Improved Cotton Press

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This is an improvement in that class of cotton presses known as the "jack-screw press," which is one of the simplest forms of the cotton press, and the improvement is intended to simplify its construction so that it can be worked by' the most unintelligent of workmen ; to render the follower self-lowering, and also to lessen the weight of the toothed rack bar which carries the follower, without impairing the strength at the point where the greatest strain comes upon it. How these points are attained we will proceed to describe. In the first place, the follower presses upward instead of downward ; and when it is elevated to its full extent and has pressed the bale, it can descend by its own gravity. In the second place, the toothed rack bar is made gradually tapering, so that it takes less metal, and requires less power to operate it than as ordinarily constructed, and the taper is graduated to the strain. This can scarcely be seen on so small a scale as our engraving, which is a sectional elevation of one of these presses, but in the actual press it saves a great quantity of metal. A A represents the framing of the press, B is the floor on which it rests, C the pressing box, and D the platen against which the cotton is pressed. E is the follower, furnished with guides that play in grooves in the box, C, and they serve to control the extent of the downward movement of the follower. F is a toothed rack bar, on which is a follower. This bar is of taper form on each edge, from top to bottom, being about eight inches broad at its base, and six at the top. It is guided in its 5 up-and-down motion by guides, c d, and can descend its full extent through an opening in the floor. G is a pinion wheel for gearing into the teeth of the bar, as shown. This wheel is arranged on a shaft, H, situated below the pressing box, and furnished with suitable bearing boxes, f, in the frame, A. I is a arge grooved pulley, arranged on the same that can be thrown up or down alongside the sweep, when it is desired that the follower shall descend. The horses, or other power, are attached to a whiffletree on L. By having the follower press upward, greater convenience is secured, as the pressing-box can be situated in the picking or ginning shaft with the pinion. J is a rope attached to, and wound around, the periphery of the pulley, and carried to, and attached to, a windlass, K, that is pivoted in the floor, and to a framing, as seen in the illustration. The windlass, K, has a horizontal sweep, L, attached to it, provided with a stop pawl, M, room, and thus time and labor used in transporting the cotton to the press are avoided. This useful machine is the invention of J. W. Bocage, of Pine Bluff, Ark., and was patented by him February 2, 1858. Any further information can be obtained by addressing the inventor.

August 15, 2017

Above: one of two copy presses in the Hennepin History Museum collection.

The letter copying press was invented in 1780 by the Scotsman James Watt, also the inventor of the steam engine. Watt’s machine eliminated the need for laborious hand copying of documents and provided the user with completely accurate copies of the original. He patented two versions of the device. One used two opposing crank operated rollers like a washing machine wringer, and the other used a screw press mechanism.

The process worked as follows. First the letter (or document) to be copied had to be written with a special soluble ink and allowed to dry without blotting to ensure that it would have a thick ink deposit.

Copies could be made for up to about 24 hours but the best were made within the first few hours. Next a copiest would prepare a “sandwich” to place in the copy press. It consisted of a sheet of oiled paper followed by a water dampened sheet of thin tissue paper, then the original document with the inked side facing the tissue paper and finally another sheet of oiled paper. The “sandwich” was then placed in the copy press and pressure was applied usually by turning a screw or using a lever. After a short time the pressure was released and enough of the ink from the original would have wicked into the tissue paper to make a copy. Thin tissue paper was used so the document could be read through the paper. The oiled paper prevented the ink from transferring to any other documents if multiple copies were being pressed at the same time.

Copies were often pressed in large quantities where a lot of correspondence was generated like in offices. Bound books of tissue copying paper were frequently used with originals and oiled paper inserted in them as described above. Special brushes or dampening reservoirs were used when copying large quantities at once. Small portable copy presses were also developed for use when someone was traveling. In early America they were quickly adopted by notable people including George Washington, Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson who designed his own portable version. Calvin Coolidge was the last president to have his official correspondence copied on copy presses.

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Hennepin History Museum has two of the screw style copy presses. One is closed with a wheel and the other is closed by spinning a straight handle with large, heavy iron balls on the end. The iron balls were used to create centrifical force so that a copiest could open or close the press with one good twirl. This would speed up the process in offices where a lot of copying needed to be done. The straight handles remained popular in England but were mostly replaced by wheels in US machines by 1860.

Although many more sophisticated copying machines and techniques have since replaced Mr. Watt’s invention, it was in common use for over 150 years. It is interesting to note that they were still being manufactured in 1950 and were used in Britain until the late 1950s.

The iron balls on the ends of the handle allow the press to be closed with one good twirl.

About the Author

Mike Larson has been a volunteer working on the inventory project at Hennepin History Museum since January 2017. He has so far cataloged over a hundred objects, primarily large artifacts including a soap box derby car, big-wheel bicycles, a switchboard desk, and—of course—two 19th century copy presses.

Resources

The Early Office Museum

The Briar Press

The Thomas Jefferson Encyclopedia

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