For the amateur, there is a lot to learn, and Paul Maravelas's new handbook, Letterpress Printing, is a great place to start. Everything is covered, from the choice of presses and how to use them, type and typesetting, makeready, ink and inking, presswork, and much more. The information is simple, direct, and illustrated with nearly eighty line drawings. I expected the book to have too much technical detail for novices, but Maravelas, who has taught printing for years, doesn't overdo it, nor does he oversimplify.

I disagree with him regarding the dampening of paper, which I believe is desirable in certain instances. Maravelas says that "commercial" paper can't be dampened with good results. For close to half a century, I have printed Bird and Bull Press books damp on all kinds of paper, and my experience tells me that any paper can be successfully printed damp as long as it's not too wet. And I wish he had mentioned that unless you saw a second side-guide slot on the feedboard of a Vandercook press, you can't print in register on both sides of the sheet. I have seen many folks who have been printing on Vandercooks for years who haven't thought to do this, and you'll never do good book work if you don't.

These aren't serious flaws, but a reviewer has to have something to carp about. So I have carped. Taken all around, this is an excellent book with a mine of useful and reliable information. Don't try and print without it.