The organisation operated seven letterpress printers inside its allocated marquee at the Billericay craft and family attractions show held last weekend (12 and 13 September).

Machines the BPS took to the show included a replica of a 16th-century French-built wooden Common Press, a Pearl treadle-platen, built in 1900, and five Adana machines.

Len Friend, owner of Maldon, Essex-based letterpress and digital printer The Crescent Card Company, was one of 10 BPS members at the show. He said: “We’ve attended this show for the last six or seven years but this is our biggest attempt so far because it’s the first time we took a Common Press.

“We try and attract people that have an interest in printing and we sometimes pick up new members to the society through these events.”

He added: “We were very busy and at some points during the show we had 20 people on our stand at once all wanting to set lead type, print their names and see things being printed.

“We also had people who used to work in print coming by to talk about their experiences and life in the industry, both discussing their past and the trade at the moment.”

The Essex branch of the BPS has also recently attended similar shows and events at the Museum of Power in Langford and The Waiting Room in Colchester.

“Letterpress printing is seeing a tremendous revival at the moment. The reaction at the Essex Country Show was very good and there were a lot of children coming over to us with their parents that wanted to print something,” said Friend.

“I was printing an old-fashioned ‘wanted’ leaflet that children could overprint their names onto.”

The British Printing Society has around 350 members with 10 local branches across the UK. Members hold regular regional events to promote and discuss the printing craft and meet together at an annual convention hosted by a different regional branch each year.

Below: BPS member Christopher Brinson printing on an Adana 8x5. Image: Ron Rookes