overall: 58 in x 31 1/2 in x 37 in; 147.32 cm x 80.01 cm x 93.98 cm
overall: 58 1/2 in x 31 1/2 in x 40 in; 148.59 cm x 80.01 cm x 101.6 cm
Object Name:
Press, Printing
Other Terms:
Press, Printing; Flatbed Platen
Place made:
United States: Massachusetts, Boston
Date made:
circa 1830
Date made:
ca 1830
Description (Brief):
This acorn-framed press with Stansbury levers was made by Isaac & Seth Adams of Boston in about 1830. It includes a makers’ brass label. Its original frisket and forestay are missing. The press has a height of 58 inches, a width at cheeks of 31.5 inches, and a length of 37 inches. The press platen measures 13 inches by 16.5 inches.
In about 1821 Abraham Stansbury of New York invented and patented a wood-framed press with two iron torsion levers. The press was manufactured by the Cincinnati Type Foundry from about 1827. A few years later the brothers Seth and Isaac Adams produced a modified form with three torsion levers and an all-iron acorn frame. In 1859 Isaac Adams sold his business to R. Hoe & Company, which continued to build the press for another twenty years. The brass label reads “ADAMS PRESS No. 325, Manufactured by I. & S. ADAMS & CO., Boston.”
Purchased in 1985.
Citation: Elizabeth Harris, "Printing Presses in the Graphic Arts Collection," 1996.
