Well, with letterpress, it’s always an old press, but it’s new to me! (I have to admit that I was tempted to title this post something about a “new family member” but that would just send everyone in to hysterics at this point, I’m guessing, so we’ll keep it simple.)
Sometimes it just pays to be from Iowa. I love Brooklyn dearly but, when it comes down to accumulating antique, large, cast iron letterpress equipment, there’s something about the space and the economy that just make eastern Iowa a whole lot friendlier to the small business owner just trying to eke out a living from a wacky combo of letterpress and bookbinding.
Over the weekend, I found an ad on Briarpress for a great looking 1897 Golding Pearl #14 in Washington, Iowa. I mentioned to my dad that these were the kinds of things I occasionally ran across and wished I could jump on. Being the spontaneous guy he is, ready to do anything for his kids (no matter how many 1/2 ton pieces of machinery are involved, apparently…), he said, “Where and when do I pick it up?”
So, I made the arrangements from a distance and today my dad headed down from Marion to Washington, Iowa and picked up this fancy schmancy old girl:
My dad with the press all loaded on to the truck in Washington, Iowa, and Michael, its generous & helpful seller!
All unloaded in to my dad’s shop in Marion, with his right hand man, and Marion tow-truck driver who apparently goes by “Re-Run”. No kidding.
Now, I just have to be patient and wait till December, when we’re back in Iowa for the holidays, to see her in person. Then, I’ve really gotta put on my patient face and wait until we’ve got more space and, well, more permanent space to actually move her and get her all set up and running. It may be a little drawn out, but I’m awfully excited about it and feels like one of those next big steps that just needed to happen!
More pictures soon!
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Why so certain its a she? Pressing is manly and robust. I think you have a masculine press on your hands.
1,100 pounds of cast iron could definitely be interpreted as a slightly masculine mass, that’s for sure. So far, I know “Old Ironsides” is in the running for names…
[...] you didn’t catch the news earlier this week, we’re now the proud owners of an 1,100 pound, 112 year-old hulking cast [...]
Excessive weight does not make this masculine…who remembers the dancing hippo’s in Fantasia!
I like thinking of the press as a dancing hippo - when she’s up and running, there may be a striking resemblance!