I have to say I haven't been more excited about a book in a while than this one! Letterpress Now, a DIY Guide to New & Old Printing Methods by Jessica C. White is really something special if you're in the same thought process as I, totally in love with the letterpress, but were maybe a little confused as where to start. I absolutely LOVE this book as it basically explains everything you wanted to know or maybe even didn't know you wanted to know about letterpress, from deciding on what type would be good for what you need, purchasing one, all the equipment (safety and otherwise) needed to run one and then a heap of awesome projects to make or be inspired by. I have had a few letterpress lessons in my day, but really, to have a book to guide you - and not only guide you but then show several different projects and how to make them from letterpress pros such as Hatch Show Prints, Blackbird Letterpress and more is such a treasure. Jessica White, co-founder of Ladies of Letterpress knows her stuff and does an awesome job laying it all out sharing all the information you need to get started in the letterpress world, whether it's a hobby or perhaps a more serious business venture.
The book is available through Amazon here and is published by Lark Crafts who also sell it at their site here.
And hooray! We have an extra copy to give away here this week! If you're interested in the giveaway, please leave a comment here at this post why you think you deserve to a copy - and we'll pick a winner by Friday, January 11th! Tweet it and come back here to leave a second entry - with the link to your tweet. Deadline to enter is Thursday evening 9pm Pacific time on January 10/13. No Anonymous or Unknown commenters will be eligible unless you leave a valid email. Best of luck to everyone!
Comments
the press on the first page is the same I just purchased, I'm in love!:)
And I deserve one because.... I'm awesome!?
I don't know how to get the URL for individual tweets, but hope this is good enough! It's my most recent tweet :)
Thank you for the opportunity.
♥
Fingers crossed! :-)
I am a graphic designer and have recently started teaching Printmaking at my cities university. I found an old C&P (hidden by dust mostly) and am TRYING to restore it for the kids before the end of the term. They are chomping at the bit to get their fingers on it and I am googling 'how to adjust platen bolts'. This book is just what we need!
https://twitter.com/letterkabinet/status/288996747869564928
Sorry I don't tweet - yet...
I'll be right back with my tweet link :)
Best os lick to us all!
fazerfazendofeito.wordpress.com
-Elizabeth
here's the tweet link
https://mobile.twitter.com/fazerfazendo/status/289002386150785024
Thank you , poppytalk :)
I just adore well made typography and with this fantastic giveaway I could make my own and it would even be made analogously!
How wonderful is that?
Bianka
I am a first year graphic student and I am a total newby in the graphic world but I love the vintage and old aspects off designing! I would love to learn about letterpress because. Thats the only things I can say :)
x Sharon
Please strongly consider choosing me.
Thank you for the chance at such a great give-a-way.
I recently moved to Wisconsin where I discovered the Hamilton Wood Type Museum, an incredible museum with the world's largest collection of wood type and letterpress machinery. Unfortunately, the museum has recently been told they have to vacate their current property and need donations in order to fund the move and maintain the collection.
A book like this would be great to have in order to teach friends about the art of letterpress and why it's so important to support a gem like the Hamilton.
For more information on the Hamilton Wood Type Museum or to give a donation visit:
http://woodtype.org/
Thanks!
PS. I'm not affiliated with the Hamilton, I'm just a huge fan of the museum they run and they're mission to preserve the art of letterpress.
*became
**their
Need to be better about proofreading :)
ok here is..
MY LONG STORY.
this giveaway is just so timely! just last weekend i came back from a trip to the UNESCO heritage sited town of historic Melaka (in my home country of Malaysia) upon learning of this little known printing press shop that is on a quest to revive & reinvent itself after 4 generations of existence. i never knew!
--
flashback to 2 years ago. i was visiting Melbourne & chanced upon the Melbourne Museum of Printing. i was so keen to see what i could learn from there but alas, they were in the midst of relocating. imagine. relocating this HUGE collection of old print press equipment. i decided to volunteer with the move. to the outer suburbs of Footscray. & learnt what i could along the way from the warm affable owner/founder of the place.. Michael.
i helped move for about 2 weeks. no small feat i must say. forklifts were involved. many dusty pigeon pooped warehouse-type storage places too. along the way.. i learnt to use the pallet jack! but then it was time to head home to Malaysia. & the move was barely half completed. & so i didn't get to fully learn the ropes from michael the art of the press. i was sad.. but i vowed to go back & pay Michael a visit again.
MMOP website here:
http://mmop.org.au/
--
fast forward to present time in Melaka. i naturally jumped at the chance to tag along when my photographer friend was doing a shoot of the lil printshop place! suffice to say i was starry-eyed & head-over-heels in love with the place. i made a new friend in Soon Wei. the great grandson of the original printer who brought the printed word to Melaka. he now helms the business & has bright & beautiful plans for his lil print press shops future! i predict i be paying his shop lotsa visits!
The Royal Press as reviewed thru the eyes of Melissa Rachel Black here:
http://melissarachelblack.com/royalpress/
my interest has been jumpstarted & ignited again by the the Royal Press. winning this book will mean i get to keep all my cogs well greased & running. creative juices flowing. etsyshop on the brink of opening. then pay Michael a visit again & share the news! he be so ecstatic too. i would love to help keep this art & heritage alive in Malaysia in amy little way that i could.
thankyou for the chance!
and if u made it this far in my post.. thanks for reading too :D
cheers
ching
https://twitter.com/chingyen/status/289043992002326528
thanks poppytalk :)
For the joy and the happiness it brings,
And there's nothing more lovely
than handmade typography
So please help give my ideas some wings!
x
I am glad I found your blog.
I'm teaching graphic design and my students are saying I'm only thinking about Typefaces. They say I even dream in Typefaces!
Maybe this will let them understand WHY typefaces are so important & beautiful!
and just knowing that a craft person's hands were engaged..
i really will love to read the book
i really will love to use it
i really will appreciate it
i really will send you a handmade letterpress printed thank you card
Please count me in! =)
Ergo - Blog
anne
I'm a college student who is just getting into letterpressing. One of my friends took the class I'm enrolled in this semester last year and he made the most awesome, detailed, heart warming gifts for his family and close friends. Being with him as he made these gifts made realize the power a handcrafted letterpressed creation can have on a person. I run an art blog that focuses on peoples' perceptions of art and over the holidays so many awesome people gave me there time to sit, chat, and help me out with my project. I want to to start making gifts of thank you for helping me out so much.
Thank you!
https://twitter.com/jazzalbert/status/289111154687610880
My sister gave me a present of a letterpress course in Kingston ON in 2011. We both got hooked. In April 2012 I took a plunge and got a tabletop letterpress. I am at the beginner stage but I am excited for the potential.
Having a current how-to'book would be a great reference.
And letterpress has a special family connection as great uncles and my grandfather used to be in the newspaper business where letterpress was the only method of producing newspapers.
Thanks!
pernilla[at]karstrom.com
Vickie
vasaart@yahoo.com
For me, that meant making and selling printed things and paintings. Re: printed things i've made/sold:
1) Broadsides made during a letterpress course I took 15 years ago that had an image of a pen becoming a calligraphic flourish from an image I originally did with a calligraphy nib and with a poem I wrote to my muse
2) Card sets and gift tags I made with a Gocco screen printed - images were all my own drawings and painted sketches - very tiny and brightly inked (chick, dog warily sniffing flower, wire hen basket filled with eggs)
A long time has passed since I've done any printing and I'm excited to start again, BUT - since my Gocco mini-press is now broken and discontinued, I've been exploring doing both letterpress printing at home or at a nearby studio. Home is preferable for a variety of reasons, namely convenience, but also that i would need a serious refresher course on operating a press and setting type. Also, while I know of polymer plates, I've never made one or had one made, but I'm slowly getting an idea of who to go to and why...
This is why a book like Letterpress Now would be great to have as I am on the precipice of deciding whether to buy one of the newer desktop presses being sold to crafting folks or to just return to a studio that owns the big mothers....and also I just continue to love all things printed "by hand".
Thanks for considering and having the contest!
Take care,
Vivian Choy Edelson
(whose imprint so many years ago was "Time to Eat Press")
This book could help me start an art that I adore!