Coaxing an Antique Press to ‘Kiss the Page’

Photo of Robert Warner, 53, eyeglasses-maker and artist by Suzanne DeChillo/The New York Times

Story by Ralph Blumenthal
Published New York Times: January 4, 2010

Stop the presses. That’s what Robert Warner, 53, does every time he takes his foot off the treadle at one of the antique letterpresses at Bowne and Company Stationers at the South Street Seaport Museum. Bowne, founded in 1775 and claiming to be the oldest company in the city still operating under the same name, opened the museum print shop to celebrate its bicentennial. Twenty years later, Mr. Warner, an eyeglasses-maker and artist, wandered in to volunteer. Now he is the master printer there in a former cast iron stove factory from 1835, turning out stationery, social announcements and commemorative items to raise money for the museum and teaching the digital generation of schoolchildren an ancient craft.

The scary part of hand-set printing: See, there’s no safety on this. If you reach for the paper as it’s printing, you could lose your fingers.

What he aims for: You want the type to kiss the page, not bite the page. Smooth. It shouldn’t feel like matzo, or a waffle. Otherwise you’re wearing down the face of the type, and these you can’t get any more.

His favorite type: I like Engraver’s Roman very much. Bodoni — that’s a heart-breaker.

How he helped Andy Warhol to see: I grew up in Geneva, N.Y. No college, I went right to work for an optical company. Later, I designed eyeglasses and window displays for Morgenthal Frederics. I developed the Oberlin, based on old yearbook pictures from Oberlin. I fitted glasses for both Jackie Onassis and Andy Warhol. One day Dr. Ruth, one day Tom Wolfe. If I had my pliers, I would adjust your nose pads so your glasses don’t slip like that.

Going from eyeglasses to printing (without hitting Control + P): A friend sent me here to buy recipe cards. There were two women printing. Barbara Henry, the curator, and a Japanese woman. They weren’t talking to each other. No one was minding the front of the store. I asked, “May I volunteer to help?” They said, “We can’t teach you to print.” I said, “I’ll come in as shopkeeper.” When the other woman quit, Barbara said, “How do I find a printer?” I raised my hand. “If you teach me, I’ll print.” I caught on pretty quickly. I fixed the gauge pin that holds the paper. She said, “Now you are a printer.”
Read the rest of this piece at NYT.