Small Press – a leather collection in the language of the letterpress

From the Practice Log – an ongoing series of leather stamping studies.

A September study.

Volume II.

Small Press is a small leather collection in the language of the print shop – fitting, since a stamping die is a printer's impression that traded paper for leather. Five original stamps, one for each object, from a pocket keychain to a traveling kit.

First, we gave a printer's type case a suitcase handle. The letters ride packed in their compartments, and the tag says what it is – TRAVELING TYPE.

Black-and-white Traveling Type stamp artwork from the Small Press leather collection, showing a printer's type case with a suitcase handle.

The black tag carries the design in gold, the way old iron presses wore their gilt lettering. Pale greige and navy take it blind.

A black leather luggage tag stamped in gold with Traveling Type from the Small Press printmaking collection.

A pale greige leather luggage tag blind stamped with Traveling Type from the Small Press printmaking collection.

A navy leather luggage tag blind stamped with Traveling Type from the Small Press printmaking collection.

Next, the keychain. One piece of movable type, face out, carries a large letter A, and the line beneath finishes the thought – the fob calls whoever holds it A GOOD SORT. The notch on its edge is the nick a hand compositor reads by touch.

Black-and-white A Good Sort stamp artwork from the Small Press leather collection, showing a piece of movable type.

Looks great when stamped onto the leather – once in warm red, once in pale sea-blue.

A warm red leather keychain stamped with A Good Sort from the Small Press printmaking collection.

A pale sea-blue leather keychain stamped with A Good Sort from the Small Press printmaking collection.

Then the tray. In a case of type, p and q are mirror twins, and telling them apart is where the old warning comes from. We set the two culprits side by side, each on its own sort, above MIND YOUR PS AND QS – a fair motto for the dish that keeps the day's small things accounted for.

Black-and-white Mind Your Ps and Qs stamp artwork from the Small Press leather collection, showing mirrored letter sorts.

It looks genuinely beautiful pressed at generous size into the golden tan.

A golden tan leather catchall tray stamped with Mind Your Ps and Qs from the Small Press printmaking collection.

After that, the toiletry bag. MAKE READY is the printer's name for all the patient fussing before the first good impression – and a morning at the sink is the same ceremony. We drew a brayer rolling out its fresh black pass and set the words beneath.

Black-and-white Make Ready stamp artwork from the Small Press leather collection, showing a printer's brayer and ink band.

The kit stacks true black over deep espresso brown; on black, the blind press reads as a quiet shadow relief.

Black and deep espresso leather toiletry bags stamped with Make Ready from the Small Press printmaking collection.

And finally, the one we liked the most. Printmakers number an edition in the corner of every print, and the rarest line reads 1 over 1 – the only copy there is. We set that mark inside a small colophon ring, EDITION OF ONE around the border, because a filled journal is exactly that.

Black-and-white Edition of One stamp artwork from the Small Press leather collection, showing a one-of-one colophon.

Looks absolutely gorgeous when stamped onto the leather – one copy in deep wine, one in dusty lavender.

A deep wine leather journal stamped with Edition of One from the Small Press printmaking collection.

A dusty lavender leather journal stamped with Edition of One from the Small Press printmaking collection.

We made this out of love. Leatherius Woodman is on a mission to create and share artifacts of beauty, craft and love – this study is one of them, and we hope the feeling is mutual. Every image is a render – how we prototype before cutting a die.

If these belong on your shelf and you'd like them made real, or anything here changed – say hello through our contact page.