Red Onion Press Presents: "The Classics of English Literature, An Art Legacy Project"
Friday, March 13, 2026
1:00 - 2:00 p.m.
Smyrna Library Meeting Room
Ages: 18 and older Please reserve a seat
Event Description: Red Onion Press will describe a unique letterpress project currently underway and bring an antique tabletop handpress to view.
Ninety-year-old hand carved woodblocks by artist and educator, Bronislaw Bak, were recently rediscovered and returned to the artist's family. The woodblocks were produced for a series of illustrations for classroom slide films, published by Encyclopedia Britannica in the early 1960s. The EB Classics in the set include Beowulf, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, The Second Shepard's Tale, The Nun's Priest Tale, The Death of King Arthur, and Everyman.
In 2018, a decision was made by the Red Onion Press a local non-profit with support from Kennesaw State University's School of Art and Design to publish a first edition of 60 copies of each of these sets of illustrations, with original translations of the full text of each of these 6 tales that are in the public domain. Using letterpress printing equipment and hand binding methods the project replicates the work of contemporary art book publication in the 19th and early 20th century before the advent of digital publishing. The son of the artist will describe the process which will be presented on an 1855 tabletop handpress along with slides from the University Printmaking Studio and Classrooms.
