About this event

The Bodleian Libraries’ Printer in Residence 2025 – 26, James Freemantle, talks with Adam Smyth about the pleasures and challenges of making books by hand in the 21st century and about the work of his private press, the St James Park Press. 

Speakers

James Freemantle is proprietor of the St James Park Press, established in 2014. All editions from the St James Park Press are printed by hand, and these include George Orwell’s works, 1984 and Animal Farm; An Albion in the Antarctic; The Beauty of Byrne, about Oliver Byrne’s edition of Euclid; and the forthcoming Paradise Lost. 

Adam Smyth is Professor of English Literature and the History of the Book at the University of Oxford, and author of The Book-Makers: A History of the Book in 18 Remarkable Lives (Bodley Head, 2024)

Event information

• This event takes place in person in the Sir Victor Blank Lecture Theatre at the Weston Library.
• The Weston Library is wheelchair accessible. Find out more about accessibility at our site.
• Please note: only bottled water is permitted in the lecture theatre. No food or other drinks are allowed.