Ticking down to Colorado Gives but not slowing down!

Getting ready for Colorado Gives Day November 1-December 5 (more on that later), but still busy times at the Depot and around town!

Science fiction and fantasy were the theme for MileHiCon this past weekend, and Letterpress Depot printers Marc Silberman, Bryan Dahlberg, Ian Van Mater and Dave Laskowski II were there, designing bookmarks for attendees. (Thanks Bryan for the pix)

Our Depot also was busy getting some repairs to its rotted out parts.

Donations to Colorado Gives keeps us - and our contractors! - going. This year, donations will help us get heat in the building (brrr). So think of us when you start seeing Colorado Gives promotions. We'll be back here November 1 with more details. THANK YOU!

End of summer ink!

We hosted the Rocky Mountain Letterpress Society (aka the Wrong Fonts) for a Waygoose outside the Depot on a beautiful day (no rain! no 98 degrees!). Around 30 people ate, saw the treasures we had received from Joanne Martin of Watkins (including a mouse skeleton among the type), swapped inky stories and bought some heavy metal.

Dave figured out the trick to making the roller proof press work (see the proof on Instagram) and Lexi from Firestone bought the 3x5 Kelsey with complete kit that Bill Whitley donated to the Depot for fundraising.

Thanks to Bryan for the pix and to him, Tom and Marc for the printing)

The weekend before, we printed at the Rocky Mountain Book and Paper Fair - always a treat to see what joy printing can bring.

If you want to learn more about the joy of printing or about Letterpress Depot, connect with us: info@letterpressdepot.com or 720-480-5358

Thanks to all who printed with us!

We had a great time printing with kids and adults way into the night at the Englewood Block Party. Thanks for the fun, the smiles - and the donations.

And thanks to all the helpers too, without whom we couldn’t have done it -Dave, Tom, Victoria, Fermin and Patti. If you want more information about Letterpress Depot and our home at the Englewood Depot, email info@letterpressdepot.com or call 720-480-5358.

Join us August 26

Come print with us or just stop by to say hello. We’ll be at the Englewood Block Party, 4-10pm August 26 on South Broadway.. Bands, food trucks, lots of vendors and of course, printing! Our booth is on the east side of the street, between Englewood Parkway and East Hampden Avenue, right near Aki Japanese Cuisine.

Come get inky with us.

Busy days inside and out

Inside the Depot…bracing up the ceiling and rafters to repair structural rot

Outside the Depot…printing a Skate Board poster designed by Dave Lasjowski II at Cushing Park to celebrate its Skate Park. Part of Englewood’s Neighborhood Nights.

Print with us August 5, 10am-2pm, Englewood Civic Center. And at Englewood Block Party August 26, 4pm-8pm, 3400 S. Broadway. Donations more than welcome anytime to help the work that needs to be done. One way to donate: Colorado Gives. Click here. With thanks!

A rare press finds a Depot home

Last week, we shared the daunting move of this 1,800 pound press (more pix of the move here.) But in case you’re wondering just what is a Gally Universal Press? And why does it look like a Colt’s Armory Press? A bit of history.

Merritt Gally started working for a printer at age 11. And despite starting a career as a minister, he was at heart an inventor. When his voice failed after only three years in the pulpit, he turned his attention back to printing. He patented the Gally Press in 1869, but it was just one of 400-500 patents he received!

According to Fred Williams (Type and Press, 1983), “prior to the invention of Gally's press, most job presses were made with either hinged platens (clam -shells) or beds hinged at the ends of long supporting legs (Gordons) so that when the bed met the platen, the two may not have been exactly parallel.” The Gally, known as a parallel-impression press, gave a finer quality print and had better inking due to using rollers supplied by a fountain instead of a disk. Here are the Depot’s versions of a C&P clamshell, a Gordon Franklin brass sidearm press and our “new” Gally Universal.

Gally did not manufacture his own presses, so farmed that work to other companies. One of those was Colt’s—yes, the maker of the iconic firearm. The division there was run by inventor John Thomson who reportedly hated Gally for decades, and once the patents had expired, put out the press and called it the Colt’s Armory Press and later, after starting his own company, the Colt’s Armory Universal. As for Gally, he pursued new patents and a new manufacturer and sued Thomson. Gally lost and both men went on selling their versions of the press. Gally sold all his interests in the design to the National Company in 1915 and died a year later. Thomson’s company and National merged in 1923. The press, like many other hand-fed presses, lost favor with printers when the automatic cylinder came into vogue. But of course, both the Gally and the Colt’s Armory (loaned by Doug Sorenson) still are celebrated and being repaired at the Depot.

Join us at Cushing Park Neighborhood Nights July 19, 4-8pm to see a smaller press in action!

As seen at Romans Park earlier in July

For more info on Gally and the competing presses, check out my sources: From PrintAction, from Perennial Designs and from the APA reprint of Fred Williams “The Great Colt Armory’s War!”.

Hot printing in Englewood!

Printers from Letterpress Depot enjoyed the sun and music, printing at Englewood Neighborhood Nights at Romans Park and at the Summer Market at Englewood Civic Center. Great to meet our community, Including Henry Winkler, the inquisitive Shar Pei!

Come see us next at Cushing Park Neighborhood Nights July 26 (4-8pm), at the Summer Market at Englewood Civic Center August 5 (10-2), and at the Englewood Block Party, August 26 (4-8). Watch for our sign:

A very heavy metal move...and an offer to donors

Press move starts…slowly!

The Letterpress Depot was excited to receive a donation of a Gally Universal press from Joanne Martin of Watkins, Colorado - but how were we going to move an 1800-pound press? Plans to use an engine hoist to lift it onto a truck were discarded after the truck bed was higher than advertised. To the rescue: A neighbor farmer with a John Deere with a fork lift!

So then the question was…how would we get it off the truck? After we loaded two other trucks with cabinets and many fonts of metal and some rare wood type - all collected and used by Joanne’s late husband Nick and his dad Raul back in Wisconsin - and drove back to Englewood, it was time to come up with a solution! With a Come Along tool, a pallet jack, strong arms and infinite patience, board members Bryan, Ian, Dave, Tom and Marc made it happen! A helping hand at the end too from Depot neighbor Jeremy.

More next Monday on this press, the wood type and the extremely rare Roman Flame border set that were donated. But right now…an offer from us to our donors. Our top 20 donors will get a copy of our newest poster, created and printed by Dave Laskowski II in honor of a certain recent championship. It’s also for sale for $47 (including shipping) on our website marketplace.

You can donate to the Depot via our website or through Colorado Gives. It will make some tired printers very happy!

Tom Parson, Bryan Dahlberg, Dave Laskowski II, Ian van Mater and Marc Silberman thank you!

Someplace it's sunny

Tired of the rain in Denver, but two board members - Bill Whitley and Tom Parson - got to spend several days in the sunny Southwest.

But before they left on that trip to the Amalgamated Printers Association (APA) Wayzgoose, there was much to do. Tom and board members Kirk Benson and Dave Laskowski II had fun printing with kids at Clayton Elementary in Englewood.

Dave, Tom, Marc Silberman and Board President Ian Van Mater also printed for scouts and others at the Rocky Mountain Stamp Show

Photo by Cypherstampclub

And there was even more to be done before leaving town. Tom and others spruced up the Depot’s landscaping/driveway area, with a brick pathway and fencing for the compost area. Bryan Dahlberg helped move some of the big concrete chunks on our property, but it took 3 bobcat workers to move the 500lb cinder blocks that had been stacked up there! The blocks now form a very solid wall so trucks stop bumping into our property.

Then, it was finally time to hit the road. On the way to and from the Tucson, with Bill’s careful planning, he and Tom got to visit printers and typefounders in Albuquerque, Santa Fe, Dewey and Prescott,Arizona and Mancos, Colorado. It was a time for old and new printer friends, a chance to appreciate other printshops, workshops, talks on woodtype, and…a visit to Sky Shipley’s Skyline Type where his caster Jared was casting 12 pt Bewick Roman on a Thompson Caster. Finally, Mancos, home of a rare Cranston press…then home!

Now, ready for the next adventure. We will be printing in June in Englewood - details to follow.

"The most popular booth at the Festival"

And it sure felt like it!

Lettepress Depot printers had a great time meeting our Englewood neighbors at the Englewood Spring Festival — and showing off our fire engine red Adana presses.

Come print with us next at Celebrate Englewood, May 6 at Civic Center.

It's Greek to me...

Board member Marc Silberman got to show off his new Greek font when Letterpress Depot printed at Cherry Creek High School recently.

It was all part of the school’s Fine Art Fridays, which the Depot loves to print at.

Come see our next printing demonstration at Englewood’s Spring Festival. All are welcome.

For more information or to volunteer at any printing demos, email englewooddepot@gmail.com

or call/text 720-48-5358.

"New" old presses get their debut

It was a colorful night at Cherrelyn Elementary in Englewood when the Letterpress Depot showed off three of its newly acquired historic Adana presses.  With the advantage of multiple presses owned by the nonprofit and by board members, it was possible to print one color on each press - blue, yellow and black - resulting in a multi-colored (letterpress style) image of the city’s famed  Cherrelyn Trolley.  The trolley, which ran from 1894-1910, was horse-drawn up a one mile hill.  At the top, the horse boarded the trolley for the gravity-propelled trip downhill!

By combining arts and technology, the printing demo was a great way to celebrate the Schools STEAM night – the study of Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math.  Board members from the Depot printed last year at Cherrelyn and Bishop Elementary and at the Charles Hay World School.  Their next printing demonstration will be at the city’s Spring Festival, April 1. 

The Adana presses have an interesting history.  After he returned with what was then called shell shock from World War I, and after being laid off from work, Donald Aspinall of Twickenham, England designed a model press for hobby printers.  According to historian Bob Richardson of St. Bride’s Library, Aspinall  advertised it before he had any presses actually to sell.  When money started rolling in, he went to the police to ask what  to do. The reply was blunt: ‘Make the presses.”

When production had stopped because of World War II—and after the company had a new owner—it was approached by members of the Norwegian underground to come up with a small press that could be used by the Nazi resistance. The manager explained that the only thing they had to offer was a single pre-war wooden flatbed, which was in pieces. The visitors took it and returned seven days later with a modified machine, half its size. After securing an order for 50 of the machines from the government, Adana sent out a call for old flatbed presses that could be cut down and then dropped from airplanes behind enemy lines across occupied Europe. They were used for the production of propaganda material and forged documents.

History and image from St. Bride’s Foundation

The Depot and its board members have two different models of Adana presses which were popular with hobby and commercial printers. 

Two of the presses are horizontal Quarto flatbed presses: They have a rotating ink disk and two ink rollers which extend out over the disk as it prints and then ink the type form as the press is opened again. The pressure is delivered like the early 19th century “Parlour Press” invented by Edward Cowper:  It hooks the end of the handle when the platen is closed, to press down to print. 

The other three presses are known as Eight-Five Adanas—named for the size of the chase.   They operate like American Kelsey presses,  with a front handle and a toggle lever.

 Adana eventually  was bought out by Caslon (which has its own illustrious history that can be said to trace back to typefounder William Caslon, born in 1692).  Caslon made the presses until 1999, but then re-started the brand in 2016

1938 Ad

For more information about any presses owned by Letterpress Depot or about volunteering at upcoming printing events, call/text 720-480-5358 or email englewooddepot@gmail.com.

Today is Colorado Gives Day

Our living museum needs your breath of support to truly come alive. (click on any image to donate)

Working to revive a Colt’s Armory Press

While we appreciate donations any day, today your support will increase our share of an Incentive Fund from Community First Foundation and other community partners. And you don’t even have to live in Colorado!

THANK YOU SO MUCH

Today! Tomorrow! Colorado Gives!

You don’t have to live in Colorado to help us make the old new again!

Dave Laskowski II’s Lego printing and Bryan Dahlberg’s installation of restored Sanfa Fe sign

Rehabbing letterpress and our Depot building, with your help!

Click on image to donate

If you’d prefer to donate offline, email englewooddepot@gmail.com or call 720-480-5358. Any which way you can help…Thank You!

3 days until Dec 6 midnight when we turn into pumpkins

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!

Tick tick tick four days until Colorado Gives ends on Dec. 6

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

THANK YOU

With thanks for your continuing support & participation...

…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!

Thanks for donations! More welcome!

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

Thank you!

First $5,000 in donations matched!

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.

Wayzgoose this Saturday, October 1, 10:30-2!

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.