The Fenix Press
Fee: Residency in one location of 5 days $3,000, 4 days $2,620, 3 days $2,255, 2 days $1,875, 1 day $1,500.
Size: The press is approx 4' x 4' and requires a space of about 10 ft. width, 10 ft. depth and 8 ft. height.
Booking: Contact Allen Bjorkman at the Fenix Art Studio, 169 West First Street, Oswego, NY 13126. Phone (315) 343-2908 or e-mail abjorkma@twcny.rr.com.
The Renaissance Printing Demonstration
Johannes Gutenberg's invention of the printing press has been hailed as the most important invention of the past millennium. A working replica press made of wood for master printmaker Allen Bjorkman, The Fenix press is a replica of an itinerant's press that was used in Europe in the 1550's. Mr Bjorkman, known as Allen Ye Printmaker, has made a number of printing plates of authentic renaissance designs for use on his Fenix Press. Its functions are shown in demonstrations. The invention of the printing press changed society. Being a secular, profit-making enterprise, it contributed to the end of the guild system and helped develop the middle class. It also changed the way we think, as memorization was less important with texts readily available. People learned to look things up in an index. Imagine going to your first day of school in the middle ages, prior to printing. At that time books were so expensive only the wealthy would be able to afford a book. Your instructor would begin reading, and your task would be to write down on your piece of vellum or paper everything he said with your quill. You would be writing the first page your own textbook. The invention of printing made affordable books available to students.
The Fenix Press, like its renaissance model, is modular. Essentially a wooden screw on a cabinet, it is dismantled for traveling. It takes effort to print. Ink balls are used to ink the plate, as this is historically before the use of rollers. The printing plate lies face up in the "coffin", and a piece of paper is lowered from a double-hinged tympan. To operate the press, a lever is pulled from side to side (we say "cheek to cheek"), using the force of the screw to lower the platen, squeezing the paper to the inked printing plate.
FENIX PRESS PRESENTATION TOPICS
1. How the equipment works.
The Fenix Press, like its renaissance model, is modular. Essentially a wooden screw on a cabinet, it is dismantled for traveling. It takes effort to print. Type, or a printing plate, is laid face up, "justified" and locked with wedges in the "bed" (also called a "coffin"). Ink balls are used to transfer ink from the ink table to the type or plate, as this is historically before the use of rollers. A sheet of paper is placed in "frogs" on the "blanket" and lowered from a double-hinged tympan with a "frisket" that holds the paper in place. The paper contacts the type or plate through a window in the "frisket". To operate the press, a lever is pulled from side to side (we say "cheek to cheek"), using the force of the wooden screw to lower the platen, squeezing the paper to the inked printing plate.
2. The story of the Fenix Press
It took three years to make including drying the wood and construction. The "pitch" of the screw is important. This was Richard Hicks' 52nd press (made between his Franklin Press for the Smithsonian and a full-size Gutenberg Press for the King of Norway). The Fenix Press is a Gutenberg style1550's itinerant bench press with a type cabinet and supply closet. The press is part of the Protestant revolution - the participation of the laity in services. Song books and Prayer books were made for each principality. Before 1500 there were over 300 printers in over 60 German cities producing "incunabula", but most printing businesses went bankrupt in the first 50 years due to overproduction, illiteracy, and the fact that costs were still too high.
3. Gutenberg's contribution
Gutenberg's family minted coins; he was a goldsmith and a calligrapher. His contribution to printing was the development of a a punch and mold system which allowed the mass production of the movable type used to reproduce a page of text. Each letter was carved into the end of a steel punch which was then hammered into a copper blank. The copper impression was inserted into a mold and a molten alloy made of lead, antimony and bismuth was poured in. The alloy cooled quickly and the resulting reverse image of the letter attached to a lead base could be handled in minutes. These letters would be put together in a type tray which was then used to print a page of text. If a letter broke down, it could be replaced. When the printing of the copies of one page was finished, the type could be reused for the next page or the next book. The ink Gutenberg developed to stick onto the type and the paper was a mixture of turpentine, lampblack and linseed oil.
4. Significance of the invention of printing
Widely considered the most important invention of the last millenium (1000 years), printing filled a growing need: books were in demand, paper was being made, scribes were writing overtime. Printing at first competed with guilds (exclusive craft monopolies) by using many skills (paper, ink, wood, metal) and later established its own standards. Printing created a model secular business enterprise. Over time, printing spread literacy - more texts were produced at lower cost. Students could soon afford to buy books from cost-effective printers such as Aldus Manutius. Widespread reading changed the way people think, from relying on memorization to finding topics in ever more complex indexes.
First, the ink is transferred to ink balls that are used to daub the ink onto the printing plate.
Second, the paper is squeezed against the block by pulling the lever, turning the wooden screw, and lowering the platen.
Third, the paper is removed, revealing the image. Shown is St George and the Dragon.
Gutenberg's Printing Press was named the invention of the last millenium. Made of sturdy oak, the Fenix Press is an authentic re-creation of a mid-16th Century Gutenberg-style printing press that was custom made for Allen1s use. The press is used to demonstrate Medieval printing for school groups and special events. Allen has designed a special replica series of zink etched printing plates for use on this press. Allen's family has enjoyed participating in special events.
Allen's son Eirik working the press at the Sterling Renaissance Festival some years ago during "Children's Weekend".
Allen's wife Mary Lou inking the press at the Sterling Renaissance Festival some years ago.
