Letterpress Studio
Director: Kurt Koenigsberger
Co-Director: Barbara Mann
Student Intern: TBA
Contact Us: letterpress@case.edu
The New Gutenberg Annex (NGA) is a project of Writers House in the Department of English at Case Western Reserve, in collaboration with Modern Languages and Literatures.
The Annex is prominently located opposite the front door of Writers House in Bellflower Hall. Its name evokes the small studio that Professor Robert A. Wallace initiated in the basement of Clark Hall in the mid-1970s and called “The Gutenberg Annex of the Department of English.”
The Annex was established in 2017 by Professor Kurt Koenigsberger, with the assistance of other faculty in English. In 2025, through the efforts of Professors Barbara Mann and Kurt Koenigsberger, the Annex’s operations expanded into additional space in Guilford House that we call “The Guilford Exchange.”
Supported initially by a generous Nord Grant from the University Center for Innovation in Teaching and Education (UCITE), the Annex and the Exchange have developed in recent years with additional generous funding from a second Nord Grant from UCITE; from T. Dixon Long, W. P. Jones, and Borve Funds; from funds associated with Knight and Hoffman Professorships; and from the Jewish Federation of Cleveland.
From a single Bookbeetle table-top press and a handful of movable type, the Annex has grown in the equipment that supports individuals, workshops, and classes in letterpress and the book arts:
- Vandercook SP15 press
- Challenge 1534H proof press
- Showcard proof presses
- Poco Hacker #0 proof press with a custom registration system
- Craftsmen Superior platen press accommodating a 6.5 x 10-inch chase and with a Boxcar base for photopolymer plates
- Kelsey 5x8 tabletop platen press
- Econoetch II etching press
- Bookbeetle wooden screw press
- Provisional tabletop proof press
- An Akua pin press
- Woodzilla linocut presses
- An array of serifed typefaces (roman and italic), ranging in size from 11 to 48 point, some including foreign characters
- A smaller selection of sans-serif faces
- A selection of 6- and 10-line wood type (including foreign characters)
- A rich collection of Hebrew metal and wood type
- A small collection of Cyrillic type
- A selection of borders, ornaments, and decorative cuts
- Equipment for setting and lockup, including composing sticks, magnets, galleys, furniture, and reglet
- Papermaking equipment and supplies
- Paper marbling and paste paper materials
- Drypoint and linocut materials
- Paper cutters and a creaser
- Copy, nipping, and lying presses, sewing frames, and punching cradles
- Bookbinding tools
- Inkmaking materials, including plates and mullers
- Calligraphy pens, markers, and worksheets
- A library of books on the history of the book, typesetting and printing, typefaces, bookbinding, papermaking, decorative papers, calligraphy, and more
Annex and Exchange faculty and staff can provide individual support and customized workshop for individuals and classes. Contact letterpress@case.edu to discuss your project or class.