The Craft of Letterpress Printing for Local History

By Building a Local History Archive at Home
Comments 35
14 Jul 2026

The Craft of Letterpress Printing for Local History

Letterpress is the quiet workhorse behind so much of the printed heritage we take for granted in the West Country. The parish notice, the market broadside, the chapel hymn sheet, the temperance handbill pinned to a shop door — none of them would exist without hand-set type and a press. If you run a museum display, a heritage group or a living history workshop, there is no better way to make that inheritance tangible than to set and print a few pieces yourself.

Why Letterpress Belongs in a Local History Display

Relief printing puts ink where the raised surface meets the paper. That is why a hand-set sheet looks different from a photocopy: the type bites gently into the sheet, edges are slightly softer or sharper depending on the pressure, and the ink sits on top of the paper rather than soaking evenly through it.

For a West Country audience this matters. A broadside announcing a fair, a Cornish carol sheet, a Devonian hymn for a chapel anniversary — all of them were printed this way. Reproducing one authentically gives visitors something to handle, read and even smell. The craft is not a museum piece; it is a living skill you can teach in an afternoon.

Setting the Case: Type, Spacing and Measure

Start with a clean case of type, a composing stick and a plan. For most heritage notices, 12pt to 18pt type is workable: 12pt for body text and hymn verses, 18pt or larger for headings and dates. Set a comfortable measure — around 2 to 2.5 inches, or roughly ten to twelve words per line.

Spacing is where the craft lives:

Thin spaces (3-to-em, 4-to-em, 5-to-em) fine-tune the fit between words.
En and em quads set wider gaps and indent paragraphs.
Leads at 2pt add breathing room between lines; slugs at 6pt open up headings.
Furniture and quoins lock the whole forme into the chase so nothing drops when you lift it.

Keep the stick tightly packed. Loose letters will rise during printing and skid across the sheet. A quick tap of the stick on the bank as you set each line, and a closed-up word space at the end, will save you a great deal of misery later.

Ink, Rollers and Make-Ready

Ink should be tacky, not thin. A good working consistency is like thick cream — it should stand in a small peak on the slab but roll out smoothly. Too much ink, and you fill the counters of closed letters; too little, and the print turns grey and mottled. Roll out a bead about the width of your roller and re-ink every two or three impressions rather than every pull.

Make-ready is the unglamorous art of evening out the impression. Build up the tympan with thin packing paper, adding or removing a sheet at a time. Check the printed result against the light: you want an even grey across the forme, with no dark patches and no pale corners.

Presswork: Pressure, Packing and Pace

Whether you are working a table-top platen or a small hand press, aim for what printers call a kiss impression — just enough pressure to transfer ink cleanly without bruising the paper. Add packing a sheet at a time and test again. Pressure that is too heavy will distort the type and shorten its life.

Registration. Set gauge pins or pencil marks so repeat impressions and two-colour work line up.
Pace. Work steadily rather than fast. A rhythm helps you notice a slipping letter before it ruins a run.
Drying. Leave sheets flat, interleaved with newsprint or blotting paper, overnight before stacking or folding.

Folding a broadside with a bone folder, or drilling a pair of holes for a display string, finishes the job properly.

What to Print: Broadsides, Notices and Hymn Sheets

Think about the pieces your collection already has, and print a companion. A Victorian-style market notice, a wassail invitation, a harvest festival handbill, a Sunday school certificate, a carol sheet for a winter event. Hymn heritage is especially rich here: chapels across Somerset, Devon and Cornwall printed their own anniversaries and singing festival programmes, and a simple verse sheet in a bold serif type is instantly recognisable.

A useful beginner's set:

A single-column broadside, 8 by 12 inches, in three sizes of type.
A folded four-page hymnal insert with a rule border.
Small tickets or admission passes with a number set in a box.

Sharing the Craft: Workshops and Care of Materials

Letterpress is ideal for a drop-in session because the sequence is easy to explain and the result is immediate. Run a short workshop in three stages: distribute and sort type, set a line together, then take turns at the press. Children can set their names; adults often want to print a phrase from a local hymn or dialect saying. Keep a rota so everyone inks, prints and washes up, and finish with a flat-drying rack of freshly printed sheets.

Afterwards, clean rollers with the correct solvent, return every sort to its own box, and keep the forme under a dust cloth. Type is expensive and slow to replace; a tidy case is the surest way to keep this craft alive for the next group that comes through the door. There is a particular pleasure in hearing a press close on a line of type you set yourself — and knowing that the same sound filled West Country print shops for two centuries.

Antiquarian Books

Interviewing Elderly Residents for Oral History

Assess paper strength before attempting repairs. Use Japanese tissue and wheat starch paste sparingly, support the page, and avoid irreversible tapes or glues that damage fragile family heirlooms.

Previous Post At vero eos et accusamus et iusto odio dignissimos ducimus qui blanditiis praesentium.

Next Post Dignissimos ducimus qui blanditiis praesentiu deleniti atque corrupti quos dolores

5 Comments

Robert Sonny says Jul 21, 2024 at 10:00am

I must explain to you how all this mistaken idea of denouncing pleasure and praising pain was born and I will give you a complete account of the system
Reply
- John Abraham says Jul 21, 2024 at 10:00am
  
  I must explain to you how all this mistaken idea of denouncing pleasure and praising pain was born and I will give you a complete account of the system
  Reply
  - Robert Sonnysays Jul 21, 2024 at 10:00am
    
    I must explain to you how all this mistaken idea of denouncing pleasure and praising pain was born and I will give you a complete account of the system
    Reply
Robert Sonny says Jul 21, 2024 at 10:00am

I must explain to you how all this mistaken idea of denouncing pleasure and praising pain was born and I will give you a complete account of the system
Reply

Jenny Watson

Hi! beautiful people. I`m an authtor of this blog. Read our post - stay with us

Instagram

How We Can
Help You!

Restorations, pews, pulpits and stained glass reveal changing worship styles. Learn to date features by materials, tracery and furnishings, and consider how local funds shaped each building.

section heading hidden

Our Latest News

Repairing Torn Pages in Family Bibles

Understanding Victorian Church Architecture in Rural Parishes

Symbols on Gravestones and Their Meanings

Contact Us

Article