Washington Press, Used by the Hostetter Company
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Artifact Overview
This press represents the original form of the Washington Hand Press. It established two innovations in printing history: a lightened metal frame for easier transport, and a toggle-joint mechanism to create impressions. This press was used by the Hostetter Company in Pittsburgh. As proprietors of "medicinal" tonics with high alcohol content, the company was successful during the Temperance and Civil War eras.
Artifact Details
Artifact
Printing press
Date Made
circa 1825
Creators
Place of Creation
Creator Notes
Made by Rust and Turney in New York, New York. Patented by Samuel Rust.
Location
Not on exhibit to the public.
Object ID
36.234.1
Credit
From the Collections of The Henry Ford. Gift of the Hostetter Company.
Material
Iron (Metal)
Wood (Plant Material)
Cloth
Color
Red
Dimensions
Height: 65.5 in
Width: 44 in
Diameter: 59 in
Inscriptions
plate on front:
WASHINGTON PRESS INVENTED BY SAM RUST / MANUFACTURED BY RUST & TURNEY N. YORK
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Related Content
SetInformation Machines: Printing Presses at The Henry Ford
- 18 Artifacts
Enoch Prouty was a Baptist minister who wanted to print a temperance newspaper. He could not afford a press--so he invented one. The long arms and rods on this "grasshopper" press move when operated. In 1892 and 1893, it received merit awards at Chicago's Columbian Exposition. This particular press printed an agricultural journal in Ohio in the 1920s.
articlePrinting Presses: Information Machines
In honor of our current exhibit House Industries: A Type of Learning, we take a closer look at printing presses in our collection.