Frank Wawne Frank, FRANK, or Franks may refer to: People * Frank (given name) * Frank (surname) * Franks (surname) * Franks, a Germanic people in late Roman times * Franks, a term in the Muslim world for Franks#Crusaders and other Western Europeans as "Frank ...

(1900–1995) founded the Caxton Press at

Shildon Shildon is a town and civil parish in County Durham (district), County Durham, in England. The population taken at the 2011 Census was 9,976. The town has the Locomotion Museum, due to it having the first , built in 1825, and locomotive works on ...

County Durham County Durham, officially simply Durham, is a ceremonial county in North East England.UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. The county borders Northumberland and Tyne an ...

, in the United Kingdom in 1930.

History

The business specialised in

letterpress printing Letterpress printing is a technique of relief printing for producing many copies by repeated direct impression of an inked, raised surface against individual sheets of paper or a continuous roll of paper. A worker composes and locks movable t ...

, and had two 19th-century, belt-driven, hand-fed printing presses, a Gordon and a Golding. In

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Wawne took the unusual step of ordering a printing press for the business from Heidelberg,Heidelberg-printing-press.com
a German manufacturer. Hostilities meant that the sheet-fed crown platen could not be delivered until 1952. The company went from strength to strength, specialising in

business cards Business cards are cards bearing business information about a company or individual. They are shared during formal introductions as a convenience and a memory aid. A business card typically includes the giver's name, company or business a ...

, invitations and bespoke wedding

stationery Stationery refers to writing materials, including cut paper, envelopes, continuous form paper, and other office supplies. Stationery usually specifies materials to be written on by hand (e.g., letter paper) or by equipment such as computer p ...

, running from the original 'tin hut' in Mafeking Place, Shildon. On Wawne's retirement in 1989, the business was taken over by a

Worthing Worthing ( ) is a seaside town and borough in West Sussex, England, at the foot of the South Downs, west of Brighton, and east of Chichester. With a population of 113,094 and an area of , the borough is the second largest component of the Br ...

firm. The introduction of modern processes, including the

offset printing Offset printing is a common printing technique in which the inked image is transferred (or "offset") from a plate to a rubber blanket and then to the printing surface. When used in combination with the lithography, lithographic process, which ...

methods and the introduction of computerised typesetting, led to the closure of the major letterpress suppliers, forcing the business to close its letterpress side of the business in October 2002 after 72 years. The business had no connection with

William Caxton William Caxton () was an English merchant, diplomat and writer. He is thought to be the first person to introduce a printing press into Kingdom of England, England in 1476, and as a Printer (publishing), printer to be the first English retailer ...

(1422–1491), the first British printer, whose business was at the sign of the "Red Pale".

References

External links

* Publishing companies established in 1930 Publishing companies of the United Kingdom Printing companies of the United Kingdom British companies established in 1930 British companies disestablished in 2002 Companies based in County Durham Publishing companies disestablished in 2002 {{UK-business-bio-1900s-stub