About the Chook Mark

All prints printed by Fred Genis are embossed with his trademark blind stamp — a ‘chook’ — at lower right, unless otherwise stated.

Fred first needed a chop mark at Tamarind, the Los Angeles workshop, in 1967. Most printers of the time used their initials, but he wanted something more distinctive. As he put it: “I like chooks so I thought: why not a chook?” The idea also had a personal root — his pet name for his wife, Rina, was “Kipje,” Dutch for “chick.” That affectionate nickname became his mark as a printer.

Fred Genis, quoted in Akky van Ogtrop, “Fred Genis: Master Printer,” Imprint, Vol. 45, No. 2, June 2010.