Famous Days in the Century of InventionStone, Gertrude L. (Gertrude Lincoln)
History
Famous Days in the Century of Invention
Stone, Gertrude L. (Gertrude Lincoln)
Inventions
"Guess I do," said Jimmie. "Honestly, I won't be any bother; I won't be
_any_ bother; I won't ask any questions except about the press--cross
my heart and hope to die."
Uncle Francis laughed. He knew Jimmie too well to think he would not be
any bother, but he said, "All right; as soon as you have two good legs
again I'll invite you to see the new machinery."
Jimmie's leg mended as fast as the leg of any boy should, and he was
able in March to take the trip to the city. Jimmie's mother went with
him.
"I want to see the big press, too," she explained to her brother.
"I'm glad you came," said Uncle Francis as he greeted her. "I should
think every man and woman in the United States would be interested in
this new kind of printing press. Do you know, it will bring down the
price of a paper from a nickel to three cents! They have just begun to
print the afternoon edition. Shall we go now to see the new Hoe rotary
perfecting press? It is the most wonderful thing in printing that has
ever been invented since Gutenberg invented movable type more than
four hundred years ago. It seems as though it must mark the limit in
fast printing, but who knows? Surely Gutenberg and Faust would have
thought our old press with the pages of type on a stationary flat bed
over which rollers and paper passed, the limit of wonders. Come and
see this new press eat up the paper!"
[Illustration: THE EARLIEST PRINTERS AT WORK]
They soon stood before a great throbbing monster, a mystery of wheels
within wheels and of gleaming steel. At one end was a huge roll of
white paper; at the other was an unceasing stream of newspapers. Jimmie
watched in wide-eyed wonder. He heard his uncle say that the huge roll,
or web, of white paper was being fed into one end of the press, was
being printed on both sides, the newspaper sheets were being cut apart,
folded, and finally delivered, counted, at the other end of the press.
How could it be done!
"Well, what do you think of it all?" asked Uncle Francis, turning to
Jimmie.
Jimmie hardly took his fascinated gaze from the great whirring monster.
"It's great! It's a hundred times more wonderful than I thought it
would be! Now that I've seen what this press can do I think I shall run
one of these instead of being an editor."
His uncle laughed. "All right," he said; "you see how this runs, do
you?"
"Not _all_ of it," admitted Jimmie.
"Probably the type part bothers you," said his uncle, "because you are
accustomed to seeing the type in a flat steel frame, or chase, as we
call it. Here it is on the outside of one of those huge rollers, or
cylinders, as we call them. Do you see it?"
"Yes," said Jimmie, "but there isn't any type on the cylinder just
under it."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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