An 1870s Curtis and Mitchell Columbian #2 Rotary Press has arrived at the Depot, donated by board member Bill Whitley. This beauty has a fancy flywheel, cast iron Columbia cameos and a monogrammed treadle.
Todd Simmons of Wolverine Publishing originally got the press in Wyoming and displayed it in his Fort Collins bookstore. At the time, Bill told Todd he’d be interested in the press if he ever parted with it, and in January he gave it to Bill and was pleased it would be headed to the Depot. Don Hildred, who had made chases for the press, helped in the Depot delivery.
Unique to this press when it was first sold was a device which provided a pause in the action of the platen to make feeding it easier.
This pause or dwell, which was controlled by two side arms and an inner cam, was invented by Jarvis Burrell. He turned his patents over to Edward Curtis and Edward Mitchell, two Bostonians involved in the printing trade. They produced our 6x9 platen model as well as an 8x12. C&M went out of business in 1892 partly because of the competition from 123 other platen presses, according to a 1996 letter to Type & Press.
Curtis and Mitchell also made table top models:
Image from the 1876 Centennial Exhibition, taken by Centennial Photographic Company
One of my personal favorites, for its size and ease of use, is our tabletop C&M Columbian #1. It has made many appearances at fairs and schools.
