A fascinating series of sharp and smart pamphlets that combine letter press (handset in metal type) and relief image (carved in wood or linoleum) with Nicholls describing recent pamphlets as "...primarily focused on urban landscapes and ecology, NYC history and neighborhoods, and how climate change will affect both human and non-human inhabitants of New York. They are distributed via the mail to a list of subscribers and friends, and represent an attempt to cultivate a 'reading private', an analog space in which to reflect, strategize, plan, mourn, and remember."
Consciously following in the steps of the early pamphleteers who had a long history of expressing their own opinions about matters of the day, often with a polemical social and political bent. Nicholls includes the following quote about pamphleteers by George Orwell in his introduction to his book British Pamphleteers (1948) at the top of her introduction to her works, and the spirit of these early publishers also mirrors the attitudes of today's zinesters:
"The pamphlet is a one-man show. One has complete freedom of expression, including, if one chooses the freedom to be scurrilous, abusive, and seditious; or, on the other hand, to be more detailed, serious and 'high-brow' than is ever possible in a newspaper or in most kinds of periodicals...Above all, the pamphlet does not have to follow any prescribed pattern. It can be in prose or in verse, it can consist largely of maps or statistics or quotations, it can take the form of a story, a fable, a letter, an essay, a dialogue, or a piece of 'reportage.' All that is required of it is that it shall be topical, polemical, and short."
With each entry below i'm including Nicholl's description of the works from her website: Elm Street - Brain Washing From Phone Towers
_________________________________________________________
Elm Street, 2021 [edition: 300]
Subject: History, Science, transportation
Elm Street is about: glaciers and what they leave behind; how trees communicate; roads that tell stories; driving as pleasure; landscaping as patriotism; and the advantages of underground fungi. Walking next to a high-traffic road is simultaneously pleasant and not. Join me on a walk down Eastern Parkway in Brooklyn, NY.
8 double-sided pages, individually 8.5" x 5" and when unfolded 3ft 4".
cover
_________________________________________________________
Fresh Creek, 2019 [edition: 300]
Subject: Botany, climate change, History
The last pamphlet of 2019 is about: transportation networks, bicycling in the city, the Jamaica Bay Greenway, landfills, Robert Moses, how to get where you need to go, Starrett City and their seaside view, and finally, the Shirley Chisholm State Part out in East New York. It follows a bike ride I took last fall that I particularly enjoyed. I hope you enjoy the pamphlet as well.
11 pages, individually 8.75" x 5" and when unfolded 4ft 7inches.
_________________________________________________________
Place Without Shadows, 2020 [edition: 250]
Subject: climate change, History
Place Without Shadows is the second in three pamphlets on mapmaking and the past, present and future of Brooklyn's coastline. Come with me on a trip to Coney Island Creek, where we will visit three parks, and ask ourselves some questions. What is a beach? Where is the terminal moraine? What is the commons? What is a barrier island when it is no longer an island? What does the beach in your mind look like? How do you own something that disappears under the tide?
5 double-sided folded pages, individually 2.5" - 4", and unfolded 1ft 7inches.
front cover
accordion with top leaf unfolded (front)
accordion with top leaf unfolded (back)
_________________________________________________________
The Acclimatization Society, 2020 [edition: 250]
Subject: Birds, science
The Acclimatization Society is a new limited edition pamphlet about birds that are local to New York City, their adaptations, and survival tactics. Focused on select native and invasive species in their new urban habitats: the rock pigeon, red-tailed hawk, sparrows, and European starlings, the text also explores speciation—the process by which species adapt to circumstances, develop genetic mutations, and in time, evolve into new species. The title of the pamphlet references the voluntary associations in the 19th and 20th centuries that encouraged the introduction of non-native species into locations worldwide.
6 double-sided pages, individually 9" x 4.25" and when unfolded 2ft 1inch.
front cover
