THE OLD SCHOOL PRESS
AT WORK

Small founts and flowers

Some years back, when Jonathan Stephenson sold his Rocket Press materiel, we bought this splendid type-rack from Stephenson Blake. It now holds a number of small founts of large-size (display) founts such as Festival, Mole Foliate, Harlequin, Ratdolt, and Union Pearl. It also holds many of Mark Arman's founts of Monotype ornaments from his Workshop Press. Many of these founts will never be cast again so one is printing with antiques, and they deserve careful storage.

One of the dangers of having a print-shop is collecting. We try to buy only those founts that we can see ourselves using in a book one day. Without this discipline the shop would be packed with interesting type, doomed never to be used. The same is true of presses and other equipment. And of course there comes the point when the available space has been filled and a new fount can only come in if another leaves - that's where we are right now.