During lockdown I taught myself to use an old Adana 8×5 desktop printing machine using metal letterpress type. While looking for ‘how to letterpress print’ manuals I discovered an old chapbook, printed by J Kendrew, in his workshop now the site of the wonderful ‘Barnitts’ superwares store. This chapbook, ‘The World Turned Upside Down or No News, and Strange News’ is a collection of nonsense rhymes adorned with woodcut prints that gives a bit of a quirky insight into life back then.
So inspired by this title, in the heat of lockdown, I made a number of linocuts and some rhymes, and this is the result. Click here to open a pdf.
From doing this I then worked with Explore York to create a community led ‘participatory’ version #Haiflu Edition. See here.
If you would like a copy, ‘The World Turned Upside Down 2020 – A Covid 19 Chapbook’ get in touch. I’ll ask you to donate something to a good cause, and then I’ll post you one.
