Found a 1920s bookbinder's stamp in a box of old tools at the Portland flea market

I was digging through a stall last weekend and found this heavy brass stamp with the name 'J. H. CARTER & SONS' and a little city crest. The guy said it came from a house clean out. I cleaned it up at home and did a quick print on some scrap paper. The impression is still super sharp after all these years. You can see every line of the crest and the old style lettering. It got me thinking about how many shops like that must have been around back then. I'm going to try using it on the spine of my next personal project. Has anyone else found old shop stamps and figured out a good way to use them without damaging them?

3 comments

3 Comments

eric_morgan5914d ago

That Portland flea market is a goldmine for that kind of thing. I found a 1930s cobbler's stamp there a few years back. Lucas972 has the right idea with the leather label method... it saves the book and the stamp from stress. I get what dixon.nathan is saying about metal on leather, but a century-old book spine is a lot less forgiving than a fresh belt. The old glue and board can just give out. Making a separate label feels like a good middle ground to honor the stamp without risking a total mess.

lucas97214d ago

Oh, that's a fantastic find. I just want to mention one thing about using it on a book spine. Pressing that hard brass into a finished book, especially an old one, could crack the material or leave a deep dent. What I've done with my old stamps is use them on a thin leather label first, then glue that label onto the project. It protects the book and the stamp. The impression will still look perfect.

dixon.nathan14d ago

Doubt it's that big a deal honestly. I've pressed metal into leather plenty of times without any cracking. Just don't go crazy with the hammer.