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.


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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.

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  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.

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

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

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

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  6. Chicago also made a massive amount of pianos.

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  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...

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

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  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.

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  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!

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

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

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

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  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

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