I recently needed to source some ‘at’ symbols for one of these bespoke projects and I am greatly indebted to my good friend and fellow letterpress printer, Julius Stafford-Baker of the  Happy Dragons’ Press, for sending me a selection in 8pt, 10pt and 12pt. I would like add that Julius has recently opened a new and rather useful department – especially for letterpress printers – and it is called  The Composing Room Stores.

Julius has often regaled me with tales of his experiences in around printing firms in the City of London, from the late 1950s onwards, and how a “boy on a bike” would be sent out for ‘sorts’ if a compositor ran out of type for a job. These firms that loaned sorts have long gone but letterpress printers, like myself, still occasionally run out of sorts or require special characters. Julius hopes that  The Composing Room Stores will be able to help when situations like that arise.

In addition to loaning sorts,  The Composing Room Stores can also supply quoins, furniture, leads, spacing, make-ready material in addition to technical assistance. Julius’s  Poetry Book Shop is also well worth a look and his beautiful  New Garland Series of poetry books are all printed from hand set letterpress type and the original artist’s wood blocks and linocuts.

A small selection of the typefaces held at The Composing Room Stores, of which sorts are available.