Grants Programme
Donald Milham Award: In the Print
The second half of the 20th century was a period of growth and affluence for British industry; for the printing industry it was a period of rapid change. Letterpress had gone just about as far as it could go in relation to reproduction quality and was slowly and surely slipping over the precipice.
The copying machine spurned by the jobbing printer, was taken up by newcomers and with the aid of the Varityper a whole new industry was created. Later the introduction of the desktop computer with digital scanning revolutionised colour printing and brought offset-printed low-cost colour to even the humblest brochure.
It is important that these changes are recorded for future generations and the best persons to do this are the very persons who were involved at the time. Accordingly the Printing Historical Society has created the Donald Milham Archive and invites members of the printing industry to send factual details of those difficult times and at the same time possibly win cash prizes for their entries.
Donald Milham was a letterpress machine minder and his son Peter Milham, wishing to use part of his father's legacy to commemorate his memory, funded the project with Rob Clayton.
Open to anyone from tea lady to chairman who spent three years or more in the British printing industry, all entries have been archived in the St Bride Library, for access by future printing historians.
Grants for 2011 details
The Printing Historical Society is pleased to resume its limited number of small grants beginning in 2011, including:
* Research on topics relating to the history of printing
* Publishable reports on archives relating to the history of printing
Grants are limited to historical research in: printing technology, the printing and related industries, printed materials and artefacts, type and typefounding, print culture, and printing processes and design.
Applications for research funding may be up to £ 1,000; applications for publishable reports on archives, up to £ 500. In both cases grants may be used to cover material or other expenses, including travel, subsistence, photography, etc. Applications should specify the amount requested and offer a budget for the use of funds envisaged; costs incurred before application are unlikely to be successful, as are projects that are deemed to be primarily bibliographical. Students, academics and independent researchers may apply. Some preference will be given to independent researchers.
The application should consist of: 1) a one-page covering letter, containing a brief curriculum vitae, and the name, address and email of one referee (who has agreed to serve as referee), and 2) a 1- or 2-page description of the project and budget. The project description should state its purpose clearly, and succinctly. Please state whether your project is part of a larger one, and whether you are applying elsewhere for funding. Note that your compliance with the length instructions will form part of our evaluation of the application, so be certain not to go beyond the 3 pages of hard copy.
Post your application to the PHS Grants & Prizes Sub-Committee, Peggy Smith, 18 Market Hill, Clare, Sudbury CO10 8NN, UK; email can be used for questions, but not for submitting the application: m.m.smith1@btinternet.com.
Application deadline: 1 January 2011. Awards will be announced at the PHS AGM in early 2011, for disbursal the following month.