Artifacts
Presses
Gutenberg
Invented in 1436 by Johannes Gensfleisch zur Laden zum Gutenberg, the world was changed because of it. Most historians agree this is the greatest invention of the western world!
English Common
The common press is as its name suggests, common across Europe. It was created in about 1750. Notable printers who used this press are Benjamin Franklin and John Dunlap.
Acorn
Announced for purchase in 1822 by Peter Smith, the acorn press was bought by Egbert B. Grandin in 1823, and traveled with him to Palmyra, New York, where it became the first press to print the Book of Mormon.
In
addition to our
artifacts above, the Crandall
Printing Museum houses working replicas of many famous presses.
Ramage
Patented in 1834 by Adam Ramage, this press was one of the first iron presses to be made from wrought iron instead of cast iron. It was relatively light, which allowed the pioneers to bring it across the plains to Utah.
Gordon Jobber
In 1857, George Gordon created a new style of press, based on another's press design and designs that he claims that Benjamin Franklin gave him in his dreams. The jobber style remained unchanged for 12 decades.
Other
Mergenthaler
Linotype
Machine
We also have a 1913 Linotype Model 5 . This machine was not used to print, but rather improved the way typesetting would occur: casting lines of type instead of individual letters.