Category: Press and typeface identification
Later topic: Painter & Co Typeface identification
Earlier topic: What is it?

Anyone know what this is?

I’m going to look at an old newspaper this weekend and the old “junk” they have in their attic. They snapped a picture of this for me and I have no clue what it is. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

any help on the other pictures I’m attaching would be great as well but they’re probably isn’t enough info in the photos to know anything for sure.

image: whoknows1.jpg

whoknows1.jpg

image: whoknows2.jpg

whoknows2.jpg

image: pressparts1.jpg

pressparts1.jpg

image: pressparts2.jpg

pressparts2.jpg

image: pressparts3.jpg

pressparts3.jpg

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The first two pictures look like an Addressograph or similar. If so, it was used to stamp small plates, much like dogtags, which could put a mailing address on an envelope, label, etc.
A somewhat similar-looking machine is a stencil cutter, but this looks more like an Addressograph.

The third photo looks like a C&P partly dis-assembled with the yoke and ink disk laying next to a Kimble or other type of motor.
Number four is a very large chase with a lot of type and leading locked up and the fifth is spacing maybe. Lots of stuff.

pressparts2.jpg
Based on a visual comparison I’d say it is a 10 x 15 chase. It is sitting on an old style Chandler & Price letterpress.
pressparts1.jpg
The press appears to be at least partially disassembled. It could be that it was used for die cutting and the inking system was removed.
pressparts3.jpg
Not sure what is in the back, but the front is linotype slugs. Likely the type locked up in the chase is the same. This type is cast in lines.

Actually, the first machine is a Graphotype, model G1 (manual, no keyboard). It was, as parallel_imp notes, used to emboss metal printing plates. These plates were then mounted on a metal card and printed on an Addressograph machine (various models). The system was developed in the late 19th century and survived until the demise of the Addressograph-Multigraph Corp in the early 1980s. Together, the Addressograph and Graphotype formed a complete information handling system for mailing list maintenance.
The Graphotype G1 is definitely worth saving. (If you do get it, drop me a note and I’ll scan the manual for you.) If they have any of the “addressograph” plates for it, get them to (they’re hard to come by).

IMPORTANT: DO NOT operate the Graphotype without an “addressograph” metal plate in place. The machine has a pair of male/female punch/dies for each character. Operating it without the plate in place will cause the punch/die to crash together and will damage them.

Regards,
David M.

Argh.
I wrote:
… get them to …
meaning, of course
… get them too …

I spent far too many years in grad school in lit to be making slips such as this. :-)

David M.

Thanks everyone. I’m going to check on this stuff in a couple of days and I’ll bring back more pictures. I’m hoping to acquire all of it. It was partially disassembled so they could move it to their attic. Unfortunately I lack the experience to know if all of the parts are still sitting in the attic.

I know this is an impossible question, but what would the value of a 10x15 chandler and price letterpress in fair condition?

David - thanks for the info! It’s actually kind of crazy because on Monday I acquired this machine…

image: photo.jpg

photo.jpg

A scan of the “Instructions for Operating Model
G1 Graphotype” is now online at The Internet Archive (archive.org)

http://www.archive.org/details/InstructionsForOperatingModelG1Graphotype

Regards,
David M. MacMillan