In the rarefied world of hand-printed wallpapers there is no bigger name than Marthe Armitage.
Starting in the 1960s, she hand cuts all her designs onto lino and these original blocks are still in use nearly sixty years later. Throughout this period all her wallpaper has been produced on a hand-cranked offset lithography press which she modified herself. Indeed over the years the press has become an icon in its own right, the artisanal nature of the production as integral to the appeal of the wallpapers as the designs.
Over the years we have had a number of clients ask us to convert offset presses so that they can print “like Marthe Armitage”. It was therefore a real honour to be asked to undertake a restoration of the original Armitage Press to tie in with a move to a new studio-cum-showroom in Brentford.
A complete “nuts and bolts” restoration followed with the press being dismantled, cleaned, serviced and rebuilt. Amongst other jobs the image bed was reground to a perfect flat surface, the impression cylinder was levelled and re-covered, a brass registration device was designed, manufactured and fitted and the winding handle which had previously been a length of hosepipe was replaced with a turned wooden item.
After a thorough recommissioning and proofing process the press is back at the heart of the business and can be seen in use at the new premises, still hand producing the exquisite wallpapers that adorn some of the most glamorous and exclusive walls in the world.
Written by Giles Hovendon.
