Triumphs and Wonders of the 19th Century: The True Mirror of a Phenomenal Era / A volume of original, entertaining and instructive historic and descriptive writings, showing the many and marvellous achievements which distinguish an hundred years of material, intellectual, social and moral progress

by James P. Boyd

And this condition of affairs applied to England as well as to the United States.

With all the rare ability possessed by the printer philosopher, he was able to do but little for the advancement of the profession which was instrumental in making for him an international reputation.

In all that pertains to the printing business there is nothing with which the name of Franklin is connected as inventor; yet he is referred to invariably as in the highest degree representative of the “art preservative of all arts.”

EARLY PRINTING PRESS AS USED BY BENJAMIN FRANKLIN.

Were the distinguished scientist, statesman, diplomat, printer, and philosopher to come forth from his grave in the cemetery of Christ Church, at Fifth and Arch Streets, Philadelphia, and go into one of the great printing houses of the country, how astounding to him would be the revelation! No more the wooden types or the unsymmetrical metal pieces; no more the wooden hand-press, the wood engravings, the ink balls, and the process of printing a few hundred sheets an hour. The terrific rapidity with which the newspapers are turned out to-day, printed, cut, pasted, and folded; the fineness of the work done on books and magazines; the wonder of one press putting on different colors at the same time; the setting of type by machines seemingly possessed of human intelligence; the rapidity and the simplicity of making stereotype plates; the dexterity of forming ordinary metal types into all kinds of forms; the millions of books,—secular and religious,—papers, and general literary productions turned out daily, would so puzzle the gigantic brain and cloud the understanding of the philosopher as to cause him to exclaim: “Take me back, O spirit of death, and let me forever rest from this seething, surging, whirling sphere of inventive progression.”

When the genius of invention was turned toward the printing art, it is worthy of note that the press which attracted the greatest attention was the production of a Philadelphian who once had been an associate of Benjamin Franklin. It was known as the Columbian press, the invention of George Clymer, and was regarded as of sufficient consequence to meet the approval of the printing fraternity of Great Britain as well as of this country.

In the National Museum in Washington, D. C., is the hand press which Benjamin Franklin used to print his Philadelphia paper, the “Gazette.” It had been built for him in London, where he had used it about five years prior to its being brought to Philadelphia.

What a curious-looking affair it is! Yet it was little less in the way of primitiveness compared with that used prior to 1817, when Clymer’s Columbian came into use. When these productions are contrasted with the magnificent contrivances of to-day, from which can be thrown sixteen hundred papers per minute,—papers of ten, twelve, and fourteen pages, printed on both sides, pasted and folded,—the comparison is like putting the steamboat of Fulton by the side of the monster ships which cross the Atlantic ocean from New York to Southampton in less than five days.

The Columbian press was looked upon, when presented to the printers, as an advance worthy of note in the art. It is easy to imagine how much prominence was given Clymer’s invention when it was placed beside the old common press. To-day, this supposed-to-be great piece of mechanism would not even be dignified by a place in the most un-modern backwoods printing establishment. And yet from this were printed the literary productions of Great Britain, as well as of the United States, in the early part of the nineteenth century.