Second Printing Co. — an iron hand press inside a ring

Second Printing Co.

Real 1800s labels, maps & prints, restored from the originals

Shop on Etsy
Poison label with two skeletons, F. S. Faulkner, Druggist, Coshocton, Ohio
Poison, Coshocton, O.
Calomel poison label with antidote, Z. T. Cowdry, San Jose
Calomel, San Jose, Cal.
Bed Bug Poison, Handle With Care, Welch Bros., East Portland, Oregon
Bed Bug Poison, East Portland, Or.
Spirits of Salts poison label, G. F. Hanson & Co., Lodi, Cal.
Spirits of Salts, Lodi, Cal.
Muriatic Acid poison label with two skeletons, A. Plumly & Co., Barnesville, Ohio
Muriatic Acid, Barnesville, O.
Corrosive Sublimate poison label, Dr. Wm. Reichardt, Sligo, Pa.
Corrosive Sublimate, Sligo, Pa.

The ink never quite washed off.

Years ago I ran a small print shop. I still remember the sound of the press catching its rhythm, and the smell of fresh ink on my hands. You never forget that smell.

What stuck with me even more was the old work. Maps with every coastline cut by hand. Druggist labels set letter by letter, with borders no machine would bother with today. Those printers had no shortcuts, and it shows.

Second Printing Co. is my way back to that bench. I find real printed pieces from the 1800s in old sample books and archives, scan them at full size, and clean away a century of dust and bleed-through. Nothing is redrawn. Nothing is “reimagined.” What you get is the original printer’s work, ready to print again.

Every listing tells you the book it came from and the year. That is the second printing.

What you get

  • Real antique printing, scanned from the originals. Not AI. Not redrawn.
  • Printable PDF sheets at true size and double size, aged and clean, on US Letter and A4 pages.
  • A source note with every set: the book, the page, the year.
  • Instant download. Print at home on label paper or cardstock.

See the labels

Want a single label, or a print at a size we don’t list? Message the shop on Etsy.