Letterpressing // Movable type

Eliot Rosewater

Hey! I'd like to get into making books - I was at a book binding tutorial before, and I made my first (simple) book the other day.

Last night I saw a pamphlet that was letter pressed, and it looked simply divine. So my question is, how does one get into letter pressing? Or - to cut it short - is the cost of getting into it simply too much (between getting some movable type and a frame for it)? Has anyone any experience in this regard? Or with book making generally?

Thankee!

looksee

I think you would have to do it properly - which would be expensive - or not at all, as you would not get that amazing effect from anything less than a proper press with fonts of type. Have you been to the National Print Museum? http://www.nationalprintmuseum.ie/ If you are interested in letterpress printing it is worth a visit, and there are lots of workshops, you might do a letterpress workshop and see if it is what you want to do.

I once had the privilege of handling and studying an original edition of Cobden-Sanderson's Doves Press Bible - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Doves_Press_Bible.jpg
in the Early Printed Books reading room of Trinity College. It was the most wonderful experience to have in my hands something I had only seen prints of before, and letterpress printing is beautiful.

ETA the wiki link above should have colon capital D instead of the smilie, though it does work!