Mockup for 6 color letterpress commemorative poster by Kim Vanderheiden to be printed by guests at the SFCB on Thursday, November 7th, 2013, 6:30-8:30 pm. Guests may keep their own copies of the print.

California Society of Printmakers is the oldest printmaking society in the United States, with its official announcement appearing in the San Francisco Chronicle on Jan. 19, 1913. This fall, it marks its 100th birthday with the publication of its centennial book, California Society of Printmakers: 100 Years, 1913–2013. Please join our celebration and book launch at the San Francisco Center for the Book on Thursday November 7th, at 375 Rhode Island Street in San Francisco, from 6:30 to 8:30 pm.

The Center will be hosting the event, 100 Years in Print, which includes a popup exhibition, a unique hands-on event, and an opportunity to purchase our newly released book California Society of Printmakers: 100 Years, 1913–2013, detailing a definitive history of our organization.

For the hands-on event, all six of the Center’s Vandercook letterpresses will be inked. Each guest will have the opportunity to move from press to press, pulling their own copy of a six color print commemorating the event to take home. A mockup of the print is shown above.

The exhibition, 100 Years in Print: California Society of Printmakers Centennial Celebration, shares examples of the various forms of printmaking and the tools used to create them. In this educational display, visitors will be able to read about the distinguishing characteristics of differing print media, and look at the matrix plates and blocks, supplies, and tools, that are used to create them. Featured prints will explore ways in which present CSP artists are pushing the boundaries of their media, bridging the past 100 years of printmaking with what’s happening now, to take these art forms into the future. The show is juried by Ianne Kjorlje, Master Printer at Crown Point Press.

The book, California Society of Printmakers: 100 Years, 1913–2013, contains essays by seven authors.

• Karin Breuer, Curator in Charge of the Achenbach Foundation for the Graphic Arts of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, writes about the Achenbach’s long tradition of collecting local printmakers and collaboration with the artist membership of CSP.
• Daniel Lienau, owner of The Annex Galleries in Santa Rosa, California, tells the story of his journey as a print dealer with Northern California prints.
• Art Hazelwood, political artist and curator, writes with a focus on the period of the WPA in the 1940s to the present.
• Maryly Snow, artist and librarian emerita from the University of California, Berkeley, provides the reader with an archival history from sources such as the San Francisco Chronicle, the Oakland Tribune, the Argus, the Argonaut, and the Society’s own archives at the Bancroft Library.
• Sylvia Solochek Walters, professor emerita, former chair of the art department of San Francisco State University and noted woodcut artist, highlights the notable printmakers in the history of CSP up to its 85th anniversary.
• Sherry Smith Bell, printmaker, former president of CSP, and publisher of fine art print portfolios, continues the history of the CSP from its 85th anniversary to the present.
• David R. Jones, director of Anchor Graphics at Chicago’s Columbia College Center for the Book and Paper Arts, visualizes the future of printmaking in the concluding article.

This handsomely produced book illustrates the creative printmaking of over 250 current artist members with over 387 illustrations. Edited by Maryly Snow and assistant editor Sylvia Solochek Walters, the book is designed by printmaker and portrait photographer Joe Ramos.