Proof

I typeset the last five lines of my poem this evening, slid the type from the galley onto the table then put a metal frame (a 'chase') over the top. Using wooden blocks and quoins that can be made wider with a key (you can see the key holes) I made all the type rigid in the chase.

The full chase then went onto the printer bed, the type inked with a roller, a piece of paper put over the type, then the platen pulled down, with lots of pressure, onto the paper. The result is my first proof.

Reading the proof I discovered I had two letters that came from the wrong typeface, an upside-down i, a full stop instead of a comma, a missing comma, a b instead of a d, and had twice used a modern not a long s. I slackened the quoins, used tweezers to remove the foul type and carefully replaced it.

That took well over two hours, and next week I shall pull a second proof.

I still think it's magic.