The Kynoch Press
The Kynoch Press was an English-based fine press in Witton, Birmingham, founded in 1876 as a company press for Kynoch, a British manufacturer of ammunition. Initially, the press was used to print packaging. The press closed in 1981. History. To manage publicity, the company set it up as a fine press, which, when Kynoch became Imperial Chemical Industries Limited (ICI) in 1929, continued as a division and kept its name, The Kynoch Press. The Kynoch Press not only handled the firm's printing, but performed independent work, operating at times like a small press, and at  other times like a fine press, and yet at other times like a private press. From 1900 to 1921, H. Donald Hope brought the press recognition; and from 1922 to 1933, the press commissioned leading artists, including Eric Ravilious and Tirzah Garwood. During this time, Herbert Simon (1898–1974) , who from 1919 to 1922 had worked for William Edwin Rudge, expanded on Hope's achievements, until 1933, when he moved-on to join his brother, Oliver Simon, OBE (1895–1956), at the Curwen Press. The following four years, from 1934 to 1938, were unfruitful under the leadership of H. V. Davis. Then , from 1938 to 1945, Michael Clapham (1912–2002) oversaw the press during sparse years of World War II and managed to launch "Endeavor," a quarterly scientific journal; then, from 1945 to 1958, John "Jock" Kennedy brought the press to the forefront of the industry by focusing on design; then, from 1959 to 1976, Wallis Heath was managing director and sought, through exporting and computer lithographic advances, to find a niche for the midsized publisher within the changing market; then, from 1976 to 1981, Harry Wainwright was managing director, but was directed to sell the press. In 1979, Wainwright found a suitable  buyer, Gilmer and Dean, but the press closed in 1981 under the duress of a failed management buyout due in part to the union's unwillingness to accept any layoffs. The press closed in 1981.