Rebecca and Connie put together a brief newsletter and quietly sent it out into the world last weekend while we were at the American Typecasting Fellowship Conference in Maine. Here it is. The images above and below were taken moments ago of the C.C. Stern Type Foundry on this rainy May 4th 2023 evening. We’ve got work to do, but things are coming together nicely.
New 2023 C.C. Stern Type Foundry Guild Cards
Printed entirely (almost) from type and ornamentation cast on the C.C. Stern Type Foundry equipment (The "almost" refers to the two arrows. Those are likely a product of American Type Founders, and were re-discovered hiding in plain sight on a galley labelled "arrows" appropriately enough).
Have you renewed your support to the C.C. Stern Type Foundry at the Printer's Devil level or above? If yes, you'll receive your very own limited edition guild card like the one pictured above.
Completing the new guild cards made a good excuse for me to bust out that beautiful Remington portable typewriter. I love that thing. I loaned my original Remington portable to a friend... oh, lets see.... I think it was almost 30 years ago. Yup. Now I recall that it was around 1994. A good year, that 1994. I'm getting side tracked on a side track. Back to the loan of the typewriter: my friend is a film maker, and he needed a good typewriter for the sound foley for his film project at the time. I don't recall the name of the film he was working on, or if the sound of my typewriter made it to the silver screen or not. Regardless, the typewriter is in good hands, so I didn't prioritize reclaiming the little machine before I pulled up stakes and left Dayton, Ohio. I foolishly forgot about the typewriter - until I didn't - many years later. At that point I kept my eyes out for the same model. I finally tracked one down about a year ago. This one was meticulously cared for by its owner who lived in Corvallis, Oregon. It was the same model and year as the one that I longed for over the last couple decades. It was pretty magical putting those familiar keys back under my fingers. I'll be happy to let you use the typewriter, but I may be a little more careful about lending it out for too long.
On-Line Launch of the C.C. Stern Type Foundry Poets Laureate Broadside series this evening!
As the dust has been settling from the recent C.C. Stern Type Foundry move to its new pole barn home in Clatskanie, my colleagues at the foundry have also been busy coordinating the release of a broadside that is the first in a series highlighting Pacific Northwest Poets Laureate. This first broadside features a poem by Samuel Green (Poet Laureate of Washington State 2007-2009), written in honor of the life of our friend, mentor, master craftsman and the organization's name sake: Chris Stern. Join us on-line for the launch of this broadside and of the series this Thursday, September 22, 2022 at 7:00 PM to 8:00 PM. Details for the event are here. The event is free, but an RSVP is required. I hope to see you there live on the internets.
C.C. Stern Type Foundry End of Year Newsletter
If you’re not already subscribed, here’s a link to the C.C. Stern Type Foundry’s latest newsletter. Yup, this link will take you to the newsletter.
C.C. Stern Type Foundry "The Point" 2021 newsletter is in the mail
The 2021 issue of the C.C. Stern Type Foundry Newsletter "The Point" is in the mail. See previous posts here and here) We're pleased with the quality of the type, the metal is consistent, face is clean and weight is solid. We did have an issue with the casting of the exclamation point (this is a "note to self" to check it out when I'm back at the Foundry) it did not print cleanly - I suspect that there is some flashing stuck in the matrix. Luckily we had cast plenty of sorts, and were able to use the best (!) to achieve a satisfactory exclamation.
If you are not on the C.C. Stern Type Foundry mailing list and you would like to receive a copy of "The Point" 2021 newsletter cast and printed with metal type, visit the website and sign up for the mailing list and/or donate (The C.C. Stern Type Foundry is an Oregon 501(c)3 non-profit organization) some funds towards postage. I believe there are about 30 prints remaining after this current mailing.
C.C. Stern Type Foundry "The Point" newsletter progress
Type has been cast, Linotype border material also cast (see previous blog) and ink is going down on the C.C. Stern Type Foundry “The Point” newsletter as I type this. We should have them in the mail by the end of the week. Would you like one? Visit the C.C. Stern Type Foundry Donation page and donate some funds towards postage (or however much your generous-type-foundry-supporting-heart desires ) and we’ll get you a copy hot off the presses.
Join the C.C. Stern Type Foundry on-line for a "Type Jam" with Jason Dewinetz at Greenboathouse Press
C.C. Stern Type Foundry's Summer Type Jam will be held via Zoom and hosted by Jason Dewinetz at Greenboathouse Press.
Monday, August 24, 2020
12:00 PM (Pacific Time)
Jason is up and running in his recently constructed shop space. I’m excited to have a peek at his new digs and hopefully see some of his recent work. I’m sure it’s going to be good. The guy is an amazing craftsman – his print work will make your jaw hit the floor. And I see on his website that he is wearing a “Skull Skates” printer’s apron. I didn’t know such a thing existed. Jason is that kind of fella. Please join us later today! Here's a link to the official invite and additional information. While you're there, please consider signing up to the C.C. Stern Type Foundry Mailing list to learn about current happenings and future events.
C.C. Stern Type Foundry During Quarantine
Rebecca and I checked in on the Foundry last weekend, and fired up some machines while we were there. Rebecca continued casting type for "The Point" which exercised the monotype composition caster with Welliver interface, and I warmed up the model 31 and cast a galley of linotype slugs for an exercise normally meant for public open hours (see previous post). It was nice to be in the space after being away from it for over a month. We're looking forward to resuming regular programming when it is safe to do so. For the most current C.C. Stern Foundry news, here's a link to a recent newsletter.
Space Band box needs some attention
I took this pic while at the C.C. Stern Type Foundry board members’ work session. Chris Chen was in town, so the focus was on the comp caster. Exciting stuff was happening over there at the comp machine, but too many board members around the type metal spoils the alloy. Or at least that was my theory that day. So Linotype house cleaning was my strategy. Number 4 spacebands have occasionally been hanging up at the top of the box and not sliding into place. After some cleaning and an added shim, the choke point was alleviated. Not entirely fixed, but certainly an improvement.