OUGD601 / COP3 / Reading / David Jury - 'Letterpress - The Allure of Handmade'

'Letterpress printers vigorously protected their craft (and their commercial viability) and perhaps inadvertently, shrouded their activities in an aura of mystery, even romance.' p8

'The reality was that it was physically demanding, medically dangerous, and often tedious.' p8

'If "handmade" no longer equates exclusively with quality, what advantages does "handmade" bring to printed matter?' p10

'...as the outcome becomes inevitable, as long as the printer does not interfere, so any sense of craftsmanship disappears.' p10

'Our current concept of "handmade" or "handicraft" has been deeply influenced by the Arts and Crafts movement; a protest against the loss of workmanship resulting from the introduction of mechanisation.' p14

'[William Morris] recognised, perhaps better than any of those who followed, that the "handmade" factor is not, of itself, valuable. "Handmade" may often be more expensive than "machine-made", but it is certainly not a guarantee of quality - far from it.' p14

'When using letterpress some typographers, certainly those working as Graphic Designers, too often rely almost entirely on the incidental nature of letterpress materials for their effect.' p17

'Not only does it [woodblock type] change shape and size with age, but its surface is very easily damaged.' p17

'Consequently, printing from wood type - especially if no trouble is taken to ensure that each letter is packed to the same height - instantly provides plenty of visual character with minimal effort required from the designer.' p17

'The function of wood type has always been to attract, through its size and its flamboyant design. Today, it is the physical characteristics that are unique and, therefore, attractive.' p17

'The handmade object states its speculative nature by the fact that each piece, even with letterpress printing, is an original rather than a copy of the original.' p20

'The occasionally ill fitting character pairs (typically Wa, Va and Ta) are so ubiquitously part of the look of letterpress that today, instead of being considered wrong, they are commonly described as quirky, interesting and friendly.' p20

'Clearly this is in part, nostalgia. However, such a deeply embedded response can undoubtedly be a powerful ally to the typographer, advertiser, graphic designer, and private press.' p20

'As well as the intense mental effort required for all typographic endeavour, letterpress also requires a physical effort. This physical aspect, which would once have been equated with manual labor, is now considered to be liberating...' p30