Participant Info
- First Name
- John
- Last Name
- Tittley
- Press Name
- The Spearmarsh Press
- City
- Almeley
- State
- Herefordshire
- Country
- UK
- centurion3 AT onetel.com
- Website or Blogsite
- Year You Started with Letterpress
- 1954
- How You Got Involved In Letterpress Printing
My interest in printing began when I was given a rubber- stamp-style printing kit as a present on my 10th birthday. At school I was introduced to lino-cuts and wood-cuts and the smell of printing ink. The fascination with producing an image on to a surface has never left me.
- Presses & Equipment
- Cropperette, Minerva, Vandercook SP15
- Education & Training
Joined British Army armoured cavalry regiment in 1950 - just in time to find myself in Korea in 1951. By the time my 12 years of military service had finished I owned a well travelled 8x5 Adana. In 1963 I acquired a Cropper Charlton on which I printed small jobs for a small town newspaper and printshop, before becoming the editor for two years. I was hooked on letterpress by then and enrolled on a degree course at The London College of Printing. After graduating I somehow got sidetracked and moved into main stream media and TV as a scriptwriter and producer. Now retired, I have two treadle machines sitting alongside a Vandercook SP15 in my garage space and I’m back to wood cuts, hand printing on quality papers and experimenting with photopolymer images, simply for the sheer pleasure I get.
- Work History
- Other Interests & Hobbies
Joined British Army armoured cavalry regiment in 1950 - just in time to find myself in Korea in 1951. By the time my 12 years of military service had finished I owned a well travelled 8x5 Adana. In 1963 I acquired a Cropper Charlton on which I printed small jobs for a small town newspaper and printshop, before becoming the editor for two years. I was hooked on letterpress by then and enrolled on a degree course at (then)The London College of Printing - now part of the University of the Arts London.
After graduating I somehow got sidetracked and moved into main stream media and TV as a scriptwriter and producer. Now retired, I have two treadle machines sitting alongside a Vandercook SP15 in my garage space and I’m back to wood cuts, hand printing on quality papers and experimenting with photopolymer images, simply for the sheer pleasure I get. Sadly, not so active as I would like to be these days !
- Letterpress Group Memberships, If Any
- BPS
- Birth Year
- 1931
- Your Photo or Press Photo
