The black art of letterpress

(Updated: Thanks to Ray for pointing me to this article which clarifies the use of "font" vs "typeface"; I've since corrected my use in this post! I think. :-))

I've updated Inkygirl with the cartoon above as well as a typeface survey. I've always been fascinated by how much a typeface can influence a reader/viewer, though I've never been as much of a typeface snob as my friends Justin and John.



My obsession with typefaces overlaps with other obsessions, like writing, office supplies, stationery, and printing processes. Which is why I was so interested in checking out Coach House Press during Doors Open weekend, where interesting buildings (often heritage sites) normally closed to the public open their doors to anyone interested.



Jeff, Ray and I visited quite a few buildings on Saturday, but I found that the most interesting was Coach House Press, near Spadina and Bloor. Publishing fiction and poetry since 1965, the literary press has published books by Michael Ondaatje, George Bowering, Nicole Brossard, Guy Maddin, and hundreds of others.



In 1991, Coach House was split into two separate companies: the printing house Coach House Printing and the book publisher Coach House Press. Sadly, the book publisher declared bankruptcy in 1996. Later the same year, the printing company was moved back into book publishing.



Printer and compositor, Nicholas Kennedy, was in the Type Room, giving demonstrations of a small hand press as well as answering any questions people might have. Nicholas normally works at Trip Print Press, whose site brilliantly describe themselves as "Practitioners of the black art, letterpress."

When I asked Nicholas which typeface he preferred, Courier or Courier New, he looked at me as if I was nuts. Courier, of course! (Yay)



I was curious about letterpress, a topic I have only microscopic knowledge about, so checked out this Wikipedia entry, which said that "letterpress" is a term for printing text with movable type, in which the raised surface of the type is inked and then pressed against a smooth substance to obtain an image in reverse. The term also sometimes refers to the process of making a direct impression of inked media such as zinc "cuts" (plates) or linoleum blocks onto a receptive surface. Johann Gutenberg was one of the first people to use movable type printing individually-cast, reusable letters set in a frame.


Keyboard of an old linotype machine.

Use of letterpress is pretty rare these days. Typesetting is computerised now, and offset printing is much more economical than using cast metal types. Happily, places like Coach House Press and Trip Print Press help keep the art alive. I found conflicting reports online about which process provides the higher quality image, but there's no denying the esthetic appeal of letterpress.

Sources and for more info:

Trip Print Press photos on Flickr

Trip Print Press

Coach House Press

Wikipedia entry on letterpress printing

Doors Open

Video O' The Day:

Veteran graphic design/typography and letterpress teacher David Dabner (London College of Printing) offers interesting insights into the principles of design, creative letterpress and why he thinks computers make students sloppy.






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Chocolate, friends and memories

Went for a run this morning to avoid the heat later in the day, and was struck again by how FAST spring seems to have jumped on us this year: trees seeming to bud overnight, flowers blooming in a heartbeat. Or maybe I'm just more aware of the seasons now that we live in a residential area. Looking out our condo window in downtown Toronto a couple years ago, it sometimes seemed as if the only way you could tell the season was by the arrival of the Unknown Guitarist.


Will Write For Chocolate has been updated, as you can see above. I've been having fun reading the answers to my Inkygirl Survey: did you ever use a manual typewriter? As I mentioned in that entry, my first typewriter was a manual Underwood, and I used horrible powdery correction paper to fix mistakes. Then I won an electric typewriter in a writing contest, and I thought THAT was pretty high tech.

But speaking of chocolate: as I mentioned in a Blathering a while back, I've had to cut down on my chocolate intake to lower my blood sugar level. My friend Sibylle in Germany kindly sent me some sugar-free chocolate to help me cope with my frustrated chocolaholicism (sp? :-):



Yummmm....

And today, a surprise package arrived for Jeff and me today from Erin and Rand: a travel size mango mandarin for me (I love Bath & Bodyworks, but it's only in the U.S.) and some chocolate for Jeff (Fast Break is his favourite chocolate bar):



Wow, I feel spoiled.

:-)

My delivery from Richter's Herbs arrived today, making it an extra bonus mail day. My herb collection now consists of: sweet basil (both store-bought and grown from seed), bush basil, regular sage, purple sage, English lavender, Anouk lavender, lemon basil, lemon thyme, regular thyme, chocolate mint, peppermint, rosemary, parsley grown from seed, French tarragon, Greek oregano, and chives. I have enough basil that I might actually attempt to make some pesto this summer. Last year I only had one basil plant, and that didn't last me very long.



Hey, and my Morning Glory is sprouting! Jeff does a good job at feigning excitement whenever I tell him garden news like this. To some, Morning Glory may seem like a weed. To me, it's always reminded me of my mom, who used to love growing it every year:



Plants can evoke such strong memories, can't they? I planted lavender because it reminds me of the wonderful bank of lavender at Fonte De' Medici, a place we stayed during our Italy trip:



I run my fingers through the green stalks, and the fragrance brings me back to that place.

My favorite plant in our garden is the purple lilac, solely because of the fragrance. It reminds me of when we lived out in the country because of the lilac trees on the property.

What are your memory plants?



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Will Write For Chocolate

Will Write For Chocolate has been updated. Thanks to all those who suggested names for Eliza's cat, especially Rachel Starr Thomson, who suggested "Theobroma." :-)

Thanks also for the responses to my "garden freak" post; I enjoyed reading them. Some of you welcomed me to the fold. Some (like Peter Alway) admitted that the most interesting thing he found in the post was the telescope in one of the photos. :-D



I especially loved Judith Hayman's comment, which really hit home for me:

"I think that the gardening thing has something to do with nurturing and as much to do with being creative. Every season is starting all over again, trying to do it better, or differently at least. We don't get many chances to do that our in adult lives, so it's pretty precious. OTOH, in our adult lives we also don't get to say 'Ick, that offspring (aka plant) didn't work at all. Throw it out!' That's also kinda cool. Gardening is such a learning experience. Like finding our those gorgeous Bachelor's Buttons grow to three feet tall and wide and smother everything in sight. Or that Chameleon Plant NEVER GIVES UP and will still be appearing three or four years after yanking it out. Or that TEN years after planting one lonely little Lily-of-the-Valley, the damn thing is sprouting. But isn't it good we aren't relying on our horticultural talents to actually feed our families?"

I made chicken broth in my slow cooker for the first time yesterday. I had picked up a bunch of chicken parts for a couple bucks in our local grocery store, threw them in the slow cooker with some chopped celery, onions and carrots with seasoning, some water. Let it simmer all day, then strained out the chicken broth and kept the chicken meat.

I tried making chicken broth in the past, but always found it such a pain to have to keep checking the stock pot to make sure there was enough liquid. With the slow cooker, and I can just forget about it. The recipe said the timing was very flexible; I could leave it on the low setting from 6-16 hours(!).

And today we're having homemade chicken soup for lunch, yum.





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So when did I become a gardenfreak?

Jeff and I spent most of Sunday doing gardeningstuff. I remember helping my parents with gardening chores as a child. It was interesting for, oh, maybe 30 seconds and then I'd rather go off and do my own thing. Unless it was MY plant, of course.



I clearly remember planting a corn seed and actually having it survive (I guess there weren't racoons in our neighbourhood yet) long enough for me to pick a ripened cob of corn. My mother cooked it for me and I slathered it in butter before taking a bite. It was the best thing I had ever tasted.



I can't help but contrast my attitude about gardening now to ten years ago. My eyes used to glaze over whenever people started talking about gardening. Now I'm one of those garden-freaks who gets all excited when someone mentions mulching or fertilizing, and who posts an endless stream of boring plant and garden photos to Flickr.

How on earth did that happen?



Even when we had a condo, I had no interest in gardening. Not that we could do much gardening, but I wasn't even interested in trying to grow some container herbs in our sunny window. Since we bought a house, however, it's as if some switch in my brain has been pulled. It didn't hurt that our house came with a beautiful garden of perennials.



I love the garden in the spring. Every day, there's something new: a flower that wasn't there before, a new sprout, more leaves. I've gotten into the habit of eating my lunch on the back deck if it's nice weather.



Jeff and I went to a gardening centre on the weekend and picked up some new plants including some clematis (Jackmanii and Madame Julia Correvon), hanging plants for the back deck (purple verbena), a small cedar tree, and herbs.

In addition to planting some in pots outdoors, I've also expanding my indoor herb garden in the sunroom:



Herbs so far include sweet basil (store-bought plants as well as lots grown from seed -- I loooove basil), regular sage, purple sage, English lavender, Oreuk(sp? must go check later) lavender, lemon basil, lemon thyme, regular thyme, CHOCOLATE mint (!), rosemary, parsley grown from seed, French tarragon, and Greek oregano.

Plus I have some more coming from Richters soon, woohoo!

Pics O' The Day

From Geeklogie.com...

Han Solo in carbonite chocolate bar

Magic tap illusion

Video O' The Day

Mesmerizing clouds from Wohba...





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Adam Selzer, handmade purses, and Etsy.com

I've updated Inkygirl to include my interview with Adam Selzer, the author of How To Get Suspended and Influence People. I first met Adam at a filk convention; not only can this guy write great stories, but he's an accomplished singer/songwriter!

Speaking of talented types...



Above: one of the bags/purses handmade by Alison, a women I met at Parki's party on the weekend. She was wearing a purse like this one at the time (maybe slightly smaller), and I was highly impressed by the quality of the fabric, stitching, and design...click on the image above to see a detail of all the interior pockets. I believe that Alison will also custom-make a handbag or purse to your specs!



You can see a selection of her purses at Allie(oop) Handmade Purses on Etsy.com.

I snooped around Etsy.com after checking out Alison's page. I recall hearing about this site, but hadn't had a chance to explore it before. What an amazing place! Lots of handmade crafts and one-of-a-kind items...looks like a great place for unique gifts as well as crafty inspiration.

I'm curious...how many of you out there know how to sew? I am really, really bad at sewing, and I'm not just being modest. I hated Home Economics in school ever since I spent hours laying out and cutting cloth for a clothing pattern only to discover I had done it all backwards. I've always been hugely envious of those who can sew their own clothes, like my friend Teddy in the UK.




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