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Melbourne Museum of Printing |
COLLECTIONS DEPARTMENT Our Collections Summary |
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| Our Machinery Collection: Nearly 200 Machines: Machines for typesetting, prepress, printing and finishing |
| Our Founts Collection: Over 4000 Founts: Founts of hand-set type, typesetting matrices (including phototypesetting founts) and typecasting matrices. |
| Our Artefact Collection: Other Print Items: Tens of thousands of engraved blocks, stereotypes, electrotypes, typeformes, printers ornaments, hand tools, artwork, negatives, plates, proofs, printed samples, job bags, quotations, invoices, business records, books about printing, books as printed artefacts, you name it . . . |
| Our Ancilliary Collections: Office Equipment, Computers, Telephones: to show the working environment. |
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Our collection of machines features both old technology and new.
After all, what is new today will be old tomorrow. We include quite
a few examples of `new' technology, already outdated after just a
few years. Typesetting systems (traditional and modern) include Asian and European language machines and founts. Technical notes and historical notes about the machines are included within this Collection. Technical notes about matrix systems for use in these machines are also included, but notes about particular typefaces would be found in our Founts Collection (see below). |
Stereotyping press, melting pot, casting box, backplaner etc., for making duplicate printing blocks or rubber stamps.
Stripcasters, to extrude strips of spacing and similar material.
Sundry items. Examples are machines for sawing and mitring printing types and strip material, machines to make cross-points for rule-formes, to put security patterns onto typefaces, clean and adjust mats.
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In the printing sense, the fount of type was meant to be an
inexhaustible supply of letters (of the one face and size), from
which a book was composed. Each fount is stored in a type case,
a kind of tray with about 90 compartments, or perhaps a pair of cases
if larger compartments are required. As the compositor used up the letters, they would be topped up. Work would stop if the `case' ran out of any letter. The collection includes many founts of type, new and used, with the majority ranging up to 60 years old. Some are older, with many from foundries long since closed. Most are stored in cases, and some `tied up' on galleys. For the typefoundry, there are many founts of matrices for making hand-set type. It is relevant to note that unlike a fount of type, a fount of typecasting mats has only one of each character. So it is not a fount in the truest sense. But it was obviously convenient to use the same term. For the linecasters (Linotype, Ludlow, etc.) the matrix founts are stored and used in magazines or matrix cases, and there are many of each letter.
Founts of matrices are listed here, but their technical notes
will be found along with the machine that uses them. |
HIGHLIGHTSHand tools, materials, cabinetry. Physical artefacts which have an embedded document. Documents carrying a design or stage of production of printing.Books: on printing and as examples of printing. Includes thousands of books assembled to show styles of book design and the work of hundreds of printers and publishers throughout the world. Archive of business records (quotes, invoices, working papers). Thousands of documents giving insight into commerce over the decades, not only within the printing industry. Art prints and limited edition books: made in our Access Studio, as well as a few acquired from other studios. |
Also in this section: conserved stocks of papers, cards and envelopes,
many in original wrappings, examples of packaging including printed
wooden boxes and cartons. Tins and tubes of inks and other supplies
with their labels and packaging.
NON-MECHANICAL EQUIPMENT SECTION
Hand tools, specialised cabinetry and general furniture; the range of
printers' materials such as spacing strips and blocks, rules,
ornamental borders, chases and quoins.
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WOULD YOU LIKE US TO PRESERVE AND INTERPRET ITEMS IN YOUR
POSSESSION? THERE ARE STILL MANY PRINT-RELATED
MACHINES AND ARTEFACTS WE DON'T HAVE. DON'T DISCARD THEM BEFORE TALKING TO US ! |
| Home___ Page____ |
Rejoin__ Tour__ |
Typo____ Glossary |
Museum___ Collections |
Museum__ Programs_ |
About the_ Museum__ |
Links Page_ _______ |
Real Type Foundry_ |