Wednesday, May 11, 2011

Orphan Annie & Hot Metal Type


via kickstarter
“Our Orphan Annie isn’t a cute redhead who sings. She’s a big, old cast-iron Monotype Sorts Caster who clicks more than sings, but isn’t doing either at the moment. We want to change that—and we need your help. Orphan Annie was part of the type foundry of the late C. Christopher Stern. Chris inspired many in the letterpress community with his brilliant printing, use of typography and enthusiasm for the craft of hot metal type casting. We’ve moved the foundry to Portland, Oregon and are now in the process of restoring it to working order. In early 2011, we’ll be opening the foundry as a working museum with public programs designed to preserve the craft of casting type, educate, and inspire creativity for a new generation of printers and thing-makers. The Orphan Annie is one of the foundry machines we want to revive.

Our Kickstarter project is to restore the Orphan Annie, record the process, and get her back in the business of casting metal type. We’ll use the money we raise to fund restoration materials and a public space for this industrial machine. We have volunteers to restore and make Orphan Annie sing again, but we also need to ensure she has a stable home and won’t be kicked out into the street. The typeface we’ll cast with her during the inaugural run will be Stern–the typeface created by the legendary typographer Jim Rimmer in honor of Chris Stern (and documented in the Kickstarter-funded film Making Faces). We'll be casting from Jim's original matrices, which he bequeathed to the Type Foundry in 2010. After that, we hope for many tomorrows filled with creative letterpress printing adventures with Orphan Annie and her metal type.”
Find out more here.

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