the other day i had the opportunity to tour a couple of Portland’s local press and bindery professionals.  it was a great morning of talking press stuff with a couple of the areas pros.  the first place i saw was Strong Arm Bindery owned and run by Martha Kearsly.  i love old buildings. i also love fine, hand-done crafts.  Strong Arm is a place where the old and (thanks to her, lucky for us), not lost art of bookmaking remains very much alive.  Martha was very charming and more than willing to share the ins-and-outs of her craft and business.  Martha restores, repairs and binds books for clients that either want their new books bound or who have an old family heirloom that is falling into disrepair.  she showed us several old books, including a french cookbook from the late 19th century that she was working on.  she also has several print methods at her disposal with which she distributes her own line of stationary among other personal projects.  Martha also teaches bookmaking/bindery at North Bennet Street School in Boston which is a two year certificate school that focuses on many of the “lost” crafts such as blacksmithing and violin making/repair.

next stop i interrupted the work of David Wolfe of Wolfe Editions.  David is a master fine arts printer and machinist.  He has just as much passion for the history of his craft as much as the craft itself.  it was so cool listening to hear him talk about the different machines he uses and the history behind the process.  he definitely knows his stuff.  many of the machines he has he got and completely restored himself.  stepping into his press room is taking a step back; back to a time when things were still done by hand.  he has original typesetters, letterpress, an old screw press and my personal favorite: a working lynotype machine, which he graciously demoed.  all of the machines he has he says he uses regularly, if not daily.  

it was an inspiring day to say the least.  as i am bogged down with learning how to lock up chases and arrange scoring blades it was good to see that there is light at the end of the proverbial educational tunnel.

i apologize in advance, the shutter speed on my phone decided that it was going to take twice as long so the photos aren’t super clear, don’t judge.