Barbarian Press

Barbarian Press is a Canadian fine-press publishing house based in Mission, British Columbia. It is owned and operated by Jan Elsted and Crispin Elsted, who established the press after moving away from academic careers in English literature and committing themselves to the production of finely made books. The press’s origins trace to 1977, when the Elsteds were doctoral students at the University of London and met Graham Williams of the Florin Press. Williams introduced them to letterpress printing, movable type, and hand presses. By the time the couple returned to Canada in 1978, they had acquired type and several presses and had decided to devote their working lives to bookmaking. Barbarian Press combines publishing, design, typesetting, printing, and book-arts practice. Its publication decisions and editorial work are shared by the Elsteds. Crispin Elsted generally handles design and typesetting, often by hand, while Jan Elsted is responsible for presswork. This division reflects the press’s workshop-based character: books are not treated merely as containers for text, but as integrated objects in which typography, paper, illustration, binding, and printing technique contribute to the reading experience. The press publishes in several related areas, including literary classics, translations, typography, and books about wood engraving. Wood engraving is particularly central to its identity. Many Barbarian Press publications use wood engravings as illustrations, and the company has developed Endgrain Editions, an ongoing series of monographs devoted to individual engravers. Its stated editorial preference is for books that the publishers themselves would want to read, with a special commitment to works that present wood engraving as a major artistic form rather than as a merely decorative technique. Barbarian Press’s catalogue includes ambitious illustrated editions and historically informed reprints or new textual editions. Notable recent projects include a two-volume edition of Shakespeare’s Pericles containing more than one hundred engravings by Simon Brett; a selection from Richard Barham’s The Ingoldsby Legends illustrated with previously unpublished nineteenth-century engravings by the Dalziel brothers; and an edition of the odes of John Keats illustrated with engravings by Andy English. These projects demonstrate the press’s interest in combining established literary texts with original or historically significant graphic work. The press maintains a substantial collection of traditional type, including Bembo, Poliphilus and Blado, Joanna, Van Dijck, Garamond, and Antigone for Greek text. It also holds printer’s flowers and borders, including material associated with the Curwen Press collection of Monotype ornaments. Such resources allow the Elsteds to tailor the visual character of individual books rather than relying on a uniform house style. In addition to publishing, the Elsteds periodically conduct workshops in their pressroom, extending the press’s role into education and the preservation of practical knowledge about letterpress, composition, and fine-press production. Since 2021, their daughter Felicity Elsted has worked with the press on a part-time basis as a printer and compositor. Barbarian Press therefore remains a small, family-operated specialist publisher whose significance lies less in scale than in the quality, collectability, and technical ambition of its books. In 2015, Jan and Crispin Elsted received the Alcuin Society’s Robert R. Reid Award for lifetime achievement or extraordinary contributions to the book arts in Canada.

Barbarian Press emerged from the meeting of academic study and traditional printing practice. In 1977, Jan and Crispin Elsted were pursuing PhDs in English literature at the University of London. Their introduction to Graham Williams of the Florin Press exposed them to movable type, letterpress printing, and the use of hand presses. The encounter changed the direction of their careers. Rather than continuing in academic work, the Elsteds acquired type and presses and returned to Canada in 1978 determined to make books as a permanent vocation. The press was established in Mission, British Columbia, where it developed as a small, owner-operated workshop. Its model brought publishing and production together. The Elsteds jointly selected and edited texts, while Crispin concentrated on design and composition and Jan on printing. This arrangement enabled Barbarian Press to control many stages of production and to make editions according to the requirements of the text, illustration, and physical format. From its early development, the press built an identity around literary quality and the material traditions of the book. Its catalogue has encompassed classics, translations, typography, and studies of wood engraving. Wood engraving became a defining interest, both as an illustration method and as an independent art form. The press’s Endgrain Editions series extended this commitment through monographic books about individual engravers. Its broader publishing philosophy favors projects that the publishers themselves find compelling and that reward close attention to typography, illustration, and physical construction. Barbarian Press has used a range of historic and modern typefaces, including Bembo, Poliphilus and Blado, Joanna, Van Dijck, Garamond, and Antigone for Greek. Its collection of printer’s flowers and borders, including ornaments connected with the Curwen Press collection of Monotype material, further supports its approach to bespoke page design. The resulting books are generally positioned as collectible fine-press objects rather than mass-market editions. The press’s later catalogue includes substantial illustrated literary projects. These include a two-volume textual edition of Shakespeare’s Pericles with more than one hundred wood engravings by Simon Brett, a selection from Richard Barham’s The Ingoldsby Legends using unpublished engravings by the Dalziel brothers dating from the nineteenth century, and an edition of John Keats’s odes illustrated by Andy English. Such works show the press’s continuing interest in pairing canonical literature with carefully selected or newly commissioned graphic art. Barbarian Press has also maintained an educational dimension. Jan and Crispin Elsted periodically offer workshops in their pressroom, sharing techniques associated with hand composition, letterpress printing, and fine-press production. In 2015, the Alcuin Society recognized their long-term contribution to Canadian book arts with the Robert R. Reid Award. Since 2021, their daughter Felicity Elsted has participated in the business part-time as a printer and compositor. The press consequently continues as a family-run Canadian workshop with an emphasis on continuity, technical knowledge, and the creation of carefully made books.

• 2021

  A new generation joins the press

  [1]Barbarian Pressen.wikipedia.org

  Felicity Elsted began part-time work at Barbarian Press as a printer and compositor.

• 2015

  Robert R. Reid Award

  [1]Barbarian Pressen.wikipedia.org

  The Alcuin Society honored Jan and Crispin Elsted for lifetime achievement or extraordinary contributions to the book arts in Canada.

• 1978

  Barbarian Press is established in Canada

  [1]Barbarian Pressen.wikipedia.org

  The Elsteds returned to Canada with type and presses and began building the fine-press publishing operation in Mission, British Columbia.

• 1977

  The Elsteds encounter letterpress printing

  [1]Barbarian Pressen.wikipedia.org

  While studying English literature at the University of London, Jan and Crispin Elsted met Graham Williams of the Florin Press and were introduced to movable type and hand-press printing.

A craft-led Canadian fine-press publisher focused on durable, visually distinctive books that unite literary texts with traditional typography, letterpress printing, and wood engraving.

• Wood-engraving monograph series

  Endgrain Editions

  An ongoing series of books devoted to individual wood engravers. The series reflects Barbarian Press’s central editorial interest in wood engraving as a serious art form and provides focused studies of artists, techniques, and bodies of work within the history of illustrated books.

• Illustrated literary classic

  Shakespeare's Pericles

  A two-volume textual edition of Shakespeare’s Pericles featuring more than one hundred engravings by Simon Brett. The project exemplifies the press’s practice of combining literary scholarship with extensive original wood-engraved illustration and fine-press production.

• Illustrated literary edition

  The Ingoldsby Legends

  A selection from Richard Barham’s The Ingoldsby Legends illustrated with previously unpublished wood engravings made by the Dalziel brothers in the 1870s. The edition connects nineteenth-century graphic material with a contemporary fine-press publication.

• Illustrated poetry edition

  The Odes of John Keats

  An edition of John Keats’s odes illustrated with engravings by Andy English. It represents the press’s continuing interest in presenting canonical poetry through carefully designed typography and original wood engraving.

• 1978

  Commitment to fine-press publishingStrategy

  Background

  After learning letterpress printing while studying in London, Jan and Crispin Elsted chose to leave their academic career paths and establish a bookmaking operation in Canada.

  Action taken

  They acquired type and presses and built a publisher centered on hand production, traditional typography, and carefully illustrated books.

  Aftermath

  The decision created the foundation for Barbarian Press’s long-running identity as a small, family-operated Canadian fine press.

  Source

1. 1Barbarian Pressen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Barbarian Press official websitebarbarianpress.com