LETTERPRESS PRINTING
I've had an interest in printing for many years. My first presses were a Superior rubber-stamp rotary press and a gel
concoction whose manufacturer I don't recall. The Superior required rubber type to be placed in channels that were
then inserted between two rubber tires on the press. Type cuts were glued to slugs. It worked, and I still have a couple
of examples from it. The gel apparatus used special pencils that would transfer from a master to a gel, then back
to a blank sheet of paper. After a few "impressions," the image would fade, but it was intriguing.
I got into some serious printing while in the Air Force. I was looking for something that might be a moneymaker as
well as a hobby. The rubber stamp company had lots of "plans" you could get into, but the Kelsey catalog
let you chose what you wanted. I bought the 3x5 outfit, which included just a few fonts of type, necessary
cases, ink, and the press. I was ready to go. I turned out quite a few business cards, and the announcement
of daughter Laura's birth.
A short time later I happened into a Kelsey 5x8 Model O. Now I could do larger items, and did. The Multigraph press
I bought at the same time still sits in the basement...
After I left the Air Force, we moved to Watertown, where I formed Jefferson Graffics, all legal and all. I did a few
business card and raffle ticket jobs, but it was nothing to make a living on. Still, it was fun. A couple years later
we moved to our current home, and the presses moved with us. Now Jefferson Graffics is some 23 years old, and
still making about the same amount of money as it ever did. My stock in trade now is various forms of raffle tickets.
The 3x5 is doing yeoman service as my perforating press, which saves cutting up the rollers on the 5x8 press.
An interesting interlude in my life as a printer, and one which I intend to return, was amateur journalism. This is a
fascinating world of folks who publish a variety of journals, etc, which they produce themselves. Eight issues of
"The Plug" left the press before I dropped out of the
American Amateur Press Association due to lack of time and
money. Each issue (some 350 copies) was distributed (as members publications still are) to all of the members
of the group in the monthly "bundles."
The Plug generally contained an essay on some topic, a related poem, and some general comments. They ran
four pages for the most part, although the last couple grew. I haven't decided what to do when I again become
involved in AAPA.