Linotype and letterpress

Sunday afternoon I watched a TV presentation about the history of printing. Having been a Graphic Arts teacher in the 1980s it grabbed my attention. The show was about a printing museum in Two Rivers, Wisconsin USA and I would visit it if I had the chance.
It is a working museum with artisans assembling lead lettering and large wooden letters to do artistic printing in the mode of the time. Large headlines such as hit the press at the end of WW2 were made using wooden letters rather than lead.

When I taught Graphic Arts at Rockingham SHS, letterpress printing was well out of fashion and lithography in the form of offset printing was the go. We didn’t have to gather individual letters in a gallery to make up words and sentences and after printing, place the individual letters back in their alphabetical homes. Arduous work and very time consuming. In large printing works typeface was made in ‘slugs’ using a linotype machine. This wonderful invention was still in use in the newspaper industry up until the 1970s and some small outfits still use them. See more on YouTube here and here.

I was reminded of letterpress printing when on Friday, I received an invitation to Rick and Katherine’s wedding. The invitation is beautifully done and the print has a fine but deep impression in the paper, as it would have if it were printed by letterpress. I am assuming it is a newer form of lithography which would allow for a raised text on the printing plate. Must investigate.

My cold is improving. I found a couple of packets of antibiotics in the medicine cupboard and decided to use one of them. Cilamox (amoxycillin) is one often used for chest infections. They were prescribed for Joan, but not used.

Once again I went to Restaurant Helen yesterday to have dinner. Helen prepared Lamb Souvlaki wraps. Delish! Lamb, with a Greek salad, sour cream and chilli sauce