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Announcing a letterpress printing extravaganza!
The Movable Type Truck will visit The Southern Letterpress for an all-hands-on-deck letterpress printing showdown! We invite everyone to come help us print a multi-press collaborative project, using all the presses in both shops. Kyle will give a talk about her adventures at 6 p.m.Wednesday, January 18, 2012 from 2-7 p.m. The Southern Letterpress and Job Printing is located at 516 Main Street in downtown Columbus, Mississippi.
Come see! Come print! No experience necessary! FREE and open to the public!
Q: What is The Movable Type Truck?
A: A 1982 Chevy step van which Kyle Durrie, a letterpress printer, has converted into a fully functional letterpress print shop. The back of the truck has been outfitted with built-in cabinets and workspace, a sign press from the mid 20th century, and an 1873 Golding Official No. 3 tabletop platen press. Kyle is spending a year driving all over North America, teaching workshops, doing demos, and generally spreading the good word about printing the old fashioned way. Check out her blog: http://type-truck.com/
Q: What is The Southern Letterpress and Job Printing?
A: The Southern Letterpress and Job Printing is located in Columbus, Mississippi on the ground floor of the Dispatch building at 516 Main Street. We operate a Vandercook printing press SP-15 and have a collection of metal and wood type in an array of styles. We print postcards and small book editions about a wide range of topics from pop culture cliches to Mississippi history. Jessica Peterson is the proprietor.
Q: What is letterpress printing (according to Jessica)?
A: Letterpress printing was popularized around 1450 AD and has been the dominant way to print text in books and broadsides for more than 500 years. Although offset and digital printing have replaced letterpress in the last thirty years, it has recently regained popularity as a way to produce beautiful and high quality printed materials. Letterpress uses movable type to print words.
Q: What is movable type (according to Kyle)?
A: Quite literally, moveable type is the system of printing that uses moveable pieces of type – individual letters, numbers, characters – to reproduce the elements of a document. Invented in China, but popularized by Johannes Gutenberg in 1440, moveable type was like the internet for the 15th century, allowing widespread reproduction of printed materials like books, announcements, and advertising.
Q: Why should I come to this event?
A: This isn’t just about nerdy printing history or typography! This is an awesome, cultural arts event, part sideshow, part printing, part demonstration. You don’t want to miss it.
For more information, please contact Jessica Peterson at jessica@papersouvenir.com or 662-368-8542