Model Card
This Model is the next-to-smallest of the hand-inking Model presses (the smallest has a chase size of 2 1/4″ x 3 1/4″). As with all hand-inking presses, ink must be spread on the ink disc and rolled onto the type with a brayer. The press shown is missing the ink plate that is normally inserted in back and above the chase as seen on the Excelsior Model 1, a hand-inking press made by the Kelsey Company, and not related to the above press.
Briar Press
Excelsior Mercury Model 5-8
Despite the fact that this Excelsior is almost identical to Kelsey’s Victor Side-Lever, cast into the frame of this press is the name, “Mercury Model 5-8 Excelsior.” For more on William Kelsey, see the Excelsior Model P.
The Lowe cone press, invented and patented by Samuel W. Lowe of Philadelphia in 1856, was advertised as a cheap press for amateurs and tradesmen, with the slogan “Every man his own printer.” It is the oldest of the small, portable presses suitable for amateurs (William Kelsey later positioned his line of Excelsior presses to compete with the Lowe; see Excelsior 3×5) and was used during the Civil War for printing field dispatches and orders. The Lowe uses a revolving cone-shaped roller instead of a cylindrical one; most of these were iron, though some of the smaller sizes sometimes had wooden cones. The cone itself was not new in a printing press; John Nicolay had patented a “rotary cone printing press” in 1852. Lowe’s patent therefore specified the impression adjustment mechanism. Two years after he had patented his press, Lowe sold his company to Joseph Watson, who ran the Lowe Press Company from Boston. Watson continued to manufacture the Lowe press until he took over Adam’s Cottage press and then manufactured his own Young America series.
This tiny press, patented in 1873, is the smallest in the line of Kelsey presses. An ad for the press in an undated catalog reads, “For the boys who simply wish to print cards, or others who only desire to print a few lines . . . All iron and steel and does good work . . . ” See Excelsior Model P for more information on Kelsey’s presses.
The Craftsmen Machinery Company of Boston, Massachusetts, manufactured several tabletop lever presses and at least one floor-model platen jobber. One press in their tabletop line, the Superior, is almost identical to the Chandler & Price Pilot except that its chase width is 6 1/2″ instead of 6″. The C.M.C. Jobber, Craftsmen’s floor model press, is similar to Golding’s 7″ x 11″ Pearl Improved. Craftsmen advertised that its Imperial presses were available with “special stirrup handles for disabled and physically-handicapped persons, and for occupational therapy.” Other Craftsmen tabletop presses and their chase dimensions as shown in a 1964 catalog:
Victory 4 1/2″ x 6 3/8″
Imperial, 5″ x 8″(shown)
Superior, 6 1/2″ x 10″
Monarch, 9″ x12″
“The Ideal press was manufactured by the Sigwalt Company of Chicago. John Sigwalt (see his Chicago No.10) manufactured a number of presses that were near-copies of some of the popular presses of his time. His presses were made from the early 1900s until around 1962. This press resembles Golding’s Official No.4 except that the base is square. In addition, these two presses are distinguished from each other by their roller springs: those of the Golding are coiled outside the roller arm (see enlarged photo of the Official), while the Sigwalt presses are coiled around the arm of the roller hook in a more conventional manner. The Ideal was made in the following sizes:
Ideal No.2, 3″” x 5″”
Ideal No.3, 4″” x 6″”
Ideal No.4, 5″” x 7 1/2″” (shown)
Ideal No.5, 6″” x 9″” “
“The Ideal press was manufactured by the Sigwalt Company of Chicago. John Sigwalt (see his Chicago No.10) manufactured a number of presses that were near-copies of some of the popular presses of his time. His presses were made from the early 1900’s until around 1962. The Ideal was made in the following sizes:
Ideal No.2, 3″” x 5″” (shown)
Ideal No.3, 4″” x 6″”Ideal
No.4, 5″” x 7 1/2″”
Ideal No.5, 6″” x 9″” “
This 500-pound Hohner, a relatively modern press, is shown in the 1976-77 American Printing Equipment catalog, which explains that the press constructed from a single casting designed to keep it free from dirt. Donn Sanford notes: “It’s called a Model D and is essentially a 9″ x 12″. Hohners were made up until a few years ago but apparently the manufacturer still supplies parts.” Steve Saxe adds: “I don’t know anything about this press except that it is German, well-made, very heavy, and that one fell on Dave Churchman’s leg a couple of years ago.”
Johann Gutenberg (c.1398-1468), German printer and pioneer in the use of movable type, is generally regarded as the first European to print with hand-set type cast in molds. The modern printing process, which he delveloped, caused a revolution in the education of the public, who previously had little, if any, access to the few books that existed at the time. Around 1450, Gutenberg set up a press in Mainz (where he was likely born) on which he probably started printing the large Latin Bible associated with his name, as well as some smaller books and leaflets. The Bible, known variously as the Gutenberg Bible, Mazarin Bible, or 42-Line Bible, was likely finished by the end of 1456. Gutenberg was later forced to give up his press and types to pay off a debt. Detailed records of Gutenberg’s life and work are scant. The press pictured is in fact an interpretation of Gutenberg’s printing press; no one knows exactly what the original looked like since Gutenberg took great pains to keep his revolutionary new press a secret. The Gutenberg pictured is a full-sized, working press built by Steve Pratt of Pratt Wagon and Press Works. Steve’s replicas, each of extraordinary detail and craftsmanship, include an iron, 1400-pound Smith. The Gutenberg, one of the latest to come out of Pratt Wagon and Press Works, is housed at the Crandall Historic Printing Museum in Utah.
Another in the line of Kelsey Excelsior presses. William A. Kelsey began making inexpensive presses for amateurs in 1872, and his Excelsior became the longest lasting-press on the market. For more information, see the Excelsior Model P page. The Excelsior shown above is a trunnion-type lever press, whose lever is attached to two wheels that roll along the track-like sides of the press as the press is opened and closed. Patented in 1873, this trunnion-type model was one of the earliest presses in the Excelsior line to be sold; the Excelsior would soon evolve into a self-inking press in many sizes, one of the most popular lines of presses ever manufactured.