From its foundation, the Trust has been involved in the rescue and restoration of printing equipment of historic importance. But it does not live in the distant past. A major concern is the urgent rescue of items of more recent technology used in the printing trade, such as phototypesetting systems and digital origination equipment (much of which becomes obsolete soon after installation and is scrapped to leave no trace of its place in printing’s evolution).
The following projects are typical examples of the work of the Trust:
Directory of historic
printing items
An ongoing project of the Trust is the compilation of a directory of printing
artefacts held in public installation of a working and private collections in
the United Kingdom and Ireland. Hailed by museums and researchers alike as a
model of its kind, it now sets a standard for similar publications in other
subject fields. It is intended to update its contents, and make it accessible
via the internet.
The Southport Visiter
Columbian press
The Trust was consulted on several items of printing equipment in storage at
the Botanic Gardens Museum in Southport. As a result, a Columbian
handpress, once used to print the Southport Visiter newspaper, was moved
and restored to form the centrepiece of a display at the Atkinson Art Gallery,
Southport, a venue that attracts thousands of visitors annually. Advice was
also given regarding installation of a working print shop in the gallery.
The Wood newspaper
press
This rotary
newspaper press has recently been acquired by the Science Museum, on the
initiative of the Trust. It was manufactured by the Wood Manufacturing Company
of New York c.1936 and was used in Northcliffe House, Fleet Street, until 1987.
It was the last remaining press of its kind operating in the UK and is possibly
unique.