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employees; for I never wore a wig nor
leggings, nor a hat, at work. It is a nicely
reproduced illustration with a male
compositor and a lady compositor with her
daughter hanging on to her skirt – again
not in my days: the NGA would not have
allowed that and presumably the man
kneeling by the tub of water is damping the
paper in readiness for printing. But what
of the actual press? The skeleton tympan
looks odd to me and what is the cord which
runs from the ceiling over the tympan and
attached to the right foot of the operator all
about? No doubt cleverer people than I will
have the answer. Perhaps it is a device used
in Holland, as I see the artist is Mr Abraham
von Werdt, who wasn’t averse to scattering
his initials around his work as I discovered
he has included them twice in addition to
his full name.
The inside back cover lists the Branch
members, whom I would like to complement
and thank for a most interesting publication.
It has caused me much fun in trying to
answer the many questions you posed –
intentionally, I wonder? If so it was an
imaginative way to create an enjoyable read.
Alan Brignull - Essex
of snow (which is where the shovel comes Essex Branch entry:
in, I presume). What is the fl ight of fancy? ‘Essex Flora and Fauna’
Making lots of dough by clearing people’s
paths, I imagine. Or am I completely wrong? ssex Branch contributed a 15 page
I can’t believe it but once again you have A5 booklet, Wire-O bound in portrait
given the reviewer his own fl ight of fancy. As Elayout. It comprises a mixture of
I sit back in my chair and look at this page stocks ranging from 80gsm tinted bond to
from a distance the silver snowman on the 300 micron white board. Using a variety
blue/green paper shines out and gives me a of printing techniques from hand-set
huge smile which cheers me up no end, as letterpress to full colour (litho and digital),
does the whole of this Dorset Booklet. the overall eff ect is pleasing. I felt that
Not quite the end, but the last leaf is the irregular mix of stocks led to a slight
a fascinating copy of an engraving of diffi culty in turning the pages, but all pages
how a 17th century printing offi ce would were carefully trimmed before binding,
have looked. I can confi rm that a mid- which helped the ‘usability’ considerably.
20th century printery would have looked Now for the detail. Ron Rookes has put
very similar, except for the dress of the in fi ve pages, mostly covers and contents
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