Wakeman, Geoffrey.

English printer and author Geoffrey Wakeman (d. 1987) founded the Plough Press in 1967 in Loughborough, Leicestershire, England. Wakeman was a noted professor of printing history, author, and printer, and his work on papermaking, color illustration and printing processes, and binding techniques remains a lasting contribution to the study of print culture. He is the author of several books, including A Guide to Nineteenth-Century Color Printers (1975); English Marbled Papers: A History (1980); Victorian Book Illustration: The Technical Revolution (1973) and Nineteenth-Century Trade Binding (1983). A student of Phillip Gaskell at the College Press in Glasgow, Wakeman established the Plough Press based on a desire to learn by doing. The first book printed by the press was Share of Ploughs (1968), consisting of a series of color prints of plows with accompanying verses about plows and plowing. The first major Plough Press publication was XIX Century Illustration (1970). It describes sixteen printing processes with accompanying contemporary specimens. Such leaf books became a regular feature of Plough Press publications, as Wakeman believed the only way to properly study the history of paper and printing was by examining actual specimens. The Plough Press publications, reprints, and original works by Wakeman and others pertain to print culture, particularly printers and printing, illustration processes, binding, and paper. The majority of Plough Press works are letterpress-printed, hand-bound limited editions, but some publications were also manufactured commercially.

The Plough Press was a family business; Geoffrey Wakeman and his wife Frances Wakeman (née Docker) ran the press together and later with their son Paul Wakeman. After the death of Geoffrey Wakeman in 1987, Paul and Frances Wakeman took over the Plough Press, with offices in Kidlington, Oxfordshire, and Nottingham. Paul Wakeman joined Oak Knoll Press in Newcastle, Delaware, as its first publishing director in 1988, establishing collaborative ties between Oak Knoll and Plough Press. In 1991, Paul Wakeman established Plough Press USA in New Castle. Plough Press continued with offices in Kidlington and New Castle, until the press ceased production in the mid-2000s.

Fleck, Robert. "Books about books, parts 5, 6, 7," in the Oak Knoll Biblio-Blog. http://oakknollbooks.wordpress.com/tag/paul-wakeman/ (accessed September 27, 2010). Additional information derived from collection.

From the guide to the Geoffrey Wakeman Plough Press collection, 1655-1996, 1970-1993, (University of Delaware Library - Special Collections)