THE OLD SCHOOL PRESS

Moments in the making of Oxford's Ornaments

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Some of my earlier books had no labels on the spines. I have to confess that this was because I hate making them. But these days I bite the bullet and print the wretched things.

I have set the title of the book - Oxford's Ornaments - in Fell Double Pica Italic and put it on my Chandler & Price treadle Platen - you can just see the type as a silver strip upper middle of the picture. I then print it 25 times (say) onto narrow sheets, move the type down an inch and then print another 25, and so on until I have the required number plus some spares. Yes, it would be quicker - probably - if I set the type five times and printed five labels at a go. But with Fell type the less you print the easier it is to get a good impression! Even with this tiny amount it took a while to get the roller heights, packing and inking just right to give a clean impression.

How I hate spine labels!