The Elk County advocate. [volume] (Ridgway, Pa.) 1868-1883, 1876-06-08
THE ART OF PRINTING.
The Presses st the Centennial Exhibition
The Old Franklin Press, etc.


The Presses mt the Centennial Exhibition
The Old Franklin Press, etc.
At the end OF the United States long
line of printing presses, in Machinery
hall on the Centennial grounds, stands
broken down, dilapidated piece Of ma
chinery, whose only present outward
glory consists in a brass plate, which is
far from being polished to too high
luster. Its homely appearance forbids
the 'supposition that it ever slept the
sleep of the aristocratic just in Wardour
street, Soho, and yet, in spite of its
want of outward attraction, some one
has taken measurable care of it. The
brass plate alluded to furnishes the key
to the humble mystery. Let every visi-
tor who approaches this relic of the past
brush up his history and polish his
bump of veneration, for it is before the
printing press at which honest old Ben
jamin franklin toiled and sweated 148
years ago that he stands. Speaking of
one of the incidents of Frankln's LON
don life in 1768, this brass plate records:
The DR.. at this time visited the print
ing Office of Mr.. Watts, of Wild street,
Lincoln's Inn Fields, and, going up to
this particular press, thus addressed the
men who were working at it: Come,
my friends, we will drink together. 1t
is now forty years since I worked like
you at this press as journeyman
printer The DR.. then sent for gallon
of porter, and he drank with them,
Success to Printing" How easily
one can picture the doctor gently re-
placing the pewter pot upon the bench
or handing it to his nearest neighbor,
and then, with a sigh of satisfaction,
wiping the foam from bis lips with his
big bandanna before proceeding to give a
series of contented rubhings to his
broad forehead. Z s,I ..I ,t.
Franklin's press, says Times CORE
spondent, is only little less rude than
Caxton's; it is only little more rude
than Stanhope's, which is to-day repro
duced with more or less elaboration in
all the hand presses known to that world
in itself-the job printing trade. This
old press of Franklin's is only behind
Stanhope's inasmuch as it does not pos
sess the toggle joint, a joint bringing
about pressure somewhat similar to
that induced by the sudden straighten-
ing of the human knee. 1t is wooden
framework, about seven feet high, with
two uprights and two cross-heads, one
stationary and the other sliding, by
means of which the lev,r, working the
screw, forces the platen down. The
table moves backward and forward, the
traversing being worked by an ordinary
crank handle, which runs two small
Such is the simple machine by whose
slow and labored means the book educa-
tion of the world was carried on hun
dred and forty-eight years ago.
Walking along the line of presses we
jump over century and half, and we
find the progress made in printing
presses most wonderful. 1t is only a
few years since the old hand press was
discarded from the large printing Offices
to make room for the first power presses.
The London Times was first printed by
steam power on the twenty-eighth of
November, 1914, and the issue of the
ensuing day, the twenty-ninth, contains
a self-congratulatory comment on so
auspicious an event. "Our journal of
this day." says the Times, "presents to
the public the practical result of the
greatest Improvement connected with
printing since the discovery of the art
itself" Wonderful to relate, this press
printed 1, 100 sheets per hour. 1t was
q wonderful thing in those days, but
now in the same line with the old Frank
lin and the Ramage stand presses that
will turn out II, 900 fully printed papers
per hour, equal to $4,000 impressions.
Verify, the art of printing has kept
pace with the wonderful things of the
century.