The Vorticist Press

picture of the Vorticist Press Furnival Printing Press from Vorticist Times

The Vorticist Press is a small private press based in Hook, England and registered at the International Register of Private Press Names at the Briar Press website. The Vorticist Press publishes short-run editions of manifestos, prints and postcards of a Vorticist nature using the letterpress printing process. (For more information about the letterpress process, see British letterpress).

The principal press is a Furnival Express Platen with a chase size of 13x9 inches. It dates from around 1910, and was therefore supplied new in the period leading up to the Vorticist period. The Press owns multiple type faces, but when printing work demands total authenticity, the choice is restricted to the following fonts that would have been used in our favourite period of 1914 to circa 1920:

Note that the non-serif face in Blast was the (then) new Stephenson Blake No 9. The face was called Grotesque by the type-founder after the many forms of non-serif font that had been produced in the Victorian era, and were unloved by the aesthete of the time due to its utilitarian appearance. The Victorian (and post-Victorian) aesthete would have chosen a serif face, (like Caslon) every time. No 9 was Stephenson Blake's own version of the genre, and appeared about 1909. Once again, it is revealing that Blast, even font choice, is confronting orthodox tastes of its time. Such a face as this would have been used exclusively for advertising, and would never have been used in a periodical about art before the publication of Blast.

Blast itself would have been printed on a cylinder letterpress machine, like the Wharfedale Press, rather than a platen like this one. The company that produced Blast (Leveridge & Co Ltd, Harlesden, London) used the letterpress system, which was by far the most common printing technology of this time. These days the vast majority of commercial printers use the litho process. Modern machines are now directly linked to computers, which are depended on to automatically solve most issues that would have once needed a human to resolve. Now, only the parking of paper at the front of the machine, and removal of the pile of printed matter at the back is done by a human. Even ink washup is automatic. Hardly any human intervention is necessary.

This is in contrast to the letterpress system which requires a much more 'hands on' approach. First, the type is assembled in the compositor's stick. Then the type is placed in the chase, and locked up. Then it is transferred to the press, which is then adjusted to ensure a good print is achieved. With a treadle press like the Furnival, a sheet can be manually fed and printed every 5 to 10 seconds if interleaving is utilised, and the printer's balance on one foot is maintained whilst the other is used to power the machine. The letterpress system allows the printer to enjoy a much closer association with the quality of the end product. For this reason, the letterpress printer sees himself as a kind of artisan, rather than a mere producer.

Other Fonts

The Vorticist Press is also interested in the 1950's - the height of letterpress printing. Much was printed using this system, with type being cast on Monotype casters using the (then) latest faces. These are still available from Monotype casters like www.letterpressworks.co.uk. Here, Ed Denovan works to produce some startlingly crisp castings that can be used on any letterpress machine made during the last century. The following is my 1950's collection:

  • Rockwell Shadow 18pt
  • Ashley Script 18pt
  • Univers Bold 24pt
  • Festival Titling 36pt

The Vorticist Press is not a commercial concern, and its output is strictly low volume! It is hoped that a couple of standard lines will be shown here for sale later this new year.

Emails are welcome at: editor@vorticist-press.co.uk.

Last updated 18th January 2010.