antique heart

sometimes you stumble upon the coolest things. and people. today i met ted salkin near healdsburg, california. i have seen his ads in the Briar Press classifieds throughout the years and stopped by his property today to possibly buy one (or two!) Vandercook tabletop proof presses. instead i was introduced to his letterpress mecca/museum/showroom(s)! it was a-maz-ing!

there were presses from every decade and every century, everywhere! i cannot put into words the amount of cast iron i witnessed today. some presses were the property of the union army, others were salvaged from the Cowell Press at UC Santa Cruz (my learning grounds!). i could not believe my eyes. and definitely told ted that i would not mind helping out around the property and learn more about the machines.

~~~

when you enter the driveway on the dirt road, you are greeted with a 6-foot flywheel — i knew i was in the right place. i ended my tour of the grounds with the skeleton of a 5×8 Kelsey tabletop press placed my small trunk, and have been having so much fun planning out my christmas bonus money to buy the missing parts!

what do you think i should name her? the 3×5 kelsey is already “baby kelsey.” i really love that i purchased the bones of this press, when my press name is “folding bones.” pretty good, right?

~~~

when he asked me how i got into letterpress, he said, “well, i’m the son of a Vulcan, you must be the daughter of a Vulcan.”

“the granddaughter of a Vulcan,” i replied.

some of the machines i saw today really jogged memories of the photos i have seen of my grandfather (whom i have never met) printing for newspapers and magazines in san francisco. i don’t know much about the work he did, but i know printing is in my blood. i said, “i don’t know. i must have an antique heart, because i just can’t let any of this go.” and it’s true. i’d love to live like ted — on the outskirts of sonoma county, with 100 letterpress pieces in my barns, and getting by in the meantime — it would be a dream come true.

here is a look at just a few of the other presses ted has on his property outside of healdsburg. i mean, ted is serious about letterpress — as serious as i want to be. he started working on presses when he was 13 years old. now at 59, i could call him my best friend.

if you are interested in buying or just looking at some of ted’s marvelous pieces in the north bay area, i urge you to email iluvletterpress@gmail.com. you will not be disappointed! he is in the process of shipping one of his paper cutters to israel, so i am sure location is not a problem ; )

hard bound night

infographs are meant to be seen/read as large images. i especially like this one by Travis Ladue:

(infographic full)

(infographic detail)

(infographic detail)

all photos via Travis Ladue