Portmandemic

By Jessica Spring
Tacoma, WA: Springtide Press, 2022. Edition of 10.
9 x 15 x 2". Letterpress printed by Jessica Spring. Ready-to-unpack portmanteau bound by Gabby Cooksey covered with Asahi bookcloth and leather straps. Printed by Jessica Spring during two sessions at In Cahoots Residency in Petaluma, and completed at Springtide Press in Tacoma. Handset type from both locations, ornaments cast by Pat Reagh, and photopolymer plates were letterpress printed on gasen and kitikata papers. Signed and numbered by the artist.
Jessica Spring: "Once opened and carefully unpacked, ‘Portmandemic’ includes two 13 x 50 inch letterpress prints made with huge wood type in 2021. One side of each print is layered with portmanteaus—a term coined by Lewis Carroll which combines porter (to carry) and manteau (mantle)—to describe two words combined for a new meaning. Alice’s conversation with the Cheshire Cat, which begins: “Would you tell me please, which way I ought to go from here?” is revealed when the prints lay folded, but disappears once unpacked. When the print trays are lifted, an essay by the artist about her pandemic travels and a glossary of portmanteaus used in the book can be read.
“’Portmandemic was Text is included from ‘Alice in Wonderland’ by Lewis Carroll, with portmanteaus inspired by pandemic travels and travails.”