Terrascopædia Magazine
The Terrascopaedia is an illustrated occasional letterpress music magazine which was first printed in 2012. Issues are published approximately seven months apart. The magazine specialises in covering underground music of a rock, folk and "psychedelic" nature. As far as we know, it is the only magazine of its kind in the world, which is hardly surprising given that each page takes around 7 hours to typeset and a further hour to print. The editor and publisher is Phil McMullen, a member of the Oxford Guild of Printers, who previously edited the Ptolemaic Terrascope Magazine ( a commercially printed offset litho publication ) between 1989 and 2004.
Albeit half the size and much less ambitious in scope, the Terrascopædia carries on from where the Ptolemaic Terrascope found itself in around 1992, before the CD became ubiquitous and the World Wide Web changed everything for good. The music discussed is released on vinyl or on cassette; most of the bands organise their own tours and release records on independent labels. We have nothing against the internet or digital music as such; we do however believe that there is still a place for the printed page, the smell of fresh ink, and the touch and feel of hand-made paper.
The Terrascopaedia is an illustrated occasional letterpress music magazine which was first printed in 2012. Issues are published approximately seven months apart. The magazine specialises in covering underground music of a rock, folk and "psychedelic" nature. As far as we know, it is the only magazine of its kind in the world, which is hardly surprising given that each page takes around 7 hours to typeset and a further hour to print. The editor and publisher is Phil McMullen, a member of the Oxford Guild of Printers, who previously edited the Ptolemaic Terrascope Magazine ( a commercially printed offset litho publication ) between 1989 and 2004.
Albeit half the size and much less ambitious in scope, the Terrascopædia carries on from where the Ptolemaic Terrascope found itself in around 1992, before the CD became ubiquitous and the World Wide Web changed everything for good. The music discussed is released on vinyl or on cassette; most of the bands organise their own tours and release records on independent labels. We have nothing against the internet or digital music as such; we do however believe that there is still a place for the printed page, the smell of fresh ink, and the touch and feel of hand-made paper.
Terrascopædia Issue 15
Published September 2020, issue 15 of the Terrascopædia features interviews with Keith Christmas, Pacific Range, Jim Ghedi and Lake Mary plus reviews of new and recent record and cassette releases.
130 copies produced. Each copy is entirely hand made from cover to cover. The unbleached paper is bought in sheets from the mill and cut to size (6-½ inches by 9-¼ inches, which is unashamedly inspired by my love for the Doves Press). The text is set by hand in 16pt Poliphilus, influenced by Aldus Manutius at the Aldine Press in 15th century Venice and produced under the direction of Stanley Morison in England at Monotype (Series 170) in 1923. Poliphilus is a scarce and beautiful fount that was only cast for a very short time, being superseded by Bembo (series 270) in 1929. Here we use it in association with Blado (Series 119, 1923) which is the italic companion that Poliphilus was originally designed for. The pages themselves are printed in full colour using rubber-based ink on a fully restored 1926 vintage, 10cwt Arab Foolscap Folio treadle press. The magazine is then collated and hand-stitched. The front cover was designed for us by the brilliant Frances Castle at Clay Pipe Music, inspired (as requested) by the post-war railway travel posters that were designed by her grandfather, Frank Sherwin. The back cover continues the trend of inviting some of my favourite lino-cut artists to submit pieces to adorn each issue, this time featuring Christina Richmond's 'Clovelly' Please be aware that due to the hand-made nature of this publication, small mistakes are bound to occur and no two copies can ever be exactly the same. Stitched. Illustrated. Full colour. 20 pages plus cover. Acid free cotton rag deckle edged paper. Measures 6-½ inches by 9-¼ inches, and mailed out in a hand-printed stiffened card mailer for safety. Cost: £11.00 a copy, postage included (UK only), £14.00 a copy (EU), £15.00 a copy (Rest of the World) PLEASE NOTE, THIS ISSUE IS NOW COMPLETELY SOLD OUT Terrascopædia Issue 14
Published May 2020, issue 14 of the Terrascopædia features interviews with Bridget St John, Eli Winter and the Kitchen Cynics plus reviews of new and upcoming records and cassettes.
125 copies produced. Each copy is entirely hand made from cover to cover, typeset by hand in the same 19th century 12pt Caslon Old Face type used by the original Arts & Crafts movement. It's lovingly printed in full colour on unbleached, hand cut paper on a fully restored 1926 vintage, 10cwt Arab Foolscap Folio treadle press. Please be aware that due to the hand-made nature of this publication, small mistakes are bound to occur and no two copies can ever be exactly the same. Stitched. Illustrated. Full colour. 16 pages plus cover. Acid free cotton rag deckle edged paper. Measures 6-6/8th inches by 7-4/8th inches, and mailed out in a hand-printed 7" record card mailer for safety. PLEASE NOTE, THIS ISSUE IS NOW COMPLETELY SOLD OUT Terrascopædia Issue 12
Published June 2019, our 12th issue finds us running feature interviews with Wet Tuna, The Left Outsides and Dean McPhee (the latter two fresh from their performance at the Woolf II festival of music & print which took place at Cleeve House, Wiltshire over the weekend of June 8th and 9th 2019) 120 copies produced. Each copy is entirely hand made from cover to cover, typeset primarily in 12pt Caslon Old Face, with a bit of 16pt Poliphilus thrown in for good measure, and lovingly printed in full colour on unbleached, hand cut 7" square paper on a fully restored 1926 vintage, 10cwt Arab Foolscap Folio treadle press. Please be aware that due to the hand-made nature of this publication, small mistakes are bound to occur and no two copies can ever be exactly the same. Stitched. Illustrated. Full colour. 16 pages plus cover. Acid free cotton rag deckle edged paper. Measures 6-6/8th inches by 7-4/8th inches, and mailed out in a hand-printed 7" record card mailer for safety. Cost: £9.00 a copy, postage included (UK), £10.00 (EU), £12.00 (RoW) Please click on the arrows to the right of the postage options below to change the setting to your own location before adding to the cart. PLEASE NOTE, THIS ISSUE IS NOW SOLD OUT
Terrascopædia Issue 10
Published July 2018, our 10th issue featured interviews with Trappist Afterland from Australia, Lords of Thyme from UK and Lee Riders from the USA plus reviews, opinions and an editorial. 105 copies produced. Each copy entirely hand made from cover to cover, typeset in 12pt Caslon Old Style and lovingly printed on unbleached, hand cut acid-free paper on a circa. 1900 vintage "Peerless" treadle jobbing press manufactured by Cropper, Charlton & Co. of Nottingham, England. Please be aware that due to the hand-made nature of this publication, small mistakes are bound to occur and no two copies can ever be exactly the same. Stitched. Illustrated. Full colour. 16 pages plus cover. Acid free cotton rag deckle edged paper. Measures approx. 5 inches by 7 inches (a paper size formerly known as "Duke"). Please note that this edition is SOLD OUT Terrascopædia Issue 8
Published August 2017, issue 8 featured interviews with British bands Piano Magic and Stereocilia and Sweden's The Greek Theatre. 100 copies produced. Each copy entirely hand made from cover to cover, typeset in 12pt Caslon Old Style and lovingly printed on unbleached, hand cut acid-free paper on a circa. 1900 vintage "Peerless" treadle jobbing press manufactured by Cropper, Charlton & Co. of Nottingham, England. Please be aware that due to the hand-made nature of this publication, small mistakes are bound to occur and no two copies can ever be exactly the same. Stitched. Illustrated. Full colour. 16 pages plus cover. Acid free cotton rag deckle edged paper. Measures approx. 5 inches by 7 inches (a paper size formerly known as "Duke"). Please note that this edition is SOLD OUT Terrascopædia Issue 6
Terrascopaedia issue 6 was published in August 2016. Once again, this was an extremely limited edition letterpress publications, containing an editorial, graphics, a selection of LP reviews and interviews - this time with Rusalnaia's Sharron Kraus, PSP's Jens Unosson and Constantine's, uh, Constantine.
100 copies were produced. Each copy was entirely hand made from cover to cover, typeset in Caslon Old Style and lovingly printed on unbleached, hand cut paper on a vintage "Peerless" treadle jobbing press manufactured by Cropper, Charlton & Co. of Nottingham, England. Please be aware that due to the hand-made nature of this publication, small mistakes are bound to occur and no two copies can ever be exactly the same. Stitched. Lavishly illustrated. Ten different colours. 16 pages plus cover. Acid free cotton rag deckle edged paper. Measures approx. 5 inches by 7 inches. Please note that this edition is SOLD OUT Terrascopædia Issue 4
Terrascopaedia issue 4 (December 2015) contained a selection of LP reviews (no CDs or downloads, obviously) and interviews - this time with Thought Forms and Wolf People - all unique to this publication.
100 copies produced. Each copy entirely hand made from cover to cover, typeset in a specially commissioned fount and lovingly printed on a hand-cranked, fully restored 1950s vintage Adana Letterpress machine. Hand Stitched. Fully illustrated. Four colours. 14 pages plus cover. Acid free cotton rag deckle edged paper. Measures approx. 5 inches by 7 inches. Please note that this edition is SOLD OUT |
Terrascopædia Issue 13
Published November 2019, the 13th issue features interviews with Garcia Peoples, The Rose City Band and Galaxie 500 plus reviews of new and upcoming releases of a Terrascopic nature.
125 copies produced. Each copy is entirely hand made from cover to cover, typeset in 12pt Caslon Old Face type, letter by letter and word by word. It's lovingly printed in full colour on unbleached, hand cut 7" square paper on a fully restored 1926 vintage, 10cwt Arab Foolscap Folio treadle press. Please be aware that due to the hand-made nature of this publication, small mistakes are bound to occur and no two copies can ever be exactly the same. Stitched. Illustrated. Full colour. 16 pages plus cover. Acid free cotton rag deckle edged paper. Measures 6-6/8th inches by 7-4/8th inches, and mailed out in a hand-printed 7" record card mailer for safety. PLEASE NOTE, THIS ISSUE IS NOW SOLD OUT Terrascopædia Issue 11
Published December 2018, our 11th issue features interviews with Elkhorn, One Eleven Heavy and Prana Crafter from the USA plus reviews, opinions and an editorial. 111 copies produced. Each copy entirely hand made from cover to cover, typeset in 12pt Caslon Old Style and printed on unbleached, hand cut acid-free paper on a 10cwt Arab Foolscap Folio treadle press dating from 1926 (Foolscap folio refers to the maximum available print size, which is 9"x13") Please be aware that due to the hand-made nature of this publication, small mistakes are bound to occur and no two copies can ever be exactly the same. Stitched. Illustrated. Full colour. 16 pages plus cover. Acid free cotton rag deckle edged paper. Measures approx. 5 inches by 7 inches (a paper size formerly known as "Duke"). PLEASE NOTE, THIS ISSUE IS NOW SOLD OUT Terrascopædia Issue 9
Published February 2018, issue 9 featured interviews with American bands Heron Oblivion and the Mountain Movers, plus the usual assortment of reviews and opinions.
85 copies produced. Each copy entirely hand made from cover to cover, typeset in 12pt Caslon Old Style and lovingly printed on unbleached, hand cut acid-free paper on a circa. 1900 vintage "Peerless" treadle jobbing press manufactured by Cropper, Charlton & Co. of Nottingham, England. Please be aware that due to the hand-made nature of this publication, small mistakes are bound to occur and no two copies can ever be exactly the same. Stitched. Illustrated. Full colour. 20 pages plus cover. Acid free cotton rag deckle edged paper. Measures approx. 5 inches by 7 inches (a paper size formerly known as "Duke"). Please note that this edition is SOLD OUT Terrascopædia Issue 7
Published January 2017, issue 7 featured an editorial, graphics, a selection of LP reviews and interviews with The Amazing, Maida Vale and Tangle Edge (all artists who hail from Scandinavia)
85 copies produced. Each copy was entirely hand made from cover to cover, typeset in Caslon Old Style and lovingly printed on unbleached, hand cut acid-free paper on a vintage "Peerless" treadle jobbing press manufactured by Cropper, Charlton & Co. of Nottingham, England. Stitched. Lavishly illustrated. Ten different colours. 16 pages plus cover. Acid free cotton rag deckle edged paper. Measures approx. 5 inches by 7 inches. Please note that this edition is SOLD OUT Terrascopædia issue 5
Terrascopaedia issue 5 (January 2016) featured an editorial, graphics, a selection of LP reviews and interviews - this time with Dead Sea Apes and the Man band's Deke Leonard.
100 copies were produced. Each copy is entirely hand made from cover to cover, typeset in a specially commissioned fount and lovingly printed on unbleached, hand cut paper on a fully restored 1940s vintage Adana Letterpress machine. Please be aware that due to the hand-made nature of this publication, small mistakes are bound to occur and no two issues can ever be exactly the same. Stitched. Illustrated. Four colours. 16 pages plus cover. Acid free cotton rag deckle edged paper. Measures approx. 5 inches by 7 inches. Please note that this edition is SOLD OUT Terrascopædia issue 3
Terrascopeaedia issue 3 was the third in an ongoing a series of extremely limited edition letterpress editions, containing a selection of LP reviews (nothing digital, obviously), a feature on Plague Lounge and specially comissioned interviews with the Bevis Frond and Green Pajamas, all unique to this publication.
100 copies produced. Each copy entirely hand made from cover to cover, typeset and lovingly printed on a hand-cranked, fully restored 1950s vintage Adana Letterpress machine. Please note that this edition is SOLD OUT |
