Object Record
Images
Metadata
Object ID # |
1990.017.002 |
Object Name |
Planer, Printer's |
Other Name |
Tool, Planing |
Title |
Printer's/Compositor's Planing Tool |
Lexicon category |
6: T&E For Communication |
Made |
Unknown |
Place of Origin |
Unknown |
Description |
Wooden block item (planing tool) that would be used by a printer or compositor when planing down the type and cuts in a form after they were locked up in a chase. The item would be pounded with a mallet. Impressed in the wood is "R.B.W." Centrally there is a small rectangular area of leather on the top side. |
Provenance |
Belonged to Mr. L. W. "Watson" Richards, who served overseas as an airforce mechanic during the Second World War, and later worked at Owen Sound's R-B-W printing company (Richardson, Bond & Wright). He lived at the Sunny Valley area for some time, before retiring in Owen Sound, Grey County. |
Collection |
Printing & Bindery Equipment, 20th-c Collection |
Material |
Wood/Leather/Finish |
Dimensions |
W-20 L-8 D-6 cm |
Found |
Owen Sound, Grey County |
People |
Richards, Leonard Watson |
Subjects |
Letterpress works Printmaking equipment Printing industry Printing Printers |
Search Terms |
RBW |
Function |
This hand tool would be used in an area where type and cuts were being assembled into forms and chases, before being taken to a press for printing. These tools were used in letterpress printing establishments. Planing down the type and cuts made sure that everything in the form was even, and that one character wouldn't cause a stronger or weaker impression. |