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ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION
Title
Inkwell Press Collection
Collection Number
SC 397
OCLC Number
In-process
Creator
Vincent Torre
Provenance
This collection was donated by Vincent Torre in 2005.
Extent,Scope, and Content Note
The collection is comprised of 12 cubic feet of printed works, proofs, correspondence,
textiles, and wood blocks used in the creation of wood prints and books. The materials
date from 1961 to 2005.
Arrangement and Processing Note
Processed by F. Jason Torre in January 2006.
Finding aid revised and updated by Kristen J. Nyitray in April 2014 and July 2019.
The collection is organized by series. The original order has been retained.
Series 1: General Works, 1968-2003: original writings and correspondence from the
press.
Series 2: Prose and Poetry Works, 1967-2005: original poetry and prose works.
Series 3: Bound Proofs, 1947-2002: bound page proofs from Inkwell press.
Series 4: Ink Drawings, 1961-2005: hand-bound, ink drawing, press books. Each book
is a separate title created based on an overlying artistic theme. These titles do
not have the colophon of Inkwell but are considered published works.
Series 5: Pencil Drawings, 1967-1992: hand-bound, pencil drawings and sketch books.
Series 6: Portfolios, 1981-1991: portfolios of unbound, loose works of ink and pen,
referred to in publishing terms as ‘blads.’
Series 7: Printing Plates and Blocks, undated: aluminum lithographic plates and carved
wood block used in printmaking.
Language
English
Restrictions on Access
The collection is open to researchers without restriction.
Rights and Permissions
Stony Brook University Libraries' consent to access as the physical owner of the collection
does not address copyright issues that may affect publication rights. It is the sole
responsibility of the user of Special Collections and University Archives materials
to investigate the copyright status of any given work and to seek and obtain permission
where needed prior to publication.
Citation
[Item], [Box], Inkwell Press Collection, Special Collections and University Archives,
Stony Brook University Libraries.
Historical Note
Excerpted from a promotional packet prepared by Vincent Torre, 1997.
"I have been painting since the age of 13. I studied with Sidney Laufman, Wallace
Harrison and Josef Albers, and at the Academia di Belle Arti, Rome, where I painted
for a year and had a one-man show at the Teatro dei Satiri. I had my first one-man
show at the Norfolk (Virginia) Museum in 1953 while serving in the Navy. Subsequently,
I had several one-man shows and took part in many group shows. In 1989-1990 I was
artist-in-residence at the William Steeple Davis House in Orient village. Working
in Davis' old carriage house studio, I completed 45 paintings of the area, with particular
emphasis on the classic picket fences to be found in the village. The resulting show
at the Oysterponds Historical Society was aptly titled “Fences.” Recent exhibitions
in eastern Long Island include: The Mattituck/Laurel Library; The East End Arts Council,
Riverhead; the Cook Pony Farm office, Sag Harbor; the Art-trim in Melville, sponsored
by the Huntington Arts Council; and at Martha Clara Vineyards. After having painted
in places as different as Maine, London and Fame, I find the North Fork suits me and
my work. It is a perfect place for artists who want to transfer their vision of nature
to paper, canvas or stone. In Mattituck, my studio is a converted chicken coop. I
show my work in the big white barn behind the house where we have lived since 1997.
Visitors are always welcome."
From the website vincenttorrebooks.net.
"Vincent Torre was seven years old when he made his first miniature hand-sewn books.
In his teens, he made copies calligraphically or with individual pieces of type carved
in wood and printed one letter at a time. While serving in the US Navy, 1951-1954,
stationed on the USS Orion, he printed his first books under the imprint of The Inkwell
Press. During his Navy career, he produced a total of 12 titles on Navy equipment,
in small editions of six to 20 copies. After his discharge, he acquired a hundred-year-old
hand press and a Vandercook press, on which he printed over 60 titles in 50 years
of activity. His biggest project, which took 12 years to complete, was four companion
volumes of his own fables and poems, printed from handset type and illustrated with
80 full-colored woodcuts printed from the blocks. Torre binds all Inkwell Press books
by hand. Besides being represented in many private collections, Inkwell Press books
are in the special collections of: The British Library; The New York Public Library;
The Yale Library; Stony Brook University; The Kerlan Collection, Minneapolis; The
University of Kentucky; Texas Christian University; Duke University; The University
of Sydney, Australia; and others. The British Library and the University of Delaware
Library have recently acquired a full set of his Fable books and other Inkwell Press
productions. He has received many awards and favorable reviews in: The Five Owls;
Bookman's Weekly; Fine Print; The Pentatette; Book Design and Production (Britain);
Publishers Weekly; Attenzione Magazine; Printing History. Torre was staff designer
at Alfred A. Knopf, Publishers, 1959-1964; and free-lance designer for most of the
New York publishers in a career of over 45 years. "Charles Dickens His Journal of
a Journey from London to Canterbury in the Year 1830, Adapted from His Works and Edited
by Vincent Torre" was published by George Braziller in 2010. This book received an
award from the World Dickens Fellowship.
Subjects
Artists' books.
Private press books.
Animals -- Poetry.
Fables, American.
Fables.
American poetry.
Animals.
INVENTORY
Series 1: General Works
Box 1
Correspondence, etc., in the production of A Tribute to W.A. Dwiggins, undated
The Traveler Watchman, undated
History of Pearl Street, undated
History of Pearl Street (copy 2 is typescript with corrections), undated
Prince and the Stable Boy, 1968
The Trouble with Poetry May 1994
Box 2
Notes on Book Design, 1972
Notes on Book Design (copy 2 is typescript with corrections), 1972
Vincent Torre (notes), 2002-2003
Series 2: Prose and Poetry Works
Box 3
Limericks, 1970-1972, 1983-1984
New Limericks,1989-1990; Poems & Fables, 1991
Limericks, 1992-1993
Limericks, 1995
Limericks, 1996
Limericks, 1996
Box 4
Limericks, 1996-1997
Limericks, 1997
Limericks, 1998
Limericks, 1998
Limericks, 1999
Limericks, 1999
Limericks, 2000
Box 5
Limericks, 2000-2001
Limericks, 2001
Limericks, 2001
Limericks, 2001-2002
Limericks, 1970-2002
Box 6
Poems, 1969-1971
Tales and Fables book 1, 1984
Tales and Fables book 2, 1985
Tales and Fables book 3, 1987-1989
Verses and Fables, 1990-1991
Poems and Fables, 1991
Why cats like to eat Mice: An Italian Folktale narrated by Struglia Fiorentini. Written
in English by Vincent Torre, 1967
Box 7
Lyrics and Ballads, 1972
Poems and Fables, 1994
Rhymes and Fables,1994
Rhymes and Fables, 1995
Inklings I, 2004
Inklings II, 2004
Inklings III, 2004-2005
Inklings IV, 2005
Series 3: Bound Proofs
Box 8
A Book of Fables, Fables from Aesop and Original fables written and illustrated by
Vincent Torre, undated
Complete Limericks, undated
Complete Poems, 1973-1984
Fables, 1984-1985
Box 9
Fables, 1985-1986
Fables, 1987-1989
Fables, 1987-1989
The Italian Commedia dell’ arte, 1982
Box 10
The Leaping Knight, undated
Limericks, 1970-2002
Limericks, 1970-2002 (copy 2)
Moses and the Meyers House Ghost, undated
Moses and the Meyers House Ghost (illustrated), undated
Box 11
Poems and Fables, 1991
Poems for Children, undated
Rhymes and Fables, 1984-1995
Seasons: Poems, 1947-1972
Box 12
Verse and Fable, 1991-1992
Wander Wood and other Poems for Children, undated
Limericks, 1970-2002
Brooklyn Botanic Gardens, Sept.-Oct. 1995
Poems by William Shakespeare, Vincent Torre MCMLI
Series 4: Ink Drawings
Box 13
Vincent Torre, 1961
Vincent Torre, 1961
Drawings, 1973
Drawings in Ink, 1981
Drawings, 1990 (pencil and ink)
Drawings, 1991
Box 14
Ink Drawings, 1995
Ink Drawings, 1995
Ink Drawings, 1996
Box 15
Ink Drawings, June-July 1996
Ink Drawings, August 1996
Ink Drawings, April-June 1998
Box 16
Ink Drawings, May-June 1999
Ink Drawings, 2001
Ink Drawings, 2001
Box 17
Ink Drawings, 2001
Ink Drawings, June-July 2001
Ink Drawings, 2001
Box 18
Ink Drawings, 2001
Ink Drawings, 2001
Ink Drawings, 2001
Box 19
Ink Drawings, 2002
Ink Drawings, 2002
Ink Drawings, 2002
Box 20
Ink Drawings, 2003
Ink Drawings, 2003
Ink Drawings, 2003
Ink Drawings, 2003
Box 21
Ink Drawings, 2003
Ink Drawings, 2003
Ink, 2003
Box 22 – Oversize books
Ink Drawings, 2000
Ink Drawings, 2002
Ink Drawings, 2002
Box 23 – Oversize books
Ink Drawings, 2004
Ink Drawings, 2004
Ink Drawings, 2004
Box 24 – Oversize books
Ink Drawings, 2004
Ink Drawings, 2004
Box 25 – Oversize books
Ink Drawings, 2004
Ink Drawings, 2004
Box 26 – Oversize books
Ink Drawings, 2005
Ink Drawings, 2005
Box 26A – Oversize books
Ink Drawings, 2006
Ink Drawings, 2008
Box 26B – Oversize books
Ink Drawings, 2008
Ink Drawings, 2008
Series 5: Pencil Drawings
Box 27
Vincent Torre May 1992
Vincent Torre, 1989
Vincent Torre, 1987
Vincent Torre, 1986
Vincent Torre, 1981-1982
Vincent Torre, 1967
Series 6: Portfolios
Box 28
Portfolio, 1981 (ink)
Portfolio, 1981 (ink)
Portfolio, 1981 (ink)
Box 29
Ink Drawings by Vincent Torre, 1988
Ink Drawings by Vincent Torre, 1991
Series 7: Printing Plates and Blocks
Box 30
16 carved wood blocks from the ‘Nudes’ title.
Box 31
28 carved wood blocks from the ‘Nudes’ title.
Box 32
4 carved wood blocks of ‘flowers.’
Box 33
7 carved wood blocks of ‘flowers.’
Box 34
4 oversized carved wood blocks of ‘flowers.’
Box 35
1 carved wood block of ‘field.’
14 carved wood block of ‘carousel horse.’
Box 36
56 lithographic plates from the printing of “The Leaping Knight.”
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