19 February 2007

Dreaming in letterpress

This weekend we went to a going out of business sale for a print shop in downtown Des Moines. The ad had said they had lots of binding equipment and letterpress equipment. We got there about an hour after the sale had started and found that they had already sold most of the binding equipment, but discovered most of it was too large for what we would be interested in using it for anyway. Then we saw it, the most gorgeous (and rather large) letterpress that I have ever seen, a wonderful old Heidelberg that looked to be in perfect condition. Next to it were drawers and drawers full of lead type along with other equipment including another older model letterpress. In my dreams we would have been able to afford the whole setup, but there would also be the problem of storing it and moving it. Now I am obsessed with finding a smaller more affordable letterpress that we could use for another hobby. I'm sure I will always look but never buy, kind of like I do with Heywood Wakefield furniture.

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