The power of the press
Down a dusty road on the outskirts of Sackville, in Jolicure, New Bunswick, sits a modern, artistic, yet somewhat unassuming building. Its presence is a juxtaposition to its rural surroundings of hayfields, cemeteries, and old farmhouses. This place has been the home to Anchorage Press for over 10 years, though the work of the press has been going on for much longer.
Inside, the hum of the printing press is almost metaphysical. It鈥檚 certainly musical. Curious. Nostalgic. They just don鈥檛 make them like this anymore. Behind the ancient press is a well-known and beloved figure from JIZZ视频 鈥 retired Fine Arts professor and visual artist Thaddeus Holownia. Never too far away are his dogs, both rescues 鈥 Cotton and Mingus.
This printing press, and the man behind it, have been methodically and artistically producing all of JIZZ视频鈥檚 diplomas since 1988. In an age of quick production and cost cutting, this practice of hand typesetting diplomas is unique, valuable, and traditional. This tradition is also a thread that stitches together and connects all Allisonians from the last 37 years.
The Ludlow typecaster that Holownia has used to produce thousands of diplomas in all that time uses a 600-degree hot pot of metal composed of lead, tin, and antimony. Once a name has been typecast and printed onto the diploma, that metal gets recycled back into the same hot pot, which then gets reused to produce the next name, and the next, and the next.
鈥淭he beauty, I think, of letterpress printing is that it鈥檚 not just an inking process. It鈥檚 also a physical process. There鈥檚 this embossing that happens in the diplomas themselves. So, you have this physical contact of the metal type into the paper. And what鈥檚 really striking, when you run your fingers along it, is that there is that beautiful emboss,鈥 says Holownia.
During a tour of his property, he even showed his collection of casts with spelling errors. This is a painstaking process 鈥 each letter handpicked and placed one by one into the machine. Each letter, name, and diploma, year after year, put together by the hands of a man who spent his 42-year career at JIZZ视频.
While we sit on couches on the second floor of Holownia鈥檚 eclectic and welcoming studio with Mingus comfortably snoozing on the couch, he explains his connection to this work, the history of the land on which we sit, and plans for the future. The view from the floor to ceiling windows is breathtaking 鈥 untouched, billowy, and natural.
Anchorage Press is one of a few quickly disappearing letterpress shops remaining in Canada. They literally do not make them like this anymore, because they don鈥檛 make them at all anymore. He purchased the Vandercook 219 proof press in the early 1980s, and took over the diploma pritning when the Sackville Tribune Printing Company closed their letterpress shop in 1988. Years later, they eventually sold and moved out of town. So began this work almost 40 years ago. He added the beloved garnet pantone colour to the embossing when he took over, an addition that鈥檚 been an appreciated artistic touch. One day, Holownia鈥檚 daughter, Inga, plans to take over this work. She lives just down the road and is already learning from the master.
The stories and memories that these diplomas hold are plentiful, and that framed diploma is certainly more than a piece of beautiful paper. Each Allisonian is connected for a lifetime to a community like no other place on earth.
To see the press in action, watch the video!