The TypeTable {Commercial Announcement}

Posted by hrant in

Release

8 Sep 2006 — 1:27pm

Based on an idea by master printer Gerald Lange, The MicroFoundry
has designed and arranged for the manufacture of a unique piece of
special-interest furniture: the TypeTable.

Essentially a glass-top coffee table that gracefully accommodates a drawer
of letterpress type, the TypeTable nicely exhibits an instance of high craft
for discernment by the typographic aficionado, and is itself crafted to high
standards: sturdy but elegant construction, to a tolerance of 1/32 of an inch;
1/2-inch beveled glass; and easy movement of the type drawer into and out
of the framework, ensuring that the font is not converted into a "museum
piece" but instead remains a dignified, usable resource. Note that the purchase
of the TypeTable does not include a drawer of type; this must be provided by
the customer, although The MicroFoundry would gladly help in procuring a drawer.

With the drawer of type removed, the table reveals its attractive lattice
midboard, which can be used to exhibit other items (up to 1-1/2 inches in
height) making this piece of "typographic furniture" highly versatile.

The TypeTable has dimensions of 36×18×18 inches, and is offered for sale at
US$555 (plus delivery costs). It is manufactured on a first-come, first-served
basis. Please direct all inquiries (including interest in tables that accommodate
more than one drawer) to Hrant Papazian: hpapazian_at_gmail_dot_com

Miss Tiffany
8 Sep 2006 — 2:09pm

Oh clever idea!

jlt
8 Sep 2006 — 5:02pm

v. nice Hrant! an excellent idea and a fair price. Too bad my house is over-full of furniture already or I'd certainly order one!

I'll put something on Hewn & Hammered tomorrow morning.

JLT

---

jlt : http://www.hewnandhammered.com : rnrmf!

Mark Simonson
8 Sep 2006 — 7:14pm

It's beautiful. Nice work! Does Gerry have one yet?

interrobang_lp
9 Sep 2006 — 10:30am

hippies and crafty people did this in the '60s. they kept thimble collections and knicknacks in them. you know, little stuff they thought was neat but couldn't use...

for what it's worth, you could probably get a whole rack of empty 'drawers' for the price, and be able to lay new type in for use. i know, it's big commitment.

in any case..., if you need to get into some drawers, i have a number of grotty trays available at $20 +shipping. i'll add nifty looking vintage print letters for $10... pi is chefs choice.

mjb

hrant
10 Sep 2006 — 3:15pm

A really sharp-looking drawer (except for the handle, which I'd
swap out for a more discreet one) ending in less than 5 hours:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=300023292073 _

(More soon...)

hhp

bbg
11 Sep 2006 — 4:23am

"The TypeTable has dimensions of 36×18×18 inches, and is offered for sale at
US$555 (plus delivery costs"

SOLD! Contact me offline please.

interrobang_lp
11 Sep 2006 — 12:16pm

US$105 for a type CASE?!

just proves there's a sucker born every minute.

mjb

hrant
14 Sep 2006 — 3:24pm

David, thanks for the interest! Did you get my email?

So Michael, still sore about the Palatino broadside debacle? ;-)

Actually at my parents' house there's a typecase on a wall full of Dungeons & Dragons miniatures that I painted over my teen years. In fact now that I think about it (not to mention that I actually know what a California job case is and looks like) it must have been a typecase for Arabic type - it has a lot of smaller compartments instead of many really small and really large ones.

hhp

interrobang_lp
15 Sep 2006 — 2:12pm

hi Hrant,

i don't recall the debacle. so, no, i suppose i'm not. . . (i'm thinking hard about it. i know i had done a broadside in 54pt a lonnng time ago. rebacle it for me?)

your folk's case could have been any number of arrangements. all-cap cases have equal sized compartments. of course i suppose it depends on where it came from.

anyway, it IS a handsome table, however, you see what happens when you remove cases from their native environment/raison d'etre. the price becomes obscene. i'm still astounded. the most i had ever heard was $35, and i actually thought that was a phase that had been passed through. apparently not.

mjb

hrant
16 Sep 2006 — 9:05am

Actually if you don't recall then you must be over it!
Anyway, it wasn't a big deal. Plus I was actually on your side.

My parents' case, originally a gift to me from my brother's mother-in-law-to-be, is from/in Lebanon, and did have variance in compartment size, but it seems to me not as much as the letter frequencies of Latinate scripts would require. I'm guessing it was for Arabic type because Arabic has four cases per letter (for most of its letters) and that "flattens" the required sort frequencies - but it's just a guess.

> however, you see what happens when you remove
> cases from their native environment/raison d’etre.

Yes, and more than the valuation issue of the case I mind that the font could be affected negatively: it might become sort of a circus act, losing its dignified standing as a useful thing. BUT that really depends on the customer/user - sort of like how a kitchen knife could be used to cook or kill.

The fact that I agree with you on this to some extent is why:
1) It was very important to me to make the case as easy to pull out as it would be from a typecase stand/cabinet. Ideally I see this table being placed inside a printing studio/shop, although for people -like me- who own a metal (or wood!) font but not a press, or maybe own a font so valuable (to them) that they actually avoid using it for fear of wear, I think it can still house the font in a way that maintains dignity. Again, it depends on the customer: he can choose to see/show the font as a freak, or as a living tool.
2) I decided not to include a case or type with the table (although like I've said I can help the customer locate either or both).

hhp

Bleisetzer
19 Sep 2006 — 11:54am

You sent me this link, hrant.
So my comment: For me it looks very american style:
Brand new but old-fashioned. Not real.

Do you use real old material for your designs sometimes?
A guy from the Netherlands bought one of my collages with the name "A 'p' is not a 'q'". He built a table out of it:

Preußisches Bleisatz-Magazin
"Ich bin ein Preuße, kennt Ihr meine Farben?"

hrant
19 Sep 2006 — 4:26pm

That's Art. And even though I enjoy it sometimes,
I try to avoid (consciously) making it myself - it just
feels disrespectful (of our resources and needs) to me.

hhp

hrant
20 Sep 2006 — 4:05pm

Yes, not my cup of lapsang souchong:
http://lotus.globaldial.com/

hhp

hrant
25 Sep 2006 — 2:54pm

Here's a font that would look pretty nice in the table:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ih=009&item=190033246410&r...

hhp

Mark Simonson
20 Mar 2007 — 1:03pm

Well, I bought one and it arrived last Friday. It's beautiful, as you can see:

It was built with a little more space between the glass and the type drawer because of the style of type drawer I have (it has a 1/4" lip along the front edge). I don't really have enough metal or wood type to fill it yet. That'll be my next project. Maybe I'll fill it with Legos or USB flash drives in the mean time. :-)

In case anyone's curious, that's Big Red posing seductively on top.

Chris Keegan
22 Mar 2007 — 4:50pm