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Collection

H3408 'Albion' printing press, hand operated, iron, made by A. Wilson and Sons, London, England, 1850, used by Sir Henry Parkes to print the 'Empire' newspaper, Sydney, 1850 - 1856; later used by Messrs. Craigie and Hipgrave to print the 'Express' newspaper, Armidale, New South Wales, Australia. Click to enlarge.
  • Image 1 of 8, H3408 'Albion' printing press, hand operated, iron, made by A. Wilson and Sons, London, England, 1850, used by Sir Henry Parkes to print the 'Empire' newspaper, Sydney, 1850 - 1856; later used by Messrs. Craigie and Hipgrave to print the 'Express' newspaper, Armidale, New South Wales, Australia. Click to enlarge
  • Image 2 of 8, H3408 'Albion' printing press, hand operated, iron, made by A. Wilson and Sons, London, England, 1850, used by Sir Henry Parkes to print the 'Empire' newspaper, Sydney, 1850 - 1856; later used by Messrs. Craigie and Hipgrave to print the 'Express' newspaper, Armidale, New South Wales, Australia. Click to enlarge
  • Image 3 of 8, H3408 'Albion' printing press, hand operated, iron, made by A. Wilson and Sons, London, England, 1850, used by Sir Henry Parkes to print the 'Empire' newspaper, Sydney, 1850 - 1856; later used by Messrs. Craigie and Hipgrave to print the 'Express' newspaper, Armidale, New South Wales, Australia. Click to enlarge
  • Image 4 of 8, H3408 'Albion' printing press, hand operated, iron, made by A. Wilson and Sons, London, England, 1850, used by Sir Henry Parkes to print the 'Empire' newspaper, Sydney, 1850 - 1856; later used by Messrs. Craigie and Hipgrave to print the 'Express' newspaper, Armidale, New South Wales, Australia. Click to enlarge
  • +4
    Image 5 of 8, H3408 'Albion' printing press, hand operated, iron, made by A. Wilson and Sons, London, England, 1850, used by Sir Henry Parkes to print the 'Empire' newspaper, Sydney, 1850 - 1856; later used by Messrs. Craigie and Hipgrave to print the 'Express' newspaper, Armidale, New South Wales, Australia. Click to enlarge
  • Image 6 of 8, H3408 'Albion' printing press, hand operated, iron, made by A. Wilson and Sons, London, England, 1850, used by Sir Henry Parkes to print the 'Empire' newspaper, Sydney, 1850 - 1856; later used by Messrs. Craigie and Hipgrave to print the 'Express' newspaper, Armidale, New South Wales, Australia. Click to enlarge
  • Image 7 of 8, H3408 'Albion' printing press, hand operated, iron, made by A. Wilson and Sons, London, England, 1850, used by Sir Henry Parkes to print the 'Empire' newspaper, Sydney, 1850 - 1856; later used by Messrs. Craigie and Hipgrave to print the 'Express' newspaper, Armidale, New South Wales, Australia. Click to enlarge
  • Image 8 of 8, H3408 'Albion' printing press, hand operated, iron, made by A. Wilson and Sons, London, England, 1850, used by Sir Henry Parkes to print the 'Empire' newspaper, Sydney, 1850 - 1856; later used by Messrs. Craigie and Hipgrave to print the 'Express' newspaper, Armidale, New South Wales, Australia. Click to enlarge

Albion hand printing press

Made in London, England, 1850.

This is an Albion printing press, a type of early iron hand printing press made in London about 1850 by A. Wilson and Sons. It was originally designed and manufactured in London by Richard Whittaker Cope around 1820 and operated with a simple toggle action, unlike the complex lever-mechanism of the Columbian press and the Stanhope press. Albion printing presses continued to be manufactured, in a range of sizes, right up until the 1930s. They were used for commercial book-printing until the middl...

Summary

Object No.

H3408

Object Statement

'Albion' printing press, hand operated, iron, made by A. Wilson and Sons, London, England, 1850, used by Sir Henry Parkes to print the 'Empire' newspaper, Sydney, 1850 - 1856; later used by Messrs. Craigie and Hipgrave to print the 'Express' newspaper, Armidale, New South Wales, Australia

Physical Description

'Albion' printing press, hand operated, iron, made by A. Wilson and Sons, London, England, 1850, used by Sir Henry Parkes to print the 'Empire' newspaper, Sydney, 1850 - 1856; later used by Messrs. Craigie and Hipgrave to print the 'Express' newspaper, Armidale, New South Wales, Australia.

The press has an upright frame on two legs, the ends of each leg resembling a lion's paw. Suspended in the centre of the frame between its two upright arms and from a cross bow is the spindle that raised and lowered plates onto the carriage. The carriage consists of two rails that extend beyond the frame on one side. On top of the frame is a raised stand in the shape of a papyrus stem.

Short URL

https://ma.as/236932

Dimensions

Height

1425 mm

Width

870 mm

Depth

1840 mm

Weight

700 kg

Production

Made

1850

History

Notes

This press was imported from England and used by Henry Parkes to produce the newspaper the 'Empire', of which he was proprietor and editor, from 1850-1856. This newspaper was the chief organ of mid 19th century liberalism and its pages were a forum for the sharpest radical and liberal viewpoints of the day. The press was then purchased by Messrs. Craigie and Hipgrave of Armidale, when this firm issued the Armidale 'Express'. This is the third oldest newspaper in New South Wales and was established in 1856.
(Richard Peck, Curator, print technology & philately)

Source

Credit Line

Gift of Armidale Newspapers Ltd, 1929

Acquisition Date

1 December 1929

Cite this Object

Harvard

Albion hand printing press 2019, Museum of Applied Arts & Sciences, accessed 21 January 2019, <https://ma.as/236932>

Wikipedia

{{cite web |url=https://ma.as/236932 |title=Albion hand printing press |author=Museum of Applied Arts & Sciences |access-date=21 January 2019 |publisher=Museum of Applied Arts & Sciences, Australia}}
This object is currently on display in Store 2 at the Museums Discovery Centre.
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