Golding Official No 7 - anybody ever seen one?

crorrer
on 28 Sep 26 (10:27)

Hi All -

Like many of us, I’ve long relied on John Falstrom’s excellent website as a resource for information on Golding letterpresses.

I’ve restored a number of the Official letterpresses and was wondering about the 10” x 15” Official No 7. It’s listed on John’s site (screenshot below) but it’s the only model I’ve never been able to find, and there’s no mention of it in the surviving Golding production logbooks.

Anybody ever seen one of these monsters?

Thanks and regards,
Chris
Lockhart, Texas

Screenshot 2026-09-28 at 10.21.37 AM.png

Lammy
on 28 Sep 26 (12:32)

I wonder if they actually sold any? At that size why wouldn’t anyone get a jobber instead.

toddspresstime
on 28 Sep 26 (21:09)

Updated 28 Sep 26 (21:13)

posted twice

toddspresstime
on 28 Sep 26 (21:12)

Updated 28 Sep 26 (21:15)

I have seen official 7 listed a couple times in none company Golding documentation.
I believe I have all the Golding serial number company lists, no Official 7 listed.
Jobber 7 was a 10x15 OS
the Junior is listed as No. 0, a single roller press I got to make a roller for it couple weeks ago. first for me.

crorrer
on 29 Sep 26 (18:56)

Sorry about the duplicate posting. After I made the first post, the site gave me a server error message and I didn’t think it had posted. I don’t see any way to delete it unfortunately.

Todd, that Golding 0 roller was for me. :-)

Still have yet to hear of anyone having seen an Official No 7 in the flesh.

Best regards,
Chris

John Falstrom
on 9 Oct 26 (05:43)

Hi Chris,

It is listed in the 1881 Golding catalog, but I, like you have never seen one. I also wonder if any were ever produced. I restored two no. 6’s and they were monsters. I cannot imagine hand operating a bigger model. For me, the sweet spot is a no. 4/9 which are 6 x 9. I list some other models found in Golding catalogs that also have never surfaced.(embossing presses) Some even are pictured, but I still wonder if they were ever produced.

John Falstrom
on 9 Oct 26 (05:44)

Updated 9 Oct 26 (05:56)

I don’t know how many people have ever seen a Pearl no. 2 either, but a few of those have been found. The first one I found and posted about brought out a lot of head scratching by folks familiar with the Golding Pearl line. I found another a year later, and Tim Dunn owns one. Those are the only examples of the Pearl no. 2 I am aware of. It’s a tabletop 6 x 9 and a wonderful press. It is not in the Golding serial number log book either.

crorrer
on 13 Oct 26 (12:45)

John -

Thanks very much for weighing in. I guess anything is possible with machinery this old. :-)

Best regards,
Chris