A New Type of Martin House

Inspired by Buffalo's wealth of architecture and the upcoming visit from the National Trust for Historic Preservation, Rich Kegler, Founder and Executive Director of the Western New York Book Arts Center, has created a series of innovative letterpress prints of these landmarks.  The series includes City Hall, Grain Elevators, Kleinhans Music Hall and - hot off WNYBAC's Vandercook press - the Darwin D. Martin House. 

Utilizing the Book Arts Center's extensive (and growing) collection of wood type, metal type and printer's ornaments, Kegler is fast becoming the master of representing architectural forms through the once-utilitarian medium of letterpress.  Familiar characters are re-purposed in surprising ways.  For example: if those urns look familiar, that's because they're sideways parentheses.  The sense of proportion and balance achieved is remarkable, rendered through a nearly-lost art that WNYBAC has made great strides in preserving and reviving.  Kegler commented that these images were inspired by having a "shop full of blocks that beg 2-D 'Lego' assemblages," adding that he was "interested in pushing the boundaries of what can be done using only materials found in the shop itself."

The Martin House print was produced in an edition of 100, signed and numbered on Arches paper.  Fifty will be available soon at the Wisteria Museum Shop at the Martin House Complex.  Call Shop Director Becky Lee at (716) 856-3858 x 405 to inquire.

For other examples of WNYBAC's distinctive architectural prints, visit their Etsy store.