SPRING 2015 QUARTERLY EDITION Two Rivers THREE 48-PAGE MEMO BOOKS

Our 26th QUARTERLY Edition

Hand-Set Wood Type

The Hamilton Manufacturing Company of Two Rivers, Wisconsin, produced much of the wood type used to print America’s headlines and broadsides from 1880 through the mid-20th century. Over the last 15 years, the Hamilton Wood Type & Printing Museum has assembled a must-see collection of printing history and an extensive print shop, attracting printers, students, and designers from around the world. The Museum hosts conferences, workshops, and residencies, providing hands-on access to the museum’s equipment, with the guidance of experienced staff and volunteers. Two bucks from the sale of each 3-Pack of Two Rivers will be donated to the museum.

Field Notes loves printing, history, Americana, and a good Wisconsin brandy old-fashioned, so the Hamilton Wood Type & Printing Museum is our kind of place. We reached out to our friends and neighbors at French Paper Co. of Niles, Michigan, who are also big fans of the museum, and they gladly agreed to help. VIDEO: We talk to Brian French about “Two Rivers,” 1 min.

After months of planning and several trips north, our love for the museum and the town grew even greater, and we couldn’t be happier to support their work with our 26th Quarterly Edition. VIDEO: Aaron Draplin and museum director Jim Moran, 11 min.

French Paper supplied four cover stocks for these books: Pop-Tone 100#C “Lemon Drop” and “Sno Cone,” Speckletone 100#C “True White,” and Dur-O-Tone 80#C “Packing Brown Wrap.” We hand-set several designs using Hamilton’s collection of vintage type and ornaments. Hamilton then printed our designs in two random colors on a 1961 Heidelberg GT 13" × 18" windmill press. Randomizing the designs, papers, and colors resulted in thousands of variations. Further variations were introduced thanks to the nature of wood type, letterpress printing, and the music playing in the print shop during the 200+ hours on press.

Back in Chicago, our logo and specifications were added with a hit of “Broadside Blue-Black” ink. Then the books were bound with 48 pages of Finch Opaque Smooth 50#T featuring our “Double Knee Duck Canvas” graph grid. Three copper staples hold ’em together. As always, they’re all-U.S.A.-made, with a lot of love from the shores of Lake Michigan.