Extra Virgin Press: At The Ruins of Miami Beach

Tom Virgin

Collaborators: Campbell McGrath

“At The Ruins of Miami Beach” was written by Campbell McGrath and designed and printed by Tom Virgin at Extra Virgin Press in Little Haiti (Miami) Florida. The book is letterpress printed from metal type, wood, linoleum plates, bamboo type ornaments, and polymer plates. The font used is IM Fell Double Pica PRO. The book is printed on French Paper (many Blues and a Speckletone True White) with a 1949 Vandercook 4 Proof Press. The binding is Karen Hanmer’s One-Piece Covering adaptation of Gary Frost’s sewn boards binding. The cover paper is vintage Cave Paper earned as an intern at Cave Paper in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Several earlier collaborations on broadsheets with McGrath led to a book that is a poetic journey through Miami Beach and the Atlantic Ocean. Both artists have deep ties to Miami Beach. The images in “Ruins” depict places both the artist and the poet share, as well as changes reflected in the book’s title.