Joseph Ishill pamphlet on Peter Kropotkin

During a recent weekend stay in Madison, Wisconsin, I visited the University of Wisconsin Library and there inquired about its holdings of books or pamphlets by Joseph Ishill, the great independent, small publisher of so many literary works.  I discovered the library had four items, only three of which they could find at the moment.  After looking through them I was reminded what a fine printer Mr. Ishill was.  One of the items they had in their collection was a copy of a book on Peter Kropotkin.  After reading through it, I asked to have copies of the book’s foreward, written by Mr. Ishill,   e-mailed to me and I have typeset, printed and bound that text in a new booklet.  Mr. Ishill’s book was dedicated to the great Russian anarchist; my booklet is dedicated to Mr. Ishill himself.  It is one of the items about this obscure American private press printer/publisher that I have issued over the years.  Others include Joseph Ishill issue of the dandelion magazine and I Have Remained A Poor Devil.  As a member of the American Amateur Press Association, I  regularly send copies of items I publish to members of the organization.  This time I printed a few extra of this booklet because of the interest others have shown in Mr. Ishill and his works.  A limited number of them remain.

For an insight into Mr. Ishill’s motivation, I extract a short quote: “This book, as it appears may be criticised by some as an egotistic venture or as the effort of a well-financed individual or group, because of its limited number of copies and its uncommercial form.  The fact remains that it is the exclusive expression of a proletarian; neither group nor individual has financed this work. It was accomplished solely through the effort and will of the writer.”