Too Much of a Good Thing

I have a challenge to meet for my Amalgamated Printers Association (APA) June bundle: a mini-poster to compose and set. Guidelines are 3.5 x 5" size, no font over 24 pt, and the rest is up to me.

I searched both shops for my little bust with the Phrenology map on it, but that cut cannot be found. I decided to rely on words and typefaces, in the manner of a 19th century poster or title page, changing styles every line to show off the type.

It's now set, using a combination of revival castings and actual antique fonts, and I'm happy with it. Minor detail: the type as it sits measures five inches! There's no room for top and bottom margins. Aargh.

The job is lurking on the stone awaiting my further attentions. Something surely has got to give!

Shop's Log, Stardate 2013

My shop is a small building in the back yard, and I find myself continually writing hurried notes and stuffing them into a pocket to either take to the shop, or bring into the house from the shop. It's time for another approach-- one which is not so prone to blowing away.

Since Three Toad Press is 25 years old as of December, 2013, I decided a Shop Log would be a good approach. In it, I can record what I worked on and what I need to do next, as well as add reminders about what things from the house need to go outside, and which things need to come back inside!

So here you have Three Toad Press's first Log Book. About time, after 25 years of printing!

Work Day. No Pic!

Busy afternoon in the shop today, even if no pic was taken.

1. Cut paper for "Water," a challenge for the Coast Letterpress Guild, newly formed in Central California. Set title for the piece and added leading to the first five lines. I will publish it in two sections of five lines each. Something about being out of sorts: short on e's and a's.

2. Set February 2013 APA piece, a poem and its title "How Do I Love Thee APA?"

3. Chose font possibilities for a mini poster challenge for APA, due in June. This will be 3.5x5," with a quote. Largest type size 24 pt. Can use fancy or plain type. I chose fonts appropriate for this poster:

- 16 Tuscan
- 18 & 24 Facade
- 18 Cicero (revival casting)
- 14 Bruce's Ornamented #1024
- 18 Radient No. 1
- 10 Victoria Italic (revival casting)
- 12 on 14 & 22 Corinthian (one a revival casting)
- 18 Trocadero (revival casting)
- 22 Roman (unknown foundry & name)
- 16 Renaissant
-   6 Engravers' Bold # 1, 2, or 3
- 12 Engravers' Bold
-   6 Garamond (for the fine print)

And in typing my list I realized that quite a few of these are the real deal! Twenty five years ago I despaired of ever even seeing a real nineteenth century font. But in the process of finding type from individual sellers, I have a few to play with now. It's a good feeling. They will get gentle use and good cleaning.

I hope to do a bang-up job on this mini poster. It pushes all my creative buttons.

Resolutions for the Shop

Everybody needs a few resolutions. I decided my shop deserved some this year.

This case is double-laid, a larger size with a smaller one. I need to make sure all my type is neatly distributed and in good shape.

1. I want to print something for the APA Bundle every month of 2013. And mail it on time!

2. I want to take control of the mess in the shop, much of which is the result of buying out somebody else's mess a few years ago.

3. I want to work on my 1890 Pearl and get it up and running. I'm so close, but so far. Even disassembled, the thing is too heavy for me alone. I've found myself a helper, so I have hope for this year.

4. I need to winnow the type collection. Unless it's an antique survivor, there's simply no point in keeping a beat up font. Better to donate it to the Printing Museum and let them melt it down and make new type.

And today, the first of January, I made progress on some of the above! I consolodated Pearl parts (#3) and got rid of the big unwieldy box they were in; sorted type in a rusted galley(#2); and last week I printed two bundle pieces, so I'm a month ahead. I have til Friday to mail them.

Best wishes to all for a happy and productive New Year!

By the Numbers

I bought these on eBay. They'll come in handy some time. They're about 5-line numerals. The seller, though not a printer, had "celtic" in the image title. She may be right. I'm posting them for a cross-check with other printers, so leave a comment if Celtic isn't the correct name.

Toolbox again

Just an excuse to post. My inking woes are solved. The rollers needed to be adjusted downward. That done, and inking was perfect. Before the adjustement, I had completed Tool #2 in the set, but there's no pic.

Tool #3 is half done! Color one went on press today, and I'm excited about the inking now. This tool, and its associated cut, is one of my favorites, because I use it every time I print.

Color two will be red: a smaller composing stick showing type lined up in it, and a drop cap H for the legend in Washington Text. Click to biggify-- I'm quite happy with it!

The height of irony: a problem with the camera's parallax makes the printing look UN straight!

The Fern Stand

Every vacation needs a hero: a souvenir so great it simply had to follow you home. Mine is. . . The Fern Stand!

On my way home from the APA Wayzgoose I stopped in Albuquerque. Walking around an antique mall I found it: the beefiest fern stand I've ever seen. Its single leg is almost as heavy as one of my own. Four massive lion paws support its weight. A huge handmade nut holds it together.

It sat forlorn until I noticed the folk art Rooster was a perfect fit:

Awesome!

Skyline Type Foundry

On my way to the Wayzgoose, I stopped by Skyline Type Foundry to visit Sky & Johanna. Wonderful new home, and the print shop is immaculate. The typecasting building is full of the most incredible matrices and machines. I helped box a new border (pinecones & needles), printed sample cards for it, and hung out with Sky. Fun day!

Not really a Wart, but it could become one. Travel.

Another Evil Habit. I love going places. Back when I was first married I'd jump right up from anywhere if my husband even suggested going to the dump! Alas, no traveler he, but I do like exploring odd places. And other wonders.

So last weekend was a good one. I went to a hobby printers' convention known as a Wayzegoose, in Oklahoma City. There were fun places to explore, mostly printing related. A historical business in the old state capitol, Guthrie, nearly brought us to our knees... it is a full working printing shop housed in its original building. There are rows of presses and linotypes just standing there as if the printers would be back any minute. The machines have been there for almost 100 years! The other printers and I (the hobby printers, remember?) just drooled at seeing so much of a "real" shop left in the world.

The pinup wall was amazing. The latest girl must have been 20 in about 1923, and she was fully clothed. So were the earlier ones... a calendar girl from 1903, and others in fancy ballgowns and the like. I tried photographing the wall, but it is protected with a shiny plastic that's hard to shoot through.

The entire exhibit felt as if you could almost still hear the clatter of the brass matrices falling inside the Linotypes; the clank of the ink disks on the presses, and the hum of the drive belts.

The organization sponsoring the Wayzegoose was the Amalgamated Printers Association, of which I am a member. We print for one another and exchange our work. I get a pile of inspiration from my fellow printers. We had a swap meet Saturday morning, with lots of equipment, books, type and cuts exchanging hands. An auction followed. This time I was not a lucky bidder, but listening to the two auctioneers was entertaining.

The high point of my weekend was buying many elements of a 19th century border called "Egyptian." I have admired it for years but never thought I would be able to obtain any. It is a border that is pieced together like a puzzle, element by element, and it requires some skill to assemble. I feel as if it will be a test of my printing abilities.

But travel is my theme here.... and after the Wayzegoose I drove to Kansas to visit my grandmother's childhood home. I had only a day and a half, but managed to find family graves, see the home, look at land records, buy some quilting fabric, and have a lovely time. Small Town Kansas is charming, and I am glad to have been able to go.

I am certainly glad to get back to my Purring Teddy Bear, Miss Flora. Coming home is an essential part of travel!