"I assure you the Printing Presses at Yorke, Shrewsbury, and now at Oxford, have done our cause a world of Mischiefe… do what we can our enemies do out-word us." — A Letter sent to London From a Spie at Oxford, 1643
Mischiefe Press was founded in 2023 when Dave Harper moved his printing hobby from New York to York, England, during a Fulbright Fellowship. What began as a tabletop platen press and two cases of type has grown into a dedicated studio housing a Vandercook 4c proof press and over 76 cases of metal type.
The press takes its name from a 1643 Civil War pamphlet — a reminder that York has long been a city where printing matters. Each edition is hand-set in metal type, printed one sheet at a time, and limited to small runs of 35–75 copies.
Read the full storyEach work is hand-set in metal type and letterpress-printed in small, numbered editions. All prices in pounds sterling.
From This Knot — A New Version of Dante's Commedia With the Poet K. With notes by Professor K.P. Clark. Printed for Dante Day 2026 at the University of York. Hand-set in Bembo type, printed in red and black on a trifold broadsheet with brass eyelets and twine. Special copies printed on Fabriano Tiepolo paper.
From This Knot — A New Version of Dante's Commedia With the Poet K. With notes by Professor K.P. Clark. Printed for Dante Day 2026 at the University of York. Hand-set in Bembo type, printed in red and black on a trifold broadsheet with brass eyelets and twine.
Milton's great pastoral elegy, hand-set in Bembo type and printed in two colours on Arches Vellin paper. With original linocut illustrations and a preface and notes by Professor Dave Harper. Copies 11–50 available in letterpress-printed paper wrappers.
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The founding broadsheet of the press, featuring the 1643 Civil War text that gave Mischiefe Press its name. Printed using vintage Delittle wooden type, manufactured in York. Limited to 75 copies.
35.2 × 25.2 cm
A small print with a long history. This two-colour print traces the historic names of York from Roman to modern times.
22.4 × 21.2 cm · Two colours
A letterpress-printed map of York's historic centre (adapted from Tallis & Rapkin's 1851 map) marking key sites of York's printing history. We have limited copies of the 2024 edition in stock. An updated edition will be issued in 2027.
Mischiefe Press was founded in 2023 when Dave Harper moved his printing setup — then called The Press on Thayer Road — from New York to York, England, during a Fulbright Fellowship to teach book history at the University of York.
What began modestly with a tabletop platen press and two cases of type grew considerably when Dave settled permanently in York. He acquired a Vandercook 4c proof press (Serial No. 3002, manufactured by Pre-Press Ltd., London) and more than 76 cases of metal type from Keith Stubbley's Xpool Press studio.
Originally squeezed into the garage of a rental flat, the press was given its own purpose-built studio when Dave and Jane bought a house in York in 2024. The studio now houses type in Plantin, Bembo, Caslon, Castellar, and Baskerville among many others.
"I assure you the Printing Presses at Yorke, Shrewsbury, and now at Oxford, have done our cause a world of Mischiefe… do what we can our enemies do out-word us." — A Letter sent to London From a Spie at Oxford, 1643
The Pressmark — depicting a figure who has been affectionately dubbed 'Jorvik the Lion' — was adapted from the five lions found on the crest of the City of York.
The studio is also home to Baskerville, a Whippet puppy and self-appointed press supervisor, whose contribution to edition quality remains a matter of some debate.
Mischiefe Press is a member of the Amalgamated Printers' Association (No. 1033).
Professor · Colonel (Ret.) · Printer
Dave Harper is a Professor of English Literature whose specialties include the study of John Milton and book history, both of which factor into his book Paradise Lost and the Making of English Literary Criticism (Routledge, 2024).
Dave is a collector of fine press and antiquarian books — primarily relating to Milton — and has been a member of the Grolier Club. He retired from the US Army at the rank of Colonel after serving over eight years as Head of the English & Philosophy Department at West Point, New York.
He relocated to York following his time as a Fulbright Scholar in the Department of English and Related Literature at the University of York, and serves on the Board of Directors for Rare Book School at the University of Virginia.
Dave began printing on a tiny Kelsey tabletop platen press around 2014–2016, wanting to understand how early modern printing worked. His education in fine press printing was advanced when he was fortunate enough to collaborate with Thornwillow Press on several editions, including a commemorative anthology of World War I poetry, Beauty is the Beginning of Terror, as well as works by Phil Klay and Tim O'Brien.
Dave is driven to create beautiful things because he is haunted by Milton's challenge: to create something that posterity will not willingly let die.
For orders or general enquiries, please use the form or email directly. Dave reads and responds to every message personally.