Comments on: Minding the Ps, Qs & As with Jim Rimmer (part 1 of 3)

By: James McIntosh

James McIntosh — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 19:30:12 +0000

Jim and I were old friends. We met in 1978, his shop, called “The Stable” was located at 411 West Cordova, on the second floor of a heritage three storey brick building in Vancouver’s Gastown. I opened Colophon Books next door at 407 West Cordova, a sister building, also on the second floor. We soon met, and naturally his love for printing and my interest in fine books we had a mutual interest. Jim designed, did the linocut illustrations, line drawings, printed letterpress “Allison’s Fishing Birds by the naturalist Roderick Haig-Brown. It was Jim’s first book and also Colophon’s first . In the early 1980’s we did several poetry broadsides and chapbooks. Thinking back all these years I now remember as I gather tears in my eyes, it was all done on a handshake. That was Jim Rimmer.

By: Jim Rimmer Passes Away January 8, 2010 | The FontFeed

Jim Rimmer Passes Away January 8, 2010 | The FontFeed — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 23:14:31 +0000

[...] 3 part interview with Jim from 2008 was published on Flurry – A Journal Among The Printers. RTF Stern – Interview with Jim Rimmer, an interview on The FontFeed, and a review of RTF [...]

By: Joe Weber

Joe Weber — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 18:36:24 +0000

What an inspiring story! He will certainly be missed by everyone in the craft. He will be missed not only as a designer and craftsman but as an important teacher, commentator and human being in the field of printing. His name deserves to be added to the list of typographers/ printers that he himself gave: Gutenberg, Jenson, Goudy, Rogers, Hayden, Duensing and Boutilier. Many other have made great contributions but the ones on Jim Rimmer’s list did it all and did it so so well.
Perhaps the best testament to Jim will the way we keep his legacy by seeing that his skills get passed down to young folks studying typography and printing, that his beloved equipment, and others like it, are kept and used, that his typefaces are used and his love of the fine printed book is continued.
Many schools are starting or continuing to teach letterpress and related topics. There is now even an association of college and university letterpress teachers. Rich Kegler is probably going to save the typefaces for us. While not type designer or a caster, not a typographer of merit, or even a full-time printer, I am doing something that may help with Jim’s legacy. I am trying to recreate the Roycroft Printing Shop in East Aurora, NY with, you guessed it, five Colt’s Armory presses (These were Jim’s favorites.) Perhaps the circle will be completed some day.
Joe Weber