"The Wearin' o' the Green..."

"Dear March, come in -- how glad I am…" writes Emily Dickinson, and indeed we are welcoming the new month and its new growth with new projects here at St Brigid Press:

The print shop is housed in a small room that has served as a laundry room, dog kennel, and storage space -- so there is much cleaning (and cleaning out) to do! I've been taking up the old, dusty carpet, putting down rubber mats at work stations, and hauling assorted "stuff" to the shed (where it will wait to be either recycled, given away, or dumped).

This week I have also been cleaning and sanding some sturdy old type cabinets and cases, in preparation for repainting (Hershey is inspecting the sanding job in the above picture). Not sure where they originally came from, but sometime in their history they were given coats of (to me) gastly colors -- lime green, grey, bright orange-red, teal, and crimson! Yikes! We're going to calm things down with a nice uniform application of a color called "Cedar Path Green." Ahhh…. When finished, these cabinets will house St Brigid Press' collection of metal type and ornaments.

Thanks be for sun and warmth for a day of painting under the poplar tree!

An Afternoon with Emily Dickinson

I spent this beautiful winter's afternoon in the printing studio with Emily Dickinson. We enjoyed each other's company, along with tea and National Public Radio, and co-created a nice little letterpress print.

The poem I chose to work with is the same one as appears in the previous post, that begins "There is no frigate like a book..." This was one of my most-loved Dickinson poems as a child, and I have been wanting to set it fully by hand and print it on the Poco press. It was great fun (much laughter as I studied the first proof and found several typographical errors, including upside-down letters), and I learned a lot about the process of setting type, locking it up in the chase, and experimenting with registration.

And with the wonderful poem itself for constant and spirited companion, what a joyful time indeed!

Here are a few more pictures of the process:

The New (Old!) Printing Press, part

Here is the little press on its stand in my studio (quite the adventure wrangling the 200 pound piece of cast iron out of the car, onto a makeshift dolly, and into the basement room, but we managed!).  The bed of the press, the flat part where the moveable metal or wood type is arranged and locked and upon which the paper to be printed is placed, measures 12"X18". When the crank is turned, the bed moves under the cylinder and "presses" the paper onto the inked type. Voila! A print!

On New Year's Day I pulled a first print, which you can see in the above picture (sort of). The image is of an old clipper ship. The text is the first line of one of my favorite Emily Dickinson poems: "There is no Frigate like a Book..." (The whole poem is viewable at the bottom of this post.)

The Happy Printer:

A poem by Emily Dickinson:

"There is no frigate like a book

To take us lands away,

Nor any coursers like a page

Of prancing poetry.

This traverse may the poorest take

Without oppress of toll;

How frugal is the chariot

That bears a human soul!"

The New (Old!) Printing Press, part 1

  Here is a look at St Brigid Press' very first printing press, the Poco  Proof Press, made in Chicago, circa 1910. These two images were sent to me by the gentleman I bought the press from, John Falstrom in Connecticut. A delightful, extremely knowledgeable man, John spent hours showing me this press, as well as his outstanding print studio with Golding presses and equipment of all sorts, and teaching me the basics. His wife, Angie, is an amazing watercolor artist, and together they comprise the fine arts studio "Perennial Designs" (take a look at their wonderful website, listed to the left under "Friends of St Brigid Press" links).

Welcome, Welcome!

This is the beginning of St Brigid Press online. Pictures of the press(es) and commentary will follow as we get up and running here at Arbora Studios! Blessings to all,

St Brigid Press