Kickshaws
Kickshaws (sometimes Association Kickshaws, a non-profit Association under French law) is a private press run by John Crombie and Sheila Bourne. Based in Paris, the press was founded in 1979 by Crombie as a vehicle for his literary and design aspirations; since then, he and Bourne (who often creates artwork for the books), have printed by hand and published more than 150 small books. The design and typography of Kickshaws publications is unusual, involving a wide range of (often French) type designs, letterpress printing in multiple colours, and the use of unusual formats and binding styles, notably a simple form of comb-binding which allows the leaves of a book to be folded and refolded in different sequences.
Kickshaws
- Founded
- 1979
- Headquarters
- Paris
- Activity
- publishing
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Documentary summary
Kickshaws (sometimes Association Kickshaws, a non-profit Association under French law) is a private press run by John Crombie and Sheila Bourne. Based in Paris, the press was founded in 1979 by Crombie as a vehicle for his literary and design aspirations; since then, he and Bourne (who often creates artwork for the books), have printed by hand and published more than 150 small books. The design and typography of Kickshaws publications is unusual, involving a wide range of (often French) type designs, letterpress printing in multiple colours, and the use of unusual formats and binding styles, notably a simple form of comb-binding which allows the leaves of a book to be folded and refolded in different sequences.
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Documentary evidence
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wikidata · Q6404383 · wikipedia · Kickshaws
In this article
Overview
Overview
Textually, many of the books are either Crombie's own poetry or fiction, or his interpretations or translations of French or Francophile humorists and absurdist writers, including Samuel Beckett, Alphonse Allais and Pierre Henri Cami (the latter being a particular favourite of Crombie's, and a writer he considers greatly undervalued). The artwork incorporated into Kickshaws books includes drawings, linocuts and images printed from vinyl cut-outs in a variety of colours, designed to harmonize with the typography of the books and to illustrate, or decorate, the text. Kickshaws publishes books in both French and English (sometimes both), and its publications are in some ways closer to French livres d'artiste than to private press books in the Anglo-American tradition.
It is associated with France. The record gives 1979 as its date of establishment or first appearance. Its recorded seat is Paris. The recorded field of activity is publishing.
Institutional history
Dated record
Institutional history
The full dated record · 2 entries
1979
Kickshaws established.
1979
Kickshaws is recorded from 1979.
Places
Named by the record
Places
Only places the record itself states, plotted where the house gazetteer settles their coordinates. Nothing is inferred from a name or a nationality.
- France
Named but not plotted · 1
Kickshaws is associated with France.
Country
Primary material
Documents and archives
authority record
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q6404383: Kickshaws
General reference · Wikidata
reference work
- “Kickshaws”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
Citations
References
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authority record
Secondary witnessreference work
Secondary witness
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 17 August 2026.
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