Seven Hills Press ~ Wisconsin
(Brian Borchardt)

bold strokes
By Brian Borchardt
Stevens Point, Wisconsin: Seven Hills Press, 2009. Edition of 45.

7 x 8.75"; 32 pages. Letterpress printed on dictionary pages and banana leaf papers. Pamphlet bound. Inserted into a handmade open-top envelope-style wrapper.

Colophon: "Papers in this book are random selections from a 1956 edition of Webster's dictionary and banana leaf papers from the local Asian grocery store. Printed in the basement from the waning days of 2008 into the cold snowy promise of 2009."

Brian Borchardt: "I've always been interested in words and language and all things connected. I also wanted to do something a little more fun for my last book; and it was a fun process! Finding the old dictionary pages inspired me to do something connected with language and punctuation came to mind since it's 'non' language but still integral to the written and spoken word.

"I used the banana paper for visual and structural interest; also, on some level, it serves as its own punctuation as it slows the reader down"
$185

Word Play
By Brian Borchardt
Stevens Point, Wisconsin: Seven Hills Press, 2005.
Edition of 32.

10 x 5.5". papers are a mixture of Indian Village handmade watercolor paper, papers made by the printer of raffia and cotton rag, and pages from an 1825 letterpress-printed book. The Indian Village cover stock has been gelatin-sized and pigmented. Body type is Cheltenham. larger fonts are culled from the Lydian and 20th Century families.

Word Play is a look at words illustrated by random phrases and random images, some containing type and letterforms. The reader should not spend a great deal of time trying to establish a relationship between the words and the images, although that relationship does exist - albeit loosely - in the imagination of the printer. Sewn binding. Laid in paper fold wrapper with raffia tie.

This is the fourth book from Seven Hills Press. A delightful play on word.
$295

The Intrepid Ones
By Brian Borchardt
Stevens Point, Wisconsin: Seven Hills Press, 2007.
Edition of 50.

5.5 x 9"; 26 pages. Colorful cotton and abaca text pages from Caren Heft's Root River Mill. Fabriano Uno covers. Letterpress printed.

From the text: "In the village of Juchitan, Mexico, gay men … are regarded as neither men nor women; they are know as muxe, and are considered a major element of society. They are a third gender, combining the best parts of both the male and female, equipped with special intellectual and artistic gifts."

The Intrepid Ones provides a glimpse of Juchitan and its tripartite society. Set in a colorful array of handmade papers that have been collaged, perforated, and punctuated by unattributed photographic transfers (?), the production suggests that this is more than a local history.
$250

Beyond the Great Stone
By Brian Borchardt
Stevens Point, Wisconsin: Seven Hills Press, 2006.
Edition of 40.

7 x 7.5" 26 pages. This book was printed letterpress on a Vandercook SP15 test press. All text (primary Cochin Light, secondary Futura Extra Bold Italic) handset on Hahnemüle watercolor stock, gelatin sized and pigmented by the printer, and Fabriano Roma.

Artist’s interpretation of the relationship between Jonathan and David set forth in 1 Samuel.

Brian Borchardt: "As one of the greatest love stories in the Bible, the story of Jonathan and David continues to be overlooked by most Biblical scholars and students not because of its obscurity, but simply because they don't want to see it. They don't want to see the warm, romantic aspects of the relationship between these two men who clearly loved each other. To acknowledge the obvious facts of this relationship would force theologians and church leaders to either condemn the Bible's greatest hero — David, the mighty youth who slew Goliath — or to accept the probability that homosexuality is not any more a sin, in and of itself, than is heterosexuality in the eyes of the Lord."
$350 (a few copies remaining)

Two Saints:
The Martyrdom of St. Sergius & St. Bacchus
By Brian Borchardt
Stevens Point, Wisconsin: Seven Hills Press, 2004.
Edition of 35.

6 x 9” with 24 pages. The paper is a conglomeration of cotton, abaca, and iris leaves from the garden. The cover stock has been dyed with black walnut stain provided by Lisa Beth Robinson. The typeface is primarily Garamond. Signed and press numbered.

This is the second offering from Brian Borchardt's Seven Hills Press. The text is an account of the lives of these two fourth century saints and their relevance to today’s same-sex unions.
$125 (Last two copies)