Uncommon Press, 2016

The Uncommon Press was made by RIT students Seth Gottlieb, Ferris Nicolias, Randall Paulhamus, Veronica Hebbard, and Daniel Krull. They sought for the Uncommon Press to be pepresentative of a Common Press that 'could have been' rather than a direct replica of a specific press. It is a reconstruction using information from many similar presses from the same time period including: the Louis Ray Press at the Mackenzie Printery and Newspaper Museum in Queenston, Ontario (possibly imported from England in about 1780); James Franklin Press at the Newport Historical Society in Newport, RI (brought to colonies in 1717 by James Franklin, Benjamin Franklin’s older brother, but likely older, perhaps even late 1600s); reconstructed press made by Ralph Green in 1949-1950 based on presses from 1720-1750 at Printing Office of Edes & Gill in Boston, MA; Robert Luist Fowle Press at the Exeter Historical Society in Exeter, NH (from the very early 18th century); Dresden Press at the Vermont Historical Society Museum in Montpelier, VT (thought to be very similar time to Fowle press); Apenshaw Press at the Discovery Museum in Newcastle upon Tyne, UK (post-1750; students didn’t visit in person, but did get pictures).