chase (missing): 8 in x 12 in; 20.32 cm x 30.48 cm
overall: 43 in x 58 in x 63 in; 109.22 cm x 147.32 cm x 160.02 cm
Object Name:
Press, Printing
Other Terms:
Press, Printing; Printing; Relief; Flatbed Platen
Place made:
United States: Maryland, Baltimore
Date made:
circa 1890
Date made:
ca 1890
Description (Brief):
This platen jobber with clamshell mechanism was made by J. F. W. Dorman of Baltimore in about 1890; its chase (missing) measures 8 inches by 12 inches.
J. F. W. Dorman started out as a stencil cutter in 1866, then became a supplier of rubber stamps and stationery material, and carried his business up into boys’ presses in the 1870s, and then briefly into full-size jobbing presses. His shop was lost in the Great Baltimore Fire of 1904. After that disaster the company returned to its original line of office supply.
The Baltimore Jobber—the largest of Dorman’s “Baltimore” name series—has a simple clamshell mechanism, and an unusually massive counterweight to the platen, swinging between the sides of the frame.
Donated by Mr. and Mrs. Otto Donner, 1970.
Citation: Elizabeth Harris, "Printing Presses in the Graphic Arts Collection," 1996.
