David Clifford was among the last generation to go through the formal seven-year apprenticeship system in England, in the 1950s. Upon completion he moved to France and specialized in printing large and complex multi-page formes. He moved to Canada in the early '70s, and started his own graphic design and custom letterpress business in the '80s. His business combines traditional letterpress craftsmanship (using a Heidelberg 10 x 15 inch windmill press) with industry-standard digital platforms; most printing (text and images) is done from polymer plates developed from Mac-based designs. Black Stone's commercial printing ranges from art projects and limited edition books to letterheads and custom packaging, with print runs from a few dozen to thousands of copies.

In addition to Black Stone's printing for clients and designers across Canada, Clifford has been developing book projects of his own. In 1998 he printed his first book, a narrative series of linocuts by Vancouver artist Carel Moiseiwitsch, titled Forgotten. Originally included in a Fantagraphics collection of her comix, Clifford adapted the images and text, which tell the story of the First Word War battle of the Somme, into an accordiion-fold format extending across 22 pages. Copies from the edition (100) are still available from Clifford for C$100.

Clifford's second book was Letterpress Printing ABC. Although it was issued under the Heavenly Monkey imprint, all design, printing and binding were by Clifford. In 2005 he will be collaborating with HM to publish a 200-copy edition of H.P. Lovecraft's novella Shadow Over Innsmouth.

Telephone: 604.731.5937
Address: 1249 Cartwright St, Vancouver B.C. V6H 4B7
E-mail: cdave at helix.net (address in the usual manner, using @ and no spaces).

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