Small Damask is one of eight papers published by Cambridge Imprint in 2021 that recreate the patterns of the great designer, printer and educator Peggy Angus. Peggy Angus was a friend of Eric Ravilious, Tirzah Garwood, Edward Bawden and many other key figures in British art, illustration and design, who were active in the middle years of the twentieth century. She is particularly well known for her patterns which were used to decorate tiles and and to create the beautiful wallpapers that she block-printed herself by hand. To produce this pattern, a new print was taken from Angus’s original linocut. We then reproduced the pattern lithographically in matte colour, using colour ways of the sort she most favoured, and reducing the scale to suit this new medium.

Cambridge Imprint paper is printed in England on responsibly sourced paper of archiving quality, using vegetable oil-based inks that are kind to the environment. Each sheet is printed in one or two hand-mixed inks on uncoated 90 gsm stock to create a high-quality matte paper with a hand-printed feel to it.