David Shields on the Rob Roy Kelly Wood Type Collection

Posted on September 22, 2024 by Randy

With the recent acquisition of wood type we have much to learn about it. Shop volunteer Paul found this great presentation from the Humanities Research Center.

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See Us in Havre de Grace, Maryland

Posted on September 20, 2024 by Randy

No one will be in the Print Shop on Saturday, September 21, but you can see us and a bunch of other Printers in Maryland.

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Come See Our New Pearl

Posted on May 8, 2024 by Randy

Thanks to a generous donation from Julie Hocking of Hocking Printing Company, publisher of the Shopping News in Ephrata, we have a new (old) No. 14 Pearl printing press. We plan to give it the care it needs to print again, but it’s a beauty to us just as it stands. Come check it out.

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Making a Letterpress Engraving Plate

Posted on January 22, 2024 by Randy

In answering a question about printing cuts I found that the International Printing Museum had this great video demonstrating the process.

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Full Kelsey Printing Course

Posted on January 8, 2024 by Randy

The Kelsey Company in Meriden Connecticut manufactured tabletop printing presses for years and supported it with printing supplies and advice. The All-Round Printer is twenty one lessons in printing with questions and a printer’s dictionary.

The scan isn’t perfect, but my goal was to create a readable document, not a more perfect printable one. The original we had to use was very yellowed and in a three ring binder so I did take the time to erase them from the scan. Let me know if you find any parts unreadable or in need of improvement.

Download PDF here.

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Happy New Year / Closed Until March

Posted on January 6, 2024 by Randy

We’re closed here at Conestoga Press for the Winter. The museum is closed to install a new temporary exhibit and we will reopen when they do the first Saturday in March. The library here at the Historical Society is open its regular hours.

There are a number of support projects in the works that I may be able to complete during our break and I’ll post them here as well as a potential field trip that we’ve been talking about, so stay tuned.

[The postcard above is this year’s membership card printed at Conestoga Press. Join HERE and support the press and other local history!]

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Find Us and Other Presses

Posted on December 23, 2023 by Randy

You can now find our Bronstrup and other hand presses around the world on the Association of European Printing Museums web site in their new worldwide handpress database. Find it here.

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Annual Christmas Open House

Posted on November 29, 2023 by Randy
Randy, Paul, and Madelyn are waiting to print a coaster for you. (Jeff has to work at a real printing job.)

Sunday, December 3, 2023 from 1 – 4 pm.

Come join us for the Historical Society of the Cocalico Valley’s Christmas Open House. We will be printing the fifth in our series of Christmas drink coasters on the Bronstrup press. You can take one along home!

There will be musical entertainment throughout the day, including organist Mark Herr, playing the lovely old pump organ.  Santa will be waiting for the children to arrive, and volunteers will be available to talk with our guests about the house and the family who lived there.

Before you leave, stop by the Education Room for light refreshments and a chance to purchase old fashioned lollipops, which make great stocking stuffers!  Start your holiday season with the Historical Society of the Cocalico Valley, located at 237-249 West Main Street, Ephrata.  We’ll see you there.

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APHA Calendar Available!

Posted on October 16, 2023 by Randy

Once again, Conestoga Press has participated in the letterpress calendar of the Chesapeake Chapter of the American Printing History Association. Each month is a unique design contributed by a different member of the chapter. The calendar is sold each year as a fund raiser for the group.

Our calendar page is for March of 2024 and includes a cut from the Historical Society of the Cocalico Valley’s collection. It was printed in two colors on our 1850’s Bronstrup/Ramage press.

Calendars are $25 each, shipping included and can be ordered here.

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Take a Virtual Tour of Conestoga Press

Posted on September 21, 2023 by Randy

Drag photo with your mouse to view different parts of our shop. Click on the VR in lower right corner to view full screen and press esc to return. If you have issues viewing this try a different browser. Tablets and phones have also varied results. I’ll leave it up in spite of some issues because like most tech when it works, it’s awesome!

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