Special Collections Department
Black Stone Press Archive
Manuscript Collection Number: 316
Accessioned: Purchases 1989, 1992
Extent: 5 linear ft. and oversize material
Content: Letters, business records, broadsides, posters, galleys, and printed emphemera.
Access: The collection is open for research.
Processed: May 1995 by Colette Walker.
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Special Collections, University of Delaware Library
Newark, Delaware 19717-5267
(302) 831-2229
Table of Contents
Biographical Note
Koch was born in Missoula, Montana in 1943. After receiving a bachelor's degree in philosophy from the University of Montana, Missoula, he spent time traveling in Europe and North Africa. While in Paris, Koch came in contact with the international Surrealist movement, and discovered the works of André Breton and Max Ernst, two influences which were to strongly impact his own work. Koch returned to Montana in 1974 and set up Black Stone Press as a forum for his own work and that of fellow surrealist poets.
The founding venture of the press was the six-issue run of Montana Gothic, a poetry journal edited and published by Koch between 1974 and 1977. Contributors included American writers as well as poets from Latin America and Europe, among them Robert Bly, Charles Henri Ford, Gabriel Weisz Carrington, Michael Poage, and Opal Nations. The journal also featured the work of such Surrealist-inspired artists as Bruce Lee. The single-volume journal Deadstart grew out of an essay by Koch in Montana Gothic #2 that called for a vital approach to both life and poetry: to scrap preconceived notions and start afresh.
While publishing Montana Gothic, Koch became increasingly interested in the printing process. He bought his first handpress in 1978, and in 1979 apprenticed himself to Adrian Wilson at the Press in Tuscany Alley in San Francisco for a year of intensive training in book arts. He relocated the press to the Bay Area the same year. Michael Poage's book of poems, Born, published in 1975, was the first of many limited edition volumes printed by Koch and his then-wife, Shelley Hoyt-Koch. Other significant books include Jane Bailey's Pomegranate of 1976, Poage's Handbook of Ornament of 1979, and Opal Nation's The Marvels of Professor Pettingruel of 1978, for which Koch provided illustrations. Koch also produced a number of broadsides during this period, most notably his Square Zero series, as well as providing job printing services for local businesses and organizations.
Since the dissolution of Black Stone Press in 1984, Koch has continued to print and publish, until 1990 under the name Peter Rutledge Koch, Typographic Design, and thereafter as Peter Koch, Printer. His work, in recent years, has focussed increasingly on the book itself as physical bearer of meaning, and has become more experimental with form, as earlier it had been with content. One example of his non-traditional approach to book arts is his Diogenes of 1994, printed in an edition of 50 copies, each unique, on lead plates and housed in an eartherware jug. Other significant book projects have included his Herakleitos of 1990 and Robinson Jeffers' Point Lobos of 1987. Koch's work has won a number of awards, including the Pushcart Prize for the Best of Small Presses for Montana Gothic in 1976 and more recently the American Library Association Award for Excellence in 1990. He has been featured in solo shows as well as group exhibitions. In addition to his printing activities, Koch is currently on the faculty at U C Berkeley's Department of Visual Studies, and since 1991, is co-director of the Tuscany Alley Project at San Francisco State University.
*See Peter Koch: Recent Work.
Sources):
Peter Koch: Recent Work. Cambridge, Massachusetts: The Houghton Library, Harvard University, 1995.Peter Koch, Printer: Cowboy Surrealists, Maverick Poets & Pre-Socratic Philosophers . New York; San Francisco: New York Public Library; San Francisco Public Library, 1995.
Note: Biographical information has also been derived from material in the collection.
Scope and Content Note
The collection is organized in three series. The first consists of printed material, including preparatory materials for Montana Gothic, Deadstart, books, and broadsides, as well as job printing, the latter arranged by client and by year. The second series contains correspondence, consisting primarily of letters and manuscripts from contributors and potential contributors to Montana Gothic. The third series includes business records for 1974-1984, including bank statements, grant applications, and tax documents. The fourth and final series consists of books and literary journals printed by Black Stone Press. The collection and this finding aid include a bibliography of all titles received with the collection, a number of which have been cataloged and are available in Special Collections. Two oversize boxes contain material removed from Series I and II.
Series List
I. Printed Material
1. Journals
- Montana Gothic
- Deadstart
2. Books
3. Broadsides
4. Instructional Materials
5. Job Printing
- By Client
- By Year
II. Correspondence
III. Business Records
1. Grant Proposals
2. Other Business Records
III. Published Books and Journals
1. Journals
2. Books
Contents List
1 Series I. Printed Material
Includes preparatory material toward publishing projects such as journals, books,
and broadsides; posterboard flats used by Shelley Hoyt-Koch as teaching aids in
demonstrating how to design and paint books; and job printing arranged in two
subseries: alphabetically by client and by date.
Series I.1. Journals
F1 Montana Gothic #1
F2 Montana Gothic #2
F3 Montana Gothic #3
F4 Montana Gothic #4
F5 Montana Gothic #4 (continued)
F6 Montana Gothic #5
F7 Montana Gothic #6
F8 Montana Gothic Headlines and Cover Art
F9 Montana Gothic - Bruce Lee artwork
F10 Deadstart
Series I.2. Books (dates following titles indicate publication dates)
F11 ABC XYZ (1980) - Kate Pond
F12 Five Poems (1980) - Michael Poage
F13 Handbook of Ornament (1979) - Michael Poage
F14 Handbook of Ornament (continued)
F15 Harris, Paul (artist's book, not completed)
F16 Marvels of Professor Pettingruel (1978) - Opal Nations
Series I.2. Books (continued)
1 F17 Near the Ocean's Edge (1982) - Charles Morris
F18 Poison in the System (1979) - David Highsmith
F19 Pomegranate (1976) - Jane Bailey
F20 Reflections on Color (1982) - Susan Roether
F21 Reflections on Color (continued)
F22 Severson, Elizabeth Hartzell (1983)
F23 Shooting Scripts (1978) - Adam Cornford
F24 Shreds (1982) - Malles Meje
F25 This flower! (1982) - Robert Sund
2 F26 Weeding the Dutchess (1979) - Sarah Maclay
Series I.3. Posters & Broadsides
F27 Posters & broadsides
F28 Square Zero broadsides
Series I.4. Printing Instruction
F29 Posterboard flats
Series I.5. Job Printing
By Client
F30 American Library Association
F31 Antin, Charles
2 F32 Antin, Eleanor
F33 The Asia Company
F34 Philippe Bonnafont Gallery
F35 Philippe Bonnafont Gallery (continued)
F36 Philippe Bonnafont Gallery (continued)
F37 Book Club of California
F38 Brickers International Directory
F39 Brick Row Book Shop
F40 California Academy of Medicine
F41 California Arts Council
F42 City Hall Records Distribution
F43 Lon Clark Association
F44 College of Notre Dame
F45 D'Allessandro, Pat
F46 D'Allessandro, Pat - Penumbra
F47 Doan, Mr. & Mrs. Leland
F48 Gleeson Library Association
F49 Hendrickson, H.
F50 Imago Handpaper Mill
Series I.5. Job Printing
By Client (continued)
2 F51 Johnson, David
F52 Nob Hill Association
F53 North Point Gallery
F54 Oyez Press
F55 Richie, George
F56 Rosenthal, Bernard
F57 Roxburghe Club of San Francisco
F58 San Francisco Art Commission
F59 San Francisco Ecology Center
F60 Stanford University
F61 Sund, Robert
F62 Team Edserv, Inc.
F63 Turtle Island Foundation
F64 U.C. Berkeley
F65 U.C. Berkeley (continued)
F66 University of California Press
F67 Wayzgoose 1979
F68 Johnson Turnbull Vineyards
F69 Zeller, Valaoritis, Kuznicki
Series I.5. Job Printing
By Year
2 F70 1975
F71 1976
F72 1977
F73 1978
F74 1979
F75 1980
3 F76 1981
F77 1982
F78 1982 (continued)
Series II. Correspondence
F79 Aaron, Richard
F80 Allen, Lewis
F81 Auster, Paul
F82 Bailey, Jane
F83 Blazek, Douglas
F84 Bly, Robert
F85 Bowles, Paul
F86 Brown, Paul
F87 Burke, Jim
Series II. Correspondence (continued)
3 F88 Carrington, Gabriel Weisz
F89 Cherry Valley Editions
F90 Codrescu, Andrei
F91 Churry, Craig
F92 Clifton, Merritt
F93 Cornford, Adam
F94 Digby, John
F95 Dobb, Edwin
F96 Estrin, Jerry
F97 Flick, Steven
F98 Ford, Charles Henri
F99 Furguson, Frank
F100 Garner,Sky
F101 Ginsberg, Allen
F102 Goldbarth, Albert
F103 Grillo, Paul
F104 Hammer, Louis
F105 Harkness, Edward
F106 Harrold, William
F107 Hart, Howard
Series II. Correspondence (continued)
3 F108 Helman, Cecil
F109 Hubenthal, Mahlon
F110 Johnson, Dana William
F111 Koch, Michael
F112 Landes-Levi, Louise
F113 Leale, B.C.
F114 Lee, Bruce
F115 Levine, Philip
F116 Long, David
F117 McElroy, Jackie
F118 Magorian, James
F119 Malanga, Gerard
F120 Mansour, Joyce
F121 Marcus, G. Karl
F122 Miles, Milo
F123 Montague, Tony
F124a Nations, Opal
F124b Nations, Opal - publications
F125 Nord, Carolann
F126 Norse, Harold
Series II. Correspondence (continued)
3 F127 Parlatore, Anselm
F128 Petty, Ryan
F129 Piper, Paul
F130 Plymell, Charles
F131 Poage, Michael
F132 Poage, Michael (continued)
4 F133 Potts, Charlie
F134 Robbins, Doren
F135 Shatis, G./Bardo Matrix
F136 Shukofsky, Eileen
F137 Stainton, Albert
F138 Taylor, Tom
F139 Thomas, Dave
F140 Todd, Patrick
F141 Valaoritis, Nanos & Marie Wilson
F142 Van Sickle, Dirck
F143 Vega, Janine Pommy
F144 Wilson, Marie (See F141, Valaoritis)
F145 Wechsler, Soshana
F146 Weisz, Paul (Pablo)
Series II. Correspondence (continued)
4 F147 White, Cynthia
F148 Whitson, Peter
F149 Wood, Wilbur
F150 Yenne, Bill
F151 Young, Gary
F152 Zawadiwsky, Christine
F153 Zeller, Ludwig
F154 Other Correspondence: A-D
F155 Other Correspondence: E-H
F156 Other Correspondence: I-P
F157 Other Correspondence: Q-Z
Series III. Business Records
Includes grant proposals, bank records, and other business documents related to
operation of Black Stone Press.
Series III.1. Grant Proposals
F158 Coordinating Council of Literary Magazines (CCLM) 1976-1977
F159 CCLM 1979-1979
F160 CCLM Editors' Fellowship 1979
F161 National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) 1977-1978
F162 NEA 1978-1979
Series III.2. Other Business Records
4 F163 NEA 1980-1981
F164 Montana Grants
F165 Contributor Lists
F166 Montana Writers Co-op
F167 Subscriptions
F168 Distribution and Advertisements
F169 Distribution and Advertisements (continued)
F170 Sales & Property Taxes
F171 Licences & Permits
F172 Deposits
F173 Fictitious Name Statements
F174 Leases
F175 Accounts Payable 1975-1976
F176 Accounts Receivable 1975-1976
F177 Accounts Payable 1977
5 F178 Accounts Receivable 1977
F179 Accounts Payable 1978
F180 Accounts Receivable 1978
F181 Bank Statements 1974-1975
F182 Bank Statements 1976
Series III.2. Other Business Records (continued)
5 F183 Bank Statements 1976 (continued)
F184 Bank Statements 1977
F185 Bank Statements 1977 (continued)
F186 Bank Statements 1977 (continued)
F187 Bank Statements 1978 (Western Montana)
F188 Bank Statements 1978 (Western Montana, continued)
F189 Bank Statements 1978 (Hibernia)
F190 Other business records, 1975-1981
Series IV. Books and Journals (Box 5)
Books that remain with the collection are indicated with an asterisk (*). All others
have been cataloged and transferred to the printed holdings of Special Collections.
Series III.1. Journals
Deadstart: a Journal of Letters, Design and Typographical Printmaking, 1980. Two copies.
(one copy)*
Montana Gothic #1, Fall 1974.
Montana Gothic #2, Spring 1975.
Montana Gothic #3, Fall 1975.
Montana Gothic #4, Spring 1976.
Montana Gothic #5, Winter 1977.
Montana Gothic #6, Fall 1977.
Series IV.2. Books
Bailey, Jane. Pomegranate. Missoula, Montana: Black Stone Press, 1976.
Bessac, Susanne and Jo Rainbolt. Notes on Traditional Hmong Culture from Montana Hmong
Recollections. Missoula, Montana: Missoula Museum of the Arts, (no date). Designed
by Peter Koch.*
Bessac, Susanne. Persian Rugs. Missoula, Montana: Missoula Museum of the Arts, 1977.
Designed and printed by Peter Koch.*
California Private Academic Libraries. Striking Research Gold: Distinguished Collections in
California Independent Academic Libraries, 1988. Designed and printed by
Peter Koch.*
Colette. Cheri. San Francisco: George F. Ritchie, 1983. Designed and printed
by Peter Koch.
Cornford, Adam. Shooting Scripts. Missoula, Montana: Black Stone Press, 1978. Two copies,
hard- and softcover.
Series IV.2. Books (continued)
Dinnean, Lawrence. Les Jeunes: An Account of Some Fin de Siecle San Francisco Authors and
Artists. San Francisco: The Friends of the Bancroft Library, 1980. Designed and printed
by Peter Koch.
Farmer, David and Rennard Strickland. A Trumpet of Our Own. San Francisco: The Book Club
of California, 1981. Designed and printed by Peter Koch.*
Highsmith, David. Poison in the System. San Francisco: Black Stone Press, 1979.
Two copies, hard- and softcover.
Meje, Malles. Shreds. San Francisco: Beatrice Love Kaukonen, 1982. Designed and printed
by Peter Koch.
Morris, Charles Kendrick. Near the Ocean's Edge. San Francisco: Charles Kendrick Morris,
1982. Designed and printed by Peter Koch.
Maclay, Sarah. Weeding the Dutchess. San Francisco: Black Stone Press, 1979. Two copies,
hard- and softcover.
Nations, Opal L. The Marvels of Professor Pettingruel. Missoula, Montana: Black Stone
Press, 1978. Two copies, hard- and softcover.
Penzi, James. Salt Fever. San Francisco: Isthmus Press, 1976. Gift from author to Koch.*
Poage, Michael. Born. Missoula, Montana: Black Stone Press, 1975.
Poage, Michael. Five Poems. San Francisco: Black Stone Press, 1980.
Poage, Michael. Handbook of Ornament. San Francisco: Black Stone Press, 1979.
Poage, Michael. Wings of Hair. Missoula, Montana: Black Stone Press, 1978.
Pond, Kate. ABC XYZ. San Francisco: Black Stone Press, 1980.
Roether, Susan. Reflections on Color. San Francisco: Black Stone Press 1982.
Silberg, Richard. The Reckoning. San Francisco: Black Stone Press, 1979.
Sund, Robert. This flower! La Conner: The Great Blue Heron Society, 1982. Designed and
printed by Peter Koch.
Thomas, David. Fossil Fuel. Missoula, Montana: The Montana Writer's Cooperative, 1977.
Designed and printed by Peter Koch.
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