Acorn press, Tufts?

This acorn-framed press is missing it maker’s plate but was probably made by Otis Tufts of Boston in about 1835. The press has a height of 51 inches, a width, at the cheeks, of 32 inches, and a length of 54 inches. Its platen is 16 inches by 20.5 inches.

Acorn-framed presses were made by a number of press builders, particularly in the Boston area, beginning in the early 1820s. Otis Tufts patented his acorn-framed hand press in 1831, and remained in the press-building business until 1837. Later he went into steam engineering. Tufts’s acorn presses can be distinguished from those of other manufacturers such as Adams, Dow, Hoe, or the Cincinnati Type Foundry by the decoration and shape of the acorn and the toggle arrangement. The elbow of the Tufts toggle folds to the left, and the lower joint pierces a cross bar between the cheeks of the press.

Donated by Donald J. Clifford, 1980

Citation: Elizabeth Harris, "Printing Presses in the Graphic Arts Collection," 1996.

Currently not on view