Clarke & Way, the fine art printing firm of David Jacques Way, 1918–1994, and Bertram L. Clarke, 1910–1994.
Bert Clarke from Richmond, Virginia and David Way from Elk Creek, Nebraska had each been production managers at the Limited Editions Club in the late forties, but not at the same time. They started working together in 1949, when Bruce Rogers recommended them to Helen Clay Frick to help complete the 12-volume catalogue of her father’s collection, begun under Porter Garnett in 1928. By 1953 they could see the end of the project approaching and with Miss Frick’s permission, they looked for a print shop of their own. They bought Louis F. White’s shop on 13th Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues in Manhattan and Clarke & Way was born. They produced beautiful books and catalogues together for such clients as H. P. Kraus, the Morgan Library, the Grolier Club and their old boss, the Limited Editions Club. They won many awards from the AIGA. After the business dissolved in 1970, Clarke worked for A. Colish, Inc. as director of typography and designer for many years; Way purchased Zuckermann Harpsichords and designed and made harpsichords and pianofortes, used all over the world. The two men died within days of each other in 1994.1Many thanks to Jerry Kelly for information about Bert Clarke and David Way.
Clarke & Way operated under several pseudonyms, among them Thistle Press, which printed Ismar David’s Genesis page for Liber Librorum and Ecclesiastes for The Limited Editions Club.
