Printmaking is a natural parallel to bookbinding, so when I was recently gifted some pieces of lovely old brown linoleum I knew just what to do with them! Linocut prints often remind me of medieval woodcuts, and I may incorporate them in a future bookbinding project. But first I wanted to make a simple print just to test out the materials. While contemplating a subject my eye fell upon my trusty book press, Mr. Ritchie. Patrick Ritchie was a machine maker in Edinburgh from at least 1828 until 1863. I was fortunate enough to acquire one of his presses last year, and of course I now refer to him by name! This press has a platen size of 12 x 20 inches, and thanks to the 5 inch brass risers (which I suspect were added post-production) it boasts over 8.5 inches of daylight. Most of the time I don't need that much capacity, so I use my paring stone to take up the extra space. The large lever handle on this press exerts a casual power that is simply astonishing, and is perfectly suited to n