Breathing New Life into the Past with Publisher Bob Sullivan

Welcome to the Dragon Tree Newsletter, your go-to source for all manner of great communication, past and present!

A former U.S. Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare named John W. Gardner once stated, "History never looks like history when you're living through it."

Yet when we take the time to document the past with some care and attention, E. M. Forster's quote also comes to mind: "History develops, art stands still."

Today's message is not just about history's bumps and news cycles, but, more importantly, about how Americans can preserve them. On this week's Dragon Tree Podcast, we spoke with historian Bob Sullivan about why old school forms of communication still intrigue us.

Bob is the founder and owner of Sullivan Press , which has been carefully reproducing historical documents from various eras of American history since 1989.?

We met Bob at an event hosted at George Washington's Mount Vernon, where he was dressed in the guise of a colonial publisher.

During our brief meeting, he kindly showed us the workings of an ancient-looking book binding machine. Although the books he recreates were considered the cutting-edge physical media of their day, he points out that the methods for creating them are slowly passing into obscurity.

Not only does Bob create spot-on reproductions of old books, stationery, playing cards, and even currency, he's also been a Revolutionary War and Civil War re-enactor since the 1970s. In fact, it was during the course of this work that he got the idea for creating old books.

Throughout his extensive career as a historical interpreter, publisher, and expert communicator, he continues to bring attention to the enduring value of being rooted in the past, especially in the midst of our lightning-paced world.?

During our podcast conversation, Bob goes into depth about how only a few people in the U.S. still practice this art form, and why keeping history alive really matters. Check out our conversation for a more detailed look at printing the old fashioned way. And watch to the end to find out which of Bob's creations he's most proud of, and which treasures still elude him:?

And in case you missed our last conversation with Ragnhildur ágústsdóttir , or Ragga, co-founder of Iceland's only live lava show, you can find it here.?

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Here's hoping you have a very productive week ahead. And no matter which era of communications you prefer, our team at Dragon Tree Communications always wishes you the very best!