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Get thee to a magnifier. Everything that William Shakespeare wrote for the stage can be seen and read in this meticulous but straightforward piece of offset lithographic presswork.
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About Patrick Henry
Patrick Henry is a journalist and an educator who has covered the graphic communications industry since 1984. The author of many hundreds of articles on business trends and technological developments in graphic communications, he has been published in most of the leading trade media in the field. He also has taught graphic communications as an adjunct lecturer for New York University and New York City College of Technology. The holder of numerous awards for industry service and education, Henry is currently the managing director of Liberty or Death Communications, a content consultancy.
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Discussion
By HARVEY LEVENSON on Aug 05, 2024
Patrick, I read your August 1 WTT article on Shakespeare’s plays on a single offset press sheet, and couldn’t resist sending you the following.
It describes an 8 pt. piece of letterpress metal type with the entire Lord’s Prayer engraved on it. It was produced as an experiment in the late 1950’s by ATF to demonstrate the accuracy of letterpress printing engraving. I acquired it in the early 1960s when I first started studying printing and offset was not yet a major commercial process. It can actually be read under magnification. See the following. It includes a picture of the 8 pt. type body below. Paste in browser if necessary.
https://hrlsite.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/atf-3.jpeg
By Graham Judd on Oct 16, 2024
I visited the Gutenberg Museum a few years ago, and they had these available, although I think they were on 12pt piece of type. And they are printed in the tiny book they sell, in 7 languages. They were apparently first cast in the late 1920s, a remarkable feat considering it was a mechanical process. I printed my pieces on my Heidelberg platen, quite readable. I think they are still available, on the museum's shop website.