When it comes to tradition, letterpress cards really are in a class of their own. Based on a technique invented by Johannes Gutenberg in Mainz, Germany, almost 600 years ago they are a homage to the birth of modern printing and a reminder of how one man’s genius changed our world.
Before Johannes came up with his idea of creating reusable moulds of letters and shapes which could be used to make an infinite number printed items, the manufacture of books and leaflets was strictly confined to monasteries and royal courts where monks and scribes spent ridiculously long hours writing and illustrating tomes – think the Book of Kells or the Doomsday Book . And the only people who could afford to buy, or read, them were the rich.
When movable type, as it became know, took off it threw opened the door for the mass production of printed materials in a way which had never been seen before. In fact Gutenberg's first production, the ‘Gutenberg Bible’, was such a roaring success he was printing them in colour less than a year later and the originals now sell for astronomical prices.
The arrival of modern printing also brought an unexpected benefit – the spread of knowledge - and is widely accepted as the catalyst for the Renaissance, the Reformation and later the Scientific Revolution. Not bad for a blacksmith from rural Germany!
At Postmarkonline we are happy to honour this incredible tradition and carry a wide selection of some of the best letterpress cards on the market, from the Archivist range with its modern twist to the beautiful designs of the Art Rooms both producing a nice collection of blank letterpress cards. We also stock a large range of Hello Lucky letterpress cards which cover numerous different occasions
So as the nights draw in and the autumn takes hold we celebrate this unique printing process and remind ourselves that somethings are meant to last.
