Reviving the ‘Black Art’ of Letterpress
November/December 2009
Photo Courtesy of The Applecart Press
In our November/December Craft of Maine story, Suzette McAvoy covers the resurgence of the centuries-old craft of letterpress in Maine. Today, some of the most evocative and creative invitations, stationery, cards, exquisite limited-edition books, and other ephemera are being produced by letterpress printers. Here, we present to you a sampling of their work.
David C. Wolfe
Wolfe Editions
"Letterpress printing is a hands-on process. One has to use their hands and eyes. It takes time and tedious effort to be successful. There is nothing virtual about it.”
For more Wolfe Editions:
wolfe1@maine.rr.com
David Wall
The Applecart Press
For more The Applecart Press: applecartpress.com
Scott Vile
Ascensius Press
"Letterpress printing with hot-metal type connects us with the printers of the past four centuries, who, trained in the ‘black arts,’ created books that set the standards for the future.”
For more Ascensius Press: ascensiuspress.com
Megan O’Connell
The Bracket[t] Press
"Composing by hand offers a unique set of limitations that I absolutely thrive under. The rigor of the medium and the unrivaled visual and tactile qualities of a letterpress-printed page continually engage. It is exhilarating to draw upon historical forms while reinventing the future.”
For more The Bracket[t] Press: deadskinpress.com
Susan Weinz
Zooks Press
"There is great satisfaction in printing a page of well-arranged type. Although the layout can be designed on a computer and the results then printed from a photo-polymer plate, it is very different from arranging letterforms of wood or lead. For me the attraction of hand setting type is its immediacy, physicality, and potential sense of play.”
For more Zooks Press:
maineartscene.com/Susan-Weinz.html
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