Last weekend was the 6th annual Hamilton Type Museum Wayzgoose. Although I’ve been to many other printing related events (read about the Ladies of Letterpress Type on Cob and Printers Hall), I hadn’t yet made it to Two Rivers, Wisconsin for all the wood type fun at Hamilton.

(L) Wood type wall (R) Old Hamilton Smokestack

I convinced John to come along and we headed for the land of beer and cheese Friday afternoon. We arrived in Manitowoc late that evening and looked forward to Saturday. We took a quick drive up the road to Two Rivers and spotted both the new museum location, along with the old Hamilton Co. smokestack in the distance. Inside there were many familiar faces and lots of new ones too. The industrial space houses their wood type manufacturing equipment, along with lots of wood type, presses, and lots of posters and printed goods decorating the walls.

Inside the Hamilton Wood Type Museum

I arrived just in time to catch the breakout sessions, starting with David Wolske. I have been following his Instagram feed and was excited to see him discuss his “Isotype” method of partial printing. The color and saturation in his prints was something that can’t really be captured digitally.

(L) David Wolske’s print with frisket (R) Jessica Spring’s artist book

Next up was Greg Walters, who shared his incredible collection of foreign type specimens. He spread his books over half a dozen tables and let us pour over the goodies.

A very small selection from Greg Walter’s foreign type specimen collection

After a quick lunch with some printer friends, we were back for the afternoon sessions. As part of the Amalgamated Printer’s Association, I’d always admired Jessica Spring’s printing and was excited to hear her talk about her process. Her examples of curved, angular, and circular forms were an eye opener. And I just may be adding her daredevil furniture to my Christmas list.

I ended the breakout sessions with Clint Harvey from the Bacon Factory. Clint flew in all the way from Australia to discuss the state of letterpress in his country and share his enthusiasm for the craft.

Later that evening we gathered for some brews and eats before heading back for the evening speakers, Sandro Berra and Silvio Antiga from Tipoteca Italiana. They discussed printing in Italy and the museum they’ve created there. There were audible gasps while they presented some of their more decorative wood type.

Sunday morning Greg Walters was back to share his collection of light and shade watermarks. I had no idea that watermarks could hold so much detail, or how much artistry and craftsmanship goes into making these types of watermarks.

(L) Light and shade watermarks (R) The stylish Dave Peat

Following Greg’s session came the Dave Peat type giveaway. I had heard about last year’s giveaway from some printer friends, but it was truly a sight to behold. Dave has generously been giving away type and printing goodies, lottery style, to attendees of the Wayzgoose. Although I didn’t come away with any winnings, it was great to see Dave share his enthusiasm (and style) with many printers.

After the giveaway frenzy, we ended the Wayzgoose with a print swap. I may never have wall space again after with all the goodies I collected. Once my arms could hold no more, we said our goodbyes and began the drive back home. I’m hoping to make it back again next year and catch up with old and new printing friends.

For more photos of the event, check out #hwtwayzgoose and #hwtwayzgoose2014 on Instagram.