| Title | Lugubrious Distance |
| Artist / Creator | Ellen Knudson |
| Press Name | Crooked Letter Press |
| Place of Publication | Gainesville, Florida |
| Publication Date | 2010 |
| Structure / Binding | Stab binding cased into a hard cover/soft spine structure. Enclosed in a handmade slipcase. |
| Medium / Materials | Letterpress printed on a Vandercook Universal I. Each book took 75 passes through the press. Printed on Rives BFK (Buff) with the interleaved pages the artist's handmade Philippine Gampi paper. Fly sheets are Moriki Kozo, Tan. |
| Typography | Handset in Palatino 10 pt, 18 pt, and 42 pt and in Harold Berliner's Lutetia Italic. |
| Number of Pages | 44 pages |
| Dimensions (WxHxD) | 8.75 x 6 x 1.5 inches |
| Edition Size | 50 |
| Signed & Numbered | Yes |
Lugubrious Distance by Ellen Knudson
From the Prologue: "I only recently left North Carolina, having lived in both Carolinas my entire life. It seems ludicrous now, but I somehow thought I was a city girl, that I cared nothing about quiet, warmth, trees, and the absence of crowds — all of the things a city lacks. North Carolina kept its arms around me for so long I began to hate its comfort. I struggled against it and like a good parent it let me go, knowing all along I would miss it. It bided its time, doing what it does and let the longing build in me. The realization of what I’d lost crept up on me, caught me off guard like steam after a cool rain. These are the details, the myths and the handwriting on the wall — the how and why it wriggled its way into my heart. (The text above was written in 1998. It is all still true, except that we left North Carolina fourteen years ago.)"
Artist Bio
Ellen Knudson is a book artist and designer originally from North Carolina. She is currently a special collections curator and design/letterpress instructor at The University of Florida. She holds an MFA in Book Arts from The University of Alabama and produces handmade books under the imprint Crooked Letter Press. Ellen has been a book artist for twelve years and a professional graphic designer for almost 20 years including positions at The Art Institute of Chicago and The Detroit Institute of Arts. She has taught letterpress printing at The University of Florida and The University of Alabama, graphic design at Mississippi State University and at Wayne State University, and book arts workshops around the country. Her work is collected and exhibited both nationally and internationally.