Redstone Press

Redstone Press is a London-based art book publisher that was founded in 1986 by Julian Rothenstein,[1] the son of English portrait painter Duffy Ayers and her first husband, the painter and printmaker Michael Rothenstein. Redstone Press has been characterised as "a shining example of how books should be published. Their books are beautifully designed and flawlessly produced with fantastically original and entertaining content."[2] Publisher Julian Rothenstein, who has been called "a one-man art movement",[3] is also the press's editor and designer.

History

The first Redstone Press book was of drawings by the publisher's father as a child prodigy[4] in 1912–17, entitled Drawing Book. In the words of Eye Magazine: "A softbound book in a black paper portfolio, it was beautiful and quirky, perfectly pitched to delight eye and mind together. The same qualities have distinguished Redstone’s subsequent output."[5] Other early productions include visual books in boxes, such as Frans Masereel's Passionate Journey (1988), a novel told in 165 woodcuts, with an Introduction by Thomas Mann; Images of Frida Kahlo with an introduction by Angela Carter; and Osip Mandelstam's Journey to Armenia with an introduction by Bruce Chatwin.[6]

The Redstone Diary, started in 1989, is now considered a "cult product",[7] with Ian Sansom writing in The Guardian: "There may be no great diarists, then, but there are still great diaries. By far the best is the legendary Redstone Diary….In the midst of one’s self-obsessions, the Redstone Diary reminds one of other worlds."[8] It is an annual spiral-bound desk diary that "usually delivers a quirky collection of literary and graphic ephemera based around a single theme, such as ‘Daring!’ (2003), ‘The Artist’s World’ (2011) and ‘The Senses' (2012)."[9]

Self-defined as "the publishers of surprising books and games",[10] Redstone Press have published numerous books on psychology, including Psychobox (with an introduction by Jonathan Miller), Psychogames, The Redstone Inkblot Test and Psychobook (with an introduction by Lionel Shriver).[11] Other recent titles include The Blind Photographer, a compilation edited by Rothenstein that was described as "the first of its kind" by World of Interiors, whose review concluded: "Summing up the book’s lucid, generous ethos is a quote by Stevie Wonder, placed on its cover. 'Visions are not seen purely by the eyes but through the spirit.' The Blind Photographer, challenging our assumptions, shows that blindness does not stop sight."[12]

References
  1. Cynthia Rose, "The Redstone Press: Books in Boxes", International Herald Tribune. Reprinted at Mucha Creative.
  2. Sophie Rochester, "Sophie’s Eleven", The Writer's Hub.
  3. Christopher Howse, "What the eye don’t see" - review of The Redstone Book of the Eye by Julian Rothenstein (Square Peg, 2011), The Spectator, 20 August 2011.
  4. "Julian Rothenstein, Publisher", Spitalfields Life, 11 December 2013.
  5. "Canyons of your mind". From Eye Magazine, no. 54, vol. 14, Winter 2004.
  6. Charlotte Williams, "Redstone pops up to celebrate its 25th", The Bookseller, 17 November 2011.
  7. Ellie Broughton, "Twelve Independent Publishers Every Londoner Should Know", Londonist, 21 May 2014.
  8. Ian Sansom, "Pageturners", The Guardian, 30 December 2000.
  9. "Spiral-bound scratchpad", Eye Magazine, 31 December 2012.
  10. "About Us", The Redstone Shop.
  11. Psychobook — The Companion Site.
  12. Rebecca Swirsky, The Blind Photographer review, World of Interiors.
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