Printing with the Handpress: Herewith a Definitive Manual to Encourage Fine Printing through Hand-craftsmanship

Creator

Date

1969

Identifier

Special Collections Z249 AD61

Type

Publisher

New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold

Abstract

Having started printing with a small Adana HS2 press in 1963, I became aware of this book in the 1980s. A librarian in the Canterbury Medical Library got the University of Otago copy on loan. Lewis Allen was passionate about hand-press printing. He considered that for true hand-press printing the operator alone is responsible for the quality of the output rather than relying on a motor and automatic inking. I was inspired by his philosophy and also the illustration of a cylinder proof press, minus automatic inking rollers. I could see the opportunities it offered for creative printing layout. Allen considered this was ‘a legitimate handpress’ and a more accessible and cheaper alternative to an Albion or a Colombian. After reading this book I saved the Vandercook No. 4 press, now in Otakou Press, from being used as a ship’s anchor and started to print on a larger scale. This book is now in Special Collections.
(Chosen by Dr John Holmes, Hon. Clinical Senior Lecturer, Department of Preventive and Social Medicine, Otago)

Files

Cab 18 allenprint.jpg

Citation

Lewis M. Allen, “Printing with the Handpress: Herewith a Definitive Manual to Encourage Fine Printing through Hand-craftsmanship,” ourheritage.ac.nz | OUR Heritage, accessed December 24, 2024, https://ourheritage.ac.nz/items/show/9918.