East Village stamp shop keeps
quality the old fashioned way
BY BOB KRASNER
In the beginning, there was a rabbit.
John Casey, who emigrated
from Ireland in 1967 at the age
of 17, thought he was going to make
some cash in the field of numismatics,
but he left that endeavor behind when
he discovered rubber stamps.
He created a design for a simple
rabbit and never looked back, now
spending seven days a week in his
East Village shop at 322 E. 11 St.,
surrounded by his creations and taking
custom orders for stamps that
range from movie props (creating a
repro of the legendary photographer’s
Weegee stamp) to simple type (From
the desk of ……) to a job that he calls
“the goofiest request I ever got.”
That would be from the woman
who brought in imagery of dead mice.
The resulting stamp was then “used
to create wallpaper!” he laughs, shaking
his head.
“If it’s in black and white, I can
make a stamp out of it,” states Casey.
He looks for the best source material
for his stock creations, such as the ancient
volumes of “Appleton’s American
Encyclopedia” and the 1876 catalogue
that yielded the perfect tall ship
illustration. “I’m very good at extracting
detail, he says. “I have my tricks.”
Although those tricks involve a
computer, everything else that goes
into the production of his product is
done exactly as it was decades ago.
The process, six to seven hours long,
could be easily shortened if Casey
were willing to cut back on quality,
The Vulcanizer, where the
mold is created. Piled on
top are sheets of bakelite.
but he is not. For one thing, he
insists on using actual rubber rather
than polymer, because that material
“breaks down in a couple of
years.”
The operation involves creating
a plate from a negative
which then gets pressed onto a
bakelite sheet to create a mold.
The mold then is pressed into a
sheet of rubber in the Vulcanizer
(how many people have tools
with that cool of a name?) , which
is heated to exactly 307 degrees.
It’s been that way since the turn of
the century, Casey informs us, when
a conglomeration of rubber stamp
makers met to set the standards.
Owner John Casey aka JC, holding
a new version of the first
rubber stamp he created.
The result is then cut and glued
to wood blocks, usually by Billy Van
Duyne, who has been assisting Casey
for the last three years.
“It was supposed to be temporary,”
muses the former Graphic Designer/
DJ. “But here I am.” He is, however,
finishing up a mathematics degree
which he plans to use in the field of
data analytics.
As for Casey, he’s not planning on
going anywhere. He readily admits
the issues of running a small business,
telling us that “there’s always
problems, like machines breaking
down and always when you’re busy!
But you have to deal with it and try
not to panic.”
PHOTOS BY BOB KRASNER
Owner John Casey in his East
Village shop.
Still, he comes in happily every
day and has no idea when he last
took a vacation. “I have no life!”
he exclaims. “It’s like having a
wife, except sometimes you can
get away from the wife.” But, he
continues, “I enjoy the store. It’s
not a grindstone job. I enjoy the
job, I enjoy the people. It’s like
being at a pub, but I drink less.”
Formerly the shop was in the West
Village, as was his place of residence,
which is now nearby as well. In the
East Village for the last 18 years, the
tiny shop looks as if it’s been there
forever. “Don’t make it look messy!”
he implores, as we documented the
scene and tried to stay out of everyone’s
way. “Don’t worry,” said Van
Duyne, “anywhere you stand you’ll
be in someone’s way.”
Although he has his regular customers,
he is quite aware of what is
keeping him going.
“Business is definitely down,” he
mentions, but “I’m a destination
store. I’m in a number of guidebooks.”
Right on cue, a customer
with a distinct accent who has been
listening to Casey speak asks excitedly,
“Are you Irish?”
“Ah,” says Casey with a smile, “after
all these years in New York I still
sound like this.”
More info at www.caseyrubberstamps.
com
Employee Billy Van Duyne preparing to cut the wood that the rubber
will be attached to.
Schneps Media December 26, 2019 15
/www.caseyrubber-stamps.com
/www.caseyrubber-stamps.com
/www.caseyrubber-stamps.com
