One of my favorite shots through the flywheel. You can click on any picture to donate. We appreciate support as we celebrate letterpress and battle supply chain issues and subcontractors.
Funding helps us fix presses, hold workshops and, of course, rehab our 1915 Depot building!
We so appreciate everyone who has given so far, either through Colorado Gives or Facebook. And as you can imagine with the cost of construction these days, more is always welcome! We will be counting down the days here. A beautful and intriguing typeface to share in appreciation. Click on ANY image to donate.
William H. Page No. 171, Hamilton No. 299, printed by Tom Parson
…we offer a quick view back - the progress of construction, rehabilitation, preservation and re-purposing the historic Englewood Depot for our letterpress museum. Your donations through Colorado Gives helped make all this possible - now we need that help for the next steps to come.
BEFORE: with many years of neglect after the historic Depot was moved from its original location in 1994. The foundation level was unfinished and inaccessible, with a plywood fence and muddy fill-dirt. The Depot was deteriorated and boarded shut.
SINCE: drainage solved, concrete retaining wall relocated, ADA access ramp added, a new stucco lower wall with garage doors, home for the Letterpress Depot presses, type, workshops, classes. Funding with community support - a successful Indiegogo campaign - thank you! These first steps included historic research, architectural design work, a survey, civil and structural engineering consultation, and a preservation easement with the Colorado Historical Foundation to protect the historic aspect of the Depot in perpetuity.
NOW: Rehabilitation work is under way for the upper level, workshops and letterpress projects are happening with portable equipment and with access to other printshops in the community. Your support is needed! Please donate for our year-end campaign on Colorado Gives. With an initial $5000 match, this month we have raised $10,375. We need to quadruple this now for our next grant application to complete rehabilitation for our living letterpress museum.
THANK YOU!
It’s Colorado Gives time through December 6. All your donations will go towards helping get the Depot in shape and to be able to print even more. If you give during this fundraiser, extra $$ comes our way. Here are some images of people enjoying our presses in the wild, from Englewood to Castle Rock!
Click on either image or go to https://www.coloradogives.org/letterpressdepot
Your donations have helped us do so much - roughing in of electrical and plumbing, removal of water damaged plaster, retrieving and restoring presses for our historic collection, all while giving us the support needed to print at fairs and schools…
Of course, there’s more to be done, with your help. Between now and December 6, please contribute to Letterpress Depot via Colorado Gives. Just click on the button, below. We will be so grateful.
What’s a Wayzgoose you ask? There are no fowl involved, though back in the day this printers entertainment may have included a goose, when the master printer threw a feast for his workers.
Photo by Jean Ange via Birdshare
As the geese fly south for the winter, the Letterpress Depot and the Rocky Mountain Letterpress Society (aka The Wrong Fonts) will have our own modern Wayzgoose. Instead of a goose, we will offer a swap meet/sale of letterpress printing materials & equipment, light lunch & refreshments, an open tour of the continuing historic rehabilitation construction of the Depot building and an intro to our letterpress printshop and museum collection. Please join in the inky fun, October 1, 10:30 - 2 pm.
We’re located at 3098 South Galapago, at Galapago & Dartmouth in Englewood. If you have any questions, email us at englewooddepot@gmail.com or call 720-480-5358. And if you want more on the interesting etymology of Wayzgoose, check out this fun post on the Word Wide Web.
(Now just need electricity —supply chain issues plaguing us!) But it’s a start. Xcel did an amazing job, “digging” out a 5-1/2 foot hole with a very precise vacuum-cleaner type machine.
and, again with precision, swinging around another pole up the alley to hold a new transformer
Fun fact: the poles are set in the ground with…Polecrete!
Not so fun fact: Months of delay on our panel box arrival, now scheded for end of sigh October. But hey we have a pole when we’re ready for sparks to fly.
Inspiring the next generation at Cushing Park, during Englewood’s Neighborhood Nights. Little Dry Creek in the park was the site where gold first was discovered in Colorado!
An etching press found at an estate sale saw its first action this past week when Albert Gallo brought over a large copper printing plate to proof. Albert describes himself as “husband, son, brother, hard worker, thinker of things, maker and avid bike rider. Collector of hobbies.” Fresh from printing at Ridgefest in Wheat Ridge, he wanted to see what this strange large printing plate he had acquired looked like.
Tom Parson thought of our new etching press. Normally used for intaglio printing, an etching press consists of metal rollers between which a flat press-bed slides under pressure. A design is acid-etched or engraved into a plate which then has ink rubbed into its grooves. After the surface of the plate is wiped clean, heavy pressure is applied and the design is transferred to paper. It’s the opposite of relief printing where the material (like type) is raised and the inked surface is printed.
But a press like this can also be used for relief printing if the rollers are adjusted, useful for situations where the item to be printed is not type high (all items in letterpress printing must be 0.9186 high). So in went Albert’s copper plate
And out came
This plate of the world’s largest wire rope is now in the Depot collection, donated by Albert.
Also this week, Alicia McKim’s class from the Rocky Mountain College of Art and Design came to visit and printed wood type and cuts from our collection on a Vandercook proof press.
All this in the shadow of work being done by Tom and visiting Seattle printer, writer and Depot supporter Paul Hunter on the challenging Challenge press, model 1528KA. This cylinder proof press had seen some hard times and needed a lot of TLC.
They hoped a broken cast iron part could be welded.
But sadly the weld did not hold. In fact, two replacement parts for the 1528KA will be needed to fix this beautiful press. Where in the world? Or it will have to be offered out as parts for someone else’s project. Heavy metal inky hope!
An unwelcome surprise this year was the discovery that the Depot’s main structural beam and other supports had rotted. But this month, temporary vertical supports to hold up the roof were erected, the old vertical and horizontal beams replaced and the temporary ones removed. All part of the rehabilitation funded by the State Historical Fund and donors like you.
We also did more printing with elementary school kids - at Bishop, Cherrelyn and, below, at Charles Hay World School.
Board members Kirk Benson and Dave Laskowski II. Kirk also is an arts specialist in Englewood schools.
Then it was time for the Rocky Mountain Stamp Show at the Arapahoe County Fairgrounds. Some samples of what we printed: Board member Marc Silberman designed the vegetable laden-tribute to Colorado agriculture for the event and Executive Director Tom Parson had fun printing various cuts.
Also some great railroad finds at the next door ephemera show!
Volunteers always welcome! Englewooddepot@gmail.com or call 720-480-5358.
An 1870s Curtis and Mitchell Columbian #2 Rotary Press has arrived at the Depot, donated by board member Bill Whitley. This beauty has a fancy flywheel, cast iron Columbia cameos and a monogrammed treadle.
Todd Simmons of Wolverine Publishing originally got the press in Wyoming and displayed it in his Fort Collins bookstore. At the time, Bill told Todd he’d be interested in the press if he ever parted with it, and in January he gave it to Bill and was pleased it would be headed to the Depot. Don Hildred, who had made chases for the press, helped in the Depot delivery.
Unique to this press when it was first sold was a device which provided a pause in the action of the platen to make feeding it easier.
This pause or dwell, which was controlled by two side arms and an inner cam, was invented by Jarvis Burrell. He turned his patents over to Edward Curtis and Edward Mitchell, two Bostonians involved in the printing trade. They produced our 6x9 platen model as well as an 8x12. C&M went out of business in 1892 partly because of the competition from 123 other platen presses, according to a 1996 letter to Type & Press.
Curtis and Mitchell also made table top models:
Image from the 1876 Centennial Exhibition, taken by Centennial Photographic Company
One of my personal favorites, for its size and ease of use, is our tabletop C&M Columbian #1. It has made many appearances at fairs and schools.
While board members Dave Laskowski II, Kirk Benson and Elanor Harris were designing and carving a large MDF board for the steamroller event…
… Tom Parson and Marc Silberman were printing with students at Bishop and Cherrelyn Elementary Schools in Englewood, thanks to Kirk who is a teacher at both schools. They also taught printing to some adults at Marc’s studio the same day.
Tom also was on a quest to see what was salvageable from two of Dana Smith’s presses burned during the Marshall fire—sadly not much—and from artist/photographer/designer Glenn Cuerden’s incredible archive of work, damaged by a broken water pipe.
The first of MANY rescue carloads for Glenn’s collection. More on that work in a later blog.
Because now it’s time to see the Steamroller event at Rocky Mountain College of Art and Design! Elanor, Depot president Ian Van Mater and Erin Rademacher put ink and more ink on the board, then laid it on the ground, covered it with plywood and let the steamroller roll!
Here are a few of the other prints steamrolled that day!
So much has been going on since our Open House tour as part of Mo’Print in March. Thank you to all who came.
If you missed, or want to do/see more (we always have more to do, more to show) come to our meetup Saturday April 23 - englewooddepot@gmail.com or 720-480-5358 for details.
Bryan Dahlberg will be printing on the Reliance A model Washington hand press
The “New A” model Reliance was advertised in 1898 as weighing in at 975 pounds. Schniedewend went on to manufacture a wide variety of Reliance presses from the 10x8 baby Reliance to the 5,000 pound Mastodon. This model have previously been restored by Rob Barnes.
Also at the Depot:
This press, which we were told survived falling out of the fourth story of a building rocked by the 1906 SF earthquake (check the welds), was built by F. Wesel Manufacturing of New York. Wesel and many others turned out these 19th century presses once the original patent held by Samuel Rust and later by R. Hoe & Co expired. It was donated to the Depot by the estate of Jim Grisenti.
Our Heidelberg
From Letterpress Commons: A key feature of the design is the rotating gripper attached to the moving platen, which grips and releases the paper stock. It’s this gripper which has stimulated American owners to dub it “the windmill”. It’s also the reason why the presses have a large metal plate embossed “Original Heidelberg” high on the front. Without it, it’s too tempting to bend over the finished stock to inspect one’s handiwork, only to receive a severe facial injury from the rotating gripper.
The Campbell Printing & Manufacturing Company produced presses as far back as the 1880s. Its “Century Pony” press came in three sizes: this is its smallest, with a printing area of 22” x 34”. Used in Leadville and later for printing posters for Lakeside Amusement Park, it was donated to the Depot by John Major Jenkins.
Challenge Proof Press
Only 250 of this model were ever made - they had to stop production for World War 2, when all resources were diverted to the war effort. During the war, the company emphasized the connection between printing and democracy. One ad read “Truly truth is mankind’s door to freedom — the printing press the key to that door.” While another said “the printing press, since its origin, has been the one indestructible weapon in man’s struggle for freedom.”
This model also has an adjustable bed. According to the Vandercook Census, there are only six other power carriage models in use, making this a rare find.
Intertype—unfortunately not hot right now!
This machine helped put out the Denver Post until they, like most newspapers in the 1970’s and 80’s , moved to phototypesetting and then computer typesetting. You can imagine the operator sitting in their chair, all the news of the day flowing through their keyboard. It is similar in operation to a Linotype machine. The Saguache Crescent still uses their 101 year old Linotype to put out their paper.
A hot metal typesetting system, which casts slugs of type, out of type metal primarily consisting of lead. These slugs are used for the actual printing, and then are melted down and recycled and re-used on the spot. It was used to print large-type material such as newspaper headlines or posters.
Any questions, any interests, any ideas, contact us at englewooddepot@gmail.com, 720-480-5358, @letterpressdepot on Facebook & Instagram, @letpressdepot on Twitter.
On Monday, we looked at our big platen presses. Today it’s time for a few of their smaller siblings. You can see them all at our Open Studio, part of Mo’Print, Saturday March 26, 10-4.
Curtis and Mitchell Columbian Press #1 at Cherry Creek High School’s Fine Arts Friday
A workhorse for the Depot, this press with its portability and easygoing nature makes appearances at schools and fairs.
Heather P. on the roller press as a past Rocky Mountain Book & Paper Fair
Vandercook Office Proof Press
Another traveling favorite that even children can use, this provides an easy way to proof type and cuts. Although the Depot’s model is 20th century, proof presses have an important history. According to the Smithsonian, “The invention of portable tabletop printing presses at the time of the American Civil War allowed for better communication in the field. Portable presses were purchased by several Union and Confederate military units.”
Poco Proof press
Vandercook Truss press
Kelsey 3x5 printing a very tiny book
The first presses of choice by young people way back in the day. Twenty one year old founder William Kelsey put up the first ad for his press in 1872, pushing it “For Boys..…Delightful, money making amusement.” He sold it for $5, figuring he could make the money back on selling type and other necessities.
In the Depot, we have
Kelsey 3x5
Kelsey 5x8, model P
The Pilot Press, manufactured for nearly 100 years by Chandler & Price and later re-produced by both Craftsmen Machinery Company of Boston and American Printing Equipment of New York, is said to be one of the most sought-after presses in the world today.
Sigwalt Non-Pareil (~Golding Official) Manufactured between 1900-20
The Nonpareil was actually seen by many as a patent infringement because it was basically a carbon copy of a Golding press at the time. Sigwalt later revised the press into the Ideal line and kept production until the late 1950's or so.
Etching press
A find by board member Marc Silberman, who grabbed it after it was being discarded. The model or similar is still available for sale online.
More presses to post later this week. Any questions, email us at englewooddepot@gmail.com or call 720-480-5358.
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
Come to the Denver Small Press Fest on Saturday, March 12 o visit with the Letterpress Depot and go away with zines (they were called journals then) from the 1950s to 1990s. Free handouts as long as they last. It’s eye-opening to realize how many of the same concerns and delights writers had back then - and also how much has changed. Also eye opening to see all this letterpress printing, done so frequently and so well.
Also on display —and these are for sale - posters designed by printers from around the world for the Depot. And much more. Something for every vintage.
STOP BY 11-5PM AND SAY HI TO TOM, IAN OR DAVID
One of the Letterpress Depot’s most recent acquisitions – a Jones Gordon press, generously donated (along with other goodies) by Stacey Steers, David Brunel and Nena Restrepo-Gil of Boulder. THANK YOU!
After cleaning and oiling the press, Tom Parson got it rolling
A label on it says it was from “Chicago Newspaper Union. ” The donors got it a few decades ago from the weekly Dongola, Illinois, Tri-County Record, Its rollers were still wrapped in a six page issue dated June 15, 2000, which has an ad for “Does-the-Job Printing.” A functional and historic addition to our printing museum collection!
The press was manufactured between 1890-1903 in Palmyra, New York by John M. Jones. Jones made presses for George Phineas Gordon, who is celebrated as having developed the basic design of the most common printing press ever, the Gordon Letterpress. As Gordon’s patents expired, others such as Jones produced their own versions of his innovative machines.
The press has a treadle and several creative and practical additions to the original Gordon platen press. It has an easier new way to remove the chase, roller lifters so when you’re inking the press the ink doesn’t get on the form, and hand dial that adjusts the pressure—even while in the midst of printing - so you don’t have to open the packing to make small adjustments to improve the impression. And much more. The press is missing the sophisticated upper disk ink roller system noted in the ad, but has a detached small New Century inker.
Interestingly, Jones also invented one of the first typewriters or, as he called it, “Domestic Printing Machines”. His was only the third to reach manufacture—but the factory burned down after 130 had been fully or partially assembled.
We have been counting on you and wish to report our total thanks for your wonderful support!
Year-end fundraising for the Depot - through Colorado Gives, individual checks by mail, from friends on FaceBook via Network for Good, and sales of posters and books on our webstore - now totals $23,000!
Rehab construction of our historic Englewood Depot is now underway with grant support from the State Historical Fund and previous donations from our community. In 2022 a next phase of construction is planned with your year-end 2021 contributions and an additional $20,000 grant award from the Gates Family Foundation.
PROCRASTINATORS' SPECIAL
Our year-end match for all donations will continue until the last minute of 2021.
It's not too late! Click here for your last chance for our match.
Despite Covid and Omicron cautions and limitations, we would love to hear from you about any letterpress needs, suggestions, wishes, offerings. Please email or call 720-480-5358. As weather and other conditions permit, we are available at the Depot in person with various projects underway.
We so appreciate all who gave on Colorado Gives Day and Giving Tuesday too. Your support really touched our hearts and helped us in chug on down the tracks.
In case anyone missed those days here’s another chance—we are extending the doubling of all donations through the end of the year.
