While looking for information on proof presses built by Harrild & Sons, better known for its iron hand presses, I asked Stephen O. Saxe, author of American Iron Hand Presses, what he knew about this British firm. In reply he scanned this page from a 1906 Harrild catalog, shown at left. This press features a rigid bed and rolling carriage with cylinder grippers and an inking assembly. This is surprising because it is far more advanced than Vandercook’s first model, the Rocker, built in 1909, and that they didn’t make a comparable machine until the Composing Room Cylinder series in about 1918. Based on this image, it appears that Harrild was the originator of the modern proof press, despite Vandercook’s repeated claim in its advertising.

Having said this, it seems likely that R.O. Vandercook developed his press independently for two reasons. First, because his intent was to make production cylinder presses until a potential customer, after seeing the prototype, suggested he sell it as a proof press. Secondly, there were enough American printing equipment manufacturers in the first decade of the 20th century that foreign firms had little incentive to enter the U.S. market. Therefore it’s doubtful that Vandercook saw a Harrild catalog, let alone this press. Saxe concurs adding that he is unaware of any Harrild advertisements in the Inland Printer.

I became the proud owner of a beautifull Vandercook SP20 this week. We moved it from Leiden in the Netherlands to Brussels on friday. The press is in reasonable condition I think, allthough before starting to operate it I would like to give it a decent cleanup, regrease and finetune all machine parts. Could Anyone help me to get my hands on the Manual for this machine. and/or the history of it.

Serial nr. is 23767. thanks

Today I received an email from Kurt Vandercook Osenbaugh, a grandson of Vandercook & Sons President Edward O. Vandercook who shared some interesting family anecdotes. He says his grandfather’s middle name reflects a relation to “the Oatman girls,” two girls who were captured by [Yavapai] Indians in 1851. “One died in captivity, the other escaped, and later lived a relatively normal (non-Indian) life, albeit with facial tattoos.” [An 1857 book about the ordeal sold 30,000 copies. Co-incidentally the University of Nebraska Press just published a new book The Blue Tattoo: The Life of Olive Oatman by Margot Mifflin.]

Mr. Osenbaugh noted that “the Vandercooks were an old-line, wealthy family historically, tracing their ancestors to the Mayflower. But my grandfather was not exactly a pampered fellow, because of various setbacks in their fortune. Unlike his forefathers, he didn’t go to college. He worked in mines in the Rockies as a teenager, and in World War I was an airplane mechanic, I think stationed in France. They first ran the company, I’m told, out of the basement of my great-grandparent’s home.” [This may be R.O. Vandercook's former house that April Sheridan showed to a group us after a visit to the Vandercook family graves in March.]

“I don’t know about the details of the operation of the company as many of the folks posting on this site may, but certainly have heard many stories from my family, who were very proud of not just my grandfather, a thoroughly lovely and generous man, but also the fine Vandercook company and employees. Many former employees attended my grandfather’s funeral in the mid-80s, and we were touched by their kind words. When I was a child, and through my college years, my grandfather helped support my family during difficult times, and a goal of mine is to try to be like him.” [During phone interviews with former employees Stanley Metza and, Mr. Osenbaugh's uncle, Bill Critchlow, I was told that E.O. Vandercook was a gentleman and an effective leader.]

“Another thing in the ‘it’s a small world’ category: My father-in-law, Joe Alden, was a co-founder of a still operating Chicago company, Alden + Ott Inks. After he passed away, my mother-in-law sent my wife the first company checkbook he used to start the company in the 1950s. The first check he wrote was to Vandercook & Sons for a small proof press.”

Paul Moxon is in Chicago teaching his Vandercook Maintenance class at Evanston Paper and Print so some of us took a tour of Robert O. Vandercook’s grave and his house in Evanston.

I’ve posted some photos:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2052602&l=0ab706a80d&id=1462172660

This photograph is of Dave Vandercook, Deceased daughter Barbara Helene and His surving daughter Ann and two of her 4 children. Ann’s surviving children are Joann Moulton, Barbara Belle Moulton, Joseph Sidney Moulton III, Helen Marie Moulton Died Feb 3, 2006.

On Saturday, December 12, I will give my Vandercook history talk at the Museum of Printing History in Houston, Texas. I’ve heard great things about this place and am looking forward to setting up their recently acquired Rocker Series press. Let me know if you will attend.

REVISED. The question keeps coming up: when was the first Vandercook sold? A 1909 sales brochure says the first press was sold in May of 1909. The story of that sale was recounted in a 1940 Editor & Publisher profile of R.O. Vandercook: “Vandercook had not intended to stop at proof presses, but planned to go on to the building of regular production presses, and so built a model machine showing only the parts that had to do with impression, which became the Rocker Series Press.” Vandercook showed this prototype to Chicago printer Fred Cozzens, who asked how much would it cost to build a proof press. In reply Vandercook asked if he would pay $100. Mr. Cozzens said he would.

The first entry on page 1 of the ledger “Serial 1000-1129 | Book A” shows a date stamp of Sept 30, 1909 next to the handwritten entry “A.F. Wanner & Co. for Kenfield-Leach, Chicago.” Beneath the last column headed “Our Order No.” is the number 150. The ledger also shows that Wanner, the original manufacturer of the Potter proof press, alongside American Type Founders, and Typothetae of New York were Vandercook’s first sales agents.

The brochure and the ledger proves that Vandercook’s press was a commercial success from the beginning. Cozzens & Beaton and Kenfield-Leach are among 126 firms listed in the brochure, as are several prominent printing concerns of the day: Curtis Publishing, University of Chicago Press, The Inland Printer and T.A. Munder.

All images courtesy of Fritz Klinke/NA Graphics.

So, as some of you may remember, I’m restoring an SP20 currently (yeah, I know, I should be done by now… but I’m not.)

Well, I’m finally having the rollers recast, and I noticed something yesterday I thought I’d pass along.

I was cleaning the gunk off of the ends of my cores to send out, and found that they not only had original grey Vandercook paint on the ends, but one end had been stamped I-I-74. (It could also be 1-1-74, but they sure look like capital I-s to me.)

Some quick research tells me that they aren’t the parts numbers – but then what are they? Were the rollers cast on New Years Day of 74?

The press itself dates from 1962, an early SP model before the leaf springs in the trip.

Forgive me if this is actually uninteresting – every core I’ve ever seen has been ground within an inch of its life or scrubbed, dropped, and nicked beyond recognition. It’s nice to see something that’s been all-but-untouched for 30,+, +, + years.

I’m hoping they survive recasting in good shape still… I want to show them off!

kyle.

This photo shows the interior of the Vandercook & Sons plant at 900 N. Kilpatrick Avenue in Chicago. Similar shots are used in catalogs of this era. In the foreground and suspended at left are 219s, further back are what look to be four 22s, a No. 3 and a 17. The plant built by Vandercook in 1928 and used until 1954 it is still standing today.
(Photo courtesy of Don Black Linecasting.)

A perusal of the serial number/model record cards, held by NA Graphics, revealed that Vandercook & Sons exported presses via multiple foreign firms beginning in the late 1920s through the 1960s. Most of them are listed in adverts found in The Inland Printer as well as The British Printer. This data is complied on the Erstwhile Dealers page.

A later, separate initiative licensing the manufacture of Vandercooks in Great Britain began in the early 1950s. A number of photos provided by press owners in the UK, Australia, New Zealand, and Israel show nameplates stating the licensee. These models differ in cabinet and feed board style from Chicago-built presses, but appear to have the same trip mechanism and inking system. To date, four firms are represented: Hunter-Penrose Ltd. (later Hunter-Penrose-Littlejohn), FAG Equipment Ltd. (the London subsidiary of the Swiss press maker), and Western Manufacturing, which later changed its name to Pre-Press Ltd. Each of these licensees used serial number ranges separate from Chicago-built presses.

While no Vandercook company documents concerning licensing have been found, it is likely that these agreements superseded one another rather than being simultaneously in effect. However, two print references mention British manufacturing: the monograph Story of A Visit to the New Vandercook Plant (1954) and an article on Western Manufacturing/Pre-Press Ltd. in The British Printer (July 1960). British Printer adverts also show that Hunter-Penrose-Littlejohn and Western Manufacturing produced presses independent of Vandercook. It is also widely known that in Switzerland FAG produced a range of hand-cranked and power carriage models. See the Other Brands page For more info.

Thanks to Edward Denovan for providing me the BP article and a photo of his press’s nameplate, and to Alistair Wooton and Donald Kerr for their photos.

Given that next year 2009 is the Vandercook centenary I thought the occasion could be marked in some way – so I thought I’d get the ball rolling – there would appear to be 1011 presses out there at the last count, I wonder how many owners would consider a joint project where each would print something on the theme of 100 or centenary or Vandercook etc. with a view to creating a limited edition publication?

Just a thought – your input is welcome

John Christopher

I spotted this on ebay 370033826590 – somebody might be interested – what is it?

John

arcane devices