EARLY TYPESETTING and PRINTING

Throughout history, only a small number of inventions have changed the world to the degree that the "Linotype" did. Invented by a young American watchmaker who immigrated from Germany in the late 1800s, the Linotype revolutionized the printing of newspapers, magazines, and textbooks, making them readily accessible to the general public for the first time.  The Linotype is a machine that sets letter type mechanically rather than by hand one letter at a time.  It is enormously complex, with over 2000 moving parts.  Thomas Edison called the Linotype the "Eighth Wonder of the World."  Over 100,000 Linotype machines were in use from the beginning of the 1900's until late in the century.  Through generous donations, the Foundation now has a functional Linotype and vintage letterpress printers, proof presses, paper shears, paper perforators, and more.