unknown hamburg lever press

Hello everyone, this is my first post but I’ve been reading the forum for months. Now I’m starting in the letterpress business here in El Salvador. For that I restored this hamburg lever press and it works fine (1st pic). It looks like the Unknown German Press (museum/lever/pg.1).

It doesn’t have anything writen on it exept for H268, H237, H267 in some of the parts (2nd pic). AND this little plate in this part right in front of the ink plate (3rd pic).

The only thing I found about August Ascher Sohn, or at least Ascher, August Sohn, is that he had a jewish business in Hamburg at Neuer Wall street 70/74 which was liquidated in 1938. Year in which the nazis started “aryanisating” (burning no aryan) jewish shhops… This machine has some history behind if this is all correct tho. And yes, google is great.

Here’s where I got that info: http://books.google.com/books?id=26rijUqNTpcC&pg=PA292&lpg=PA292&dq=augu...

I also got lots of type, and will need help to identify them. But that will be in another post.

image: IMG_0647.JPG

IMG_0647.JPG

image: IMG_0648.JPG

IMG_0648.JPG

image: IMG_0649.JPG

IMG_0649.JPG

Log in to reply   5 replies so far

Lovo, after checking the list of companies owned by Jewish people, I got the impression that M. August Ascher (Son of), had simply an import and export business. It is thus likely that this press was bought from one of the German manufacturers like Hogenforst, issued with a label and exported. I own several German machines myself, that were being sold in France through representatives, who simply affixed a small metal plate with their name on it.

image: krause_with_label.jpg

krause_with_label.jpg

This looked very familiar, it appears to be the same model press that can be seen behind Erik Spiekermann in this clip:

http://vimeo.com/19429698

Maybe he could help you further in determining its origins?

-Kim

Perhaps it is a Hohner?

Some pictures of a Hohner here. Looks very, very similar.

image: hohner_2.jpg

hohner_2.jpg

image: hohner_1.jpg

hohner_1.jpg

THANK YOU for your response

this must be one of the machines mr. ascher must have exported i dont know where but it ended here, in my hands :).
its great to discover at least where my equipment comes from.

thomas and dicharry
you got it right it is a hohner. its identical to the one in the pictures. looks like a model b to be mor specific.

i found this video where the auto eject option is working:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xvjAOyPE-ig

kimaboe
yes its the same erik spiekermann has! i feel so honored to have the same one as him. i’ve read some people say the hohner is “the best lever press out there”.