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Paul has one room for display of his collection of toy and miniature presses, another for the job presses. One display of type is of Chinese characters; a long row of
type cases from floor to ceiling holds another part of his collection.
When we eventually made our way to the back of the museum/shop, I was delighted, though not surprised, to find Larry Raid climbing around on one of
two working linotype machines, making adjustments to get the beast working properly. Larry was probably missing the 99 or so linotypes he had to leave home in Iowa.
As icing on the cake of this remarkable display,
Ed Regan had brought some of his collection of early iron hand presses. These are not the kind of presses you can toss into the back of your Subaru. The presses were on a flatbed with collapsible sides. Among
the presses displayed was one of my favorites, a Colombian press, invented by George Clymer of Philadelphia in 1813. I like it for all of its ornate silliness, and I have no idea how well it works as a press.
For
some reason, the press never took hold in this country, but was popular for a time in Europe. Today, there is no known existing American Colombian press, although several have been shipped here from overseas. One is
on display at the Smithsonian, and another, at the International Printing Museum in Buena Park, California. Ed Regan of course, has one, and he also had the eagle from another press displayed, and this, he speculates, may
be the only existing remnant of an American Colombian press. I will leave it to the experts to evaluate this claim. I also recognized an Acorn press, so-called because of its shape, and a Hoe press.
When I
set out for Wayzgoose, I am usually on a Quest, and this trip, my fond hope was to find and bring home a supply of boxwood. At the previous Wayzgoose, in Hartford, Connecticut, last year, Jim Horton bid, sight unseen
virtually, on a lot of old cuts. He seemed so interested in getting these I was convinced the cuts must be mounted on boxwood, a traditional but disappearing kind of wood for wood engraving. Paul and I had
corresponded, and he had assured me he had more of these cuts.
But he doesn't know much about wood, and didn't know what he had for sure, or what it was worth. I had fond visions of discovering heaps of dusty boxwood specimens, and helping myself to as many as I could carry away (after properly reimbursing Paul, of course, for his trouble.)
Paul located the supply of cuts for me--it was in the back of his truck, under a pile of knocked-down type cases.
With surprising agility, Paul climbed into the truck and located a representative sample from among his treasures. Sadly, they were not boxwood, not even a hardwood. I was disappointed, but it was too early to lose hope of fulfilling my quest for boxwood.
Once we'd exhausted ourselves with the tour of Paul's museum and Ed's traveling trailer-truck, Dad and Dolly and I drove on to the hotel to check in and eat lunch.
It is exciting to drive into an unfamiliar city and suddenly meet up with a few dozen friends you haven't seen in at least a year and sometimes more.
It was a treat to meet and renew friendships with so many
people--Ezma Hanschka, with whom I'd arranged to share a room again, Dave Parson, Dave Peat, Sky Schyler, Jim Horton, Rick von Holdt, Ernie Blitzer, George Hamilton, who had made the trip from Vienna once again just for the
occasion....Polly Johnson, Steve Saxe, Neil Giroux, Bill Soucy, Dave Greer, David Kent, and his charming daughter, Genevieve Kent, Mike O'Connor, Lillian and Parker Worley, Stan Cousins, Mike and Patty Anton, oh and many
more....I missed the sunny smile of Blaine Lewis, who died earlier this year. I noticed the absence too, of Clifford Leonard, who died in 1999.
During the afternoon we had the opportunity to learn from Dave Peat
his tips on collecting Type Specimen books, and then a talk from Jim Horton about the art of wood engraving. Jim is an APA member and founder of the Wood Engravers Network.
He's also an accomplished wood engraver and teacher. Last year I attended a week-long course on wood engraving at Augusta Heritage Center, in Elkins, WV that Jim taught.
He brought a commercial engraver's line
engraving machine--a revelation to me!
I'd thought, naively, that wood engraving had been done entirely by hand. This machine made it possible, during the time when all printed illustrations were from engravings, to make affordable illustrations for advertisements and other commercial purposes.
Jim also had on display several engraved wood blocks, as well as an engraved memento of his own, which he printed as an APA keepsake.
Ezma Hanschka brought along several of her beautiful hand-bound books to
share. She has done wonderful collaborative projects, including several with children, with results which are lovely and imaginative.
For dinner, Ezma, Tom Parson and I set out on foot, in the land of automobiles,
in search for an elusive Japanese restaurant which we never did find.
It was windy but the wind it seemed to me did nothing to soften the blistering heat of the day, magnified by the automobile traffic from the street. In our travels we passed several fast food restaurants, and I was reminded once again of the lament of Phil Och's song: "I would be in exile now, but everywhere's the same. Ticket home, I want a ticket home."
We did get to a grocery store, however, and managed to make a picnic dinner for ourselves from the deli.
I was gratified to find sushi, so I was able to eat Japanese food I'd hungered for, after all. We picked a grassy knoll located between the street and the parking lot for our picnic.
We barely made it back to the hotel
in time for the evening talk, by James VanLanen, Sr. on the Hamilton Wood Type Museum. After that was an entertaining event: several printers showed slides of their print shops. Each was given five minutes to talk.
All were interesting. Steve Saxe, Neil Giroux, Rick Von Holdt and John Henry were a few of the speakers. I've wanted to see John Henry's shop in Mason City, Iowa, for a long time, because it is in chapel of a former
nunnery--a true printer's chapel! And it does have beautiful stained glass windows, and looked as beautiful as I'd envisioned it.
It was entertaining as well when David Kent, the APA historian, became so enthused
about his talk that he refused to stop!
Several members could be seen searching for a shepard's crook or other suitable device to carry him off the stage. Eventually however, he agreed to depart peacefully, but not without a parting volley of words about his latest printing project.
Saturday morning came early, as that is the time of the popular printers' swap meet.
My dad had two tables reserved, and I had brought a small homemade proof press to sell, which I thought would help defray my expenses for the weekend. I put this on his table and immediately wandered off in search of treasure.
It was still early in the morning when I discovered the object of my Quest! Tipped off by Jim Horton, I found, in a darkest corner of the convention room, a young man with antique commercial wood engravings for
sale--engravings which were on boxwood! It was a treat to pick them up and admire them one by one. There must have been fifty or sixty blocks, ranging in size from one inch square to pieces as big as seven by ten
inches. He knew the value of his product, and at $5 per square inch, I was able to afford only a limited number of pieces of the precious boxwood.
I found numerous other treasures--type and zinc cuts, and a
few miscellaneous items, including a new brayer and kerosene can.
After I'd fairly well exhausted my budget, I retreated from the swap meet to our comfortable hospitality suite, and had a chance to see some of Norman
McKnight's wonderful printing. His printing is imaginative and beautifully done, and he has also provided fresh amusing illustrations of his own. I can't wait to see more of his work.
After lunch, which was buffet-style and tasty, was the APA's celebrated auction.
Once again, as they have for at least the past quarter of a century, Dave Churchman and Dave Peat took on the duties of running the
action. These guys are both knowledgeable and entertaining.
This duo is worth the price of admission just to watch them in action. Dave Church got kidded a few years back about the difference between type cases and type drawers, and was presented with a pair of "printer's drawers," which he promptly modeled.
He obliged a delighted crowd again this year by donning another pair of "printer's drawers" that were up for auction.
The first item up for auction was a toy press, just like the one I had as a kid. My dad obliged me by buying it, I think so he can give it to me for Christmas. It's a little cylindrical press, with rubber type, which can be set in slots on the cylinder, and without much trouble, this press can be inked, and really prints.
I remember using mine to leaflet the neighborhood with announcements for our annual backyard carnival. Thus was I launched at an early age into childhood capitalism.
I had my heart set on a font of 8 point ATF
Parsons type, which I somehow thought that no one else would want. Actually several other people did, but I won the bidding, and took it home, as well as a blue print for a linotype machine. I'd never before
realized I wanted a linotype blue print, but Ezma Hanschka pointed out the design possibilities it offered, and before I knew it, it was mine. I was surprised that Larry Raid, who bid against me, let it go to me at a low
price. I apparently had a similar effect on Ezma, who found herself the new owner of several fonts of type.
The Wayzgoose traditionally features a Saturday night banquet.
And, although it was good, I was disappointed once again that there was no Goose! I will not be satisfied with a Wayzgoose banquet until such time as we are served Goose, and the entertainment includes 17th and 18th century chamber music, perhaps accompanied by dancers. Still, we had the delightful company of fellow printers.
Les Feller was the evening speaker, and took us on a photo tour of Chicago's Printer's Row. He managed to conjure up a vision of hidden treasure, when he told us about the recent-day discovery of a hidden room of
old publishing memorabilia, found off an old elevator shaft in one publishing house, when it was being renovated.
He was kind enough to bring along a few of the old books and pamphlets which had been discovered, for us to see after dinner. Donn Sanford, our president, hosted the event with good humor, and was kind enough to keep "business" to a minimum. Three printers were honored to be inducted into the category of "Tramp printers," which is a designation which allows members to continue to be active in the organization without having to meet the usual requirement of printing at least four times a year for the APA monthly "bundle."
Paul Hayden Duensing, printer, type designer and type caster, who was there to receive his "Tramp" award, gave a succinct acceptance speech from his table. "Who will there be, after I've gone,"
he said, "to silence Klensch?" (Charles Klensch is another APA member, and a good friend of Paul's.)
The other two new Tramp Printers, Ralph Babcock and Mac McGrew, were not present. Lillian Worley, the first designated Tramp printer, was also there with her husband Parker.
Several interesting workshops were
scheduled for Sunday morning, but I had a Monday morning work schedule to meet, and we left, reluctantly, early Sunday. Finally, I had a chance, just before leaving, to see one of the latest of Polly Johnson's wonderful
books. But we left in good spirits, I, having sold my proof press, and with the boxwood I'd hoped to find.
Dad had been successful in selling much of the type, several books, and assorted printing tools he had brought. Most importantly, we left with fond memories of renewed friendships and shared adventures.
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