Prices Right, Popeye Arm and the Making of Letterpress

Most have heard of letterpress. It floats around with wedding, baptism, or other profound life events. I always imagined ancient pieces of paper with scrolling lines and antique fonts pronouncing "Sir Henry" taking the hand of "Madame Gertrude..." Okay, a little dramatic.

Or maybe it was associated with grey haired men, hunching over the newspaper- trying to get it ready for the next day.

Yet, at this point my imagination had nothing- a grey cloud prohibiting me from figuring out how men of those days got a news story from a notebook to a newspaper. In fact, I could even say that I hadn't considered the process. (It was all akin to that little elf that sits in the refrigerator turning the light off when we close the door) I think this might be the case for most.

How does letterpress work? What is the process?

Well, it starts with the sketchbook. Even if I am "just setting type" I still bring out the good ol' pen and paper. The design, the layout, is the all important. Without a plan, I have nothing.

After sketching, what then? If it is a graphic image- I have one of two choices. One; carve it myself on a lino block or a wood block. Or two; head to the computer and draw it there. Once that is complete I send off the digital file to one of a few companies that magically produces a plate of magnesium on a wood block that goes into the printer.

If the image is not graphic, I can simply set the type selecting it from the hundreds of pounds of metal type we have acquired. And each little letter is lifted out of the case by hand and set in it's correct (or incorrect position- my loving husband kindly reminds me when like a moron I yet again set things backwards!!!)position. Setting type is a physical experience. You place it there- it is there. Like I have said before- there is no delete or insert key. Everything has to be moved over or taken out- ONE PIECE AT A TIME.

(That is part of the beauty- it takes thoughtful time)

Okay- so now we have the image/type we want to print, what next? When a printer is smart ( or knows that they have a tendency to junk things up) they proof it. Checkin' it twice, gonna make sure.... Sorry.

Proofing...- well you print it and you check it.

Sounds simple, right.

Hmm, printing is a craft, a skill, and art. And it is manual labor when you are operating an antique press.

A LARGE ANTIQUE PRESS.

Printing a chandler and price is physical and active. Each piece of paper is fed to the press- before it closes "pressing" it's image into the paper. As the press open, the roller s run over the ink plate and come back down to reink the image/type.

Ah the beauty of it. The sound of it- really the sound of it. Mr. Henry (that is our beloved press) has his definite grunts and groans, whooshes and swirls, metal gliding on metal, gears smoothly turning... Cast iron in motion- wow... (I think you can tell I am fairly inlove with the process)

Okay- confession time.

Our press came with a variable speed motor. Meaning it can go fast or a little faster. When you watch it running, it doesn't seem too fast. But when you step up to it - uh yeah. I am not that fast yet, or coordinated. Other presses have a treadle allowing you to control the speed with your foot. Those are great, controlling speed is much easier. And safer, if you need to stop you take your foot off. (Now, there isn't a break- and the press is still gonna close...on your hand if you are not careful)

So anyway- motor too fast, no treadle. What do I do then? Imagine -- Prices Right. On one side there is a fly wheel- a large wheel- and yes I turn that like I am playing "The Prices Right." (I spin the wheel trying to get that dollar...) Hundreds of times a night. I am gonna look like a one armed popeye. (When my husband is in the shop, he does his fair share of spinning, maybe he enjoys it but I think it's just his good nature to help me out...)

(Don't' worry, a treadle is in the future- and when I go to the gym I only lift with my right arm) If you wonder how big it is, scroll down to the press pictures and locate the largest piece on it, the largest cast iron piece. The largest, heaviest piece. So as you can see- it is work. It's physical (and can be exhausting and I'm a runner) I have asked my engineer if he can come up with a formula to figure out how much force/energy it takes to to operate Mr. Henry by hand. I'll let everyone know- more chocolate for me?

There's a lot going on. And I didn't even discuss cutting the paper or mixing ink.

But when a piece is done it feels good to know that we had our hands on every process. Every part, every original image and handset work.

Have I started to harp yet?

The process is laborious and time consuming but extremely wondrous.

Having always been obsessed with making things- it is satisfying.

The Find

I had been looking on Briar Press and on Craig's list for months trying to find a press. I knew what I wanted ( a C&P)but the trick was finding it in the condition and price we had in mind. Oh, and did I mention location. It seemed that every "good" press was popping up out west or up north- ironically, many were coming from locations that would have been great- before we moved south that is. Location was important, because shipping those things- well, try and imagine the orchestration of getting a 1260lb brittle cast-iron machine moved across states. Not exactly like checking the UPS box on an online check-out. It would take work. We were considering doing it ourselves- and were even mapping out locations in states as far away as Texas. Over 24hrs of driving. Doesn't seem that far until you factor in kids riding with you ( that adds lots and lots of bathroom breaks) and going extra slow in a rental truck. Hmm. Not so appealing. Yet, we were looking at it. (Another tangent interjection- I am not the only crazy one looking across the country trying to find these large beasts- I know others that are doing the same- they don't make these presses anymore)

Well after months of looking, I had almost given up hope, and then I stumbled across one. A very local one. I saw an ad for one larger than I wanted with a Kluge feeder( Kluge feeder feeds the paper- so you don't have to insert each sheet). So I contacted asking about the press and how easy it would be to take off the feeder. It turned out that that wasn't the only press for sale- there were four total and one was a 8x 12 C&P.

We made arrangements to go see it and ended coming home with a Vandercook No. O proofing press and the plans on how to get the C &P here. Both were in great condition, needing cleaning and oiling- no rust. They had been left were they were, in the climate controlled shop and not in someones garage or barn, as the new presses came into use.

We kept in contact with the owner's as they would be closing their doors and cleaning out shop soon. They ended up being very generous and we helped them clean out lots of good stuff.

So one fine day, Mr.Henry was delivered. A man that specialized in moving presses brought him across town and up our steep driveway. Okay- and that was a blessing. We tried contacting people for the 40 mile drive- we that was about worthless. We looked into renting the stuff and trying it ourselves- a little apprehensive. All the while, I was watching videos on UTube and reading blogs and websites about others moving them. I read plenty of horror stories about presses breaking apart in moves, people watching as they came off balance ( can't really catch something 1200lbs from falling).

No we cleaned out the area and waited as one man moved the press for us without incident. (Maybe I didn't labor over it as others have- but the thought of dealing with a large hunk of cast iron breaking into lots of pieces.)

Mr. Henry...

We have to print at night because of the kids- but sometimes I sneak in just to have a peak at him.