Paper and letterpress shops are a vanishing breed, as this video shows. Two proud proprietors talk about the legacies they’re trying to preserve, their razor-thin margins, and their increasingly rare qualities in a world that values speed and convenience over quality. Touchingly, these two survivors live cheek-by-jowl in downtown Los Angeles. Worth watching.
As we move into the future, let’s remember that the past still has much to contribute to the present.
(Hat tip to Stewart Wills for the link and the urging to bring this to the fore.)
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During almost all the 22 years I worked at Princeton University Press (1967-1989), the Press owned and operated its own printing plant–the last university press in the U.S. to do so–which used hot-metal linotype composition and flatbed letterpress printing, so for me this was a trip down memory lane. Thanks!
Posted by Sandy Thatcher | Dec 30, 2011, 10:52 amKent and Stewart, Thanks for drawing our attention to a nicely done video. Happy New Year to the authors and readers of The Scholarly Kitchen.
Posted by Marty Frank | Dec 30, 2011, 11:21 amI just heard a story about a letter press in Philadelphia: http://www.newsworks.org/index.php?option=com_flexicontent&view=items&id=31921:letters-of-intent-philadelphia-print-shop-revives-old-media
And the site of the Red Wheel Press factory: http://redwheel.thefactorye.com/
I’ll have to stop in there sometime.
Posted by Marie @ Thomson Reuters | Dec 30, 2011, 12:17 pmThank you for posting. Long live the art of paper and art paper to print via letterpress!
Posted by Peach Farm Studio | Dec 30, 2011, 7:39 pm