The Woodpeckers of Florida is the 2016 artist’s book edition from the Marjorie S. Coffey Library Endowment Residency at the George A. Smathers Libraries at the University of Florida. The book was designed by Molly Kempson (Spotty Boy Press) during the six-week residency in the summer of 2016. The book is inspired by Ms. Kempson’s research and study of natural history texts from the Harold and Mary Jean Hanson Rare Book Collection and the Baldwin Children’s Book Collection in the Special and Area Studies Collections Department. Some of the books that inspired Ms. Kempson are:
Cecil’s Book of Birds, Selim H. Peabody
Climbing Birds, Robin Ranger
American Ornithology, Charles Lucian Bonaparte
The Illustrated Natural History: Birds, J.G. Wood
The Natural History of the Most Remarkable Quadrupeds, Mary Trimmer
Child’s History of Birds, Lida Brooks Miller
The Architecture of Birds, James Rennie
The Birds of Florida, Harold Bailey
Homes of the Birds, Thomas Nelson and Sons
Our Birds and Their Nestlings, Margaret Walker
The portfolio of prints was letterpress printed in the UF School of Art + Art History Type Shop and co-produced by Molly Kempson and Ellen Knudson (Associate in Book Arts, University of Florida). The project is printed from linoleum reduction blocks by the artist and photopolymer plates by Boxcar Press on Mohawk Superfine 100# Text in White. The collection of eight prints is housed in a portfolio enclosure. © 2016 Molly Kempson for the Library Press @ UF.
To see more of Molly Kempson’s work, visit her website.
