (left) and a religious icon (right) from the LoC collection.

Bill Roberts and Ray Nichols discuss some issues in how the metal type must have been locked up as the movement in one line would often impact the lines around it, indicating that it was likely set solid. Might be worth investigating the issue of the problems of setting solid and the time cost that editing adds and the need to be as efficient in the use of space as possible. As both Bill and Ray work pretty hard to print well, it is fun to see someone really ‘banging’ out these penny sheets and the sense of history that comes with them.

Just for the record, I tried looking around for some explanation of  penny sheets and couldn’t find anything. If anyone knows anything about them, I’d like to know. Email Ray.

Ray Nichols and Jill Cypher checking out details of the construction of a clamshell box which contained one of the printing plates.

A nice view across  some of the 12 tables of goodies.

Chris Manson and Jill Cypher discuss technical details of wood / zinc engraving. It is this kind of moment that being a Chesapeake Chapter member really comes alive.

Whitney Conti, currently interning with Chris Manson to add to her knowledge of printing via letterpress, gets excited talking with papermaker / printmaker Patterson Clark.

Donald Farren could be heard reading to himself in Spanish as he worked to dissect the rules of this child’s board game.

Afterwards we adjourned to the LoC cafeteria for lunch and some great discussion about what we had seen.

As we were finishing lunch we happened to see Mark Dimunation, Chief of Rare Books, leaving the cafeteria and he came over to our table. It had come out that Ray Nichols and his traveling companions were going to take the opportunity to visit the Rare Book Reading Room to view a selection of Ken Campbell’s artists books.

Immediately after lunch several of us needed to renew our Reader’s Cards and a couple were first timers. It is a good feeling getting that first card.

A few words to anyone who loves really nice books. Get a Library of Congress Reader’s Card (free) and spend an afternoon every month soaking in the beauty found in books.

Text & photos by Ray Nichols, Jill Cypher & Tray Nichols