Private Press of the Indiana Kid

Beginning in 1943 with the acquisition of a 3” x 5” Kelsey Press, James Lamar Weygand of Nappanee, Indiana produced over thirty-six books on a variety of subjects, including local history, printer’s marks, private presses and his own experiences as a printer and world traveller. He also produced a twenty-four miniature books and was very active in that field. Most of his books were produced with handset and Linotype texts on an 8” x 12” Chandler & Price Platen Press, although he did own several hand presses. James was widely known for his skills as a papermaker which he used in many of his books. For many years he wrote a column about private printers in the American Bookman magazine. He died July 13, 2003 at the age of 83.