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Mo'Print
Letterpress Depot will be at Small Press Fest March 30th from 11-4 along with 70 zine, book, comic, print and other DIY makers at the Globeville Center. Our prints are still up this month at the wondrous Spectra Gallery. Thanks to everyone who came out to see us last week at Belleview Park and at all our Open Studios - from Englewood to Fort Collins! Here are just some pix of the inky fun.
Four different presses, historic prints, plastic building blocks and even some Jabberwocky - all will be part of the Letterpress Depot’s demonstration and hands-on events at the Arvada Center March 16, 11-4. We promise you will see presses and printing you’ve probably never seen before! Mo’Print, the Month of Printmaking, has been a busy time for us. But as always, we’ve also made time for the schools. At Cherry Creek High School, we tried out LEGO(tm) printing, inspired by Depot board member Dave Laskowski II. (You’ll have a chance to do this with Dave at “Print Jam.”)
We also printed with the kids at Cherrelyn Elementary, and loaned press and type to Colorado’s Finest High School of Choice for their “Wanted” project.
Print Jam demonstration is in the Arvada Center’s Main Gallery, with hands-on fun in their History Museum. Other March events include the Spring Market, March 23 at Belleview Park, and the Small Press Fest, March 30 at Globeville Center. We look forward! If you need more details, info@letterpressdepot.com.
Here are just some of the presses you will see - more will be shared other days this week!
Gordon Franklin press - note the brass side arms!
The Gordon Franklin, called “the single most famous and influential jobbing press of the nineteenth century” was invented by George Phineas Gordon, who is celebrated as having developed the basic design of the most popular printing press ever. He named this model the Franklin because Gordon, a spiritualist, said that Ben Franklin had described it to him in a dream. Our model is a Gordon’s brass side-arm “new style”, that started to be manufactured in 1871 when the patent on the older version was expiring.
Manufactured by John M. Jones. Jones, who first built presses for George Phineas Gordon, started building them on his own when Gordon’s patents expired.
C&P 10x15 at the start of a print run
7x11, old style 1898-910x15 old style 1902
8x12 new style ~1930
Bryan Dahlberg, Doug Sorenson and Tom Parson huddle around the Colt’s Armory Press
The name given after 1887 to Merrit Gally’s Universal press, which he’d introduced in 1869. The former minister held more than 500 patents. John Thomson, who hated Gally from the first time he heard him preach as a child, ended up taking over manufacture of the press in a high noon standoff worthy of the Colt’s name. For more details of this history see https://bit.ly/3D4BXIy
The Old Reliable was manufactured for just one year by H.H. Thorpe (Cleveland Type Foundry). James Thorpe held many other platen press patents, which he later sold to Chandler and Price. Used by hobby printer Jim Grisenti, it was donated to the Depot by Jim Fitzgerald in memory of printer Wimpy Miller.
This press also was built on the foundations laid by George Phineas Gordon. The Schniedewend company also built the Reliance A iron hand press on our east wall.
Calling itself the “latest improved Gordon,”whose “style supersedes all other presses” and which can print 2,000 sheets an hour, it was made by Damon & Peets of New York.
Next up: the Depot’s smaller presses…stay tuned! Come see them all March 26, Open Studio 10-4
