17.3.17

Not very moveable type


It's been nine years since I blogged about rescuing a quantity of letterpress type and Adana printers from being skipped. Back then it was all crammed into the tiny cottage and I never had the space and time to go through it or use it. When Andy and I made the big move in 2012, it was stored in someone's shed and in 2015 I had it moved here. And it all went into another shed. 


There it has remained. Not the best place for it; as you can see, there are quite a few gaps in the shed walls, the roof leaks and next door's ivy continuously invades any crack it can find. So recently, to prevent it all deteriorating any further, I moved it into the cottage. 


I did it bit by bit. The cabinets, being full of metal type, are a little bit heavy. After a couple of hours, I had nearly all of it inside. For the moment it is in our main 'den' until I can sort it out properly. 



It's not exactly convenient, but I need to sell a fair bit of what I have, and it has to be in a dry place. The printers and other sundries are now jamming up the little front room we recently sorted out.


So I'm gradually sorting through the bits and bobs, deciding what can go to help with the mortgage. It feels like selling off the family silver, but I have far more than I need and at this point in my life, I still don't have the time to play with it. I have enjoyed cleaning things up though, such as this old lead cutter. Transformed from this...


 ...to this. 


It went off to a new home yesterday.

4 comments:

Karren said...

Tough to get rid of those treasures, but at least you have had time to pick out the best to keep. Lovely old things.

Lilbitbrit said...

What an amazing find. I'm in the printing business and it has so changed, but lovely to see all the old type. Hope it all works out for you, the drawers alone are lovely.

Lin said...

You always find the most interesting....and large things!

Jess said...

Such a stash you have! I hope you get a good price for anything you sell. xx