Small Letters Press

We are excited to announce some new prints available today! Marika wrote an essay entitled "River Meanders," published this month at The New Territory, which features some beautiful linocut prints of the Mississippi River, layered with egg tempera made from crushed southern Illinois creek stones. There are a limited number of these prints available for sale from all six sections of the Mississippi along southern Illinois and Missouri, including some matted versions and some in multiple tones (https://www.smallletterspress.com/shop). Pick up a copy of issue 13 of The New Territory magazine to see how these prints enhance a depiction of a trip to Horseshoe Lake to collect lotus seeds for beer (https://newterritorymag.com/product/issue-13-search-and-find/?fbclid=IwAR17Hanyu9anMvmQ7Dh8czw8yViZgHzrA57K_H-N0ew6Nun337-c0fiCzvM).

The second of a pair of short books, "on life, death, and birds" is a meditation by women writers, from well-known authors whose greater body of work is relatively unknown, to women who were prolific in their day but have virtually disappeared, to those whose work simply never became part of the literary canon. "on life, death, and birds" is the sister publication to "on life, death, and flowers" featured last week.

Includes writings from: L.E.L., Felicia Dorothea Hemans, Emily Brontë, Charlotte Brontë, Elizabeth Gaskell, and Emily Dickinson. 


Curated by Rachel Linn and Marika Josephson, laser jet printed on vellum paper with archival ink, and bound by hand with original cover art by Rachel Linn. 20 pages.

​Available with black or fuschia cover art. Packaged with removable sleeve in small letters envelope.

on life, death & birds | Small Letters Press One of a pair of short books, on life, death, and birds is a meditation by women writers, from well-known authors whose greater body of work is relatively unknown, to women who were prolific in their day but have virtually disappeared, to those whose work simply never became part of the literary can...

One of our first works, "on life, death, and flowers" is a meditation by women writers whose work has been lost to time, from well-known authors whose greater body of work or poetry have disappeared, to women who were prolific in their day but are virtually unknown today, to those whose work simply never became part of the literary canon. "on life, death, and flowers" puts women in conversation with one another in intriguing new ways.

Includes writings from: Louisa May Alcott, Margaret Fuller, Katharine Tynan, Anna Lætitia Barbauld, Susan Fenimore Cooper, and Mary Wollstonecraft.

Curated by Rachel Linn and Marika Josephson, laser jet printed on vellum paper with archival ink, and bound by hand with original cover art by Marika Josephson. 24 pages.

Available with black or teal cover art. Packaged with removable sleeve in small letters envelope.

on life, death & flowers | Small Letters Press One of a pair of short books, on life, death, and flowers is a meditation by women writers whose work has been lost to time, from well-known authors whose greater body of work or poetry have disappeared, to women who were prolific in their day but are virtually unknown today, to those whose work sim...

Today we're featuring a nonsense poem by Rachel Linn, "paint plaintively." This single sheet broadside was inspired by an advertisement plate discovered at Central Print in St. Louis ("Paint Pot Paints Please Particular People" - at lower right corner). Rachel composed, set, and printed this as a letterpress print at Central Print, then embroidered it. Detail shots are on our shop page.

paint plaintively | Small Letters Press paint plaintivelyby rachel linn A nonsense poem inspired by a letterpress adversizement for Paint Pot Paints (see this in the lower right-hand corner of the print) discovered amongst the donated plates at Central Print, St. Louis. This broadside was composed, letterpress-printed, and freehand-embroi...

We'll be profiling some of the works we've released over the last year, starting with today's tiny poem "total solar eclipse." This accordion-bound short poem, was written and illustrated by Marika Josephson, featuring typewritten text on the front with linocut art on reverse, packaged in a removable sleeve. More pictures are on our website, along with our other small books, poems and broadsides!

total solar eclipse | Small Letters Press total solar eclipseby marika josephson Accordion-bound short poem, written and illustrated by Marika Josephson. Typewritten text with linocut art on reverse, packaged in removable sleeve.​42 copies made.Dimensions: 1.5 in x 1.5 in​$5

Since the first edition of The Aromatic Wild Herbs & Spices of the Midwest was a hit, we did a second smaller printing, which releases today. Shipping is a bit of a nightmare this year so we're waiting to send copies until after the new year. For those interested in Marika and Scratch's unique approach to plants, check out our newest letterpress broadside for Elderflower Cordial while you're on our site. This two-color limited edition print features an original linocut illustration by Marika in yellow, and is typeset by Rachel in blue. The recipe describes how to make elderflower liqueur and mix it into three cocktails. Find both at our shop!

Last week we spent a day at Central Print working on a broadside: a recipe for elderflower liqueur and cocktails on letterpress over an original linocut print by Marika. Central print is an amazing nonprofit letterpress studio that is a unique resource for artists in the St Louis vicinity. We are hoping to have this broadside finished when new editions of The Aromatic Wild Herbs and Spices of the Midwest is available in December again. We will keep you posted!

Releasing this week is a very special collaboration we produced with our friends at Midwesterner, a magazine about food and agriculture in the Midwest. The Aromatic Wild Herbs & Spices of the Midwest is a field guide to identifying and using regional plants in food and drink. Written and illustrated by Marika Josephson, published by Midwesterner, and designed, printed, and bound by hand by Small Letters, this 50-page book is a pocket guide to forest and field. There are a dozen recipes in the appendix, including a unique take on "vanilla" ice cream using only native ingredients. We are honored to receive a shout out from the Chicago Reader as an anticipated book of the fall! (https://chicagoreader.com/food-drink/food-drink-feature/autumn-is-about-to-drop-a-cornucopia-of-local-food-books/?fbclid=IwAR3A53PkcHaQ2PqxNtAVevF9mZQEilRgA2EbXpX_9WncOuKmXyz7o98HTNA)

Books are available at the Midwesterner Shop (https://shopmidwesterner.com) and at Small Letters Press (www.smallletterspress.com).

We are here! Our Instagram account will have a bunch of process photos while working on projects. Our page will have more info on book releases and other events. We'll be posting more about our first season of books in the upcoming weeks.