The site originally concentrated on the ingenious Linotype mechanical typesetting machine invented by Ottmar Mergenthaler in 1884 which remained the mainstay of newspaper production for almost a century.
Linecasters still feature strongly on the site, but over the years the site has expanded to cover all aspects of printing trade nostalgia.
SITE HIGHLIGHTS:
Stories: The Green Card, Fortress Wapping, Fleet Street Piecework, The Island of San Serriffe, Glossary of Printing Trade Terms, Letterpress Limericks, Wayzgoose – The Event of the Year.
Pictures: Early Linecasters, Later Linecasters, Early Intertypes, Queensland Newspapers, The Whittaker Collection of Linecasters, Printers Anatomy Cartoon, The All-Purpose Linotype, The Modern Typograph, 1891 Typesetting Competition, Early Typesetting Machines, Blue Streak Linotypes.
Videos: Linecaster Documentary (1960), Chandler & Price 10X15, Cossar Flat-Bed Web Press, Linotype Model 31, Hand-Setting (1959), Making Books (1947), Bookbinding (1961), Tele-Typesetting (1971), Miehle V50, Koenig & Bauer Rollrenner Press, Brazil Gets The News (1942).
Instruction Manuals: Instruction manuals and other reference documents, mainly in PDF format, are available from "The Library" – get to it from the Other Stuff menu on the right.
The items in the box above are just selected highlights, much more can be found by browsing the site or using the search box towards the top of this page.
If you would like to contribute a story, photographs, or perhaps some video footage, please contact me by email.