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H4037 Printing press, Stanhope Iron Press, metal / wood, Charles Stanhope/Robert Walker, London, England, c. 1825. Click to enlarge.
  • Image 1 of 8, H4037 Printing press, Stanhope Iron Press, metal / wood, Charles Stanhope/Robert Walker, London, England, c. 1825. Click to enlarge
  • Image 2 of 8, H4037 Printing press, Stanhope Iron Press, metal / wood, Charles Stanhope/Robert Walker, London, England, c. 1825. Click to enlarge
  • Image 3 of 8, H4037 Printing press, Stanhope Iron Press, metal / wood, Charles Stanhope/Robert Walker, London, England, c. 1825. Click to enlarge
  • Image 4 of 8, H4037 Printing press, Stanhope Iron Press, metal / wood, Charles Stanhope/Robert Walker, London, England, c. 1825. Click to enlarge
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    Image 5 of 8, H4037 Printing press, Stanhope Iron Press, metal / wood, Charles Stanhope/Robert Walker, London, England, c. 1825. Click to enlarge
  • Image 6 of 8, H4037 Printing press, Stanhope Iron Press, metal / wood, Charles Stanhope/Robert Walker, London, England, c. 1825. Click to enlarge
  • Image 7 of 8, H4037 Printing press, Stanhope Iron Press, metal / wood, Charles Stanhope/Robert Walker, London, England, c. 1825. Click to enlarge
  • Image 8 of 8, H4037 Printing press, Stanhope Iron Press, metal / wood, Charles Stanhope/Robert Walker, London, England, c. 1825. Click to enlarge

Stanhope printing press

Designed
By the end of the eighteenth century the time was ripe for a major step forward in printing press construction. The reason this was possible in England was the advances which had been made in the techniques of casting metal. That the man who grasped these facts and used them to produce the first all-metal press was not a tradesman but a peer of the realm is not surprising. Earl Stanhope (1753-1816) was devoted to scientific enquiry, was free from the conservatism of the average printer and had …

Summary

Object No.

H4037

Object Statement

Printing press, Stanhope Iron Press, metal / wood, Charles Stanhope/Robert Walker, London, England, c. 1825

Physical Description

Printing press, Stanhope Iron Press, metal / wood, Charles Stanhope/Robert Walker, London, England, c 1825

The Stanhope printing press construction consists of a cast iron frame standing verical upon a 'T' shaped wooden base. The press has been secured into place by two metal bolts. The platen sits beneath a metal slide which is set vertically inside a groove between two the vertical bars of the frame. This is counterbalanced by a heavy weight behind the press. The iron carriage moves along a horizontal table. The end of the table which the carriage moves along is held up by a pillar on the wooden base.

Marks

inscribed along upper frame "STANHOPE / INVENIT / No 429 / WALKER / Fecit"

Short URL

https://ma.as/238244

Dimensions

Height

1730 mm

Depth

1150 mm

Production

Designed

Made

Made

Notes

The first all iron printing press, the Stanhope was invented around 1800 in England by Charles, the third Earl Stanhope, who devoted his life to science and technology, and especially to attempts to improve the techniques of printing.

Stanhope did not patent the press himself but engaged Robert Walker, an ironsmith of Vine Street, Piccadilly, London to manufacture it. Thus this press bears the inscription STANHOPE INVENIT and WALKER FECIT.

History

Used

Used

Notes

This press was found inside the New South Wales Government Printing Office in 1897 by Government printer William Applegate Gullick.

Source

Credit Line

Gift of Mr W A Gullick, 1938

Acquisition Date

30 April 1938

Cite this Object

Harvard

Stanhope printing press 2022, Museum of Applied Arts & Sciences, accessed 7 June 2023, <https://ma.as/238244>

Wikipedia

{{cite web |url=https://ma.as/238244 |title=Stanhope printing press |author=Museum of Applied Arts & Sciences |access-date=7 June 2023 |publisher=Museum of Applied Arts & Sciences, Australia}}

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