Penrith Museum of Printing facts for kids
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| Established | 2001 |
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| Location | Ransley St, Penrith, New South Wales 2750 Australia |
| Type | Printing museum |
| Founder | Alan Connell |
The Penrith Museum of Printing is a super cool place in Penrith, New South Wales, Australia. It's all about letterpress printing, which is an old way of printing using raised letters and images. Imagine pressing inked metal letters onto paper to make words! The museum shows how this amazing process worked and has lots of old machines that still run.
Contents
How the Museum Started
The idea for the museum began with a man named Alan Connell (1922–2020). He used to work for a newspaper called The Nepean Times. In 1987, he walked past the old newspaper building and saw that the printing machines were still there, even after 25 years!
Alan wanted to save these old machines and keep the history alive. He asked the owner if he could have some of the equipment. He then stored these machines and added more letterpress items to his collection.
The museum officially opened its doors on June 2, 2001. A government minister, Jackie Kelly, helped open it. The museum also got support from other groups and a special grant from the government.
In September 2017, the museum closed for a big upgrade. They added more space, including a new entrance area and a library. This $130,000 upgrade gave them more room to show off all their working machines. The museum reopened in November 2018, with Penrith Councillor Brian Cartwright there to celebrate.
What You Can See and Do
The Penrith Museum of Printing has a huge collection of letterpress machines and tools. The best part is that many of these machines are still working! Some of them are over 150 years old, but they can still print. The museum's goal is to have all the equipment running so visitors can see and experience how printing used to be.
You can see many different types of old printing machines here. Some examples include:
- Linotype and Intertype machines: These machines from the early 1900s could create whole lines of text at once.
- Columbian press: This is a very old hand press from 1841.
- Albion press: Another hand press, this one is from 1864.
- Wharfedale stop cylinder press: This machine, from around 1880, was used by The Nepean Times newspaper.
- Treadle presses: Like Chandler & Price, Arab, and Pearl presses, which were powered by foot pedals.
- Heidelberg platen and Miehle vertical cylinder press: These are more advanced automated presses.
Did you know the museum was even featured in a movie? In 2018, the film Ladies in Black used the museum to look like the printing room of the Sydney Morning Herald newspaper!
Exploring the Museum's Machines
The museum has many interesting machines, each with its own story. Here are some of them:
| Machine Name | What it Did | Year Made | Where it Came From |
|---|---|---|---|
| Linotype model 5 | Made lines of text | 1902 | Believed to be from Colin McPherson, NSW, Australia |
| Linotype model 8 | Made lines of text | 1922 | Nepean Times newspaper, Penrith, NSW, Australia |
| Intertype C3 | Made lines of text | 1935 | Saxon Press Commercial Printer, Bexley, NSW, Australia |
| Intertype C4 | Made lines of text | 1942 | Used to print the French newspaper Le Courrier Australien |
| Ludlow | Composed type | ||
| Edwards & Dunlop | Proofing press | Sydney, NSW, Australia | |
| Vandercook | Proofing press | ||
| Common Press | Wooden hand press | 1770 | Donated by Richard Jermyn, Eden, NSW, Australia |
| Columbian | Hand press | 1841 | Carcoar Chronicle until 1939, donated by Fairfax, NSW, Australia |
| Albion | Hand press | 1864 | Originally owned by Angus & Coote, Jewellers, NSW |
| Wharfedale | Stop cylinder press | ~1880 | Nepean Times newspaper, Penrith, NSW, Australia |
| Chandler & Price | Treadle press | ||
| Arab | Treadle press | ||
| Pearl | Treadle press | Saxon Press Commercial Printer, Bexley, NSW, Australia | |
| Emil Kahle | Small hand press | ~1910 | Gearside, Lithgow, NSW, Australia |
| Adana (several) | Small hand press | ||
| Heidelberg platen | Automated press | ~1935 | Saxon Press Commercial Printer, Bexley, NSW, Australia |
| Heidelberg platen | Automated press | 1966 | School Graphic Arts, Sydney |
| Miele vertical | Automated press | 1966 | |
| Gestener Duplicator SP20 | Duplicator | ~1935 | Hannanprint, NSW, Australia |
The Museum Library
The Penrith Museum of Printing also has a large library. It's filled with books, manuals, old documents, and other cool items related to letterpress printing.
While you can't borrow books from the museum, you can visit during opening hours to look through the collection and learn even more about printing history.
See Also
- The Nepean Times
- List of newspapers in Australia
- Museums and Galleries in NSW, Australia
