24/06/2026
Weโre currently working on a fascinating project with Wordsworth Grasmere to recreate the Wordsworth Family Notebook. A two-part work, it comprises a reproduction of the notebook itself plus an accompanying volume by Dr Ruth Abbott of St Johnโs College, Cambridge, transcribing the handwritten entries of William Wordsworth, his sister Dorothy and his wife Mary.
Over many months, the Hurtwood team has scanned and recorded the original manuscripts, sourced historically appropriate paper stocks with John Purcell Paper then brought the pages to life on press with our printing partners Halstan Print and Hampton Printing โ using everything from the most recent digital advances to printing processes dating back to the fifteenth century to truly recreate a late eighteenth-century handwritten text. At each stage, a โCopy 0โ is made and checked against the original โ until we are finally ready to go.
Working alongside us, our bookbinding partners, Ludlow Bookbinders, have done an incredible job of replicating the original binding and gently ageing the notebooks until it all feels right โ the texture of the paper, the weight in the hand, the look and character of each volume. Every detail has been considered.
At last, we were ready to present Copy 000 to Michael McGregor, the Robert Woof Director of the Wordsworth Trust.
One of the great pleasures of our work is sharing a finished project with the people who know it best. This was exactly the reaction we hoped for.
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The ๐๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฅ๐ด๐ธ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ต๐ฉ ๐๐ข๐ฎ๐ช๐ญ๐บ ๐๐ฐ๐ต๐ฆ๐ฃ๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ฌ will be published as a limited edition of 300 copies.
This Hurtwood ๐ก๐ฒ๐ ๐ข๐ฟ๐ถ๐ด๐ถ๐ป๐ฎ๐นโข๏ธ of the ๐๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฅ๐ด๐ธ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ต๐ฉ ๐๐ข๐ฎ๐ช๐ญ๐บ ๐๐ฐ๐ต๐ฆ๐ฃ๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ฌ is made possible with the generous support of John Armitage.
