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News & Research

Very exciting to see our books, maps and leaflets arrive at the gallery from Aldgate Press. We had finished all the design just before Christmas and they got going straight after New Year. The books are available at the exhibition until 29 March or by contacting us.

A busy few days installing the show at the Nunnery Gallery, with some great help from several volunteers and from Puck Studio who printed the photos and vinyl. The show was all measured out beforehand by the designer Sandra Zellmer which meant we could go straight in and get going putting it all up.

We recorded a great interview with Steve Sorba of Aldgate Press the other day, good to get this history recorded and included in the project. Aldgate started in 1981 when the press was set up to print the anarchist newspaper for Freedom Press.

Had a great visit today to chat to Barry Tucker of BMT Print Finishers, formerly BRG when the company was in Queens Yard and Carpenters Road until the Olympic Park was constructed, when they moved to Wallis Road, and later on to just off Church Road in Leyton. Barry and some of the other employees are going to be interviewed for the project and he has given lots of tips and contacts of other people he knows in the trade.

We finally made contact with Gary Arber, whose family ran Arber & Co for many years on Roman Road. Arber & Co was a letter press print shop that was started in the 19th century and became known as one of the places that printed suffragette's posters and leaflets. The shop finally closed in 2014. His interview will be included in our archive and he also gave us some great photos of his print shop.