Bowerbox Press

Bowerbox Press Bowerbox Press offers custom letterpress printing, fine art prints and bookbinding, plus instruction and occasional workshops.

01/20/2025

I won't be checking in here much anymore, find me at bowerbox.com or in a dusty print shop somewhere!

Before and after- the guides for my perforator. The brass shined up great, the steel is now shiny and rust free, and the...
01/13/2025

Before and after- the guides for my perforator. The brass shined up great, the steel is now shiny and rust free, and the paint on the cast pieces was in good shape so I just cleaned it and put some paste wax on the exposed metal. I could have spent more time on it but I need to use the machine soon, so this is a utilitarian restoration.

After my marathon typecasting trip, the Vandercook has become a type rubbing and fonting station. Any flat surface in a ...
01/11/2025

After my marathon typecasting trip, the Vandercook has become a type rubbing and fonting station. Any flat surface in a print shop.... well, it doesn't last. I've got 10 new galleys of type to process: rubbing (only some of it! I got smart in my new designs), putting together and tying up fonts, packing into boxes, plus then I'll need to set and print specimens and labels. It'll take me a bit of time to get the new type listed, but 18pt Amanita border and 12pt Frond Deco should be ready soon, and 24 & 18pt Frond corners shortly after that.

I made a quick detour on my way home to visit two more print shops! I finally made it to in Chatham (and got to see the...
01/09/2025

I made a quick detour on my way home to visit two more print shops! I finally made it to in Chatham (and got to see the Shaker Museum where Jerry and Sharon work). Such a great shop, with a wonderful collection to create from. Then I met Raleigh D'Adamo of Cedar Cliff Press, who has an amazing huge collecting of metal type, typewriters, and train station signs! If you've been on the subway in New York you've seen his work- he redesigned the colors for the subway map in the 60s. So wonderful to spend some time with more printers.

A good morning so far, even though it's 40 degrees in here. The machine is happy in this freezing weather! Casting 18 po...
01/05/2025

A good morning so far, even though it's 40 degrees in here. The machine is happy in this freezing weather! Casting 18 point versions of my Frond Deco Corner pieces.

I made it to the new location today, what a great space in Holyoke, MA! John's getting everything organized and ready f...
01/04/2025

I made it to the new location today, what a great space in Holyoke, MA! John's getting everything organized and ready for shopping. He's got some great new ornaments and wood type. I picked up some metal for casting and am ready to get back to work tomorrow.

The reveal of my next project... I'm working with of to create an 18-point version of the popular Primrose border! Jim...
01/03/2025

The reveal of my next project... I'm working with of to create an 18-point version of the popular Primrose border! Jim revised his original design to add a bit of detail, and I'm working on cutting the mats and testing these two pieces. Details to come, as this is just a test run, and I'll need to make sure it turns out as planned. I'll be taking pre-orders once we are happy with the design, so stay tuned.
In the meantime, you can print with the original 4-line version in wood from Virgin Wood Type.

Making sure my quad is a quad. This is the best tool in Jim's shop- a point micrometer! If anyone ever runs across one o...
01/02/2025

Making sure my quad is a quad. This is the best tool in Jim's shop- a point micrometer! If anyone ever runs across one of these please buy it for me and I'll pay you back.

This quad was the quaddiest quad I could quad.

Not bad for Day 1- both of the year, and of my foundry trip. 2 full galleys of Frond Deco Corner #1, sets coming soon!...
01/01/2025

Not bad for Day 1- both of the year, and of my foundry trip. 2 full galleys of Frond Deco Corner #1, sets coming soon!

I'm ending this year exactly how I plan to ring in the next- working on new type designs up at Jim's type foundry. I jus...
01/01/2025

I'm ending this year exactly how I plan to ring in the next- working on new type designs up at Jim's type foundry. I just made patterns for 18pt Frond Deco corners, we'll see how the engraving goes in the new year! Happy New Year, printerfriends.

It's the end of the year, and I think the thing I'm most proud of doing in 2024 is making the new issue of the American ...
12/29/2024

It's the end of the year, and I think the thing I'm most proud of doing in 2024 is making the new issue of the American Typecasting Fellowship Newsletter a reality. Rich Hopkins of Hill & Dale Private Press and Typefoundry has been publishing this for almost 50 years and I knew that in order to make sure it continued, I needed to be the one to step up and take over. Along with Fritz Swanson () and Sierra Brown (), plus the backing of , I complied vital typecasting research, experiences, and history into this thicker-than-expected publication. This community is small and no one's getting any younger, so we have to make sure we gather as much information as we can and preserve it in printed form.
The cover is printed from my own ornament design, engraved and cast in 2023, and Powell types cast by my mentor Jim Walczak.
If you are interested in a copy, we still have some available- find them at americantypecastingfellowship.org and help us keep typecasting alive.

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Holyoke, MA
01040

Telephone

val @ bowerbox.com

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