Category: Workplace

Printing workplaces

Califorms Printing Company, 1976

Tony Bassano
TONY BASSANO operating an Intertype C4-1 at Califorms Printing Company, San Jose, California, USA, c1976

Many thanks to Tony Bassano for sending in this picture of himself seated at the Intertype that he operated for 23 years.

Says Tony: “Here is a photograph of me circa 1976 setting type on the C4-1 Intertype machine I operated for Califorms Printing Company in San Jose, California for 23 years. Read the Full Article . . .

Express Gifts

Intertype Monarchs
An overview of the 3 Intertype Monarchs.

Chris Johnson contacted Metal Type in November 2007 saying that he was an engineer working for Express Gifts, part of Findel PLC and had been looking after 3 working Intertype Monarchs for the past 11 years. The company had recently acquired a refurbished Intertype C4 to bring the count of working linecasters up to 4! The machines are used to produce slugs of people’s names to manufacture personalised gift items.

The machines all have a Decitek Floppy Disk Drive operating a Fairchild Teletypesetting unit. Chris very kindly sent in the following photographs. Read the Full Article . . .

Yorkshire Evening Press, 125 Years

Linecasters on lorries
Linecasters are put onto lorries in October 1986 outside the Evening Press’s office in Coney Street, York. The Press’s trio of mechanics are in attendance.

There are six pages of Yorkshire Evening Press photos on Metal Type. Check the “Related Pages” menu to see the rest.

In October 2007 the Yorkshire Evening Press, based in York in the UK, celebrated 125 years of production by delving into their archives and publishing a special souvenir supplement. Read the Full Article . . .

Brown Prior Anderson, Melbourne, Australia

Brown Prior & Co. letterhead and sketch of Printcraft House circa 1930
Brown Prior & Co. letterhead and sketch of Printcraft House circa 1930

Thanks to Don Hauser for allowing me to use this extract from his book “Printers of the Streets and Lanes of Melbourne” which he designed and typeset at his Nondescript Press. Unfortunately for us, but fortunately for Don, the original limited edition print run of 1,000 copies entirely sold out and the book is no longer for sale.

W G Anderson was apprenticed to Brown and Prior. He later worked in New Zealand but returned in the early 1920s to work for them again. Read the Full Article . . .

Government Printing Office, Melbourne, Australia

Linotype delivery
16 Linotypes ordered by the Commonwealth Government arrive from England in 1907 for installation at the Victorian Government Printing Office.

Thanks to Don Hauser for allowing me to use this extract from his book “Printers of the Streets and Lanes of Melbourne” which he designed and typeset at his Nondescript Press. Unfortunately for us, but fortunately for Don, the original limited edition print run of 1,000 copies entirely sold out and the book is no longer for sale.

The Government Printing Office was formed by Superintendent LaTrobe in January, 1851. Prior to this various firms undertook the work of Government as self-proclaimed Government printers. Read the Full Article . . .

Sands & McDougall, Melbourne, Australia

Composing Room, Sands & McDougall, Melbourne, Australia, 1897
Composing Room, Sands & McDougall, Melbourne, Australia, 1897.

Thanks to Don Hauser for allowing me to use this extract from his book “Printers of the Streets and Lanes of Melbourne” which he designed and typeset at his Nondescript Press. Unfortunately for us, but fortunately for Don, the original limited edition print run of 1,000 copies entirely sold out and the book is no longer for sale.

The first “Melbourne Directory” was published by Sands & McDougall in 1856 and continued production until 1974. A 1975 issue had been planned but the cancellation of 600-800 copies by the Victoria Police, left the next largest order for 30 copies. Production of the directory was unsustainable. Read the Full Article . . .