Robert A. Bates Memorial Print Shop

This print shop represents a small job/newspaper shop of the Arizona territorial period, 1863-1912. The presses used in this shop are of the 1860s, and use the centuries-old letterpress process. This Washington Hand Press was built in 1868 by R. Hoe & Co. for the production of weekly newspapers.  It is the Imperial #5 model, weighing 2,150 lbs.  It was sold with a one-year warranty.

This press was used to produce the Sacramento (Calif.) Bee in the 1870s.  It is typical of the many presses hauled by wagon or train to the outer reaches of civilization during the western expansion period.

Look Around the Frontier Print Shop

The following objects used to produce material by the letterpress printing process are found in our territorial print shop. Here's how they work.

Leads

Lead cutter and cutting: This device and operation is for the cutting of leads to exact lengths. Many of the new cutter came with measurements of "pica" cast onto the unit, older models, like this one, does not, and so the "pica pole" or "printer's ruler" has to be utilized, the slide locked into place, lead inserted, then cut.   Leads can be used over and over again, but when new leads are sold in long strips, the printer can cut as many different lengths that are needed, and then stored in lead rack with similar lengths, usually running between 4 and 25 pica.

Points, is the fine measurement of size for type, utilized extensively in the late 1800s, replacing a system that used names, like nonpareil, long primer, primer, cannon.  Nonpareil for example became 6 points.  6 points equals 1/2 pica, 1 pica is 12 points.  There are 72 pica on a12-inch ruler.

Leads are used to divide the lines of type; they provide a space large enough to create ease of reading, although not necessary for all styles of type.  They come in several thick nesses, from 2-point and4 point, then 6 point, which are called slugs.

Chase
A chase is a frame like device, made usually of iron or steel, this is the object that contains the type that has been set up, and enables the printer to control the moving of the type while it is locked into it. Quoins are devices used to do this, they come in many variations, and all use expansion to create pressure against the form, usually operated by a T handled key.

Composing Stick
The composing stick is an important tool used in the initial setting of type, the printer will stand at the type case and pick type, placing it in the composing stick, building the words from right to left, so that it reads in reverse.  Type is molded in reverse, so the printer can still spell in the correct order.   Learning to read backwards is part of the printer's skill. When the composing stick is full, it is carried to the galley tray, where it is assembled into columns.  From the galley tray, it is carried to the imposing stone for completion and locked into a form, or directly to the flatbed of a press, such as a Washington Press.

Type Case
The type case is used to store the type, in order.  Made of wood, divided into sections to hold a complete font of type, including numbers, punctuation, and spacing.  The modern California Job Case (post 1850) holds the capital letters in alphabetical order at the right, on the left and middle it holds the lower case letters in an order that predicts the amount of use, such as the vowels are kept in largercompartments, as they are used the most, and the font contains more of them. The printer will memorize the layout of the case and increase in speed and accuracy as he learns the trade.  Pre 1850 type cases and book font cases where usually laid out in square compartments, two case per font, one above the other, the upper containing capitals, the lower containing the small letters, hence the term upper and lower case letters.    Cases are kept in a cabinet that held usually 10 to 24 cases. Often the cabinets held a bank, a sloping wood plane that set on top where the printer could set the case and fill his composing stick.

Planer and Mallet
The planer and mallet are used on the surface of the type. The planer being struck by the mallet is for the purpose of proofing the form. The type would first be inked, paper carefully laid down on the surface, then the planer over that and struck, giving a fairly good regional image on the paper, to show mistakes and appearance to the printer. The planer must have a smooth and even surface on its bottom, the top is usually covered with leather to protect the wood from the mallet. The mallet can be any sort of shape or size of wood hammer.  A planer can also be used to place over the type before final lock-up to be sure the type is setting even at the correct heightand on its feet.

The Press
This flatbed printing press is called a Washington Hand Press and is typical of those used in the western expansion period.  It is the next generation of hand presses used after the Revolutionary War period, those being made of wood. This is an iron machine being developed in the 1830s and an improvement over the wood types, not susceptible to breakage and warping, and is easier to use with its toggle and lever operation, rather than a screw design to force the plating down. This press is made by the R. Hoe Co. in New York City in 1868, had found its way to Sacramento, and in the 1870s had printed the paper there with another press of the next serial number; it resides in Utah today.  The press weighs 2,150 lbs. It is the Imperial #5; it came with a one-year warranty. Samuel Rust is credited with introducing the Washington Press in the US in 1829, naming it in honor of George Washington.

The platen press was invented by George P. Gordon in the 1850s, creating a self inking press that operated fairly quickly, still hand fed however, it did speed up the printing process for smaller items like handbills, business cards, invitations, etc. In a print shop, it complements the Washington Press, while newspapers were the main business, the profit margin was fairly low as compared with the platen job press where a standard set fee was often set and paid for in advance by the customer, thereby generating an income to keep the shop open on a daily basis. Newspapers paid poorly, as one paper was sold, many people could read it thereafter.  Most income came from advertisements that were too often given on credit. The small Kelsey press on the desk was made for amateur printers, sold by the thousands by catalog companies like Sears, Roebuck & Co. and Montgomery Ward & Co. from the 1870s through the turn of the century.  These small tabletop presses were used in the home, or the shop, to print small items like business cards, invitations, and other small personal items.  Sometimes young entrepreneurs used them to make spending money.   This press was made in 1893 and is of all iron construction.

Paper
Paper used in this time period was in a transitional period of manufacture. Until the late 1860s paper was made from rags, usually linen, then cotton as time went on.  Rag paper is low in acid content with strong fibers, the paper held up well.  When wood pulp paper became popular, it became cheap and plentiful, however, it contains a high amount of acidity, due to the manufacturing process with the use of acidic resins and does not survive well over time.   It has been seen that often papers from the Civil War is in better condition than those of World War Two, given equal treatment.  Paper was manufactured in paper mills, from Colonial times forward, printers purchased paper from these mill, and often collected the rags for the mills as an addition to their daily business.   They were ever mindful of ordering their supplies far in advance, as conditions on the frontier rendered all deliveries uncertain.  It has been written that printers sometimes printed on wallpaper, scrap paper and even on flour sacks to get out their weekly "rag". Papers were damped before printing to make them more porous and spongy; this gave a better impression and was easier to work the press due to pressure restrictions.  This was usually done with the older presses that utilized a screw instead of the toggle and lever action. The toggle and lever reduced the force necessary to pull the handle over and drop the platen, verses the old screw assembly.

Clean-up
The apprentice did this at the end of day.  In early times, lye was used for a cleaning solution, usually made from wood ashes that are very acidic, cooked and mixed with tallow to make soap.  This worked well for  In our territorial period kerosene was used as a cleaner, rags and brushes were used for this purpose, also benzene; and special containers were made of brass to hold the fluid and keep the shop safe.  Fires sometimes started from the improper storage of cleaning fluids, oily rags can burst into flames from spontaneous combustion if piled together in some corner with no air circulation. washing cloths, bodies, and in the print shop, type and rollers.

Printer Information