Printing with the Handpress: Herewith a Definitive Manual to Encourage Fine Printing through Hand-craftsmanship

1969

Special Collections Z249 AD61

New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold

Having started printing with a small Adana HS2 press in 1963, I became aware of this book in the 1980s. A librarian in the Canterbury Medical Library got the University of Otago copy on loan. Lewis Allen was passionate about hand-press printing. He considered that for true hand-press printing the operator alone is responsible for the quality of the output rather than relying on a motor and automatic inking. I was inspired by his philosophy and also the illustration of a cylinder proof press, minus automatic inking rollers. I could see the opportunities it offered for creative printing layout. Allen considered this was ‘a legitimate handpress’ and a more accessible and cheaper alternative to an Albion or a Colombian. After reading this book I saved the Vandercook No. 4 press, now in Otakou Press, from being used as a ship’s anchor and started to print on a larger scale. This book is now in Special Collections.
(Chosen by Dr John Holmes, Hon. Clinical Senior Lecturer, Department of Preventive and Social Medicine, Otago)