| When Norman Schmidt first became aware of letterpress printing as a teenager working summers at the local printery, he was especially fascinated by its physicality, the sense of play it engendered (akin to building blocks) and the synergism of ideas possible in this “type plus image” medium. This subsequently led to a career in graphic design, only to see letterpress virtually disappear from the scene as the whole process became first photographic and then digital. Letterpress became an obsolete technology (with some exceptions). |
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At the Vandercook SP 15 printing press – the very machine that Norman first used as a young art and design student. |
Metal type, showing the raised surface to be inked and printed (the face). |
| For private printing letterpress continued as the mainstay, and after retiring from professional design practice and teaching, Norman moved away from the bustle of the city and began doing personal letterpress work in an old country summer kitchen with a single Vandercook SP 15 printing press and a modest selection of wood and metal type – thus began Summer Kitchen Press. Some things come full circle. The Press is located in Altona, Manitoba, Canada, the same prairie town as, Friesens, today one of Canada’s premier printers, where Norman’s interest in letterpress began and where, as a freelance designer, many of his clients’ projects were printed over the years. |
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Private presses have a unique tradition in the print world, often unconventional and reactionary against the status quo of the commercial press. That is how it began with William Morris in the 1890s with his Kelmscott Press. Today there are private presses scattered around the world, small enterprises where book artists of all kinds find making books and other prints by hand to be the perfect medium for personal expression. The unique beauty of hand printing, combined with the creative use of paper and binding, attracts such clientele as appreciate the art. Historically, the work of private presses has proved an aesthetic benchmark. Through organizations like the Canadian Bookbinders and Bookartists Guild (CBBAG), where ideas and techniques are shared, book artists stay in touch with others who are keeping the tradition of handwork alive.
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Hand-setting type.
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Metal and wood type with lino blocks for a project. |
| Letterpress is all about handwork. It is labour intensive and time consuming, but can, at the same time, be meditative and relaxing with its many tactile processes – setting the type letter by letter; cutting blocks for printing images; adjusting pressure and ink in the press make-ready; pulling proofs; then rhythmically turning the handle of the machine to make impressions; and finally trimming, folding, glueing, and stitching. Each stage provides plenty of opportunities for creative experiment as it suits the individual. Because there are no client or time constraints in private work, great attention can be given to every detail without compromise. Handmaking such as this is a complete reversal of the techniques found in either a modern graphic design studio or modern printery, both of which are digital and on the cutting edge of technological advance. New technology, however, is sometimes combined with the old for special effects. |
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Card for the new year, 21.5 x 27.8 cm, 8 pages, sewn. Edition of 31. |
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Card, “Cleave the Soil” 21.5 x 27.8 cm, single fold. Edition of 50. |
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Card, “September Days” 21.5 x 27.8 cm, single fold. Edition of 45. |
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Broadsheet, “Philemon” 30.4 x 45.7 cm. Edition of 11. |
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