Evening star., 1921-10-23

~ UTT1NG character and person
- ality into the making of
books, an art long since for
gotten with the advent Of the
high-speed rotary press. has been re-
Ohio. now famous for his handmade
American paper and printing types.
Hunter has accomplished in book
making what no other man has ever
accomplished. He has completely
fashioned with his own tools volumes
of books. Not only did he make the
dies for the matrices from which the
type faces were cast and print the
volumes. but he manufactured the
paper himself at little mill on the
Hudson in New York state. Two
books thus manufactured have been
presented to the Smithsonian Insti-
tute in Washington by Mr.. Hunter
and will soon be placed on exhibition
in the graphic arts section.
The maker spent five years in turn
ing out the two volumes and no tool.
appliance or material was used IN
their manufacture which was not in
vented during the first or second
century after the discovery of the
art of printing by means of movable
type. For the paper he used linen
and cotton rags. prepared with a
mixture of glue and water. and for
the type he used pig lead. block tin.
antimony and copper. The matrices,
punches and molds he made from
steel. copper bars and brass. The en-
tire apparatus employed for the max
ing Of his type would not fill a shoe
box. OF course. this does not in
clude the pot used for heating the
metal.
Two hundred copies Of the two
books. entitled '"The Etching Of Fig
ures." by w. A. Bradley. and The
Etching Of Contemporary Life by
Frank Weitenkamph. were printed
by Mr.. Hunter on a hand press. He
has received orders for 900 others.
but since the printing of the first two
hundred has closed his paper mill
at Marlborough sh-on-the-Hudson and
as an advisor for a papermakers' as
sociation. The mill. operated entirely
by Mr. Hunter, turned out 500 sheets
of handmade paper each week. This
paper will last forever. Containing
long fibre, its strength is far greater
as only natural unbleached materials
are used in its manufacture It will
never turn yellow with age.
MIR. HUNTER. the author Of several
articles on water marking Of
paper. has also presented the Smith
sonian museum with specimens of his
work in water marks which are
without peer. In one he reproduces
the picture of an artist in such a
manner that it cannot be discerned
until the sheet is turned up to the
light.
In the making Of the paper Mr..
Hunter used only the methods en-
ployed In the old English handshops.
The linen and cotton rags. washed
clean. were first emaciated and mixed
vat. A wooden frame with finely
threaded screen Of copper wires. the
size Of the sheet desired, Is then
dipped into the pulp vat. 1t Is drawn
out with the screen covered with the
pulp AS the water runs off the sheet
of pulp left is thrown onto a strip
of felt in a press. Alternate sheets OF
pulp and strips Of felt are Put into
the press until it is filed. The top
plate is then screwed down and the
water squeezed out. The paper is
then ready for the drying room
Water marking Is obtained by an
impression of the desired figure built
into the copper screening. The paper
pulp settles about it 80 slightly that
the figure is not discernable except
when held up to the light.
Some dozen tiny files. the corruga-
tfons on some of which are barely
visible, aided Mr.. Hunter in fashion
ing the dies, the first step in the
manufacture of his type. It was
painstaking task, for the dies first
must be absolutely accurate else the
type will be "off Its feet" The steel
dies completed, their Impressions were
pounded into a brass or copper matrix.
Again the necessity for accuracy was
apparent. The last step. the manu-
facture Of the type face. brought into
use the hand mold. The matrix was
placed into a slot in the mold. which
opens in halves. The mold is then
closed and the liquid metal poured
into the slot through an opening.
After it cools the mold is opened in
half again and the type drops out.
Excess metal at the lower end is cut
OF and it is ready for tha font. These