Yesterday’s Technology . . . Today!
Many thanks to Chris Greenhill for sending in his grandfather’s collection of British Print Trade Union membership cards.
His grandfather Joseph Henry Davis was born in 1884 and entered the print industry at the age of 14. You can read more about his career in London and view his indenture document here: 1898 Indentures.… Read the rest
Many thanks to Chris Greenhill for sending in details of his grandfather’s long career in the print industry, along with his Indenture document, which was signed in 1898.
Chris says: “I gleaned the following from my grandfather’s last surviving daughter, my aunt.… Read the rest
Many thanks to Graeme How, from New Zealand for sending in this illustrated article.
Machinery In The Modern Printing Plant of the ‘Northland Age’ –
TOP left: The Klischograph Photo Engraving Machine. This machine played a big
part in the engraving of blocks for this magazine.… Read the rest
Many thanks to Bill Westland for sending in these great photographs. They were taken at the Rochester Times-Union and Rochester Democrat and Chronicle newspapers before computerisation.
A well-dressed Linotype operator
Bank of Linotypes, with a female operator in the background
Another well-dressed operator with visor and cigar
Close-up of copy and keyboard
Operator having a smoke
A bank of linecasters
Between editions
Linecaster with guards
A quiet corner
Democrat and Chronicle article with a photo of Bill himself!… Read the rest
Long-time Metal Type contributor Graeme How, from New Zealand, has found a great way of displaying his old letterpress memorabilia.
Says Graeme: “I have a typecase with type and also some printing blocks, Intertype border slides and mats which I rescued when The Wairoa Star changed to offset in 1977.… Read the rest
Check the “Related Pages” menu for details and pictures of Neotype linecasters.
Information about Russian linecasting machines is pretty scarce on the internet, but the Metal Type Forum has some real gems.
The thread Linotypes in Mongolia has a number of pictures of Russian machines in action, including this one, dated 1959 showing what appears to be a model 144.… Read the rest
Check the “Related Pages” menu for further reading on Russian linecasters.
The following pictures and descriptions come from an un-dated glossy brochure produced by Neotype, West Germany.
Function and reliability of a good typesetting machine are dependent on construction and design.… Read the rest
There is some lively discussion about these machines on the Forum.
There are even pictures of some of these machines “in the wild.”
Take a look here: Linotype Europa
There are also pictures and descriptions of some much older German Linotypes on Metal Type here: German Linotypes
“The latest development in the field of modern setting machine technology” is the heading on the cover of the leaflet promoting the Universa linecaster, one of the very few such machines to be built incorporating a bank of six magazines and which was the impressive leader in the range of “New Line” machines produced during the 1960s by Mergenthaler Linotype GmbH of Frankfurt.… Read the rest
The Continenta could be had as a manually-operated machine offering 28/34/42 Cicero line widths (30/36/42em equivalents) or as a tape-operated version able to cast at speeds of 10 to 15 lines per minute. Weight: 1850kg.
It was a two-magazine mixer utilising standard 90-channel magazines and had a mould wheel with four water-cooled moulds.… Read the rest