Hat-tip press

This bench-top, iron-lever press, marked “Hoffman Type & Engraving

Co,” dates from the late 19th century. The press has a height of 39 inches a length of 28 inches; its bed measures 8 inches by 8 inches.

“Hat tip” was a term for the manufacturer’s label pasted in the crown of a gentleman’s hat. Tips were often blocked in gold leaf on fabric—a process that, by 1850, justified a specialized press, small and sturdy, with enough mass in the platen to hold the heat to melt gold size. The term came to be used for small presses with an overhead lever like this one, whether intended for hat-tip printing, card printing, or any other small job work.

The bed and platen are reversed on this press: the type hangs face down from the bed, and the platen is under it. There is an ink disk beyond the bed. Two rollers mounted on the platen's leading edge roll across the ink disk to pick up ink, and then deposit the ink on the type on the return trip.

Donated by Joseph Hennage, 1988.

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

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