By Nick Valentin
Here at King University, there are numerous exciting things to learn about the campus and the ones who serve it. Recently, I have become aware of The Sign of The George Press at King University. The press is located in the basement of the Fine Arts building on the Bristol campus, and the shop is quite impressive. There you will find Mr. David Winship, the director of The Sign of the George Press. Within the shop, he operates the historic machines to help him with press printing. I had the pleasure of interviewing Mr. Winship this past Tuesday; here is what he had to say about his shop.
I began our interview by asking who David was and how he got into this line of work. He said, “The press was started by my father, who taught here at King; he taught English and started the press to show his students what Shakespeare dealt with when trying to get their works into print.” He continued, “When dad was young, he had a tiny press called The Sign of The George in Cambridge, Massachusetts.” As the years went on, David made it evident that his father wanted to reestablish the letterpress shop because he had it in his blood. After we discussed his father, Mr. Winship talked about himself. “I grew up here [King] in the shop. It was located in the basement of Anderson Hall at that time.” (Anderson Hall is no longer a building at the University.) He mentioned that he had his feet in “different types of eras of printing” during his teenage years as he worked in Johnson City and did some work at King University.
Later in the interview, David mentioned how he started the press again in the late 2010s before COVID. “A year ago, I worked with the DMAD program, the supporting program here.” He stated that the DMAD program is involved in preserving the history of typography since everything is digital. “King and the DMAD program have recognized the value of The Sign of The George Press and hired me to be the press director,” he said. He said the aim is to serve students while doing community outreach, providing opportunities to share King’s resources with the community.
I followed the first question by asking what the press work looks like regularly. David said, “I would not say there is a regular basis yet, but it involves designing a project and then setting the text in type using various fonts.” He clarified that it is crucial to understand that sometimes what you have in mind might not be available in this type. He then showed me how the work is done in the press, an exciting process that takes a lot of specific tools. “After the process, we hang them up to dry; sometimes it takes one or two days.” He furthered himself, saying, “The work depends on where I am at in the process; I have been doing most of everything by myself as we are starting back up.” He said, “We’re early in developing any regular thing.”
The final question I asked was if continuing his father’s legacy while serving the community is his why. “It is and sharing this heritage of letterpress with community and students,” he said. He spoke of sharing how letterpress and typography work within different programs. “I think it is carrying my father’s legacy; it feels right, it feels good, it feels like I’ve come full circle, I love sharing the culture of letterpress,” he concluded.
David is passionate about his work and is more than happy to share it with the community of King University. He is pleased to continue his father’s legacy while doing something he thoroughly enjoys. I share much pride in sharing David’s story with the community and hope it touches people. Again, talking to David and looking around the shop was an honor. Be on the lookout for more on The Sign of The George Press.
