The Portland Project

Speaking of the new Field Notes edition, Jim Moran of the Hamilton Wood Type and Printing Museum gives a behind-the-scenes of how it all came together:

Evening runs and weekend sessions were needed to keep a daily average of 4000 impressions rolling off the press. Most of my collection of vinyl records were necessary to provide background music throughout. Beethoven, curiously, made the Heidelberg happiest. Every time the press locked up, it took a 3 person crew to work the flywheel free. [...] Each paper meant new settings on the press (repeatedly) and a complete re-working of every curse I was capable of uttering.

(Photo above taken from the source blog post and edited by yours truly. I hope they don't mind.)

Field Notes "Two Rivers" Edition

“It's a hand-used book so it should be a hand-made product. That's kind of ideal.”
—Jim Moran (Director, Hamilton Wood Type and Printing Museum)

The Spring 2015 Field Notes Colors edition is finally here, and it's called "Two Rivers". My wallet and mind are ready.

This edition celebrates the history, Americana, and old-fashioned style of wood-type printing — particularly, the kind found on display at the Hamilton Wood Type and Printing Museum in Two Rivers, Wisconsin. Watch the trailer:

Using the museum's collection of vintage type and ornaments, the Field Notes crew hand-set several of their own designs, which were then printed in two random colors on one of four cover stocks over the course of eight months. Further variations were introduced thanks to the vagaries of wood type and letterpress printing.

All of this work added up to thousands of variations, meaning no two books are exactly the same. a small sampling of the variations can be seen in photos at the bottom of the store page. (My heart goes out to the Field Notes completionists out there.)

What's more, two bucks from the sale of every 3-pack goes directly to support the museum. If the edition sells out, that means a minimum donation of $50,000. But even more can be donated, if buyers choose to add an extra amount to their order. I hope you'll consider it.

Get a "Two Rivers" 3-pack for $10 at Field Notes.