I made a quick visit out to see Rich Hopkins in West Virginia, and got to look at some treasures from his many years of typecasting. Brand new loose end for a piston, Rich's very first piece of type cast, a Homespun matrix, set cylinders for the Monotype Keyboard, Greco Bold mats, and a shelf of comp mat cases. Always a pleasure to visit this Master of Monotype! #typecasting #letterpress
Virginia Saxifrage now in bloom at Bowerbox! Look for these at the @cylburn_arboretum_friends Market Day on May 9, where I'll have the brand new set of spring wildflower cards. #letterpress #woodcut #reliefprint #springephemerals #virginiasaxifrage
I've got a pile of carving to do- 3 more flowers for an Art Nouveau-inspired coaster set, and one more wildflower (Virginia Saxifrage) for a new card set. Someone please remind me to stretch occasionally. #woodcut #linocut #letterpress
Printing the second color on new cards for spring, featuring the elusive Maryland native Pink Lady's Slipper. I've yet to find these in the wild but they are very neat. These cards will be ready for the Cylburn Garden Market coming up in a couple of weeks! Thanks to the registration system on the press, these blocks are lining up perfectly. #letterpress #woodcut #springephemerals #ladysslipperorchid
Cheese (version 2) fresh off the engraving machine. I'll test this in the caster and see how it looks! I think it will work better as a solid design instead of the outline version I tried first. I also attempted to polish the surface of the type area with some honing compound and a paper stick, we'll see if the finish is smoother at all. #alwayslearning #typecasting #typefoundry #letterpress
Shop organizing in full swing. I'm finally sorting and labeling this galley rack (I added a second one last year, so I actually have some space to move galleys around) and while it's looking more messy than before, progress is being made. I cleaned this font of Klondike border (some sorts were slightly oxidized) but it's looking good now and has a new home. Slowly. Slowly, one galley, one border, one font, one sort at a time. #letterpress
I put down the second color (and then the third, but that's saved for later) on my circular print yesterday. After breaking the form apart I had to hold the empty outer rings in place with extra spacing so I could simply switch out the entire ring setup, using the same furniture for the next color. This worked well. And distracted me from the news (stop killing kids). #letterpress #daredeviltypesetting #metaltype #bellflowertype
I stopped in to visit my friend Chris Manson at Crooked Crow Press and saw his current project. He's printing some incredibly gorgeous 19th century borders. I can't believe the detail on these, and trying to figure out how they were engraved and cast is breaking my brain. (Perhaps engraved on soft metal patrices, and electrodeposited?) This will be a stunning broadside when it's finished. His work is printed so beautifully and I always learn a trick or two when we talk shop. #letterpress #brucetypefoundry #metaltype
Time to give this book its first greasy baptism doing some press fixing at the Corcoran! The rear form roller had jammed in the press due to the end screw working loose. After getting it unstuck, we had to remove the very stubborn gear with a bottle jack press, then we were able to reassemble and make sure the setscrew holding the end screw in was tight. Not a great design but hopefully it'll work better now. #letterpress #vandercookpress #pressrepair
Working with some Bellflower ornaments and Greco Bold today. I need more rings from @springtidepress so I can print this in two colors! Have you used her Daredevil furniture? (If not, go get yourself some, it's fun.) I'm thinking this will print in teal and purple on a silver background. Look for it in the next It's A Small World. #letterpress #daredeviltypesetting #metaltype #typefoundry #bellflowertype
