Letter Press(ed) Cookies

emthree
on 19 Dec 12 (20:51)

Wow, look what I got as an early Christmas present! Of course you could always use your wood type for the same purpose - if you don’t mind that inky aftertaste!

cookies.jpg

BarbHauser
on 20 Dec 12 (10:53)

Relevant.

Alan Runfeldt
on 20 Dec 12 (17:53)

Oh, that is *very* cool. (I’ll have to get one for my mother-in-law. She’s the cookie baker…) No worries about that inky taste - print with icing! ;)

- Alan

BarbHauser
on 22 Dec 12 (12:21)

I just happened to run across this sentence in the Wikipedia article on Otto Mergenthaler, who developed the Linotype machine:

Mergenthaler reportedly got the idea for the brass matrices that would serve as molds for the letters from wooden molds used to make “Springerle,” which are German Christmas cookies.

Barbara

Arie Koelewyn
on 22 Dec 12 (16:48)

Those metal cutters have that annoying joint where the metal is riveted or soldered together and resulting line discontinuity. I use the plastic ones I find in thrift stores, mounted type high on blocks of chipboard (the layers are spray glued to one another and then trimmed on the cutter. I’ve located several “fonts” of letter shaped cookie (and Jell-o Jiggler) cutters as well as many many shapes.

The print rather well and hold up for many impressions. There is no apparent crushing on the cutter even after 500 impressions.

emthree
on 22 Dec 12 (20:41)

Cool stuff. Barbara, I love what you did with the cookie cutter moose, as well as the historical reference of Otto’s inspiration. I suspect he was looking for type-related connections in everything he did!

cmcgarr
on 22 Dec 12 (22:22)

Great experimentation Barbara. Could you turn the cookie upside down and kiss cut it? ;-)

BarbHauser
on 23 Dec 12 (12:31)

Thanks guys but the moose is not mine. It’s Sabrina’s from Berlin.

Barbara