MOP Blog
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They came to the Fair
Frank Romano
The 7th Annual Printing Arts Fair took place at the Museum of Printing on a sunny Father’s Day, punctuated by a very short rain shower. Many families were counted among the 400-plus attendees, who saw demonstrations of papermaking, stone lithography, intaglio printing, Ludlow and Linotype linecasting, and other book arts.
Over 30 exhibitors offered note books, cards, rare books, antique equipment, ephemera, and other articles. Children could print wood type and pictorial cuts as well as Father’s Day cards.
The centerpiece of the event was our steamroller printing (for the second year in a row). Sally Abugov and her band of 28 linoleum block carvers created a wonderful set of alphabetic designs with floral/fauna themes. The individual blocks were printed in different colors and sold at the Fair.
A great time was had by all.
There’s a whole gallery of pictures of the Printing Arts Fair >
Photos by Richard Koolish
The end of an era
Frank Romano
Louis Moyroud just died. Doesn’t ring a bell? He and Rene Higonet invented photographic typesetting. Oh, phototypesetting does not ring a bell either? From the 1950s to the 1990s, we set type using photographic techniques, exposing miles of photo-sensitive paper and film. The printing industry moved to CTP in the 1990s and digital printing in the 2000s, but the era of pre-press automation began with Louis and Rene. Rene died in 1983. Louis died on June 30 at the age of 95.
It was a privilege to call Louis my friend. I first met him in 1969 when I began as advertising manager for Photon, the company that brought his products to market. He was a prolific inventor and was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame.
He and Higonet began their experiments in France just after WW II. In 1946 Higonet came to the US and looked up Vannever Bush, president of MIT and President Roosevelt’s advisor on technology. Bush put Higonet in contact with Bill Garth, who had a company in Cambridge, MA called Lithomat. They made paper masters for offset duplicator presses.
Garth formed a foundation to support the development of photographic typesetting. The first machine, Petunia, set the first book photographically “The Wonderful World of Insects” in 1949. But the foundation wanted a bigger machine that could do more — because the Foundation’s members were big newspapers, book printers, and typesetting services. After a few more years the Model 200B came out and it started a revolution in printing pre-press.
Garth was forced out and started Compugraphic Corp. with Ellis Hansen to produce the small machine he really wanted. I later followed Bill and became the first Marketing Communications Manager at CG. But I kept in touch with Louis who went on to develop a line of phototypesetters — the 570s, 713s, Zips, and Pacesetters.
He worked from his lab in Florida with Grant Morgan and Higonet’s nephew Trevor. When Photon was absorbed into Dymo in 1971, Louis retired.
He had a wonderful sense of humor and an unassuming demeanor. He had collected most of the early phototypesetters and donated them to the Museum of Printing in North Andover. Petunia is on display.
John Crosfield, Rudolf Hell, Benny Landa, and Dan Gelbart are among the inventors who moved the printing industry to new levels, but the era of automation began with Louis and Rene.
Louis is now gone and revolution he began is now ended. But other revolutions continue.
[New York Times obituary here: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/02/business/media/02moyroud.html?_r=4&ref=obituaries]
Documentary on Jim Rimmer and Cutting Metal Type
Cliff Garber
Making Faces: Jim Rimmer
A Documentary on Cutting Metal Type
The film is still being edited but you can catch a glimpse of it on YouTube.
Typesetters, 1910
Cliff Garber
We bet you still can’t set type by hand as fast as these guys.
(via Jason Santa Maria)
New Homes Found for Old Type
G.L.
There were quite a few finds at the MOP Type Sale on Saturday. “Gentleman John” Barrett of Letterpress Things coordinates these events for the benefit of the Museum and this weekend’s event had a super turnout. As a volunteer stevedore (Sisyphus?) for the day, I can vouch for the small mountain of wood and lead type sold, as well as other awesome heavy loot: presses, cabinets, and trunkloads of letterpress gear.
My favorite item at the sale was this large font of poster type that had been donated by the Lawrence Eagle-Tribune. Aside from the occasional “WAR!” headline I doubt this typeface got much editorial use and was probably acquired for job work. It was one of the first fonts out the door. Of course, a lot of other beautiful fonts got snapped up as well.
It was very social and fun day, and frankly I needed the workout. Big thanks to old and new friends for stopping in, stocking up, and supporting the Museum. And hey, if you happened to buy any type at the sale, we would love to see what you do with it. If you have any pics of your projects, share ‘em on our Facebook wall!
And We're Blogging
G.L.
So the Museum has been on Twitter and Facebook for a spell, but it’s high-time we started some old fashioned macro-blogging around here. 140-character blasts don’t let us describe all of the cool stuff that’s going on at the MOP these days. So, after mashing three LCD displays in a Miehle Vertical I got a few pointers from Cliff Garber and found slightly better ways of putting text on a computer screen.
I’ll try to keep the updates regular. Enjoy, stay tuned, and for your safety keep your fingers clear of the machine.
The Museum Store is Open!
Bill Whitley
The Museum has set aside a room with surplus type, equipment, and supplies for sale, to benefit our ongoing activities, largely thanks to the tireless efforts of John Barrett, shown here talking with a potential customer. John has organized the Museum Store along the lines of his own store, (“Letterpress Things”) in Chicopee, Mass.
There is type in drawers and galleys, cases and racks; also furniture, spacing materials & slug cutters, ink, paper drills and cutters, and book presses (to name a few things). John has spent many long hours moving and organizing type and supplies, so it’s going to be easy to find what you’re looking for. (Yes, you get the benefit of John’s obsessive-compulsive tendencies!)
The self-service store is open whenever the Museum is open, pricing is very reasonable, and all sales benefit the Museum.
