Members in Mt. Pleasant, IA

The Great Northern and Midwest Printers' Fair was so exciting that we have items from three of the members who attended: first are reports by Clarence Wolfshohl and Mike Coughlin, and then a video from Peter Schaub.

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Five members of AAPA took part in the Great Northern and Midwest Printers’ Fair in Mount Pleasant, Iowa, September 13-16.  George Chapman, who lives in Mount Pleasant,  helps organize the annual event.  Arie Koelewyn taught workshops for the Ladies of Letterpress during the event.  Peter Schaub worked on a project using one of the several flatbed presses (a Washington) in the printing museum on the Old-Time Threshers Grounds in Mount Pleasant.  Mike Coughlin and Clarence Wolfshohl arrived for the Saturday fair, where the AAPA had a table offering information and sample journals and bundles.

A highlight of the Saturday fair was steam roller printmaking, using a 1905 vintage Springfield steam roller.

    

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A strong contingent from the American Amateur Press Association participated in the Midwest and Great Northern Printers’ Fair in Mt. Pleasant, Iowa the third weekend in September.  This annual gathering brings together practitioners of the black art from all across the United States.

The gathering, which is held at Printers’ Hall at the Midwest Old Threshers Fair grounds, provides participants the opportunity to step back in time to an era when letterpress printing was king.  The print shop houses an expansive collection of presses, typesetting machines, paper cutters and folders--many of them in fine working condition.  This is no static display of printing artifacts but rather a working press room that gives visitors an opportunity to watch how printing was done once upon a time.

In addition to watching the presses and typesetting machines come alive, the annual gathering is an opportunity for letterpress aficionados to meet old friends and to find treasures offered on Saturday when vendors sell a wide array of printing books, tools, type cabinets, type, presses, paper cutters and other artifacts of the letterpress trade.
This year the show also included “steam roller printing” where an historic steam roller “prints” outdoors.  The weather cooperated completely this year providing visitors an ideal weekend to share with like-minded souls.

Included in AAPA contingent at the Mt. Pleasant printers’ fair were, from left to right, Peter Schaub, George Chapman and Clarence Wolfshohl:

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You can view a video of an 1890s rotary newspaper press that was shot by Peter Schaub: