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Miss Cherry Pie, Seattle/Polebridge, Montana Age and Occupation: 25, Marketing Communications Specialist Fiance's Age and Occupation: 28, Nurse Practitioner Engagement Date: August 26, 2006 Wedding Date: September 2008 Blogging Since: April 1, 2008 Venue: A tiny town just outside of Glacier National Park About Me: I think of life as a journey and I love the places it's taking me! I went to school to study Magazine Journalism, ended up with a second major in Japanese language, and now work at a company that makes software for libraries. I love writing, computers, photography, and the great outdoors. I spend most of my time playing Guitar Hero and Rock Band or geeking out online with Mr. Cherry Pie. I'm happiest when I'm on the road, especially traveling abroad, or just nesting quietly at home with my sweetie, who is a fabulous cook and bakes a delicious rendition of a certain cherry-filled dessert!
About Mrs. Cherry Pie

A Beautiful Machine

May 8th, 2008 @ 2:03 pm by Mrs. Cherry Pie

Our invitation designer sent me an email a few weeks ago describing with great excitement the new press she is shortly welcoming to her home.

If you are in love with letterpress, or just curious about how it works, read on to understand the nostalgic ambiance that surrounds these beautiful machines.

Our designer writes:

I went up to Portland last Wednesday to check out a new (well, new to me, but very old) letterpress machine that was for sale from a gentleman who restores them to working condition. I’ve been very excited to meet this man for a long time and I finally had the chance to do it. Here are three photos of the printing press I subsequently purchased from him that will be used to print your wedding invitations:


I’ve been wanting to buy a larger press than the one I currently use for a while and this was just too awesome of an opportunity to pass up. I’m going up there to retrieve it with a trailer and pallet jack about two weeks after my boyfriend and I move into our new house. Your wedding invitations and other materials will be the first job it will print since it has been restored.

The type of press is a Chandler & Price 8×12 New Style Craftsman and it is dated as being manufactured in 1912. It measures approximately three feet wide by four feet deep by 4 feet tall and weighs in at approximately 980 lbs. I got to start it up while I was in Portland and it works beautifully.

After reading your post about how bottled coke makes you feel a sense of nostalgia over historic & traditional Americana, I thought it only appropriate (and exciting!) to share a very historic piece of Americana with you that will be directly responsible for the grunt production of your wedding invites. Isn’t it cool? I almost want to name it the way that some people name their cars…

Want to see what one exactly Kristin’s press looks like while running? Watch this video:

And here’s another one where someone’s actually feeding individual sheets and printing from photopolymer instead of lead:

Finally, I highly recommend this SHORT documentary on traditional letterpress:

Do any other letterpress enthusiasts out there have any paraphernalia to share?

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10 Responses to “A Beautiful Machine”

1.
frenchbulldog
Bee
frenchbulldog (message)  6,063 posts, Bee Keeper

That is too cool!

 
2.
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Bee
Miss Gingerbread (message)  647 posts, Busy bee

This might just be the coolest post ever and my invitations aren’t even letterpress! So interesting.

 
3.
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Bee
Mrs. Lemon (message)  425 posts, Helper bee

Just as super and complete warning to people… never ever get near one of these things without the proper training! :) It took me about 10 hours of classes before I could try… and I was still soooo scared of getting my hand broken!

They’re super fun though!

 
4.
stargazerlily
Member
stargazerlily (message)  946 posts, Busy bee

I just peed myself.

 
5.
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Bee
Miss Cherry Pie (message)  688 posts, Busy bee

@Miss Penguin: I just got this comment in my email and laughed out loud in a meeting.

@Mrs. Lemon: Yes, NO HAND CRUSHY. That second video made me a little nervous when I saw the person putting the paper in the press and the press closing.

@Miss Gingerbread: Yay, aren’t they cool?!?

 
6.
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Guest
kseniya

Yes, speed is key to getting your hand out of the way safely! There are no one-handed printers . . . . :)

 
7.
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Guest
futuremrs.taj

That video on the bottom was so cool! I adore letterpress!

 
8.
stargazerlily
Member
stargazerlily (message)  946 posts, Busy bee

@Miss Cherry Pie: No really, I had to change my pants. It was gross.

 
9.
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Guest
susan

Thanks for those videos! I absolutely LOVE letterpress and it was fun seeing it in action :)

 
10.
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Guest
Armato Design

Glad you found our video useful. And yes, we are fully trained and still have all of our fingers :)

 


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Mrs. Cherry Pie
Mrs. Cherry Pie Miss Cherry Pie, Seattle/Polebridge, Montana Age and Occupation: 25, Marketing Communications Specialist Fiance's Age and Occupation: 28, Nurse Practitioner Engagement Date: August 26, 2006 Wedding Date: September 2008 Blogging Since: April 1, 2008 Venue: A tiny town just outside of Glacier National Park About Me: I think of life as a journey and I love the places it's taking me! I went to school to study Magazine Journalism, ended up with a second major in Japanese language, and now work at a company that makes software for libraries. I love writing, computers, photography, and the great outdoors. I spend most of my time playing Guitar Hero and Rock Band or geeking out online with Mr. Cherry Pie. I'm happiest when I'm on the road, especially traveling abroad, or just nesting quietly at home with my sweetie, who is a fabulous cook and bakes a delicious rendition of a certain cherry-filled dessert!
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