The first known attempt to make a cylinder press was that of William Nicholson, of London, who invented, in 1789, a machine that should apply the paper to the type by means of a cylinder. As we have seen, Nicholson went so far as to invent application of power to his machine, forseeing that power would be necessary for the use of any successful cylinder presses. Nicholson was not a printer, and his idea, although it had attracted attention, did not assume practical shape. Ten years, or so, later Dr. Kinsley, a Connecticut man, developed Nicholson’s idea and produced a cylinder press, which is described at considerable length by Isaiah Thomas in his History of Printing. Thomas seems to have been a good deal interested in the machine, although he appears to have regarded it as promising rather than successful. He says that it saved labor and did good work. He was sufficiently interested to print a picture of it although his book is not otherwise illustrated. In a general way it was not unlike a modern cylinder proof press. It printed on one side only and was not so arranged as to secure perfect register if an impression was desired on the other side. Several other attempts were made at the invention of cylinder presses, which attracted considerable attention, but which were not commercially successful. The first real success was made by Fredrick König, a native of Saxony, who, in 1814, invented a cylinder press which was immediately put into use in the press room of the _London Times_. König’s invention, like most first inventions in a new field, was susceptible of improvement, especially in the direction of simplicity. These improvements, however, were soon made, and the cylinder press started on its career of wonderful development. The first cylinder press used in America was a Napier brought out from England in 1825, and set up in the office of the _National Intelligencer_ in Washington. The development of the cylinder press in America is largely connected with the name of Hoe. Robert Hoe, a Leicestershire farmer’s son, was born in 1784, and in due time was apprenticed to a carpenter. In 1803 he came to New York, where he worked at his trade. After a time he became associated in business with his brother-in-law, Matthew Smith, Jr. Smith was a carpenter and a printer’s joiner (that is to say, a maker of press frames and other wood work used by printers) and a brother of Peter Smith, the press inventor, who has already been mentioned. Through this association the firm got into the business of building presses, first of wood and later of iron.