Native Son at Home, by David Steingass
illustrated by Mister Koppa
24.5 x 16 cm
Published 2000
Signed and numbered
limited edition of 100
Only $200!
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Heavy Duty Esty!

This book marks the official beginning of the Heavy Duty Press. Correspondence with David Steingass began in 1998, after being introduced by Paul Zarzyski, a former student of Mr. Steingass at UW-Stevens Point. The original agreement was to publish the entire poem saga, GreatPlains: A Prairie Lovesong (later published by Red Dragonfly Press). When the Linotype Model 5 (acquired in 1997 for the sole purpose of setting books just like this) broke down, we had to reconsider. Thankfully, David agreed to publish a peek at Greatplains with these six guidebook sections from the original 47-page manuscript (which would have taken FOREVER set by hand). The neat thing about it all was rediscovering that setting type by hand is a wonderful way to pass the time. On top of that, it led to the acquisition of at least a hundred pounds of brand new ATF type...enough to last a lifetime, really...which in turn led to research revealing details about ATF and the Bentons, which led to major pride in ownership and revelations about the history of type casting in the United States, and then meeting the last remaining caster of ATF types, Mr. Theo Rehak of the Dale Guild, in 2001...oh, man...one thing sure does lead to another. Let's not forget to mention how fun it was to set this book, really digging into language letter by letter, gaining understanding 19th-century-style, and discovering that poetry can be incredibly moving.