Wednesday, July 24, 2013

From Gutenberg to the Cuneo Press









Johann Gutenberg is known as the father of printing. His use of movable type around 1439, combined with a wooden printing press, revolutionized printing and allowed the mass production of printed books. His major work was the Gutenberg Bible, also known as the 42-line Bible..

Chicago was a center for commercial printing, and The Cuneo Press, Inc. was once one of the largest printing companies in Chicago and the world. The Cuneo Press exhibit at A Century of Progress Exposition, held in Chicago in 1933 and 1934, was a workshop that was a replica of what Gutenberg's printing office might have been.

The second card shown above (front and back) is a 1934 souvenir card. The other cards are postcards dated 1933. Below is a short article about the Gutenberg Press exhibit from the World's Fair Weekly for the week ending September 16, 1934.


Visit Sepia Saturday
For More Vintage Images



15 comments:

  1. I had no idea about Chicago's role in the printing industry. Interesting, as my grandfather was born there - Chicago has many sides to it, I have discovered.

    ReplyDelete
  2. It's really interesting to see those old workshops, even if they were only 'exhibits'; it certainly gives a flavour of what it may have been like.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Another side to printing history that I never knew - Gutenberg yes, Chicago no.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Such exhibits help us appreciate how far we've come.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I find Leonard Mounteney a little weird looking! Perhaps it's the haircut! Interesting post.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Chicago also made a massive amount of pianos.

    ReplyDelete
  7. I'm with Lovely&#39 -- Leonard Mounteney looks a little like Spock! Very interesting...especially the line in the article about how the exhibit shows an "imitation" of what might have been...

    ReplyDelete
  8. What would Gutenberg say to see the variety of justified, neatly kerned typefaces that get printed from the internet onto my laptop screen?

    ReplyDelete
  9. Oh how fun! Every chance I get to see these kinds of workshops and other old time museums and such, I go! Great photos.

    ReplyDelete
  10. I love the font of the exhibition title in the first postcard and yes, I had to read Leonard's surname twice, thinking he might be Nimoy!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Your post led me to search Cuneo Press and I found [http://forgottenchicago.com/] Forgotten Chicago. Thanks for the lesson.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Leonard Mounteney does look a bit worn out, as though he's working those long printers hours getting that book out.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Being from Chicago, I knew about the big printing industry there. But I never heard of Cuneo press. Thanks for the info.
    Nancy

    ReplyDelete
  14. I think you got the best spin on this week's theme.
    Gutenberg has indeed left us with a great legacy.
    Since I studied Graphic Arts, I was already familiar with his work,
    but it is nice to see what was done in Chicago back then.
    Thanx 4 sharing!!
    :)~
    HUGZ

    ReplyDelete

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...