I am lucky to have a full set of 72pt decorative ‘Cloister Initials’, cast by American Type Founders (ATF), before the company was liquidated in the 1990s. These initials are the Holy Grail of type, and are now unobtainable. The matrix for these letters were cut very deep, so that the printed result, especially when 100% cotton paper is used, gives an embossed and 3-D tactile result. I combine these larger initials with other initial fonts that were cast by the Monotype Corporation.
This poster print below was produced for an exhibition of letterpress printed posters, inspired by the Manicule, or Printer’s Fist. The exhibition was launched at Bath Spa University in September 2019 and highlighted the work of British letterpress printers who had to devise a design incorporating the ‘Manicule’. (The word derives from the Latin manicule, ‘little hand’)
The Manicule, or Printer’s Fist, dates back to medieval and renaissance times and is still doing the job of pointing the way and as a call for action.
Periscope Press 