Don’t be out of sorts…

 

Our wedding invitation: printed by Just My Type, Arcata, California

 

“If I were to be sat down at a computer and told, ‘here, you can do whatever you want,’ I wouldn’t know what to do. There would be too many choices,” says John Kristensen, of Firefly Press in this gorgeous short film. No garish bitmap filter or hackneyed vector technique can replace the artistry and craftsmanship in what Firelfy Press in Sommerville Massachusetts produces every day.

I operated a Linotype in the late ’70s, setting hot lead slugs of type. My coworker, Harry, would set up the Heidelberg windmills and then stand in front of the cases setting type by hand on a composing stick, deftly choosing sorts from the case with his free hand. Harry was deaf, so the noise of the shop (we also had two offset duplicators running much of the time) never bothered him.

When we’d throw in (dump galleys of type onto the granite counter to be replaced into the cases), he had no trouble distinguishing sorts. I was befuddled by the p, d, b, and q’s (they look like quadruplets), but they didn’t seem to slow Harry in the least.

F. W. Goudy Broadside…

While browsing items typographic on eBay, I happened upon a 1921 broadside from the Marchbanks Press in New York. It advertises foundry type designed by Frederic Goudy. It’s a stunningly flawless work. The border ornamentaion is mitered perfectly, and the black and red print is beautifully saturated.

Winning bid: $26.99