Sometimes life rules. Case in point: this weekend I welcomed a beautiful 92lb baby into my life thanks to my wife. Woah, slow down, there. I'm talking about an actual letterpress. A Kelsey 6x10 Model X letterpress. Battleship gray. Oh My.
Last week the Chapbook Festival, most of my free time was spent drooling over various press's letter pressed work. I mean a lot of the stuff was downright gorgeous. Criminally gorgeous. I will refrain from going into great detail how excited I get around printed matter.
One week later, my wife is paling around with some chums. One of the chums mentions he has a letterpress sitting in his basement. Its there for the taking. Long story short, cash was exchanged. The machine was hoisted out of a basement and into our hatchback. The machine still is sitting in our hatchback while I look for a sturdier desk.
I'm sure the joy of having an actual flesh-baby is one of those unbearably wonderful moments of joy, but this tops it by about a factor of 100. I literally cried tears of joy in the shower the other day.
Sure it needs a lot of work. There's quite a bit of rust. It needs new rollers, trucks, and a chase. But the springs are intact. Nothing is bent or broken beyond repair. There're places to go locally for parts and knowledgeable folks at hand who can help me with the restoration process. I guess I'm really excited more about the process of taking it apart and spoiling my hands with grease, oil, and ink, and really getting to know my machine as if it were an actual flesh-baby. Plus I'll be able to make my own letter pressed books someday. Stay tuned for restoration updates!
Also, another lucky break: the Brimfield Antique (info)show is this week. Its a huge beast. I'll be looking for type and paper. And a new table.
1 comment:
I'm jealous of your letterpress! The restoration will be as enjoyable as seeing the finished product!
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