Specials

"Roller Trucks, Morgan Expansion, for C&P 8x12, set of 6 plus wrench"
$77.50
ME341
Back in stock, set of 6 includes one wrench for the adjusting nut. We recommend that the rubber tire be warmed in a cup of hot water for a minute or two prior to putting it on the truck body and tightening the nut. This will allow for easier and more uniform expansion of the rubber. If you print from photopolymer plates, we recommend using our solid Delrin truck--experienced press operators report better success in uniform inking when using the Delrin truck.

The Morgan Expansion truck was first introduced in 1915 by the Cowan Company. These trucks were designed to handle the problem of expansion/contraction of rollers made from composition, a product made from animal glue, glycerin, and molassas. This mixture, besides being edible, also will absorb moisture during high humidity days and shrink during low humidity periods, like winter. Because composition rollers were so unpredictable, the Morgan expansion truck could be adjusted to compensate. With modern rollers made from synthetic rubber, and accurate height plate materials like photopolymer, adjustable trucks are not really necessary--all the trucks should be the same diameter and any variation in roller height should be made by adding our hard plastic tape to the bed rails, especially for C&P presses.

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Honeycomb Base, Aluminum. 6x10 inches"
$240.00
HO200
We have a 6x10 Sterling base in stock ready for immediate shipment. The 6x10 size should not be used in a press smaller than an 8x12. Bases that fill, or come close to filling a chase on a hand fed press cause numerous problems--no room for gauge pins or grippers, and small items have to be fed to the bottom left of the platen which can cause inking and feeding problems. This applies to photopolymer bases as well, so think twice before buying large bases for small chases.

Base1

See the listings on the Composing Room page for the appropriate Sterling Toggle Hooks and key that are required to use these bases. When plates are ordered (quarter inch thick, or .250")for use on these bases, advise your photoengraver that the plate will be used on a Sterling Honeycomb base and they will saw the appropriate bevel on each side of the plate. Magnesium or copper plates may be used that will provide the best base and sharpest image for letterpress.

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"NA Graphics Star Makeup Rule"
$6.95
LG307
A handy tool used by printers since the 19th century. Originally made by the Star Tool Company, this is our reproduction of their makeup rule. If you've wondered what the pockets are for on a printer's apron, then one of these belongs in one of those pockets. Used for separating lines of type, scraping crud off the bottom of things, the long edge is sharpened and can cut string, pry plates off bases, clean the bottoms of linotype slugs, is fun to play with, and there was a time when no one in a letterpress shop was without one. John Horn provided an original Star tool for us to copy and ours is made from etched cold rolled steel.
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"Super Soap, 1 pound tub"
$4.75
SS1
We were first introduced to Super Soap at the ATF gathering at M&H Type in San Francisco in 1998. Our sample sat unopened for a couple of years, then one day we really needed to clean our hands from a nasty washup of a press when the usually present gloves disappeared. Super Soap was astonishing, did a superb job quickly, and became a favorite hand cleaner around the shop. We now sell it in the one pound container listed here, and a companion 5 pound container. A friend who is a metal plater and gold plates the annual Grammy awards among other things has found Super Soap to be his best all-around hand cleaner, and he gets really dirty in his work.
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"MacKellar, Smiths, & Jordan--Typographic Tastemakers of the Late Nineteenth Century"
$65.00
BO67
New Castle, Delaware, Oak Knoll Press 2008 8.5 x 11 inches Hardcover, dust jacket. 176 pages First edition. This is the first full-length study of the leading American type foundry of the nineteenth century. It is an interesting history of the foundry from both a business and a design point of view. The emphasis is on the design of the hundreds of typefaces that were produced by the foundry, from its inception in the 1860s until its merger with most other American foundries at the end of the century into the American Type Founders Co. The author describes (with many detailed photographic illustrations) how changing business conditions and technical improvements in typefounding interacted with changes in public taste to modify, over the decades, the appearance of the typefaces that Americans found in their publications. This book includes a complete index of MacKellar's type faces.
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"Hamilton Wood Type--A History in Headlines"
$20.00
BO69
Moran, Bill, Robert Style, Dennis Ichiyama, and Richard Zauft, St Paul, MS Blinc Publishing 2004 8vo. stiff paper wrappers iv, 60 pages Hamilton began producing type in 1880 and within 20 years became the largest provider in the United States. The Hamilton Wood Type and Printing Museum is the only museum dedicated to the preservation, study, production and printing of wood type. With 1.5 million pieces of wood type and more than 1,000 styles and sizes of patterns, Hamilton's collection is one of the premier wood type collections in the world. In honor of the Museum's fifth anniversary, Blinc Publishing was commissioned to produce a 65 page book outlining the history of the Hamilton Wood Type Company, the importance of wood type to the growth of printing world-wide, and the role the Museum plays in the education of today's design professionals. The book includes a foreword by Jim Sherraden and five chapters on the history of Hamilton as a company and a museum. Well illustrated in full color. Cover is letterpress printed. Distributed for the Hamilton Wood Type and Printing Museum.
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"Proceed and Be Bold!"
$24.95
BO70
A wonderfully entertaining hour and a half long DVD on Amos Paul Kennedy, Jr., a letterpress printer and artist who lives in Gordo, Alabama. This is a great film production from Laura Zinger and Brown Finch Films. From the album's liner notes we read "As inspirational as it is comical, Proceed and Be Bold! documents the life of Amos Paul Kennedy, Jr., a letterpress artist who lives out the secret American Dream of rejecting the establishment and living his art as his life. Whether it's challenging racial assumptions by calling himself a "humble negro printer," or by bringing art to the masses with his affordable, unpretentious posters of wisdom and hilarity, Kennedy's life as an artist is both intriguing and exhilirating. Never has a man in overalls been such an unforgettable example of a life lived fully, honestly, and without regret." Price includes shipping (if this DVD is ordered with other items at the same time, $5.00 will be credited to the total shipping amount). For more information and trailers of this film, see: www.proceedandbebold.com.
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"Letterpress Printing, A Manual for Modern Fine Press Printers, by Paul Maravelas, Softcover"
$24.95
BO65-SC
Letterpress Printing is the comprehensive sourcebook for beginning and intermediate letterpress printers. Using clear explanations of technical terms and more than 80 illustrations, the manual describes presses, ink, paper, press operation, type and photopolymer plates. The book shows how to set up and run small and large platen presses, and Vandercook and Challenge-style hand cylinder presses. One chapter provides details about presses recommended by the author; another chapter explains how to equip and arrange a new letterpress shop. Also discussed is how to plan and design projects, how to move presses and equipment, and how to use lead and solvents safely. A discussion of recent trends helps the reader to understand the niche now occupied by the letterpress process and the techniques used by its practitioners. Includes one glossary of terms relating to paper, and another glossary of terms relating to printing. This is an up to date work for students and fine press printers wishing to sharpen their skills. Co-published by The British Library.
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"American Metal Typefaces of the 20th Century (the type bible), by Mac McGrew, softbound"
$65.00
BO51
Oak Knoll Press 1993 4to. paperback 398 pages Reprint of the second, revised edition. Discover 1,600 classical as well as bizarre typefaces in one of the most massive tributes to the history of printing and metal types. This edition of American Metal Typefaces of the Twentieth Century contains 300 more typefaces in a clean, attractive format. This well-organized work captures the rapidly disappearing traditions and legacy that metal-type printing has left behind. Much of this information has been lost by the passage of time, and its preservation in this book is essential for anyone studying typefaces, typography, and its history. Structured by alphabetically-listed type families, these typefaces and their variant forms are shown in full alphabets - upper and lower case with numerals and punctuation. The specimens themselves are cleanly reproduced from metal types for maximum clarity. The text is detailed and informative, not only identifying the designer, foundry, and date of issue but also the range of sizes and closely similar designs by other founders. The history, aims, and purpose behind many of these typefaces are also described, along with production problems encountered and individual characteristics. Additional information includes extensive appendices listing common pseudonyms, popular imports, and antique faces, plus American Typefounders, Monotype, and Ludlow series numbers. The indexes provide easy access to typeface names as well as names of designers, punch cutters, matrix engravers, and other tradesman. The history of metal types and printing, now forever preserved, has long affected the spread of human civilization. Oak Knoll Press is proud to offer this work to generations of graphic designers, typographers, printing and graphic arts enthusiasts all over the world.
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