Not the easiest way

I just finished a custom handset type broadside job. 10 point Century Schoolbook with 36 point initial caps. Here’s a picture of the type locked up and a print just off the press. I’m guessing you realize that each letter is on its own tiny piece of metal and I had to line each one up and justify each line and pull out all the worn type. For all practical purposes this is folly. But we’re not talking practical here. We’re talking letterpress and we’re talking beautiful, if I do say so myself.

The text is from a newspaper editor who had a lot of steam to blow off. It was created for a local poet, Benjamin Morris, as a gift for his brother who edits the Uptown Messenger. Here’s a a close-up.