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FNC–26
Two Rivers
Thousands of Variations
SPRING 2015 QUARTERLY EDITION Two Rivers THREE 48-PAGE MEMO BOOKS
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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.
SPECIFICATIONS:
- 01.
Cover stock generously donated by the French Paper Company, Niles, Mich.: Pop-Tone 100#C "Lemon Drop" and "Sno Cone," Speckletone 100#C "True White," and Dur-O-Tone 80#C "Packing Brown Wrap."
- 02.
Designs hand-set by Aaron Draplin, Bryan Bedell, and Matthew Jorgensen using Hamilton Wood Type and Printing Museum's collection of vintage type and ornaments.
- 03.
Covers printed over 200 hours by Museum Director Jim Moran with the support of Assistant Director Stephanie Carpenter, on a 1961 Heidelberg GT 13" × 18" windmill press with a 2-color application of Van Son soy-based inks.
- 04.
Additional cover text printed at City Wide Printing, Mount Prospect, Ill. on a Ryobi 524 14" × 20" 4-color press with "Broadside Blue-Black" soy-based Saphira ink.
- 05.
Innards printed by the good people of eDOC Communications, Mount Prospect, Ill. on a Heidelberg Speedmaster XL 105 40" 2-color printing press. Stock: Finch Paper Opaque Smooth 50#T "Bright White," with a fine, 1-color application of "Double Knee Duck Canvas" light brown soy-based Saphira ink.
- 06.
Bound and finished at eDOC on a Heidelberg Stitchmaster ST 270 5-pocket saddle stitcher with cover feeder/scorer and Rima RS 10S in-line stacker.
- 07.
Corners precisely rounded to a ⅜" (9.5mm) radius with a Challenge SCM double round-corner machine.
- 08.
Graph grid: 3/16" × 3/16" (4.7mm x 4.7mm).
- 09.
Memo book dimensions are 3½" × 5½" (89mm × 140mm).
- 10.
FIELD NOTES uses only the Futura typeface family (Paul Renner, 1927), in collaboration with Monotype.
- 11.
All FIELD NOTES memo books are printed and manufactured in the U.S.A.