Continued work on the Pearl

---

Not very much to report since the last installment. The Fourth of July weekend was full of distractions . . . nice distractions, like having family time, checking out the Fireworks on Lake Monroe in front of the New Tribes Mission H.Q. in Sanford, visiting friends, etc.

I had some time today, so I continued the slow and tedious process of painting the Pearl. Today I spent about an hour and a half just painting the platen sides and undercarriage, meaning the cast portion that holds the bottom of the platen, through which the platen adjustment lugs - which I had to remove - are threaded. I also began addressing the rust on the underside of the ink disk. It will be the next to take the glossy black Rustoleum (industrial density) bath.

It was my intention NOT to disassemble the press, but as I go along, I find myself just about doing the equivalent. The nice thing is that since I have no particular deadline, I can remove an item, clean it, paint it, and if possible re-attach it. If not, I tag it and attach it when appropriate. This way I won't have the situation of having a gazillion parts and a couple "oopses" as I forget just what bolt goes where. Or just what the order of re-assembly is.

Of course, if I had to do that, I would photo and document. But then there is the space issue, space I simply do not have. So things are working out just as they should for the work space I have available.

I am also giving thought to just what my first print item should be. I would like to start my Newsletter once again, "Midnight Oil" which I started back in my Heirloom Press days. But I also want something marketable, so I may start up Hornbook Production using some authentic 18th century Caslon which I managed to order a few years back from M&H.

I also thought about doing a Linocut greeting or gift card to kick of the operation. A series of St. Johns River silhouettes or something a local would instantly relate to, like the outline of Hontoon Island at sunset. Or something from my own memory, like the palmetto thatched water towers in the orange groves used by the steam tractors and other equipment to refill their boilers. As kids we would pull the rope to let out the water that collected in the cistern just to cool off after a rotten orange fight.

Or maybe a scene from old Genius Drive in Winter Park of a bygone day, when we used to sneak into Congressman Lou Fry's grove and run the Peacocks thru the brush around mid July to force molt those huge feathers, and then sell those feathers on Park Avenue for a buck a piece . . . till the police showed up one day and booked us for poaching.

Hmm . . . or maybe I ought to start out with my own business card?

Good Provicence in all your endeavours.

G. Johanson, Settlement Printer.