The Albion press is a model of early iron hand

printing press A printing press is a mechanical device for applying pressure to an inked surface resting upon a printing, print medium (such as paper or cloth), thereby transferring the ink. It marked a dramatic improvement on earlier printing methods in whi ...

, originally designed and manufactured in London by Richard Whittaker Cope (d. 1828?) around 1820.

History

The Albion press worked by a simple toggle action, unlike the complex lever-mechanism of the Columbian press and the Stanhope press. Albions continued to be manufactured, in a range of sizes, until the 1930s. They were used for commercial book-

printing Printing is a process for mass reproducing text and images using a master form or template. The earliest non-paper products involving printing include cylinder seals and objects such as the Cyrus Cylinder and the Cylinders of Nabonidus. The ...

until the middle of the nineteenth century, and thereafter chiefly for proofing, jobbing work and by private presses.

Francis Meynell Sir Francis Meredith Wilfrid Meynell (12 May 1891 – 10 July 1975) was a British poet and printer at The Nonesuch Press. Early career He was the son of the journalist and publisher Wilfrid Meynell and the poet Alice Meynell, a suffragi ...

often used an Albion to proof pages of his designs for Nonesuch Press books, and printed some small books and

ephemera Ephemera are items which were not originally designed to be retained or preserved, but have been collected or retained. The word is etymologically derived from the Greek ephēmeros 'lasting only a day'. The word is both plural and singular. On ...

using the press. Printers still predominantly using an Albion Press in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

to publish limited fine press editions include Ian Mortimer's I.M. Imprimit, and the St James Park Press of James Freemantle. After Cope's death, Albions were manufactured by his heirs and members of the Hopkinson family (trading initially as 'Jonathan and Jeremiah Barrett' and later as 'Hopkinson and Cope'), who are said to have improved the design. From the 1850s onwards Albion presses were manufactured under licence by other firms, notably Harrild & Sons, Miller and Richard, and Frederick Ullmer Ltd. The toggle-action, and the distinctive shape and 'crown' finial of the Albion, make it instantly recognizable. File:Albion Press printing Printopia 2025 MRD 01.jpg, The set type prior to inking File:Albion Press printing Printopia 2025 MRD 03.jpg, Laying a card directly onto the inked type (paper would normally be attached to the tympan by a frisket) File:Albion Press printing Printopia 2025 MRD 04.jpg, Covering the type with the hinged typan File:Albion Press printing Printopia 2025 MRD 05.jpg, Moving the covered set type under the platen File:Albion Press printing Printopia 2025 MRD 06.jpg, Pushing a lever to press the heavy platen against the tympan File:Albion Press printing Printopia 2025 MRD 07.jpg, Peeling the finished card

References

*Stone, Reynolds. ''The Albion press''. London: Printing Historical Society, lc104173786
Photos of Albion Press in McCune Collection
{{Letterpress Letterpress printing