Toad's Wild Ride

I feel a bit like Toadie in the Wind in the Willows when he embarks on his 'automobile' fascination. At Kathy's urging (let's get that out in the open right now) I went searching, fairly casually, for a letterpress and found it (providence in action) at LarkPress on N. Williams Avenue.  Shop owner Jean Sammis had this press and two others and was willing (maybe happily) to let it go to a good home. The press basically looks like this. It's serial number indicates that its date of manufacture was 1905. I love things whose service is measured in centuries rather than years (or months)!A very reasonable question is "what are you going to do with the press Mike?" Future posts will touch on that deep question. For now I'm going to put it in my garage and attempt to get it running. I've rented a truck with lift gate to pick this little gem up from Jean on Saturday morning. It weighs in at 1,050 lbs - so dead-lifting it was out of the question - though my men's group was probably up for the challenge.

I invite you to follow along on this little letterpress journey - and experience with me the joys and maybe the occasional tribulation as I learn how to provision and operate a letterpress. Stay tuned ...