Need help with antique lead war bond poster printing plate.
Hello all,
I am an antiques collector in Morgantown, WV. Recently I bought a war bond poster printing plate at auction. A friend suggested it might be possible to get someone to print from it and a few phone calls lead me to this site.
The plate is 21.5” X 15.75”. There are two cracks running from the bottom and top edge, one about 6” long the other about 8” and jagged. There are 3 holes on the top and the bottom that I am guessing are to hold the plate in place during printing, the cracks run through the center set of holes.
A picture of the plate is located here:
http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/jfgK4Fe8B2iBvyco6ZQ4j7wZ7K_c5CrVNiR...
I have only recently learned of letterpress printing as a hobby so I really have a few questions. Can this plate still be used? If not can it be repaired? How much would a print run cost? If the plate cannot be used or repaired what would the value still be?
It really caught my eye as a great piece of history, it is from the Mighty 7th war bond drive that was held in July of 1945. This was the war bond drive that was headed up by the soldiers who raised the flag at Iwo Jima. I would to see it go to good use.
Thank you for your time.
it looks like an ad that might have run in a newspaper, you’ll need to find someone local with a pretty large press to be able to proof it up. good luck Dick G.
It looks like a stereotype, if it is all lead. The holes indicate it was mounted on blocking wood originally. Today it would be better to mount it on honeycomb base, which is for 11-point duplicate plates like this stereotype would be. And with enough hooks bearing on it, the cracks might close up a little. But first you’d have to make sure the plate is flat, not warped.
Then a Vandercook like a Universal III, 219 or 325 would handle the form size easily.
Have you tried going to the “Yellow Pages” section in the upper right hand corner and looking for printers in your area? It looks like there are two listed in WV. It might be easier for someone to give you more information about it’s printability if they could see it in person.
I have a washington press which I think could print it for you….
I live in Bono, AR
I’d charge the cost of ink and paper and shipping of how ever many you want if your interested…
Also try the smithsonian museum american history they have a dept. on graphic arts.. might take it off your hands… no money but at least you know it would be taken care of…
Jerry F.
Jerry, could you please contact me regarding your Washington press? I would like to add it to the North American Hand Press Database. I did not find contact information for you on Briar Press, which is why I am trying this route.
Bob
Bob and all - Just a reminder on How to contact a Briar Press member