The book: Letterpress Printing: A manual for modern fine press printers by Paul Maravelas, published by Oak Knoll Press. Maravelas is a fellow Minnesotan, but even without that bias, we are totally in love with this bible, er, I mean book.

Letterpress Printing has everything, from case maps for the beginner type-setter, a history/background on wood versus metal type, incredibly helpful information on the different types of presses and what their strengths are, along with things to look for before purchasing a press (really helpful to those of us on the look-out for our first press). Oh, and did I mention the diagrams on EVERYTHING? From how to hold a composing stick, to the different types of presses, to specific pieces of presses, to page layout, and more. For visual learners like me, these diagrams (drawn by Maravelas himself) add another dimension of helpfulness to this amazing book.

It’s one that remains useful throughout the whole lifetime of a type setter as a go-to reference on anything and everything letterpress-related (although it probably is more groundbreaking for newbies, like us).

So don’t argue – just buy it. You won’t regret it.