Within five minutes of meeting Peggy Vance, I had to tell her that she had great energy. She is something special. Peggy is a woman with an easy breezy conversational style that exudes both warmth and interesting information on any given topic . You immediately feel at ease around her. While staying at Highland Farm in Chatham, NY she invited my family and I into her studio to learn letterpress printing. We all jumped at this opportunity to see her in action and discover some insights into this old fashioned art.
Peggy has been doing this for over twenty years on a Chandler & Price press made in 1867 that she says “doesn’t need any servicing – only requires some oil in designated holes.” She is also one of the only few remaining letter press craftsmen that operate the letterpress on complete human power.
Watching her in her groove of syncopation between pumping the foot pedal, pulling the clutch and inserting the thick Italian papers with such ease and precision is an art form within itself.
Selecting the dye cuts (the design to be printed which is on a small block) and maneuvering the “furniture” (varying sizes of blocks that get placed around the dye cut to hold it in place) are the first steps. Then, the quoins – which are spring loaded mechanisms – are twisted to apply pressure to keep it all in place. Rolling ink on the plate, lining up the paper and learning the rhythm between footwork and hand work take some time to master, but the results are magnificent.
Looking through books of samples of her work, Peggy tended to feel a connection most with the ones that paid homage to her loved ones who have passed on. Often just their names and dates would be the only text embedded in the soft, dense papers that would have her hand, her tears and her energy imbued in each one.
Peggy’s talents are a reminder about the importance of making things that matter by hand, as well as the intentions and essence within them.
For more information go to beechtreestudios.com
