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About Us

Shackman Press is a smallish outfit and that's unlikely to change. For a year or so, we happily labored in Deutschland (how history twists and turns)—first at the Druckladen of the Gutenberg Museum in Mainz, and then in Berlin, because, well, that's just what you do.

The real base of operations, though, has always been dear Cambridge Somerville, Massachusetts, the cradle of liberty, higher education, and all the rest—which has been an off-and-on again home for some time now.

Though this is a largely analog operation, we're at least as familiar with Turing Machines as we are with Vandercooks.

These days, we're spending most of our time at the Media Lab. Surprisingly bookish, in its way.

Delmore Schwartz
In Dreams Begin Responsibilities
Afterword by Morris Dickstein
Drawings by Linn Meyers

We're staggeringly delighted to announce the publication of In Dreams Begin Responsibilities by Delmore Schwartz, a classic short story first published in 1937. Hand-printed from metal types and hand-bound in custom pastepapers, this is our homage to this dark-star of American letters. Accompanied by an original afterword by Morris Dickstein and elaborate drawings by Linn Meyers. Sarah Creighton bound 60 books, 45 of which are offered for sale in standard and deluxe editions.

In Dreams Begin Responsibilities, title spread.

In 1937, a young writer lead the first issue of the newly-reborn Partisan Review, with a short, powerful story that was to become one of the classic pieces to appear in the magazine. “In Dreams Begin Responsibilities” was an immediate sensation, and Delmore Schwartz, then just 24, was crowned one of America's rising literary stars; critics crowed of the arrival of a major new talent, and Schwartz himself, charismatic and handsome, had the magnetic, breezy confidence of genius.

"In Dreams Begin Responsibilities"—and the subsequent story collection organized around it— was the high-point of his career. Though Schwartz wrote throughout his life, he struggled with alcohol and barbituates. As poet, teacher, and critic—ricocheting between universities and New York flophouses—Schwartz played an increasingly-troubled muse to a generation of writers and artists. His early fame and premature death are somber testament to the challenges brought by great talent and great ambition.

Detail from Linn Meyer's intricate ink drawings.

Hand-printed on Mohawk Superfine paper on a Vandercook Universal IV in Florence, Massachusetts. The body text is Monotype Bembo, set by Michael & Winifred Bixler of Skaneatles, New York—the titling is Monotype 20th Century cast by Swamp Press.

Bound in pastepapers over boards.

Sarah Creighton bound 60 copies in original paste papers in her Easthampton, Massachusetts studio, of which 45 are made available for sale. Of that edition, 15 deluxe books are bound in distinctive pastepapers with stamped green-leather spines, and come in a cloth chemise with magnetic closure. All copies are hand-numbered, and signed by Morris Dickstein and Linn Meyers. 36 pp. 7¼ × 10".

About the Contributors

Morris Dickstein
Morris Dickstein is Professor of English at the City University of New York. He has written extensively on modern literature, and was a contributing editor at Partisan Review for some thirty years. Among much else, he is the author of Dancing in the Dark: A Cultural History of the Great Depression, Norton, 2010.

Linn Meyers
Linn Meyers—presently a Washington, DC-based artist—holds a BFA from Cooper Union and an MFA from the California College of the Arts. Her work has been shown at the The Hammer Museum, Los Angeles; Margaret Thatcher Projects, New York City; Morgan Lehman, New York City; The Phillips Collection, Washington, DC; The Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Art, Japan; The Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington DC; and Paris Concret, Paris, France, among others. She is well-known for her temporary site-specific large-scale drawings.

A Few Faces of Emil Rudolf Weiß or
Augewählte Schriften von Emil Rudolf Weiß

A small specimen of typefaces designed by Weiß, bound by Sarah Creighton in dashing pastepapers. The typefaces used all come from the spectacular collection of the Druckladen of the Gutenberg Musuem in Mainz. Weiß's designs—Antiqua Kursiv, Antiqua Fett, Kapitale, Lapidar Halbfett and Kapitale Halbfett—are reproduced in two colors and printed on mould-made Zerkall paper.

Available in a limited bilingual edition: twenty-five copies in an English edition and 10 in a German. $10 off if you buy them both. Get em' while they're hot! 20 pp. 5½ × 3¾"

Anton Chekhov
Easter Week
Translated by Michael Henry Heim
Engravings by Barry Moser

We’re thrilled to announce the publication of Easter Week, a collection of new Anton Chekhov translations and engravings. Two stories, “The Student," Chekhov’s own favorite, and “On Easter Eve,” appear in a superb new translation by Michael Henry Heim. Both stories, as well as an accompanying letter, are illustrated with original engravings by Barry Moser.

Ieronim, from On Easter Eve and The Student from Easter Week. Engravings by Barry Moser

Easter Week was hand-printed on the “Edwina Ellis” make of Zerkall paper from Dante types cast by Michael & Winifred Bixler. Sarah Creighton is binding 50 books in cloth, of which 40* are offered for sale. An additional ten copies, lettered A-J, are bound in full leather and include three signed stand-alone prints. All copies are signed by the translator and artist.

A downloadable PDF prospectus is available here.

Regretfully, this book is out-of-print.