Typoretum: A Letterpress Workshop

Typoretum: A Letterpress Workshop from Jamie Murphy on Vimeo.

Justin Knopp runs a small design and letterpress operation called Typoretum in Essex, England. I have been following Justin and his excellent work for sometime and this wonderfully shot video shows his operation in action. Keeping the craft of printing alive by adding the passion for letterforms and design is what Justin does so well and makes it all look so easy. Enjoy this video to show you how a craftsman creates work that inspires and sparks a love for all things type.

Justin host workshop on the art of printing and letterpress at his studio if you are in the area. To learn more and to view more of Justin's work, visit his site Typoretum.

Emancipation Proclamation Stamp

The USPS has released a stamp to commemorate the 150th anniversary of President Lincoln signing the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863.  The stamp was designed by Gail Anderson with the great Hatch Show Prints utilized to help with the typesetting. 

Renowned graphic designer Gail Anderson partnered with art director Antonio Alcalá to design the stamp.  It prominently features the phrase, “Henceforward Shall Be Free,” which is taken from the historic document. It also notes Abraham Lincoln’s name and the year the Emancipation Proclamation was signed. 

Anderson, known for her term as senior art director at Rolling Stone magazine and design of Broadway play posters, revels in making typography from old forms. To evoke the look of posters from the Civil War era, she tapped Hatch Show Print of Nashville, TN, to produce the Emancipation Proclamation stamp.  Established in 1879, Hatch is one of the oldest working letterpress print shops in America and employs the motto, “preservation through production.”

The stamp is a great typographic design to honor this great moment. To view and purchase the stamp online visit this link. 

Visiting The LA Printers Fair

Yesterday we here at aNEW designs had the pleasure to visit the 2nd Annual LA Printers Fair at the International Printing Museum in Carson. This was a wonderful day filled with all things type. The images you see where taken at the Fair. The International Printing Museum collection is one of the largest, most comprehensive collections of historic graphic arts equipment in the world. The collection alone was worth the visit but in addition where numerous vendors from the graphic arts and type world plus demos of the presses and a Linotype hot type machine. We where very impressed by the knowledgeable and friendly volunteers and staff. All that visited this event where filled with history and stories about the craft of type and left impressed with just how important type and printing have been over the years. If you where unable to visit during the Printers Fair, you should make a trip to see the museum when in the area. When you visit remember to mind your "p" and "q"s and have them show you why we call it "upper case" and "lower case". For further information on visiting the collection and future events, stop by the informative website of the International Printing Museum.

TypeFace - Film Showing OC

Next Friday, August 13th, will be a FREE showing of the design film Typeface by Justine Nagan at the Art Institute of California - Orange County. The evening will start at 6:30 pm with Live Demos from the International Printing Museum mobile metal and woodblock letterpress. After the demos, the film Typeface will be shown at 8 pm. The event is sponsored by the student AIGA chapter of AICA-OC and the Orange County chapter of AIGA. Come out, network with friends and make a few new ones at the FREE event. Please RSVP at the Facebook link of the AIGA student chapter. I hope to see you next Friday.

Typeface - The Film

First there was a film about Helvetica, now we have a film about Wood Type and Printing called Typeface. Typeface revolves around the Hamilton Wood Type and Printing Museum located in Two Rivers, Wisconsin. Hamilton Printing was in full operation until the mid 80s and now the type and presses are being preserved and used to train a new generation on letterpress operations. The trailer above give a great preview of the film. The Hamilton Museum has over 1.5 million wooden letterforms that can viewed and used during classes. The film explores this craft of letterpress that is being lost to time, its history and how today's designers are trying to preserve this skill. The film is being shown around the world in limited releases so be sure to check the Typeface site for dates. I am looking forward to seeing this film when it shows in the LA area or its DVD release, whatever comes first.

To learn more about the Hamilton Wood Type and Printing Museum, you can go directly to their website and you can support this effort by visiting their Etsy shop.

Wood Type Museum

Be sure to check out this on-line museum of wood type. The collection includes several complete catalogs of letterpress type from the 1890 Morgrans & Wilcox fonts to the 1899 Hamilton #14 fonts. The site also includes an extensive collection of ornaments, borders, and engraved blocks. The inspiration is endless for your design projects. See the Wood Type Museum at this link provided by Unicorn Graphics.