Industry in the Victorian Era: Letterpress Printing

If a customer wanted to have some stationery printed, he or she entered the Office and placed an order with the Office Clerk. 

Along with taking orders from customers, the Office Clerk was also responsible for keeping in order the accounts and wages books and other business records. 

The Shop and the Office were the only parts of the building where customers were allowed—they were kept away from the messy, inky and noisy parts of the Printing Works.

This till dates from 1898. It was used for recording sales, but it was not capable of adding.  The Office Clerk had to be good at performing addition in his or her head in order to tell customers what they owed. 

The telephone, introduced to Smail’s in the late 1800s, provided an easy way—much easier than letters or telegrams—for customers and suppliers to contact the Printing Works. The Office Clerk also used the telephone to speak to employees in the workshop. 

The Smails never threw anything away, so the Office is piled high with books, ledgers, and parcels of letters and invoices. These business records help tell the story of the Printing Works and its customers over the last 150 years. 

In 1893, Smail’s obtained a licence to sell passages on ocean liners to America. By 1896, customers could also purchase passage to Canada and South Africa. Smail recorded all the passages bought from him, and these records are available online to family historians. 

This wonderfully elaborate machine was used for drawing lines onto pieces of paper for ledgers and notebooks. Sheets were fed through individually. The rows of pens were brushed with ink and then lowered onto the paper.

Printers work in the Machine Room, where there are five presses. The Printer selects the press to use for a job based on the size and design of the printed product and the number of items to be printed. 

It took seven years to complete an apprenticeship and become a Journeyman Printer. 

Belts and pulleys, originally powered by water, run most of the presses in the machine room. As the belts turn, the presses are set in motion. Take care! Getting caught in the belts and pulleys could result in serious injury. 

Purchased in 1886 for less than £100, this press is still used to print larger size jobs. It is the largest press at Smail’s. It took six men to carry in just one side of it when it arrived over 100 years ago.

The Arab Clamshell Platen is the oldest kind of printing press in the Machine Room. It is run by a foot-powered treadle. It was normally used by the youngest apprentice Printer, who would have the most energy for treadling!