1891 Typesetting Competition

These illustrations and article come from a copy of “The Graphic” Illustrated Weekly Newspaper (Chicago) dated October 31, 1891.

There is a full report of this competition on the Metal Type Forum here: 1891 Typesetting Competition.

Composing room — A modern newspaper composing room — Mergenthaler Linotype plant in operation.

The St. John's Typobar — The St. John’s Typobar.

The article reads, “The contest of composing machines in Chicago last week excited great interest not only among printers, publishers, and newspaper men, but the public generally.

This contest was arranged by the American Newspaper Publishers’ Association. The Mergenthaler ‘Linotype machine’ is in reality a type-making machine, which was invented seventeen years ago in Baltimore by Ottmar Mergenthaler.

McMillan Typesetter — The McMillian machine sets ordinary type line by line, each line being picked up, placed in a stick, leaded and spaced by hand.

The Rogers Typograph, like the Linotype already described, is a type-making machine. The assembling the distributing mechanism consists essentially of wires, which spread out in fan-shape at their rear portion and converge into a common vertical plane in front.”

View the in-depth report of this competition here: 1891 Typesetting Competition.

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1891 Typesetting Competition

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