Sunday, January 25, 2009

Getting Started


Letterpress was just something I tried in junior high when my shop teacher had each student do a small printing project. I thought it was fun, but never imagined that I would pursue it any further. Jump ahead 25 years and a trip to New York set the wheels in motion.
My mother-in-law and I traveled to New York City to visit her nephew, a collage artist who was exhibiting his work at the Pavel Zoubok Gallery. I was intrigued by his work, a mixture of old fashioned items, ephemera, and fun. Entitled "Return to Angelica", I could see family and remembrances of my small town through his eyes. From the gallery we visited his circle of friends, much like family, and his neighborhood which felt like a small town in the big city. Our travels that weekend took us to the South Street Seaport Museum where he works as master printer in a working letterpress office. Operating a Golding Jobber, he and his staff produce and collect beautiful stationary, books, and paper fancies. There at the museum, I fell in love with the look and feel of letterpress print. Letterpress print allows you to feel the texture of a word.
After that weekend, my interest in letterpress continued. The problem was my remote location would make it difficult to utilize letterpress resources without considerable travel. So this past summer I decided to find a letterpress of my own. I mentioned this to a local second-hand dealer and he said that he would keep an eye out for a press. In November he informed me of an auction that would be held 15 minutes from my home. To my surprise, the auction was full of treasures. I purchased a Golding Pearl and 4 cabinets of type. Now all I needed was ink, paper, and time.