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Referenced Lesson
Texas Revolution: Printmaking and San Felipe de Austin Extension
In this one- to two-day optional extension lessons, students will examine the early history of printing in San Felipe de Austin and determine the role it played in the establishment and development of the Anglo colonies as well as in the Texas Revolution. This lesson featuring printmaking at the San Felipe de Austin historic site was developed in partnership with the Texas Historical Commission.
About
Take a virtual tour of the San Felipe de Austin state historic site including the print shop in the Villa de Austin and then experiment with a simplified virtual printing press. You can select and add individual pieces of movable type to a composing stick, prepare your work for the press, and download a copy of your work as an image file. When you're done, learn more about the printing process and view some of the real publications created there.
Choose a Printing Job
Type Case
Select a piece of type by clicking or tapping it. You may also drag it into the composing stick or type the character on your keyboard.
Set this line:
Composing Stick
The faces of the type appear reversed because they must print correctly onto paper.
Lines Ready for Printing
Printing Press
Make Your Print
Your type is ready. Complete each step in order.
Press Bed
The raised type begins dry. After it is inked, the printing surface becomes easier to see.
Your Print
How Movable Type Worked
Printers assembled text from reusable pieces of type. A compositor worked to a fixed line measure and arranged the pieces in a composing stick.
Once a line was completed, it could be moved out of the composing stick so the compositor could begin another line. Multiple lines were later assembled for printing.
The printing faces appeared reversed. When inked and pressed against paper, the letters appeared in the correct direction.
Setting even a short passage required many individual pieces of type, so compositors had to work carefully and efficiently.
Examples of prints from the Printing Press in San Felipe de Austin. Follow links to view these publications in greater detail.
Map
San Felipe de Austin is located in San Felipe, TX near Houston on the Brazos river.
Rights
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