Sombre Reptiles (Firm)

The Berkeley, California-based Sombre Reptiles Press was founded in 1978 by poet Jerry Ratch and artist Mary Ann Hayden. The award-winning press published eighteen books of prose and poetry between 1978 and 1984. Sombre Reptiles's work often features Hayden’s original artwork and illustration, as well as stylistic elements designed by Hayden that seem to be characteristic of the press: horizontal lines resembling blocked-out text, and the playful use of horizontal numbers, particularly the numeral "2." With works by Hayden and Ratch and authors such as Darrell Gray, Alastair Johnston of The Poltroon Press, Kathleen Fraser, Jerry Estrin, Robert Peters, and Michael Wolfe of the Tombuctou Press, the collection represents the position Sombre Reptiles held as an integral participant in the circle of small-press printers in the Berkeley area in the mid- to late-1970s and 1980s

Historical information derived from the collection.