William learned the basics of Thompson Maintenance in Sky Shipley’s small workshop last year at the American Typefounders Association conference in Piqua, Ohio, and most of the 3-month restoration project went as planned. Our machine had not been used for over 20 years, and although it was in fairly good working order, the layers of grime, oil, and chipping paint invited a good cleaning and repainting before we put it back to work. First, the main mechanisms of the machine were disassembled, thoroughly cleaned, and painted again. The outdated gas-powered pot heater was converted to propane. A simple recirculating system was rigged to supply water to the cooling chambers inside the hot mold, and the electrical connections to the motor were modernized. Some parts in the critical nozzle mechanism had frozen and needed to be removed and replaced.

Meanwhile, Graciela and other volunteers were sorting and cataloging the matrices that came to us in old, disintegrating boxes, or worse, in loose piles. The matrices, mostly for commercial typefaces popular in the 1920s to 1950s, are now collected and labeled in newer, more convenient storage boxes.

After several days of careful adjustments and tests, the first usable type came marching out of the finishing ‘shoe’. The focus then shifted from learning how to restore the machine to learning how to operate it. Casting type on a Thompson caster is similar to playing a violin. The standard widths stamped on the matrices produce only average quality letter-fitting; sometimes the settings are just wrong. And although there is a small steel baseline standard to compare to, the baseline position is also not mechanically fixed. For best results, the position on the type body of each matrix must be manually set and adjusted in increments of less than .002 inches. With little to guide you but your eye and your experience.

We are now in the process of doing test castings of various fonts, to see which ones will suit our upcoming projects, and to gain the experience to cast each font correctly and to our own standards. And now we are in a good position to seek out matrices for those special typefaces we have always admired.

The format and margins of the book were designed to gracefully frame the author’s poems on the page, instead of forcing them into a page of standardized dimensions. A deckle-edge all-cotton mouldmade paper was chosen, and one hundred copies of each page were printed sheet-by-sheet on our foot-powered Chandler & Price platen press. The sheets were folded, gathered into signatures, and carefully sewn by hand. Then the text block was cased in a luminous blue cloth binding with the title impressed on the cover in gold. What better way to adorn and preserve the fruits of literary labors.

After the last two CODEX Book Fairs, we wouldn’t dare miss the 2011 biennial CODEX International Book Fair and Symposium, scheduled from February 6 through 9, 2011 on the campus of The University of California Berkeley. We have reserved our place among the 140 tables for printers and international publishers and we hope to see you there.

Previous CODEXes provided an opportunity to see and be seen in a relaxed setting; a chance for all to admire the current work of a truly international group of book artists and artisans. The fair itself featured hand-press printers and fine art presses and included booksellers, bookbinders, papermakers, bibliophile organizations, and educational programs in the book arts.

Since the last CODEX, we’ve been busy working on private commissions and installing our new bindery and typecasting equipment. However, we are bringing a new line of small letterpress greeting cards, and for Petrarch Press collectors, a number of unbound leaves from earlier Petrarch Press editions. These selected pages printed on parchment and traditional papers offer new collectors an affordable way to enjoy and appreciate fine printing on traditional materials, and provide book arts educators with sheets suitable for hands-on examination.

Of course will have copies of our available publications, Canticle of the Creatures by Francis of Assisi, Gospel According to Philip and of course, the luxurious Thoughts from the Letters of Petrarch. If you are unable to join us at CODEX, you can purchase these beautiful books now by clicking here.

The third biennial CODEX International Book Fair will be taking place in the ASUC Pauley Ballroom on the campus of the University of California Berkeley. The ballroom is near the intersection of Telegraph Ave. and Bancroft way. The fair has become the “world’s fair” of the book as art and artifact. Over 140 artists from around the globe will be exhibiting what amounts to “a staggering panopoly of riches.” For the latest information on the bookfair, visit the CODEX Foundation website.

The CODEX Foundation has a worthy aim to preserve and promote the art and craft of the book. We share that aim and hope to see you in Berkeley.

An antique French wooden standing press now stands next to our more modern cast-iron standing press made in Boston by Chas. P. Holden. Two other pieces, a wooden laying press with iron wheel and screws, and a charming iron and wood 33-in. board shear, wait nearby for our next binding project to start. A range of Bradel boards, paste and glue brushes, dividers, knives, folders, and sewing materials will fill our needs for many years to come.

Cataloging and learning to use the numerous antique brass finishing tools will have to wait a while, but it promises to be an exciting project.

Wonderful stories were told by Henry Morris about his Bird & Bull Press, whose first booklet he sold for $3 and was happy to find selling in 1980 for $900. We appreciated his tip about using the magic flat rate postal service boxes which, much to the dismay of his postman, came from all parts of the U.S. stuffed full of lead type for his newest book The Private Type Casters, but most importantly Henry Morris reminded us all about how fun this work really is.

Meanwhile, Graham Moss (Incline Press in the UK) had written some new lyrics to an old popular melody (“A-nutting we will go”) and printed them beautifully as a keepsake for this memorable weekend. Gathering in Bob Fleck’s garden on Saturday evening, Graham passed out copies of his keepsake to the entire crowd and led us all in rousing rendition of the song when Henry emerged from the house.

We were pleased with the caliber of guests drawn to this years event and appreciated being a select part of the panel discussion with other printers and librarians. A memorable slice of pre-meeting communication included the musings of one pressman on the state of the fine press world today:

While most of us shared his views, we still seemed to flourish this year as the committed following of fine press lovers continued to find their way to our table.

At Oak Knoll 2008 we previewed our newest publication, Canticle of the Creatures by Francis of Assisi, in original Umbrian text with English translation by John Venerella. Though we will have many handmade paper copies available, by the end of Oak Knoll Fest, the parchment copies were already sold out! If you want more information on this publication please see our announcement here and to purchase this beautiful book contact us by clicking here.

Two collectible limited editions of the Canticle are being issued: 6 copies printed on sheepskin parchment, and 60 copies printed on cream-colored handmade paper, produced especially for the Press by Ruscombe Mills in France. The text has been set in beautiful Poliphilus type, with large initial letters in red, designed at the Press in the style of the original manuscript initial. (See the original here.) Our eight-page edition of the Canticle is printed in Large Quarto format – 10 x 13-1/2 inches. Both the paper and the parchment editions are bound in half Japanese linen with the boards covered in handmade Nepalese Lokta paper printed with our own Canticle pattern. Parchment copies are protected by a slipcase.

We expect to deliver finished books to their owners in December 2008.

For details about the 15th annual Oak Knoll Fest visit visit their website.
We hope to see you there!

This year we will enter our second book, The Gospel According to Philip, also with a parchment edition, into the Gregynog Letterpress competition for the finest book printed using traditional letterpress. We will also enter the Judges’ Choice Awards where three collectors and dealers chose their favorites of the books published since the previous fair. Wish us luck!

Although some official recognition would be nice, what we really love is meeting old and new friends and enjoying Oxford.

For more information about the Oak Knoll Book Festival, visit their website. We look forward to seeing the early fall colors, joining our old friends and meeting new faces. And we are always inspired by wonderful work of our peers.