Yesterday’s Technology . . . Today!
Dave Gladwell, who spent his printing days in large book publishing houses, sheds some light on large impsosition schemes, and more.
Said Dave: “Given to me when Composing apprentice at Billings of Guildford when I moved on to the “Stones” for tuition, now coming on to 60 years ago!
From the late Dave Bowles’ collection of London Fleet Street compositors items comes this rule book.
These items were usually produced “in-house” set on a linecaster and produced on a proofing press.
I wrote this thesis back in 1979 as part of City and Guilds studies. I have reproduced it here exactly as it was written.
IN THIS thesis I am setting out to give a brief summary of mechanical composing machines from Mr Church’s first unsuccessful effort back in 1822 to the present day.
Roy Bowker’s story of the possibly unique “banging in” ceremony at Spicers, London.
SO WHERE do I start? Well my first insight to the printing game was at secondary modern school when the teacher asked if anybody was interested in joining a printing class that was being started. My hand went up basically because a friend of mine had volunteered.
Mike Wilson tells us of his career on the Bridlington Chronicle, Yorkshire, UK.
MY EAGLE CLUB DIARY has the following note for Monday, 8th September, 1952: “Started work at 8. Did metal for Linotype. 12-1 dinner. Left at 4.30.” On Thursday the 11th: “After dinner went to sorting office.”
Another fascinating story from Dean Nayes takes us back to the Salt Lake City Tribune in the 1950s.
I RETURNED to the Salt Lake Tribune just a few months after going through the first time, on my way back to Denver, to get my family, and return to San Francisco.
Dean D Nayes aka The Itinerant Typographical Engineer tells a story from his travels in the 1950s.
IN 1956, myself, and a friend, Joe McGowan, left the Rocky Mountain News in February, after the Xmas layoffs.
Ex Linotype operator Thomas A Berkheiser tells of his time working on the Shamokin News-Dispatch in the 1960s and 70s.
MY NAME is Thomas A. Berkheiser, from Paxinos, Pennsylvania.
Dean Nayes gives us an insight into what life was like for a travelling compositor in the USA in the 1960s.
BACK in 1968, after 13 years of “homesteading”, I decided I was going on the road again.
Dean Nayes sent in this amusing story about a very ingenious Linotype operator.
DURING my travels across the United States I came across a very ingenious Linotype operator.