Shifting Baseline Broadsheet — Limited Edition Letterpress Broadsheet on Rowan and its Seasons
This A4 letterpress broadsheet traces a simple observation across two decades — the shifting date of rowan fruit turning red.
Shifting Baseline follows the observations begun on a birdwatching forum in 2005, when the received wisdom held that rowan fruit reddened with the first cool nights of August and September. In 2005, however, the fruit was red by mid-July. In the recording-breaking heat of summer 2026, the fruit had also turned by mid-July. At what point do we adjust our expectations if two decades of intermittent observation has shown a new timeline?
The piece traces rowan's own ecology — a pioneer species, quick to arrive and quick to make way — against the much longer memory held in Dartmoor's peat, where pollen has recorded the arrival of willow and birch for more than eight thousand years, and hazel and oak for more than seven thousand. Rowan itself is almost absent from that record: its pollen is heavy and insect-carried rather than windborne, so the tree that colonises fastest is the one the peat forgets.
The broadsheet asks a plain question — how do we know what normal is, once we've stopped noticing?
A broadsheet is a single large sheet printed on one side, traditionally used for proclamations, news, and educational texts — a fitting format for a piece built from a public, ongoing act of noticing. Shifting Baseline is hand-set in wood and metal type, letterpress printed by Princetown Press in 2026. The same text also appears on our large-format prints, where it is paired with a biochrome ink wash; this broadsheet edition uses no botanical ink.
This is a strictly limited edition of only 100 copies.
The Perfect Gift For
- Birdwatchers, citizen scientists, and forum naturalists — anyone who has kept their own informal record of when things happen
- Naturalists, ecologists, and phenologists — particularly those interested in shifting baseline syndrome, rewilding, or climate-driven change in seasonal timing
- Dartmoor and West Country readers drawn to the moor's longer memory, held in its peat and its trees
- Bibliophiles and print collectors — letterpress devotees and collectors of fine press editions who appreciate hand-set wood and metal type
- Anyone with a shelf of nature writing or landscape history waiting for a framed companion on the wall
Ideal for these occasions
- Housewarmings, especially for someone moving to the moors or the countryside
- Graduations in ecology, environmental science, or conservation
- Retirement gifts for naturalists, rangers, or lifelong birdwatchers
- Birthdays and thank-you gifts for the friend who already keeps their own records of the natural world
- Delivery costs will be calculated at the checkout
- Free UK delivery on all orders over £30
- You can return your order for a full refund or exchange within 30 days of purchase
- Delivery costs will be calculated at the checkout
- Free UK delivery on all orders over £30
- You can return your order for a full refund or exchange within 30 days of purchase
This A4 letterpress broadsheet traces a simple observation across two decades — the shifting date of rowan fruit turning red.
Shifting Baseline follows the observations begun on a birdwatching forum in 2005, when the received wisdom held that rowan fruit reddened with the first cool nights of August and September. In 2005, however, the fruit was red by mid-July. In the recording-breaking heat of summer 2026, the fruit had also turned by mid-July. At what point do we adjust our expectations if two decades of intermittent observation has shown a new timeline?
The piece traces rowan's own ecology — a pioneer species, quick to arrive and quick to make way — against the much longer memory held in Dartmoor's peat, where pollen has recorded the arrival of willow and birch for more than eight thousand years, and hazel and oak for more than seven thousand. Rowan itself is almost absent from that record: its pollen is heavy and insect-carried rather than windborne, so the tree that colonises fastest is the one the peat forgets.
The broadsheet asks a plain question — how do we know what normal is, once we've stopped noticing?
A broadsheet is a single large sheet printed on one side, traditionally used for proclamations, news, and educational texts — a fitting format for a piece built from a public, ongoing act of noticing. Shifting Baseline is hand-set in wood and metal type, letterpress printed by Princetown Press in 2026. The same text also appears on our large-format prints, where it is paired with a biochrome ink wash; this broadsheet edition uses no botanical ink.
This is a strictly limited edition of only 100 copies.
The Perfect Gift For
- Birdwatchers, citizen scientists, and forum naturalists — anyone who has kept their own informal record of when things happen
- Naturalists, ecologists, and phenologists — particularly those interested in shifting baseline syndrome, rewilding, or climate-driven change in seasonal timing
- Dartmoor and West Country readers drawn to the moor's longer memory, held in its peat and its trees
- Bibliophiles and print collectors — letterpress devotees and collectors of fine press editions who appreciate hand-set wood and metal type
- Anyone with a shelf of nature writing or landscape history waiting for a framed companion on the wall
Ideal for these occasions
- Housewarmings, especially for someone moving to the moors or the countryside
- Graduations in ecology, environmental science, or conservation
- Retirement gifts for naturalists, rangers, or lifelong birdwatchers
- Birthdays and thank-you gifts for the friend who already keeps their own records of the natural world
- Delivery costs will be calculated at the checkout
- Free UK delivery on all orders over £30
- You can return your order for a full refund or exchange within 30 days of purchase
- Delivery costs will be calculated at the checkout
- Free UK delivery on all orders over £30
- You can return your order for a full refund or exchange within 30 days of purchase