letterpress – Of Paper and Ink

The Pennyroyal Press Alice in Wonderland & Through the Looking Glass w/Barry Moser Engravings

Posted on March 1, 2022February 24, 2022 by BookLifeStudio

These are photos of Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass and What Alice Found There, printed at Pennyroyal Press in 1982 with wood engravings by Barry Moser. Bookbinder Philip Smith completed the forwarding of these two fine press books over in the U.K., but the binding was not completed before his death. He made a notation on the colophon at the back of both regarding when he had started the forwarding of the books.

Photo Details from Forwarding the Book

Posted on February 25, 2022February 24, 2022 by BookLifeStudio

These are photo details from sewing and forwarding the book. There is a significant difference between making one or two design bindings and creating the same binding multiple times for a limited edition binding.

Completed printing of A Curmudgeon

Posted on February 24, 2022 by BookLifeStudio

Last month, I finished printing my latest book project on Rives BFK paper on my Vandercook Universal III in the studio. There will be 25 copies of this limited edition. Below are pictures of the process of printing and folding the signatures.

Book Project #2: A tale of a curmudgeon

Posted on July 20, 2021July 16, 2021 by BookLifeStudio

My current book project is a short story I wrote in 14 vignettes. I'm printing this project on the Vandercook Universal III.

First Printed Book from the Press

Posted on July 17, 2021July 16, 2021 by BookLifeStudio

I printed my first small book project on the Chandler and Price. This project was my first attempt at producing an editioned book.

Platemaking for Letterpress

Posted on November 20, 2020 by BookLifeStudio

I added a photopolymer platemaker for letterpress printing to the studio.

Progress During the Pandemic

Posted on July 2, 2020July 1, 2020 by BookLifeStudio

The pandemic has come with some unusual changes in routine that have had many benefits in terms of making progress on my first book project.

Vandercook Universal III Repairs

Posted on July 1, 2020June 30, 2020 by BookLifeStudio

Learning more about mechanics has been one of the surprising and wonderful aspects of working to get my printing press operation up and running. If I'm not actually able to practice printing, I'm at least learning how to repair and maintain the presses.

New Leather Belt for the C&P

Posted on June 30, 2020 by BookLifeStudio

My C&P press had an old car belt hooked up to the old motor, and the previous owner had put a ton of black electrical tape on one end of the motor to keep the belt from migrating off as it ran. In addition to replacing the motor and getting rid of that tape, we added a leather drive belt this week.

Polymer Plate Making for Letterpress

Posted on December 3, 2019November 30, 2019 by BookLifeStudio

This month I completed the Polymer Plate classes taught by book artist, Lars Kim, at the San Francisco Center for the Book.