Letter and Spirit Press: Carrying on Family Traditions

Fusing the traditional craft of letterpress with the scrappy nature of zine culture, Jacob Romm hand sets & prints books and broadsides at Letter & Spirit Press.

Carrying on a longstanding family tradition, Romm began printing less than four years ago, in New Haven, Connecticut. First some history: In Vilna, Lithuania, often referred to as the "Old Country," the young printer's ancestor Devorah Romm operated Widow & Romm Brothers Press, at the time, the largest printing house, store, and publishing business in the Jewish world. That press published Jewish literature, under a succession of business names, from 1788 to 1940 when the barbarity of World War II brought an end to the firm.

Fast forward to the 21st Century: Before starting a PhD program in Comparative Literature and Renaissance Studies at Yale University, Romm was intrigued by a poster on campus about a letterpress printing demonstration. At that demo, Romm "instantly thought" that learning how to use this equipment was essential, soon enrolling in a class taught by Jesse Marsolais, a fine printer and letter carver. Within a year of taking that course, Romm had purchased a letterpress and some type. Now, the owner of a Kelsey 6x10 tabletop press for small jobs, Romm uses Yale's Vanderhook press for larger projects. As an assistant in the printing class, Romm spervises other students work on press, helping them to complete their projects.

What is the origin of the name Letter and Sprit Press? Romm explains, " I love letters, the shape of letters, and setting type meticulously letter by letter. That brings the spirit of life when you're done." He adds, "Jewish traditions are often seen to be overly literal, but Jewish mysticism is all about the shape of letters, their sounds and forms."

"Be Whole: A Trans Siddur" was the first book from Letter & Spirit Press. The text of this hand-bound pocket prayer book draws on the rich and vibrant Jewish liturgical tradition to create new rituals for trans life. The five texts in this book, printed in Hebrew, transliteration, and English translation, are presented in a deliciously ornamental chapbook, printed in deep purple ink and bound with gold and silver thread. Printed in an edition of 50. 4.5 x 5.5", 8 pages. Opens left to right (Hebrew direction).

Before entering graduate school, Romm was a translation fellow at the Yiddish Book Center in Amherst, encountering their collection of Yiddish and Hebrew type for the first time. Romm's translation of 20th century Yiddish poet Menke Katz's ode to the Yiddish language "Holy Yiddish" is now a broadside, in Yiddish and English, printed with some of the type from the book center's storehouse.

Pictured above: "Holy Yiddish" 11"x17". Hand-set in assorted Yiddish and English fonts and printed on a Vandercook cylinder press in an edition of 100.

Since Romm is a full-time graduate student, printing is a part time activity, working evenings and when school is not in session. "I work, at times, with imperfect materials, trying to do a lot with a little, akin to the ethos of zine culture, Romm says. "I don't need to produce meticulous books. I'm striving for the middle ground of craft culture: being playful and experimenting. Doing something that feels alive."

In addition to chapbooks and broadsides, a range of Romm's printing will be available for sale at the Northampton Book Fair on November 22nd and 23rd at the Center for the Arts in Northampton. Romm's displays will be full of "things that are useful in daily life" from stationary and note cards, to book marks and ephemera. To learn more, go to the Letter and Spirit Press website.