Husband and wife team Justin and Cecilia Knopp, who run the design and letterpress printing studio in Coggeshall, Essex, were called up by the set design team on Leigh’s latest film Peterloo in June last year. Having been guided to Typoretum by the St Bride Foundation, the team came to visit the company’s premises to run through the requirements to create an authentic 19th-century print room.
After a short period of consultation, Justin Knopp was invited onto the film set in order to consult directly and to teach the actors how to use the equipment. Typoretum also loaned type cases, inking equipment, setting stones and drying racks to the production to enhance authenticity, while an Albion letterpress had already been acquired on loan from Harry Rochat in North London by the production team.
Justin Knopp was also invited to appear in the film as an extra.
“The production team put a lot of care and attention into getting things right, and that resonated with us more than anything,” said Cecilia Knopp. “Mike Leigh is noted for that kind of detail in all of his films, anyway. What was funny was that the Albion they had on loan would not actually have been around at the time of the film and would have been in use a few years later.
“We have unfortunately not been able to see the film yet due to prior commitments but everyone we know who has seen it loved it and told us that the printing scenes were their favourites.”
Peterloo centres on the 1819 massacre of the same name, which was a key moment in the country’s move towards universal suffrage, and also led to the founding of the Manchester Guardian in order to report on the event to the nation. Up to 700 people were injured and 15 killed when the military charged a crowd of circa-70,000 people at St Peter’s Field, Manchester.
The latest film from the Naked and Secrets & Lies director, it premiered in Manchester in October and is out now in UK cinemas.
Typoretum is no stranger to the big screen, having worked with director Steve McQueen on his 2013 period drama 12 Years a Slave, producing the piece of letterpress artwork that would serve as the title card in the finished film.
Generally, the couple works with agencies and artists on branding – having recently worked on a project for craft ale brand Brew Dog, as well as doing bespoke work such as wedding invitations for individual clients.
While the operation comprises solely Justin and Cecilia Knopp full-time, a number of designers, print workers and interns are brought in on an ad hoc basis, and Typoretum has run a number of training schemes for students.
It runs eight different letterpress machines, including a Heidelberg platen converted to have hot foiling capabilities and a Gietz platen, as well as vintage letterpress machines, including an Albion and a Columbian.
