Summary

This is a lithographic printing press operated by hand transfer. It was manufactured by Harrild & Sons, but the date of manufacture is unknown.

The Harrild printing press was used by Melbourne firm A. Kynoch & Co. Pty. Ltd., in the process of printing sheet music. Kynoch sold the press to Jenkin & Buxton. The companies had offices near each other in Collins Street.
Music was originally engraved using metal punches for the characters on copper plates but later pewter or zinc. Only small quantities could be printed from a copper plate. The plate was proofed in a rolling press known as a copperplate press using an ordinary printer's ink roller over the plate with green or blue ink. After proofing the plate on a rolling press using lithographic transfer paper, the image was put on stone for litho printing.
This press originally held a lithographic stone. In the 19th century music writers could write on transfer paper or directly onto the stone, bypassing the time consuming method using punches. Museum Victoria holds a set of engraving tools [ST 041277], a stone and plates from Kynoch & Co

Significance

Statement of Sugnificance:
This machine is the only lithographic transfer press in the Museum's collection.

More Information