Baltimorean No. 11 Vintage Printing Letter Press

Description

This original vintage tabletop cast iron letterpress 'Baltimorean' brand printing press was very popular at the turn of the 20th century and was used for printing small format jobs, like business cards, receipts or ads. My grandfather actually started his printing business with a press very much like this one.  This press was manufactured and sold by the J.F.W. Dorman Company of Baltimore, Maryland, and it is very likely over one hundred years old!  After Dorman introduced his “Baltimorean press”, Baumgarten, also of Baltimore, began to copy and market nearly identical letterpresses as their “Baltimore Printing Press”.
This particular Baltimorean press fortunately still displays its original gold highlights.  Also, unlike later presses, this early one was designed with beautiful ornamental design features along the press' cast iron structure.
The 'Baltimorean' press is a Number 11, which is larger and more intricate than some of the smaller (and lower numbered) small presses.  Routinely, the type would be 'locked' (secured) into the press 'chase' in order to create the printed impression. I am including a 'copper cut' with an image which was actually used to letterpress print. I'm also including some smaller type which might have been used to print other items.
This press does not have the two rollers which, because they were made of soft rubber, have not stood the test of time. (There are places online that offer replacement rollers for these presses.)  When actually printing, rollers would 'roll over' pre-applied ink on the round platen and then 'roll' down over the type or 'cut' being held in the 'chase'. Paper, which could be inserted inside the metal flanges would then be printed on, one sheet at a time!  The press operates smoothly and efficiently with no problem--it is really a mechanical marvel and works pretty much like large commercial letterpresses ten times its size. These desktop presses come much smaller and much larger--this press is probably considered to be medium-sized. I have mounted the press to a wooden base to make it more stable in shipping and in operating.  Four holes for mounting are already in the base of the press. This press has a beautiful profile and makes a great conversation piece.
In the "arm up", open position the press is 8 ½“ high.  The dimensions of the base of the press is 4 ½” wide x 6 ½“ long, from front to back.  In the closed position 'arm back', the press is 15" long.  The chase (printing area) inside measures about 4 1/8” x 2 3/16” inches.
Often with these portable one hundred year old presses the chase is gone--just plain missing!  But in this case, fortunately, a unique custom made chase is provided with this press.  It obviously was made years ago by a master craftsman/toolmaker, and the chase is fully functional.  This custom chase is much more accurate than the rough cast iron chases usual found with these classic presses.
Also worth mentioning is that the long handle has a 'comfort sleeve' installed on it.  This sleeve makes the handle a larger diameter and make it easier on the hand when performing repeated operations.  This sleeve could be cut off and permanently removed, but I don't know why you would want to do that.
This press is truly a graphic, mechanical treasure of a bygone era!