[EKStationers] Printing presses
Iheronimus Brückner
iheronimus at comcast.net
Tue May 30 22:28:07 CDT 2006
On May 30, 2006, at 8:46 PM, Scotty Marshall wrote:
> Just took a quick plow through the briar press website, and found
> discussion of people building their own presses, but nothing in
> terms of plans themselves..... With that, there is an amazing pile
> of info there.
On building a wooden press:
Elizabeth Harris (another former Smithsonian Curator, I think) wrote
a book on the common press, with a measured scale drawing of the
Isaiah Thomas common press at the American Antiquarian Society in
Worcester MA <http://www.americanantiquarian.org/>. Distinction: a
"common press" typically uses a toggle to gain mechanical advantage,
Gutenberg's press reputedly used a wooden screw (no contemporary
images of it are known). Earliest representation of a wooden press is
from the 1499 "Dance of Death" woodcut by Matthias Huss of Lyon - it
is a notoriously inaccurate representation of a press mechanism.
Representations of the Gutenberg Press are speculative. The Houston
(TX) Museum of Printing History has a reproduction of what they think
it looked like:
<http://www.uh.edu/engines/gutenbergpressfacsimile.jpg>
See also:
<http://www.mainz.de/gutenberg/english/erfindun.htm>
<http://www.thegutenbergpress.com/Facts.html>
> Good to see. I've found a couple of books in the local university
> library to do with the presses and their evolution, but nothing in
> terms of type casting. Do you know if the good gentle giving the
> talk at Pennsic might be willing to reveal his source documents?
Ask him: His name is Lord Padraig Muadhan (mka Richard Creighton)
<kalligraphos at hotmail.com> I think he may be on this list, but he
also runs the "SCA-Print" mail list. Also refer to Stan Nelson
<http://www.rsnrecreations.com/>, as mentioned in a previous email.
His type casting molds are not cheap, but I'm willing to bet they're
historically accurate.
> In addition to this, do you know of any engravings that depict a
> Printery at work, perhaps with a picture of a press?
Jost Amman's "Book of Trades" (1586), commonly available as a Dover
Paperback, and there is at least one other, which description escapes
me at the moment.
Regards,
M. Iheronimus
>
> Varenko/Scotty
>
>
>> From: Iheronimus Brückner <iheronimus at comcast.net>
>> Reply-To: East Kingdom Stationers Guild
>> <ekstationers at lists.gallowglass.org>
>> To: East Kingdom Stationers Guild
>> <ekstationers at lists.gallowglass.org>
>> Subject: Re: [EKStationers] Printing presses
>> Date: Tue, 30 May 2006 20:21:57 -0400
>>
>>
>> On May 30, 2006, at 1:37 PM, Scotty Marshall wrote:
>>
>>> I love that someone actually knows what I am talking
>>> about....only in the SCA..
>>
>> Or on one of the letterpress lists...
>>
>> 8)
>>
>> You might also enjoy the discussion lists at Briar Press <http://
>> www.briarpress.org>
>>
>>> At an rate,
>>>
>>> Many thanks for the links and info. I've used a "Rat tail" press
>>> in the pass including the hand inking, and as such can relate to
>>> what you are saying. I am not sure that the inking process is
>>> anywhere as tedious as type setting, mais chaqun son gout.
>>
>> Personally, I prefer type-setting to distributing. And we get to
>> use rollers these days!
>>
>>> That there is a class at Pennsic this year and that finances are
>>> seeming as though they will prevent my participation. As for the
>>> Platen press, I actually have a small 3 1/2 x 5 hand lever
>>> powered, and was inches from picking up a gargantuan 18x24 model
>>> from a news paper, which had the option of steam/ belt hook up,
>>> or foot treadle operation.
>>
>> If your idea of a good time is treadling an 18x24, you probably
>> also enjoy long-distance bicycling...
>>
>>> Finding rollers for the old girl was the deal killer, but now I
>>> find there is a guy in Scarborough (near Toronto) who
>>> refurbishes rolls, and were I determined again, polytech might
>>> have a product for recasting the rolls. The other trouble was
>>> finding a good printing ink for non-hydrated presses. I started
>>> trying to make my own version, but had crappy luck.
>>>
>>> Ohh, there's a good question, any clues on period printing ink?
>>> Chemical analisys from period tomes? Am I geeking out again?
>>
>> Basically carbon black and linseed oil. Remember that printing
>> with moveable lead type began in Western Europe, at a time when
>> painters were using oil-based colors (and water-based ink does
>> not stick to lead type). Simpler to borrow technology than to
>> invent it.
>>
>> Regards,
>>
>> M. Iheronimus
>>
>>> Time to go downstairs and watch football, eat meat, and prove
>>> how normal I'm not.....
>>>
>>>
>>> Varenko/Scotty
>>>
>>>
>>>> From: Iheronimus Brückner <iheronimus at comcast.net>
>>>> Reply-To: East Kingdom Stationers Guild
>>>> <ekstationers at lists.gallowglass.org>
>>>> To: East Kingdom Stationers Guild
>>>> <ekstationers at lists.gallowglass.org>
>>>> Subject: Re: [EKStationers] Printing presses Date: Mon, 29 May
>>>> 2006 14:00:17 -0400
>>>>
>>>> Greetings,
>>>>
>>>> On May 29, 2006, at 12:19 PM, Scotty Marshall wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> Just a querie, Has anyone here actually built a printing press,
>>>>
>>>> I once modified an iron "standing press" to serve as a printing
>>>> press.
>>>> Getting an even impression was not easy, since my pressure was
>>>> somewhat
>>>> limited by an iffy brass bearing atop the press. Was able to
>>>> print a few scrolls
>>>> with it before deciding it was of more use to me as a standing
>>>> press...
>>>>
>>>> A good web site for printing on the hand press:
>>>>
>>>> <http://www.letterspace.com/handpress/index.html>
>>>>
>>>>> cast moveable type, or know offhanded the good source
>>>>> documents for these activities?
>>>>
>>>> Reproduction hand molds for casting lead type <http://
>>>> www.rsnrecreations.com/>
>>>> are being made by Stan Nelson, former curator of Printing at
>>>> the Smithsonian.
>>>>
>>>> If all goes well, Lord Padraig Muadhan (Aethelmearc) expects to
>>>> be teaching hand
>>>> casting at Pennsic this year, as well as some classes on period
>>>> type and printing.
>>>> Seek him out.
>>>>
>>>>> I remember when I helped out at the mackenzie heritage
>>>>> printery that they had a reproduction Gutenburg press, And as
>>>>> a stop gap I have about 20 different types of various
>>>>> descriptions and sizes in my collection. I assume that some
>>>>> of the early printed volume reprints available from
>>>>> publishers like Taschen would be a good source for examples
>>>>> of period Font. With that though, I don't know if the type
>>>>> cross sections and keying meathods used in a turn of the
>>>>> century Platen presses would be at all similar to the period
>>>>> approach. Of course it's also possible that I am overthinking.
>>>>
>>>> Maybe, but it beats under-thinking.
>>>>
>>>> 8)
>>>>
>>>> Platen presses are typically powered presses with automatic
>>>> inking for making
>>>> multiple copies. A hand press requires hand inking, which is
>>>> not as easy as it
>>>> sounds.
>>>>
>>>> Best wishes,
>>>>
>>>> M. Iheronimus
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>> Varenko/Scotty
>>>>>
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