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Click here for photos of our recent activities!
Pictured here are my instructor Gary Marc Remson and me holding the first pages of my book project, The Surgeon Factory, on Saturday, 9-27-08. After a number of years of setting the 256 page book on the Linotype, we are finally ready to start the actual printing on our 1922 vintage Miehle V-36 press. After assembling the pages in the chase and plainning the type form (“make ready”), the chase with the type form was placed into the press, the ink fountain adjustments were fine tuned; we then printed 250 sheets of paper “two-up” (each sheet containing two pages). Gary is a retired master printer and a wonderful, kind, patient instructor who studied under Dr. Richard J. Hoffman.
Hot off the Press! New Panel Cards Printing generously donated by Castle Press, Pasadena
Wood Type of the Month - October 2008
Printing Stone #984 by Hand Lithography
Stone 984 could have originally been printed on a flatbed hand press manufactured in the USA in the mid-nineteenth century. Those presses were used commercially until the 1930s. After the 1930s many hand presses were sold for scrap until schools and individual artists started buying and using them. It was the popularity they had with artists that created the demand for new presses built on the old dimensions and patterns. The Charles Brand Press and The Griffin Press are two examples of that. With the permission of the International Print Museum I took the stone to Kimiko Miyoshi who is an assistant professor in the Printmaking Department at California State University, Long Beach, on June 27, 2008. She set to work to bring the images back to life. The press we used at the printmaking lab in the CSULB Art department was a Charles Brand from 1966, very likely similar to the original commercial press used.
While giving tours, I am frequently asked, “You’re a doctor, and how didyou end up in printing?” I explain that I was a boy printer; discuss the love I have for letterpress printing; explaining how relaxing I find setting type in my own letterpress shop; then go on to say I consider this (printing) my avocation. More . . . “T’s” Visit Last Month, “A’s” This Month 
Last month a Model T club visited the Printing Museum. This month a Model A club attended a special day. Our founder Ernie Lindner was a member of this club. In fact, he had just returned from driving their Model A’s on a 2200 mile trip around Europe with this group, when he passed away in October 2002. 
Harriet Lindner, Ernie’s widow, remains a member of this club and was in attendance on Saturday. In addition to an extended tour of the Front Gallery, attendees enjoyed a presentation by our own Dr. Ben Franklin portrayed by actor Phil Soinski. In the Book Arts Institute, Rachelle Chuang gave them a tour including the Library. All particularly enjoyed having names set on the Linotype by Luis Garcia and printed by Curator/Director Mark Barbour as he regaled the visitors with printing history facts. Click the pointer hand icon at the top of this page for more photos of this special day. Photos show Harriet with Docent Director Dr. Leland Whitson, Dr. Ben Franklin (Phil Soinski), and Docent Dwight Antioch as well as the beautifully restored cars in the parking lot. Clearly Harriet is loved by all. Automobile Driving Museum Director Laurie Lewis, Executive Director of the Automobile Driving Museum, El Segundo, California, visited the International Printing Museum with her family. Coincidentally it was the birthday weekend for her husband Dennis whose father was a lifetime Linotype Operator. Dennis described watching his Dad work at the machine as he was growing up. Dennis would do many odd tasks, especially sweeping up the shop. More . . .Thunderbird Club Visits the Carson, California, July 12, 2007 Twenty-two members of the Early Birds Thunderbird Club of Southern California from Orange, California, visited our Museum. They were treated to a special Ben Franklin Show with Phil Soinski, an extended tour of the Main Gallery by Peter Small and then a catered lunch. After lunch, they enjoyed having their names set on the Linotype by Luis Garcia and printed by Dr. Leland Whitson. Assistant Director Rachelle Woo Chuang also showed visitors about the Book Arts Institute. More . . . A recent visitor to the museum, Dr. Larue, was kind of enough to make one of his signature “Pano” images of Docent Luis García, our resident Linotype operator. Here is the still version; click on it to see the amazing 360° view of Luis and his surroundings. For a panoramic view of the main floor of the museum, click here. To learn more about the many examples of historic printing equipment in the museum’s collection, click here. (You can see other examples of “Panos” here and here.)
Just Off the Press:
To view this issue online, click here to download the pdf version Historic Sign Obtained Curator/Director Mark Barbour recently acquired this circa 1926 La Opinión sign from their Los Angeles office on May 31, along with a large paper cutter and a Linotype on the day the property had to be vacated. La Opinión is the oldest Spanish speaking daily newspaper in Los Angeles. It has been in continuous publication for over 80 years. More . . . Capping the Balls: A Glimpse into an
It was the worst job in the entire print shop, one that often fell to the youngest apprentice. Benjamin Franklin hated the task, obligated to perform it while indentured to his older brother James. And the stench from it surely gave a distinct odor to any 18th century printer and his shop. I am speaking of the preparation of the pelts for use on the inking balls. More . . . Click here for the News Archive |
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New: Photo Galleries
The Surgeon Factory Book Production Begins
Gary has come down every Saturday the past few weeks to clean, lubricate and prep the Miehle V-36 for printing and to give me “private” printing lessons. He has been very patient with me and has gone over every step of the printing process, including the use of an ink fountain. Gary is so knowledgeable he has taught me tricks of the trade not found in the machine’s operating instructions. 
This summer a dedicated team of Museum staff and volunteers contributed to our new panel cards, showcasing the Printing Museum’s on-site and traveling programs (see Education tab). Mark Barbour and Rachelle W. Chuang designed the cards and superb photos were taken of our own Benjamin Franklin (Phil Soinski) by Dwight Antioch and Bruce Ecker. 
Richard Tautenhahn letterpress-printed additional text on our Heidelberg Windmill. Castle Press in Pasadena generously donated four-color printing and MMi mailing house in Commerce provided mail-services producing an outstanding, professional set of cards for our 2008-2009 school year. Thank you to everyone involved on this successful project!
When Rachelle Chuang and I saw stone #984 tucked in the back of the Museum warehouse, we knew that it could be revived and printed. The images that were etched on both sides of the stone had been dormant for a century. One side had what appears to be bank notes from the first decade of the 1900s and the other side labels or decals used as certificates of authenticity. 
A limited edition of prints are available with a donation to the Museum. Contact bookarts@printmuseum.org for more information. Sandy just finished teaching an outstanding Linocut class to enthusiastic students. Printmaking is off to a great start at the Book Arts Institute! Look for linocut, woodblock, collagraph, paper lithography and silkscreening classes in 2009.
Boy Printer, Second Printing Completed
A new edition of the museum’s newsletter, The Wayzgoose Gazette, has just been released. Highlights of Volume 13, Number 2, include A Printer's Patriotic Declaration; Dan Freedland, President of the IPM Board of Trustees: a Review of our July Pop-up Day and a Calendar of upcoming Family Days.
