Why is it in our Social History Collection? 

This printing press belonged to the vicar of Langrish,  Rev. E. Mackay Ellis (1904-1989). He used it to print order of services and other cards advertising forthcoming events including a country fair dance or a fete and jumble sale. Rev. Ellis also printed letterheads for people living in the Langrish, Froxfield and Petersfield area. He kept examples in his notebooks for reference making a note of the type style and the point size used. 

Adana ’Five-Three’ Printing Press 

Launched in April 1956 the press cost £7-17-6. It was one of the earliest Adana machines to be made of an aluminium alloy, rather than cast iron, making it  easier to handle. It was advertised at individuals like the Rev. Ellis, who wanted  to print their own visiting cards, postcards and notepaper.  Rev. Ellis bought three different type cases, Times New Roman, Spartan and Plantin, and a few stock illustration blocks. Each type case contains all the numbers, uppercase and lowercase letters, special characters, punctuation and spaces for a particular typeface, point size and style.   

Fun Fact 

The origin of the term upper and lower case is derived from the layout of these type cases. Traditionally, the capital letters were stored in a separate shallow tray or "case" that was located above the case that held the small letters. 

 

 

 

 

 

How to Letterpress Print 

Movable type: Letterpress printing is a technique of relief printing. Individual metal blocks, known as movable type, have a letter, number or shape at one end. They are joined together to form words and lines.   

Composing Stick: Holding a composing stick in the left hand, the metal type is set one letter at a time, left to right and upside down. 

Galley: When the composing stick is full, the type is transferred to a galley. The block of type is tied up with a piece of string to hold it in place. 

Proofing: It is important to make a proof to check for any errors in spelling or spacing. The type is inked up and a first press proof is printed. 

Chase: The type is untied and locked into a metal frame, or chase, with quoins to ensure the type does not move about. The chase is placed into the printing press. 

Press: Ink rollers coat the type with ink. Paper is inserted into the press and a clamping motion allows the ink to print onto the paper.