books on letterpress

this post is part of a series of posts on books related to the book arts that i've read (to the extent that some of these are "readable"). books with f represent items i'm particularly taken with.

letterpress

b Finter Points in the Spacing and Arrangement of Type by Geoffrey Dowding.

neglected to write down the edition, i think 3rd? i expect this is useful as a workshop reference if you are looking at your form and aren't sure why it looks off. less useful if you have to get it via interlibrary loan, unless you take copious notes/photographs of the examples.

MATRIX: a review for printers

i'm unlikely to say anything that hasn't already been written about Matrix, given it's beauty, size, and longevity. finding a random issue and reading it cover to cover is worth it just to get a sense of the breadth of the world of contemporary letterpress printing. of course, "contemporary" is doing a lot here: an article from the 80s is almost as alien to a letterpress practitioner in the 2020s as the 1920s. the community, the resources, and the materials have changed, but the desire to create remains.

most of the comments i take while reading are references to look up later, but a few notes refer to pages/articles that may be of interest later.

• M36, (didn't actually have anything written down about content of the issue itself)
• M35, btwn p80-81, "enjoyable little cards of whimsy"
• M35, Stanley Lane insert is top-class advice on typeface choice
• M34, Ornata
• M33, It's Not Nostalgia by Paul Shaw, starting on p19 – good typography and examples of some fun experiments

hand presses

b The Technology of Hand Printing by Harry Duncan, Abattoir Editions, 1980.

got this rec from Rollin Milroy's blog. this essay (speech?) tries to get at a certain je ne sais quoi about printing with a hand press that i think anyone who a) has printed on a hand press and b) has read this essay probably understands. however, not sure it really comes across – this may warrant another read in a few years.

b f American Iron Hand Presses by Stephen O. Saxe, The Yellow Barn Press, 1991.

in terms of quality, the letterpress version certainly takes the cake of books on hand presses. it's just a joy to hold and to read – not gripping, like a thriller, but it is eminently readable. plus, i have a soft spot for engravings of hand presses, and John DePol's are nonpareil.

b A Field Guide to North American Hand Presses and Their Manufacturers by Robert Oldham, Ad Lib Press, 2006.

the latest, i believe, in a line of books about american hand presses and their makers. while not as sumptuous as Stephen Saxe's book, it is broader in scope and provides a wealth of pictures. if you are unsure about what type of press you have, this is likely to give you enough information to indentify it. an updated version would be nice. this can still be had from the Museum of Printing as of late 2024.

last updated: 2024-12-29 11:39:37