The Culture & Craft of Wood Type

Use wood type to explore the textures of wood in letterpress and investigate the local and global histories of wood type.

Invented in China in or around 1040 CE, wood type began to be widely used in the nineteenth century, particularly for poster printing. DeLittle of York was a major manufacturer of wood type, and the last wood type manufacturer in the UK, closing its doors in the late 1980s. In 2022, key items from the Robert DeLittle Collection, including the pantograph, were brought back to York and will be on display at Thin Ice Press: the York Centre for Print.

By printing with type crafted from woods not commonly used, from pallets to driftwood and bark, you will explore organic patterns, texture and age, to reveal the process of print and the imaginative possibilities of thinking with wood type. You will also get to print with type newly cut using some of the only remaining blocks from the DeLittle factory and you’ll go home with your own hand-printed poster celebrating the materials and tools of print.

All welcome, all materials provided and no experience is required. Under 18s must be accompanied by an adult. Please book via the link.

Mark McKellier is a graphic designer with 30 years of experience in design for print. Mark now uses his love of typography, patterns and letterpress printing to design and make wood type, ornaments, borders and replacement letters for printers who are 'out of sorts'. Mark originally made wood type for himself to replace missing letters before realising he wasn’t the only printmaker with that problem and so McKellier Wood Type was born in 2018. Mark combines modern CNC cutting technology with traditional methods and works to produce type to the standards of old English type founders like DeLittle and Day & Collins.

‘The Culture and Craft of Wood Type’ is funded by the World Wood Day Foundation. This workshop is part of a project to research the histories of wood type, restart its manufacture in York – only a few minutes’ walk from where it was made for more than a hundred years – and contribute to the revival and sustainability of manufacture in the UK.

Address: Peasholme Green, York Y01 7PW

what3words  ///fever.power.giving

Our studio is in a former schoolhouse, nestled in the tranquil garden of St Anthony's Hall and overlooked by the city walls. York railway station is within a 20-minute walk and the Peasholme Green bus stops are located just outside the entrance to the garden. Q-Park Shambles is nearby.