Robert Oatman Vandercook, (1866-1951), was the founder of the pre-press equipment company that bore his name. His interest in printing began when he was ten years old. It was claimed that in high school he built his first press on which he printed the school paper.* While a student at Northwestern University (class of 1888), [...]

Edward Oatman Vandercook (1897-1985) was the eldest son of company founder R.O. Vandercook. After discharging from the military in 1918, he along his brothers Fred and Dave began working for their father. The elder Vandercook retired by 1940 and E.O. Vandercook, who was general manager, became president and headed the company until it was sold [...]

Here is a nice illustration of a No. 4 Vandercook, with a split vibrator and riders, featured in a two page ad for ink manufacturer Interchemical Corporation. (The Inland Printer, September 1953, p.24-25, from the library of Fritz Klinke). Is anyone familar with the pen-stick ink applicator shown?

Advertised in The Inland Printer (September 1953, p.119; it does not appear in previous or subsequent issues). This press features a reciprocating bed and a belt-driven oscillating roller, but does not appear to have an ink reservoir drum. It may not have been put into production. Has anyone seen one of these? The manufacturer was [...]

I recently purchased a Vandercook 219. It’s missing the lockup bar. Does anyone know where I can find one?

As a result of publicizing the gains of the Vandercook census, owners of other brands of cylinder proof presses have volunteered their data and have also alerted me to the existence of additional owners. In particular the “Asbern”:http://vandercookpress.info/vanderblog/asbern/ and “Challenge”:http://vandercookpress.info/vanderblog/challenge/ censuses have begun to take shape.

The Vandercook Census has reached a milestone: “1011″:http://vandercookpress.info/vanderblog/census/ presses are known to still exist worldwide. Are there another thousand out there? Is your press represented? How many “Asberns”:http://vandercookpress.info/vanderblog/asbern/, “Challenges”:http://vandercookpress.info/vanderblog/challenge/ et al. ? The globe graphic, one of three similar designs, is from a Universal I operator’s manual dating from the late 1950s.

From left: Fred, “Ed”:http://vandercookpress.info/vanderblog/2007/09/30/eo-vandercook/, and Dave Vandercook standing next to a lathe, circa 1918. This may be the W. Austin Avenue plant (Nos. 1716-1722). This photo, perhaps taken by “R.O. Vandercook”:http://vandercookpress.info/vanderblog/2007/09/30/ro-vandercook/, is provided courtesy of “Bill”:http://vandercookpress.info/vanderblog/2007/09/11/bill-critchlow/ and Lynn (Vandercook) Critchlow.

No long ago I interviewed Stanley A. Metza, West coast regional sales manager for Vandercook from 1960 to 1975. Now 94 years old, he spoke of heading a four man sales team selling Vandercook products from the “30-26″:http://vandercookpress.info/years54-09.html#30-26 four-color proof press to the SP15 which he deemed “a pup.” The son of Polish immigrants, the [...]

There is a Vandercook SP-15 on eBay in Omaha, Nebraska.  It is equipped with a hand wheel to work the ink instead of the lower ink drum.  These presses can’t carry quite as much ink as the motorized SP-15, but if this press is in your neck of the woods it might be worth a [...]

Hi, I recently obtained a vandercook that is in pretty rough shape and missing a lot of parts, although still great for what I need it to do. I have the two inking rollers that are supposed to be mounted together with the oscillating roller (excuse the made up terminology), but they aren’t usable anymore. [...]

Today marks one year of Vanderblogging. Thank you to all registered users, we now number 147. Together we have generated 114 posts and 495 comments that have been viewed over 33,984 times. These figures are nearly double those reported six months ago. This is a vibrant forum that will continue to grow. New pages and [...]