The hand mould was arguably the most important development in the history of western printing. It enabled metal type to be cast in quantity, the development of the printing industry, the printing press and printers' ink, and later of mechanical typecasting technologies,
Stan Nelson, Curator Emeritus of Graphic Arts at the Smithsonian has been researching and making hand moulds, for some fifty years.
His new monograph examines the form, manufacture and use of historical moulds, and describes the practical process of making a type-mould and using it to cast type. It is the first such study, and the only detailed work on the subject in the English language. Lavishly illustrated with photographs, and the author's diagrams and working drawings, in colour and monochrome, it is co-published by the Legacy Press and the Norwich Printing Museum
Price £55, includes packing and standard UK post
Available from Norwich Printing Museum