Washington jobber

This clamshell jobber was built by John M. Jones of Palmyra, New York in about 1885. The feedboards, rod between the treadle and crank, throw-off handle, and flywheel are replacements. One gripper is missing. There are old repairs to the frame, platen base, and gripper bar. The press has a height of 48 inches a length of 45 inches and a width of 33 inches; its chase measures 8 inches by 12 inches; its platen measures 8.5 inches by 14 inches.

John Jones of Palmyra was a successful and well-respected manufacturer of a dozen different platen jobbing presses, several of them based on George P. Gordon’s ideas. Jones's Washington press, produced from about 1880 to 1889, contained a simpler clamshell action, but included Jones’s patent impression-adjustment device, and—after 1884—his patent friction clutch as a throw-off mechanism. This press is unmarked except for the word PATENT on the handle of the platen clip, and “S.W.” etched into the rim of the flywheel. The platen is adjusted by two bolts (the handles protrude under the feed table), working on the rod that acts as a fulcrum for the platen; there are no adjustment screws behind the platen itself. The platen is thin for its size, but backed by the deep webbing that is characteristic of Jones’s presses.

Donated by Patricia E. Schneider, 1995.

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

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