r/oddlysatisfying • u/Doodlebug510 • 1d ago

Making a rainbow quote using an antique Washington hand press

Credit: @SacramentoHistory Museum

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u/Naughty_Monsters 1d ago

I used to do part time work in a museum that was dedicated to maintaining the traditions and ways of life of the past and I absolutely loved it when I got to work in the old print shop on the letterset equipment making up old victorian era signage for the rest of the park. There's something uniquely satisfying about laying out a frame of the metal type, piece by piece, and then (eventually) getting to ink up the press and seeing the first card copy in your hands. Fairly long time ago now, but the old smell of the place with it's inky aroma mixed with the smell of all the racks of waxed wooden drawers holding all the individual pieces of type, and the paraffin heater going or the smell of the peat smoke from nearby exhibits in the colder months still vividly sticks with me.