FINAL PROOF NEWSLETTER: Welcome to the 7th Floor
Why the 7th Floor? In intelligence parlance, the parlance of what I imagine might be the audience for some of the books and objects made here, it refers to the Seventh Floor of the Original Headquarters Building at the Central Intelligence in Langley, Virginia. According to the internet and several novels I’ve read, it houses top-level executives plus the director and deputy director. It’s the home literal heartbeat of American intelligence, there or whatever beach Tulsi Gabbard is trying to catch a wave on at the moment.
In terms of this website, it refers to the location of our bookbindery on the 7th floor of a vintage (that’s how the realtor characterized it) building in the heart of New York City’s Garment District. And while it is not the heartbeat of American intelligence, it is the physical body of the bindery, where I battle with used copy machines, Italian sewing machines that insist on shredding beautifully printed sheets of classic spy novels, and finnicky stamping machines that are too hot, too cold, and giving me temperatures in Celsius instead of Fahrenheit. Whether the similarity in location is a simple coincidence or portends things to come, that all remains to be seen.
Some lovely folks in Washington state who make signs for hotels and cute pancake restaurants, did a wonderful job making our sign which hangs precariously above our hot stamping machine. When I hung it, I didn’t really understand how screws work, but we are many months into it’s mounting and yet it remains hanging proudly on the wall.
Welcome to Smoke and Hat Press. We don’t do glossy covers or corporate bullshit. We bind novels like dossiers—stitched tight, sealed in leather, and meant to be handled with care. This is the first dispatch from the shop.
Here’s the timeline: by the end of October, we should theoretically have novels for sale up on the website.
Making these books takes a bit of doing. Almost everything in here is made by hand with the exception of the sewn book blocks, which are sewn on a very temperamental book sewing machine from Italy. Sometimes this machine does a great job. Handsome book blocks, perfectly sewn. Other times, if the humidity is off, or if the paper isn’t quite cut just right, or if I space out standing at the machine thinking about how automated robots will replace me when Howard Lutnick is good and ready, the machine with eat the book as punishment for my personal and moral failings (I assume this is it’s motive. What else could it be?). There will be loud noises. Threads will snap. Paper will shred. It’s quite an ordeal. But we persevere.
This is the Smyth sewing machine in the shop. The Italian man who sold it to me said that most of them are sold in Russia and eastern Europe. In America, most of the ones they sell are fully automated. I think about what that means sometimes when I’m standing in front of it loading paper. I haven’t determined what it means yet. Please share your conclusions widely on social media.
The first Signature Edition we will be releasing will pair The Spy: A Tale of the Neutral Ground by James Fennimore Cooper, widely considered the first American spy novel ever written, with The Spy Unmasked: The Memoirs of Enoch Crosby, whose experiences Cooper based the novel on. In addition, we will be releasing two companion books from the Forgotten Files series, that trace the history of the loyalist Colonel Andre, and the American patriot Nathan Hale, both of whom also inspired the writing of Cooper. Look for those at the end of October.
We are also working on preparing our at-home bookbinding kits, which will allow you to rebind an old paperback if you are looking for a project, or make your own journals. Kits will come with everything you need to complete the project as well as a guide to help you through the process and a video tutorial in case you get stuck.
Our Smoke and Hat Junior line should be online at the end of October. These will be books for your kids, your friend’s kids, and your nieces and nephews who are interested in the world of espionage. This line will feature novels, activity books, and bookbinding kits.
With all that said, it’s time for me to get back to fixing this digital press that won’t sync up with the computer. Much work to do.
Follow us on social media to track our progress and watch our podcasts for all your international affairs updates and episodes on espionage history.
I’ll see you out there.
All the best,
Grady