Contributed by Bourbon and Boots
If you’ve opened a magazine, cruised the Internet, or visited your local gift shop lately, you’ve probably noticed the abundance of letterpress prints being touted as the “next big thing” in home decor. I’ve certainly noticed. Rather than simply think about how cute these prints would look in my guest hall powder room, I started to analyze the artwork and the design concepts being played out in the prints.
They were…sparse.
They were also well balanced, textually based, and visually stimulating thanks to the use of color; but they were sparse nonetheless.
And then it kicked in: WHY did this very minimalist design make me so darn happy? Why did this print look so familiar? Why is every woman from here to Tuscaloosa snatching these prints up and plastering them all over their homes?
Naturally, I did a little research. It turns out that this isn’t the first lap around the block for these humble letterpress prints, nor is it the first time that Southern ladies have adorned the walls of their homes with textually based posters.
During the Civil War, letterpress prints were an affordable, fashionable, and patriotic way to decorate the home. A new kind of printing press that allowed the paper to be quickly rolled through and stamped with ink was being employed by Southern printers to produce books and pamphlets in a quick and cheap way. This was a drastic change from normalcy, since most informational materials were imported from Northern states. For the first time in history, Southerners had a way to let their ideas set sail into the world around them.
Both the North and the South used propaganda to rally support for their respective causes. Southern printers crafted a physical embodiment for the ideas that unified the culture of the region by inexpensively reproducing books, newspapers, and bold faced posters known as “broadsides.” These broadsides were sparsely decorated, textually based posters that communicated propaganda, announcements, and advertisements. Since the broadsides would be posted in town squares and street corners, the text had to be relatively large. The printers would use arrangements of metal or wooden blocks to set up a message and would use basic design concepts to ensure that the message was visually pleasing.
As the war raged on, the South began to run out of printing supplies. The inks and papers that were commonly used to print became entangled in Union Naval blockades. Southern print shops began to print on wallpaper, potato sacks, and old rags. Scarcity of supplies meant that the printing of books became nearly impossible. The Union recognized the threat posed by Southerners armed with the power of word, as demonstrated by General Sherman systematically smashing the printing presses of the cities he invaded. Even printing the shortest of pamphlets proved extremely difficult for the South.
However, the printing of broadsides lived on. They showcased the resourcefulness of entire communities. Southerners began to recycle old bank ledgers and other used paper products, which were collected by the publishers to re-use to create new prints. People began to purchase these broadsides, initially intended only as ephemeral community announcements, to decorate their homes. These disposable announcements weren’t just about the design. They were about the IDEAS and principles behind the designs and the pride that communities took in standing united in the face of adversity.
Now, printers such as Old Try and Roll & Tumble Press are bringing back these old-fashioned printing techniques. The answer to my “why prints?” question seems to be answered by recognizing the nostalgia and tradition that typeset prints pass on. In rough economic times, these prints are once again a testament to the resourcefulness of communities, the power of ideas — and the time tested fact that Southern Women have damn good taste in home decor.
Kelsey Winchester is a freelance writer and artist from Little Rock, Arkansas. She graduated from the University of Arkansas where she solidified her artistic voice and grew to fervently appreciate her Southern heritage. After a brief but very enlightening stint in law school, Kelsey now spends most of her time examining the Southern spririt (through both art and writing) and in the occasional baking of the best bourbon-pecan pie you’ve ever had in your life. Bourbon and Boots is a southern store that tells the stories and sells the stuff that make our region great!