Hasta La Ideas

Designer: Kelsey McRaeIn issue #8 we featured a collection of matchbooks by Margaret Van Sicklen. We also asked our UPPERCASE community to participate and send in their own modern take on traditional European matchbox labels. Karin Jager of Capilano University and her student Mustaali Raj sent in images from class project along a similar vein.Designer: Mustaali RajKaren explains:
“My survey of design course begins with the industrial revolution and the Victorian era—a time of dramatic economic and social change—and eclectic ornamentation. As a way for students to experience the Victorian aesthetic and to gain some understanding about the social, economic and cultural impact of the industrial revolution, I assigned a ‘matchbox’ packaging project.”Designer: Brayden EshuisMy curiosity was piqued by the information Karin sent along with the images so I did a little research of my own.

Early matches ignited with the slightest friction and their manufacture involved the toxic chemical white phosphorus. Consequently for the match maker, ‘phossy jaw’ was an occupational hazzard. In the later stages of this condition, where phosphorus accumulates in the jawbone and brain, the patient’s jaw would start to glow in the dark, due to a chemical reaction between phosphorus and air. (Note to reader: Do not google phossy jaw.)

Some of the earliest known commercial advertising on matchbooks was created by guerilla arts marketers. In 1895 the cast of the Mendelson Opera Company created ads with photos, glue, and some mighty fine wordsmithing. The only surviving example of these creative evenings reads:

A cyclone of fun – powerful caste – pretty girls – handsome ward-robe – get seats early.

(Source)

Cocktail Party Fact: Matches were invented in 1827 by John Walker but were first marketed by Samuel Jones as ‘Lucifers’.

Do you remember when issue #8 came out earlier this year? Each issue had an actual letterpress sample randomly inserted into the magazine. Provided by 50 amazing letterpress printers, these special inserts were a bonus for subscribers. I squirrelled away some of the samples to use for photographs and promotions and I have made seven Letterpress Sampler Packs and listed them in the shop. They each include a random assortment of 40-50 different samples plus a copy of issue #8. The price includes a subscription mailed in North America. Available here while they last!

Let’s celebrate the love of ink on paper! I’m giving away the 10 UPPERCASE letterpress samplers. The samplers contain 50+ posters, cards and other goodies donated by some very fine printers. (see photos of a portion of the samples.) Congrats to Haley who won the first sampler on First Thursday.

Here’s how you can win:

1. leave a comment below about what you would do with 50 letterpress samples. The best comment received on February 14 will win a sampler. (update: comments are now closed, thank you!)

2. twitter @uppercasemag with #letterpresslove (I’ll do a random draw from the tweets at the end of the day)

3. subscribe to the magazine (I’ll draw from all new subscribers in the month of February.)

4. renew your subscription (I’ll draw from all renewals at the end of the month. Renew for two years and you’ll get two entries.)

5. if you’re already a subscriber, you are also automatically entered into a draw for 5 remaining samplers.

Heartfish Press

Snap + Tumble

In celebration of the release of the latest issue of the magazine for the creative and curious, UPPERCASE presents “The Touchy Feely Letterpress Exhibition” and “The Perfect Match Miniature Label Montage”.
 
The current issue features a Letterpress Sampler in which an actual letterpress item like a card, art print or other goodie is inserted randomly into each magazine. You can see (and feel) all the submissions at the exhibition in the gallery, read about all the letterpress printers in the magazine, and view their work in our online gallery.
 
We’re giving away a dozen complete samplers, each containing over 50 amazing items. Stay tuned to the blog through the month of February for details. Come down to Art Central this Thursday to win one in person!
 
Also on display are vintage matchbox labels; have your own free label that comes with a purchase of the magazine or a subscription.
 
A must-see show for lovers of letterpress and those enamored with ephemera! Join us this Thursday, February 3 from 5-9pm for a warm reception.

A few years ago, I purchased a binder of old matchbox labels at a local flea market. There were around 80 labels—enough to ignite an interest in searching for more to add to my collection. Ebay was the logical option, but I did not expect to find an amazing haul of literally hundreds of labels! I placed a low bid, certain that I would have lots of competition… but it went unnoticed and I was victorious. When the stash arrived, there were so very many labels that I didn’t know what to do with it all and have been saving these piles for a special project.

Inspired by these small labels, I put an open call for submissions for readers to reinterpret the messages and aesthetics of the old labels but with a modern twist. The response was terrific a there are four pages of reader submissions published in the new Issue #8. (I’ll be creating a flickr pool so that you can see all the submisions.) In tandem with the reader artwork, I thought it would be fun to include an actual authentic label in each subscriber’s magazine. So I decided to part with the collection of labels and disperse them among my readers as a thank you for your fine support of UPPERCASE magazine.

Thank you to the people at Printcrafters for manually inserting each label on the first page of the magazine! We had a nice surprise, too—there were actually hundreds more labels that the ebay listing had advertised and therefore many more copies of the magazine have the special inclusion than I initially anticipated. (But if you’re not a subscriber yet, I recommend starting yours quickly to ensure you get a label.)

I’ve commemorated my former collection by scanning some of the best examples and posting them to a flickr set. I’ve saved a few for an exhibition that opens this Thursday, but the majority of the labels that you see on flickr are off to subscribers around the world!

And if an authentic label isn’t enough of a goodie, each magazine has a letterpress insert as well! (see my previous post.)

Enjoy!