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[sliding door opens]
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[chugging]
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What is a Linotype?
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Well, we just called it
a typesetting machine to start with...
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...because that's what it does.
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It's called a Linotype
because it makes one line of type at a time.
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[clinking]
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I try to harken it back
to those Rube Goldberg contraptions...
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It is a two-ton contrivance
that stands seven-foot tall.
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The absolute pinnacle
of Late-Victorian engineering.
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...where the canary pops the balloon...
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And they're insane!
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You couldn't explain to them what it is.
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They would just say
“Well that's just a big typewriter.”
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...and the bowling ball rolls down
and scares the cat...
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A cross between a typewriter
and a backhoe and a pop machine.
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...the canary pops the balloon, the balloon
cracks the egg, and then I have my breakfast.
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It's terribly complicated.
It was invented by a German watchmaker.
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It has cams and levers.
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There's just a lot going on.
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There's belts and pulleys,
and everything's flying around in circles.
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Things that would totally baffle most
modern-day mechanics,
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and yet, strangely enough, it works.
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It requires you know the machine
and you understand its limitations
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and understand that it can kill you.
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It burned me pretty good, yeah.
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It is very intimidating.
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I do sort of live in fear of it
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because it can
be kind of rattletrap at times.
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It gets to be your friend or your enemy,
depending upon how it's working.
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It's a fascinating machine, A,
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and B,
it's a complete career dead-end.
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I tell people that once you get ink and type
metal in your blood, it never comes out.
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It's like a love affair.
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It's one of the most complicated machines
I have ever seen,
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and it's one of the most fun things
I have ever been around.
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The great inventor, Thomas Edison
saw that machine and he says,
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“Hey, this is the Eighth Wonder
of the World.”
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A Linotype is a great means
of speeding up the production of typesetting.
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Instead of the old cumbersome method
of setting type by hand
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where you're using one hand
to pick out a piece of type at a time,
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to put it into a composing stick,
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you're instead able to sit at a keyboard,
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type as fast as you can and
as fast as the machine will let you go
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and compose type
that can then be printed from.
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You hear about people
picking things up by osmosis.
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I kind of think that's true
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because this is a case
where I watched and observed,
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and a lot of what I learned
about the Linotype, I learned from my dad.
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Oh, yes, I taught him.
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I taught him some of the basics
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of the printing operation,
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and you can see he has expanded since then.
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I tend to set maybe a few more mistakes
than my dad would,
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but he has always been willing to proofread
for me and correct those mistakes.
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I can spot a mistake a mile away.
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I can spot a misspelled word a mile away.
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It takes a special breed of person
to run it.
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I think I'm that person,
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just crazy enough to think it is fun
and just smart enough to keep it operating.
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Once the operator is done casting his slugs,
casting the page,
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he will take the slugs over
to the proofing area.
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Here we've got some of the type
that we set over on the Linotype today.
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I'm going to put it in the bed
of the proof press.
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And the slugs will be locked
into the bed of the press here
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and inked and printed
to determine if there are any flaws.
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Lock it into place
with some miscellaneous furniture.
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Hopefully, it's a clean proof
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so I don't have
to go back and re-set anything.
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Any mistakes,
any errors would go back to the composer,
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he would re-cast that slug,
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come back to the proof er, and so on
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until it was signed off on
and ready to go on the press.
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When it went to press,
it went on a press something like over here.
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Later on they learned that if you have
multiple editions or multiple presses
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in major urban centers
like New York City or Boston or Chicago,
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it's kind of a pain to proof multiple
lock-ups of type
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when you're running four presses,
six presses, eight presses at a time,
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so they would make a cast of an entire form
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and put the identical cast
on all of their presses,
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so that way they could meet
the circulation demand.
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And that is how they printed newspapers,
in volume, in the day.
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Ever since I have been very young,
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there has been some tendency for my family,
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at least on my mother's side,
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she wanted to show off her kids.
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- ♪♪ [piano]
-[Schlesinger]♪ left my heart ♪
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♪ In San Francisco ♪
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My brother and myself,
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we liked to sing and dance around the house,
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so we wound up being singers and dancers.
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- ♪♪ [piano]
- [people applauding]
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When I was nine years old,
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I was running a little printing press
in my own house.
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I think the circulation of my newspaper
was 20-- 20 people,
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all tenants in the building.
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I spent 35 years working
for The New York Times,
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and that was my life.
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And I guess I was just built
for that kind of work.
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I see other people were as well.
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They didn't think much about it maybe.
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It was just some nice work to them,
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but I was maybe more sensitive,
and I could see,
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this was the story every night,
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the story of our lives,
the story of the world's life.
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The world is being made new for tomorrow.
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What happened today,
you'll find out tomorrow,
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but we are doing it to get you
to that stage.
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[Filmstrip Narrator]
By means of printing,
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the fount of knowledge
accumulated through the ages
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is available to everyone,
rich and poor alike.
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Printing is essential to all education.
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All the other arts rely on it.
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Religious movements depend on it.
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Business could not function without it.
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Nor could government.
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The only thing available to people
in the 1400s, anywhere,
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was hand-written manuscripts.
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Books were falling apart as fast
as people were reading them,
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so the scribe was just
sort of re-creating the book
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because they were disintegrating.
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Monks, in an abbey, writing a Bible
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for months and months
and months, for one Bible.
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Once you wrote a hand written Bible,
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which took you one or two years
to produce one or two Bibles.
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That's all.
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You had produced a work of art,
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but you hadn't produced anything
for mass culture or for mass education.
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A lot of people think
that Johannes Gutenberg invented printing,
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and technically that is not true.
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People printed for centuries
before Gutenberg came along,
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but they were never really good at it.
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What Gutenberg did
was to invent the way to do it,
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which was the most efficient way,
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that involved making a press,
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one not unlike this press here.
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So all of a sudden came the printing press,
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and shortly thereafter
there were hundreds of printing presses,
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thousands of printing presses in Europe,
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and thousands upon thousands of people
were reading, were getting information,
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so it was this huge explosion,
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and people thought, probably,
“My God, how can we possibly absorb more?”
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The next big one was the Linotype.
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The Linotype is the embodiment
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of a different age,
the age when letterpress flowered,
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when it was in its grandeur,
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and the problem
is very few people know about it,
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and I still believe
that one of my roles in life
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is to help the memory of the industry.
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You had to have the Linotype machine
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because you had
an army of people setting type by hand.
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Typesetting used to be done
this way by everybody,
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one line of type at a time,
one letter at a time.
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It was slow.
It was cumbersome.
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You have a case in front of you.
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You take one letter out at a time.
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So the first thing is
you have to find the letter and select it.
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Then you have to assemble it into a line.
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Then you have to return
all of that type back into the case.
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And that was tedious, slow, hard work.
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If you have a drawer of type
and you're making a book
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and you run out of lower-case “e,"
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you've got to make more type
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or you have to break down pages
you've already made,
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so that's what they call being
“out of sorts.”
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A piece of type is called a sort.
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“Out of sorts”- you're screwed.
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[Romano] There was money to be made
in mechanized typesetting
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because newspapers
had a phenomenal investment
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in the number of people
required to set type by hand,
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00:10:17,698 --> 00:10:20,116
so there had to be
some method of mechanization,
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and that's what they were looking for.
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And so they began to look
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at the various processes
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and try to think of ways
of speeding them up.
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They tried all kinds of schemes.
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They tried having a funnel
and dropping the letters in,
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trying to line them up- all kinds of ideas,
anything they could think of.
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From the 1860s to the 1880s,
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there must have been 50 or 60
different attempts to mechanize typesetting.
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I'm standing in front
of the Paige Compositor,
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a machine that had a very big role
in Mark Twain's life.
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[Romano] The most famous investor
was the American novelist Mark Twain,
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who invested most of his fortune
in the Paige Compositor,
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which did not work
and forced him to go bankrupt.
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But generally speaking,
all through the 19th century,
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hand composition was the norm,
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00:11:04,703 --> 00:11:09,703
and it wasn't until the final years,
about the 1880s, 1890s
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that serious attempts were made.
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But none of the people
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00:11:13,462 --> 00:11:17,257
who started down the road to invent
a mechanized typesetting machine succeeded.
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00:11:17,258 --> 00:11:22,258
The one success came by accident.
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It all starts because a stenographer
wants to transcribe his notes faster.
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00:11:28,018 --> 00:11:31,396
James Ogilvie Clephane was a stenographer.
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00:11:31,397 --> 00:11:32,897
He had worked in Lincoln's cabinet,
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00:11:32,898 --> 00:11:37,402
was the fastest and most accurate
stenographer of his day.
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He's so famous
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because of the fact
that he can get his notes done fast
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00:11:41,073 --> 00:11:42,866
and get them to all the lawyers
and to the judge.
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00:11:42,867 --> 00:11:44,325
The way he did that
201
00:11:44,326 --> 00:11:45,994
was he used something
called a “Litho Stone,"
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a polished stone using lithography,
203
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where the image is backwards,
204
00:11:50,833 --> 00:11:54,210
and then you could reproduce
as many copies as you wanted.
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00:11:54,211 --> 00:11:57,172
And he saw one brilliant way
of using the typewriter.
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00:11:57,173 --> 00:12:00,758
“Why don't I take the paper,
after I type on it, the ink is still wet,
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00:12:00,759 --> 00:12:04,137
I'll turn it over and I'll rub the ink
onto the litho stone,
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00:12:04,138 --> 00:12:05,305
so now it's backwards."
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00:12:05,306 --> 00:12:07,307
What a phenomenal idea!
210
00:12:07,308 --> 00:12:12,308
The problem is the ink dries at different
levels on the paper.
211
00:12:14,064 --> 00:12:15,773
So he has the idea,
212
00:12:15,774 --> 00:12:17,650
but the typewriter
is not going to do it for him.
213
00:12:17,651 --> 00:12:20,778
So he finds an engineer
named Charles T. Moore.
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00:12:20,779 --> 00:12:22,780
Moore comes up with an idea for a device
215
00:12:22,781 --> 00:12:25,491
with a cylinder,
a typewriter keyboard, with a ribbon,
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00:12:25,492 --> 00:12:28,703
and instead of doing a page,
it does a line.
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00:12:28,704 --> 00:12:32,498
You cut it apart, and then
you rub the ink down onto the litho stone.
218
00:12:32,499 --> 00:12:34,584
This machine is not quite doing
what Clephane wants,
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00:12:34,585 --> 00:12:37,378
so they go to a machine shop
called Hahl & Company,
220
00:12:37,379 --> 00:12:39,422
and there they meet a German immigrant,
221
00:12:39,423 --> 00:12:43,885
a new American, named Ottmar Mergenthaler.
222
00:12:43,886 --> 00:12:48,681
[fireworks exploding]
223
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Mergenthaler helps them develop
some of the ideas for this machine,
224
00:12:51,310 --> 00:12:52,894
but says, “lt's really not going to work.
225
00:12:52,895 --> 00:12:54,646
It's not going to do what you want it to do.”
226
00:12:54,647 --> 00:12:56,481
He helps them develop another version of it,
227
00:12:56,482 --> 00:12:58,149
but it doesn't do it either.
228
00:12:58,150 --> 00:12:59,692
He says, “No. The only way
229
00:12:59,693 --> 00:13:04,693
is that you are going to have to find
a way of using actual type.”
230
00:13:06,408 --> 00:13:08,034
Well, Clephane has another brainstorm.
231
00:13:08,035 --> 00:13:10,828
He says, “When you use the typewriter,
it impacts the paper.
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00:13:10,829 --> 00:13:11,996
There is pressure there.”
233
00:13:11,997 --> 00:13:14,958
“Why can't we use this new material
called papier-maché?”
234
00:13:14,959 --> 00:13:16,042
They raise money,
235
00:13:16,043 --> 00:13:19,045
and they develop a machine
which we call the “First Band Machine,"
236
00:13:19,046 --> 00:13:21,339
and all the letters are on a metal band,
237
00:13:21,340 --> 00:13:22,548
and they are all sticking out.
238
00:13:22,549 --> 00:13:23,841
They're all in relief.
239
00:13:23,842 --> 00:13:25,134
You hit the keys, and they line up,
240
00:13:25,135 --> 00:13:27,053
all the characters in the line.
241
00:13:27,054 --> 00:13:28,846
You force the papier-maché into it,
242
00:13:28,847 --> 00:13:30,682
and then you get an impression.
243
00:13:30,683 --> 00:13:33,726
You then put it down,
put molten metal into it,
244
00:13:33,727 --> 00:13:35,853
and you get a line of type.
245
00:13:35,854 --> 00:13:40,854
Great idea, doesn't really work.
246
00:13:42,278 --> 00:13:43,528
They raise more money,
247
00:13:43,529 --> 00:13:45,113
and they develop
the Second Band Machine,
248
00:13:45,114 --> 00:13:49,033
and this time
all the letters are recessed into the bands.
249
00:13:49,034 --> 00:13:50,243
So you line up all the bands.
250
00:13:50,244 --> 00:13:52,495
You have have one line.
You force molten metal in-
251
00:13:52,496 --> 00:13:53,621
no more papier-maché-
252
00:13:53,622 --> 00:13:55,039
you get a line of type out.
253
00:13:55,040 --> 00:13:58,126
Okay, it worked,
but every letter is the same width,
254
00:13:58,127 --> 00:14:00,878
so the capital “M” is as wide
as the lower-case
255
00:14:00,879 --> 00:14:05,879
so typographically, it's not very good.
256
00:14:06,051 --> 00:14:08,052
So Mergenthaler realizes at that point
257
00:14:08,053 --> 00:14:10,388
that every letter
has to be an individual unit
258
00:14:10,389 --> 00:14:13,266
so it can be whatever width is appropriate
for the design of the character.
259
00:14:13,267 --> 00:14:15,143
He has to take the band
260
00:14:15,144 --> 00:14:16,394
and cut it into pieces
261
00:14:16,395 --> 00:14:20,481
so that every letter is an individual unit.
262
00:14:20,482 --> 00:14:23,276
He can move those units around the machine
263
00:14:23,277 --> 00:14:24,694
and then assemble them into a line.
264
00:14:24,695 --> 00:14:26,237
So they now raise more money.
265
00:14:26,238 --> 00:14:29,365
At that point, Mergenthaler
creates the Blower Machine,
266
00:14:29,366 --> 00:14:31,576
which uses the individual matrix
267
00:14:31,577 --> 00:14:36,577
that moves the matrix
around the machine and actually can work.
268
00:14:41,337 --> 00:14:43,963
The Linotype machine changed the world,
269
00:14:43,964 --> 00:14:48,426
and it all started because a stenographer
wanted to transcribe his notes.
270
00:14:48,427 --> 00:14:51,929
[Filmstrip Narrator]
It was in fact a modern feat of engineering.
271
00:14:51,930 --> 00:14:56,267
Hard metal molds for letters of
the alphabet, called matrices,
272
00:14:56,268 --> 00:15:00,855
could now be brought into contact
with molten type metal.
273
00:15:00,856 --> 00:15:04,400
The result? A metal bar of type,
274
00:15:04,401 --> 00:15:06,486
a linotype.
275
00:15:06,487 --> 00:15:08,780
The inventor's name was Ottmar Mergen-taller.
276
00:15:08,781 --> 00:15:10,990
Otto Mergenthaler.
277
00:15:10,991 --> 00:15:12,325
Ottmar Mergen-Thaler.
278
00:15:12,326 --> 00:15:14,744
Ottmar Ludwig Mergentailer.
279
00:15:14,745 --> 00:15:17,080
The “th” is not pronounced.
280
00:15:17,081 --> 00:15:22,081
It's just “Mergen-Taler.”
281
00:15:24,505 --> 00:15:27,882
He was a watch maker, I think, by profession,
a watch and clock maker,
282
00:15:27,883 --> 00:15:32,720
so he was used to dealing
with precision engineering work.
283
00:15:32,721 --> 00:15:34,972
If he built pieces and parts
for a wrist-watch,
284
00:15:34,973 --> 00:15:36,432
they had to be exactly right.
285
00:15:36,433 --> 00:15:39,268
You couldn't have them a little too big,
a little too small.
286
00:15:39,269 --> 00:15:40,978
You're not going to keep
time that way.
287
00:15:40,979 --> 00:15:44,565
He takes night courses
in electricity and mechanics
288
00:15:44,566 --> 00:15:48,236
and starts to realize that he is going to be
drafted into the Prussian Army.
289
00:15:48,237 --> 00:15:49,987
He did not want that to happen,
290
00:15:49,988 --> 00:15:51,656
his parents didn't want that to happen,
291
00:15:51,657 --> 00:15:53,908
and they finally made some arrangement
292
00:15:53,909 --> 00:15:56,327
where he was sent out of the country.
293
00:15:56,328 --> 00:15:59,288
He comes to the United States in 1872.
294
00:15:59,289 --> 00:16:03,292
In fact, he comes off the ship
called the SS Berlin,
295
00:16:03,293 --> 00:16:04,919
where he came over in steerage,
296
00:16:04,920 --> 00:16:06,337
with a wooden suitcase,
297
00:16:06,338 --> 00:16:09,841
and it was at a place
called Locust Point in Baltimore,
298
00:16:09,842 --> 00:16:13,344
where, some years later,
he would have his own factory.
299
00:16:13,345 --> 00:16:15,096
He made something that was right,
300
00:16:15,097 --> 00:16:17,765
and you could repeat it exactly the same,
301
00:16:17,766 --> 00:16:22,395
and there are a lot of watch making qualities
in that Linotype machine.
302
00:16:22,396 --> 00:16:24,188
He was the creative genius behind this.
303
00:16:24,189 --> 00:16:27,358
Somebody else gave him the germ of the idea,
304
00:16:27,359 --> 00:16:32,359
but it was his genius that made
the Linotype and made it successful.
305
00:16:35,909 --> 00:16:37,493
[Filmstrip Narrator]
Son of humble parents,
306
00:16:37,494 --> 00:16:39,036
apprentice clock maker,
307
00:16:39,037 --> 00:16:41,330
immigrant, skilled craftsman,
308
00:16:41,331 --> 00:16:43,416
inventor in 1886
309
00:16:43,417 --> 00:16:46,252
of a machine
that revolutionized an industry,
310
00:16:46,253 --> 00:16:50,465
a machine that pulled the mind of humanity
forward a thousand years
311
00:16:50,466 --> 00:16:52,967
in the space of a generation.
312
00:16:52,968 --> 00:16:55,178
The Linotype gave you the mechanization
313
00:16:55,179 --> 00:17:00,179
so that one person could do the work of six.
314
00:17:08,942 --> 00:17:12,111
It could set type six times faster
than a man could,
315
00:17:12,112 --> 00:17:15,615
and you didn't have to throw the type
back in the type case when you were finished.
316
00:17:15,616 --> 00:17:18,326
The hand compositors, the typesetters,
317
00:17:18,327 --> 00:17:22,079
when they heard, “Oh there's a machine
that's going to come and replace you,”
318
00:17:22,080 --> 00:17:23,581
they started to worry, I'm sure,
319
00:17:23,582 --> 00:17:25,958
because they thought,
“Oh, we're going to be out of a job,”
320
00:17:25,959 --> 00:17:27,084
but no such thing.
321
00:17:27,085 --> 00:17:29,587
Because the Linotype
was such an effective device
322
00:17:29,588 --> 00:17:30,963
and it replaced all these people,
323
00:17:30,964 --> 00:17:33,841
within a decade after the Linotype,
324
00:17:33,842 --> 00:17:36,594
they were up to the same number
of people they had with handset type
325
00:17:36,595 --> 00:17:39,931
because the Linotype generated
so much need for typesetting
326
00:17:39,932 --> 00:17:41,641
for books and magazines and newspapers.
327
00:17:41,642 --> 00:17:45,102
The way that this machine
transformed information
328
00:17:45,103 --> 00:17:46,979
is probably
its most significant achievement.
329
00:17:46,980 --> 00:17:50,233
If you look at literacy in the United States,
330
00:17:50,234 --> 00:17:52,485
before the Linotype and after the Linotype,
331
00:17:52,486 --> 00:17:53,945
there's a gigantic jump
332
00:17:53,946 --> 00:17:56,113
because now you can set type faster,
333
00:17:56,114 --> 00:17:59,200
and because you can set type faster,
you can print faster.
334
00:17:59,201 --> 00:18:01,118
So you look then
at the number of books published
335
00:18:01,119 --> 00:18:03,204
in the United States after the Linotype,
336
00:18:03,205 --> 00:18:04,413
look at the number of magazines,
337
00:18:04,414 --> 00:18:06,374
look at the number
of new newspapers that started.
338
00:18:06,375 --> 00:18:10,127
It was important because it made printing
that much more affordable to the masses,
339
00:18:10,128 --> 00:18:12,046
not just in America but around the world.
340
00:18:12,047 --> 00:18:13,965
Without the Linotype machine
341
00:18:13,966 --> 00:18:15,758
and the speed that it came up with,
342
00:18:15,759 --> 00:18:18,803
you would not have the communications
system that you have now.
343
00:18:18,804 --> 00:18:20,513
It's really something,
344
00:18:20,514 --> 00:18:24,141
to think that just
a machine that makes letters,
345
00:18:24,142 --> 00:18:26,769
from a German immigrant from Baltimore,
346
00:18:26,770 --> 00:18:31,770
could have such a deep effect
on people and society.
347
00:18:41,827 --> 00:18:43,160
I'm Davin Kuntze.
348
00:18:43,161 --> 00:18:44,579
I'm 34 years old.
349
00:18:44,580 --> 00:18:45,788
I'm a Linotype operator.
350
00:18:45,789 --> 00:18:48,291
I have people come in to see the shop.
351
00:18:48,292 --> 00:18:50,376
We have students
come in from schools all the time,
352
00:18:50,377 --> 00:18:53,170
and they just are in awe.
353
00:18:53,171 --> 00:18:55,506
They have no idea
what this thing is or how it works,
354
00:18:55,507 --> 00:18:57,341
and I show them how the type is distributed
355
00:18:57,342 --> 00:19:00,386
back into the magazines, and it's magic.
356
00:19:00,387 --> 00:19:03,681
I like the fact that it is old.
I like the fact of the way it works.
357
00:19:03,682 --> 00:19:05,182
It's not like a computer that I look at
358
00:19:05,183 --> 00:19:10,183
and I don't understand how the circuit boards
are making stuff do what it does.
359
00:19:10,188 --> 00:19:13,858
I'm incredibly happy
that I know how it works.
360
00:19:13,859 --> 00:19:18,859
It's very impressive to the women.
361
00:19:19,197 --> 00:19:22,908
[Filmstrip Narrator] The operations
necessary to produce a slug or line of type
362
00:19:22,909 --> 00:19:25,077
are divided into three groups-
363
00:19:25,078 --> 00:19:27,288
composition of the matrix line,
364
00:19:27,289 --> 00:19:28,956
casting of the slug,
365
00:19:28,957 --> 00:19:31,208
distribution of the matrices.
366
00:19:31,209 --> 00:19:33,711
The operator, depressing the keys,
367
00:19:33,712 --> 00:19:37,214
releases matrices from the magazine channel.
368
00:19:37,215 --> 00:19:40,593
The matrices are delivered
to the assembly elevator
369
00:19:40,594 --> 00:19:42,386
in the correct sequence.
370
00:19:42,387 --> 00:19:45,014
Here's a close-up of some mats.
371
00:19:45,015 --> 00:19:47,975
You can see the letter
that has been punched, or engraved,
372
00:19:47,976 --> 00:19:51,854
into which the molten type metal
is going to be injected.
373
00:19:51,855 --> 00:19:54,815
The line of matrices
is sent to the casting unit.
374
00:19:54,816 --> 00:19:57,026
Against the opening of this mold,
375
00:19:57,027 --> 00:20:00,112
the mats will fit perfectly.
376
00:20:00,113 --> 00:20:03,783
The plunger injects the molten type metal
into the mold.
377
00:20:03,784 --> 00:20:07,912
The slug is ejected into the galley.
378
00:20:07,913 --> 00:20:09,455
At the same time,
379
00:20:09,456 --> 00:20:12,625
the matrices are transferred
to the second elevator
380
00:20:12,626 --> 00:20:14,251
and raised to the distributor.
381
00:20:14,252 --> 00:20:19,252
Here, they are returned to their respective
channels in the magazine.
382
00:20:35,065 --> 00:20:37,983
It's incredible, the thought power
383
00:20:37,984 --> 00:20:40,403
that went into figuring out
how this machine works.
384
00:20:40,404 --> 00:20:41,904
I can't even wrap my head around it
385
00:20:41,905 --> 00:20:44,573
reading the manuals,
let alone try to figure it out.
386
00:20:44,574 --> 00:20:47,702
We would call this a “type matrix,"
387
00:20:47,703 --> 00:20:52,703
and this is of course
a size to explain to people
388
00:20:52,999 --> 00:20:54,166
because it has to be seen.
389
00:20:54,167 --> 00:20:57,128
The mats, these are little things like this,
390
00:20:57,129 --> 00:20:59,046
and they come in all different sizes.
391
00:20:59,047 --> 00:21:02,007
The heart and soul of the Linotype machine
is the matrix.
392
00:21:02,008 --> 00:21:04,301
[Filmstrip Narrator]
This small piece of brass
393
00:21:04,302 --> 00:21:06,595
performs a vitally important job.
394
00:21:06,596 --> 00:21:09,473
It's a matrix, a mold for a letter.
395
00:21:09,474 --> 00:21:14,474
It forms, together with other matrices,
a word in type...
396
00:21:17,315 --> 00:21:19,900
and then a line of words in type,
397
00:21:19,901 --> 00:21:24,697
a Linotype.
398
00:21:24,698 --> 00:21:27,199
This is what sets the type.
This is why it's a typesetting machine.
399
00:21:27,200 --> 00:21:29,368
Everything else is to make this work.
400
00:21:29,369 --> 00:21:34,369
This is a mat that actually went through
60 different processes to be manufactured.
401
00:21:35,167 --> 00:21:37,251
[Romano]
The tooth combination in every matrix
402
00:21:37,252 --> 00:21:40,713
matched up to the channel in the magazine,
403
00:21:40,714 --> 00:21:44,884
so as the matrices went to the top,
they went along the distributor bar
404
00:21:44,885 --> 00:21:46,844
and then fell back into the proper channels.
405
00:21:46,845 --> 00:21:48,763
I'll sometimes be setting
line after line of type,
406
00:21:48,764 --> 00:21:50,014
and then I just stop
407
00:21:50,015 --> 00:21:51,766
and kind of stare at the return
408
00:21:51,767 --> 00:21:56,767
and watch them drop down...
409
00:21:58,356 --> 00:22:00,441
and then realize
I'm supposed to be doing work.
410
00:22:00,442 --> 00:22:03,194
[Filmstrip Narrator]
A steel wedge known as a space band
411
00:22:03,195 --> 00:22:06,572
is assembled between one word and the next.
412
00:22:06,573 --> 00:22:08,407
At one point,
when the line goes over to be cast,
413
00:22:08,408 --> 00:22:11,118
it forces the wedge up,
414
00:22:11,119 --> 00:22:14,497
and as it goes up,
it expands the space between the words,
415
00:22:14,498 --> 00:22:16,916
justifying everything
to the left and right hand margins.
416
00:22:16,917 --> 00:22:19,460
Strange keyboard- if you don't know
anything about the keyboard-
417
00:22:19,461 --> 00:22:21,045
has 90 keys on it.
418
00:22:21,046 --> 00:22:22,880
It starts out with the most used letter,
419
00:22:22,881 --> 00:22:24,632
which is the lowercase 'e',
420
00:22:24,633 --> 00:22:29,303
and it goes “e, t, a, o, I, n,
s, h, r, d, I, u,
421
00:22:29,304 --> 00:22:33,766
c, m, f, w, y, p,
v, b, g, k. q, I. X. 1-”
422
00:22:33,767 --> 00:22:38,103
So Ottmar put all the lowercase letters on
one side, based on frequency of letter use,
423
00:22:38,104 --> 00:22:39,730
all the caps on the other side,
424
00:22:39,731 --> 00:22:41,148
and everything else in the middle.
425
00:22:41,149 --> 00:22:42,525
So you look at the keyboard.
426
00:22:42,526 --> 00:22:45,736
It's “e, t, a, o, I, n, s, h, r, d, I, u" -
427
00:22:45,737 --> 00:22:47,279
“etaoin shrdlu.”
428
00:22:47,280 --> 00:22:49,114
Now, the reason that became famous
429
00:22:49,115 --> 00:22:52,409
was there's no backspace key
or delete key on a Linotype.
430
00:22:52,410 --> 00:22:53,577
If you've made a mistake-
431
00:22:53,578 --> 00:22:55,120
when you started typing,
you made a mistake-
432
00:22:55,121 --> 00:22:57,248
you started in the wrong line or whatever-
433
00:22:57,249 --> 00:22:59,208
you couldn't abort easily,
434
00:22:59,209 --> 00:23:02,169
so what you would do is run your finger down
the first two rows of keys.
435
00:23:02,170 --> 00:23:04,505
And then when the slug came out
and it said “etaoin shrdlu,"
436
00:23:04,506 --> 00:23:05,965
you'd throw it back into the pot,
437
00:23:05,966 --> 00:23:07,633
and no one would
know what was going on,
438
00:23:07,634 --> 00:23:09,969
but what would happen, as fate would have it,
439
00:23:09,970 --> 00:23:11,804
is that that would wind up in print,
440
00:23:11,805 --> 00:23:14,431
and so all through the '20s and '30s and '40s
441
00:23:14,432 --> 00:23:16,475
that was a big joke in the printing industry.
442
00:23:16,476 --> 00:23:21,476
Who is “etaoin shrdlu”?
443
00:23:26,444 --> 00:23:30,489
The Linotype machine was important
on several aspects.
444
00:23:30,490 --> 00:23:35,490
The most important of all of them
is its contribution to journalism
445
00:23:35,662 --> 00:23:38,205
because, whether things
are looking nice or not,
446
00:23:38,206 --> 00:23:43,206
the ability to have a newspaper coming
out every day is non-negotiable.
447
00:23:47,924 --> 00:23:52,303
This is a shrine to the First Amendment.
Part of that is the history of news.
448
00:23:52,304 --> 00:23:57,304
That's where we are right now.
We're in the news gallery at the Newseum.
449
00:24:00,020 --> 00:24:05,020
Right behind me you'll see front pages
from 1940 to 1945.
450
00:24:05,358 --> 00:24:07,610
We're seeing all of World War ll right here,
451
00:24:07,611 --> 00:24:09,820
and every one of these papers
452
00:24:09,821 --> 00:24:11,947
was set with a Linotype machine
453
00:24:11,948 --> 00:24:15,117
by a guy probably in a very hot room,
454
00:24:15,118 --> 00:24:18,787
really squinting to get
every single word right.
455
00:24:18,788 --> 00:24:23,167
So Linotype was able to take the words
of a few people
456
00:24:23,168 --> 00:24:25,502
and make them available
for a larger audience
457
00:24:25,503 --> 00:24:27,546
because it made
newspaper production possible.
458
00:24:27,547 --> 00:24:29,965
It's this machine that made it possible
459
00:24:29,966 --> 00:24:33,636
for newspapers to print two,
sometimes even three editions a day.
460
00:24:33,637 --> 00:24:38,515
The newspapers went from eight pages
to 48 pages almost overnight.
461
00:24:38,516 --> 00:24:40,559
The cost of newspapers was driven down.
462
00:24:40,560 --> 00:24:42,311
It used to be a dime and a nickel a piece.
463
00:24:42,312 --> 00:24:45,230
Pretty soon you saw the New York papers
selling for a penny a piece.
464
00:24:45,231 --> 00:24:47,358
You can take longer stories.
465
00:24:47,359 --> 00:24:49,234
You can take more stories.
466
00:24:49,235 --> 00:24:50,903
You can print more often.
467
00:24:50,904 --> 00:24:52,529
You can print faster.
468
00:24:52,530 --> 00:24:54,615
They had to have content
that would attract readers.
469
00:24:54,616 --> 00:24:57,952
Therefore the stories
became more salacious.
470
00:24:57,953 --> 00:24:59,536
The headlines became larger.
471
00:24:59,537 --> 00:25:02,456
If it involved a murder
or sex or gambling,
472
00:25:02,457 --> 00:25:04,458
it was sure to draw readers in.
473
00:25:04,459 --> 00:25:09,254
Even today with the gossip channel,
TMZ.com, Twitter,
474
00:25:09,255 --> 00:25:11,340
they got to know now, the latest joke,
475
00:25:11,341 --> 00:25:12,925
the latest have-you-seen-it,
476
00:25:12,926 --> 00:25:15,803
the latest Web video,
viral or what have you.
477
00:25:15,804 --> 00:25:20,804
It's the instantaneousness of the fact
that drives the business.
478
00:25:23,603 --> 00:25:26,855
[Filmstrip Narrator] The need to read,
which serves the very souls of men,
479
00:25:26,856 --> 00:25:30,985
is more evident in the present era
of progress than ever before.
480
00:25:30,986 --> 00:25:32,778
Publishers, bookstores, and newsstands
481
00:25:32,779 --> 00:25:37,199
pour out thousands of books, magazines,
and newspapers every day
482
00:25:37,200 --> 00:25:41,078
to inform, instruct, and amuse.
483
00:25:41,079 --> 00:25:43,455
The greater part of these printed materials
484
00:25:43,456 --> 00:25:48,456
are made possible by various types
of mechanical typesetting.
485
00:25:48,503 --> 00:25:53,173
Machines which set type up in lines,
cast from molten metal,
486
00:25:53,174 --> 00:25:55,801
first introduced
at the close of the last century,
487
00:25:55,802 --> 00:25:58,721
are now the most widely used.
488
00:25:58,722 --> 00:26:02,391
Linotype was one of the most profitable
companies you can possibly imagine.
489
00:26:02,392 --> 00:26:04,101
Newspapers had to buy machines.
490
00:26:04,102 --> 00:26:06,895
They had to buy new fonts.
They had to buy mats that wore out.
491
00:26:06,896 --> 00:26:08,522
They had to buy parts for the machine.
492
00:26:08,523 --> 00:26:11,108
They had to buy service
for the machine where it was necessary.
493
00:26:11,109 --> 00:26:16,109
The Linotype company was a “cash cow.”
494
00:26:20,618 --> 00:26:21,952
Beginning in 1886
495
00:26:21,953 --> 00:26:23,912
the Linotype spread rapidly
496
00:26:23,913 --> 00:26:25,622
through the United States and Canada,
497
00:26:25,623 --> 00:26:28,083
but almost simultaneously in Western Europe
498
00:26:28,084 --> 00:26:29,376
and the English-speaking world
499
00:26:29,377 --> 00:26:30,627
because of the British Empire.
500
00:26:30,628 --> 00:26:32,171
And by 1928,
501
00:26:32,172 --> 00:26:33,714
the Linotype reigned supreme
502
00:26:33,715 --> 00:26:38,715
as the primary typesetting device
throughout the world.
503
00:26:46,644 --> 00:26:49,772
But Mergenthaler's biggest problem
is he can't stop inventing.
504
00:26:49,773 --> 00:26:52,191
He keeps improving the machine.
505
00:26:52,192 --> 00:26:53,901
He keeps coming up with new ideas,
506
00:26:53,902 --> 00:26:56,445
and the problem is the investors
want to be able to ship machines
507
00:26:56,446 --> 00:26:59,698
and make money from them.
508
00:26:59,699 --> 00:27:01,450
He ruled with an iron hand.
509
00:27:01,451 --> 00:27:03,452
Just the way he ruled his workers
at the newspaper,
510
00:27:03,453 --> 00:27:08,332
he ruled everybody at the company.
511
00:27:08,333 --> 00:27:10,793
Whitelaw Reid
wanted to make money very fast.
512
00:27:10,794 --> 00:27:12,878
Ottmar didn't want to build
the machines that fast.
513
00:27:12,879 --> 00:27:16,757
There's a picture of Whitelaw Reid
standing next to Mergenthaler.
514
00:27:16,758 --> 00:27:18,926
He was listening to what Mergenthaler said,
515
00:27:18,927 --> 00:27:21,345
but Mergenthaler
was not an equal to him.
516
00:27:21,346 --> 00:27:23,680
[Romano]
So they start to become at loggerheads.
517
00:27:23,681 --> 00:27:28,681
It gets to a point where Reid starts
really hinting that the machine is bad.
518
00:27:29,354 --> 00:27:31,313
“The machine's not
doing what it's supposed to do."
519
00:27:31,314 --> 00:27:32,731
What he was doing that for
520
00:27:32,732 --> 00:27:36,068
was basically he thought
the stock price would go lower.
521
00:27:36,069 --> 00:27:37,277
He would buy more of it.
522
00:27:37,278 --> 00:27:39,696
He wanted to control the whole thing himself,
523
00:27:39,697 --> 00:27:42,825
and from all the records
that are still out there,
524
00:27:42,826 --> 00:27:47,037
he should be ashamed
of what he was doing.
525
00:27:47,038 --> 00:27:49,081
Ottmar was a perfectionist,
526
00:27:49,082 --> 00:27:51,208
and, again, he couldn't stop inventing.
527
00:27:51,209 --> 00:27:53,544
This is another thing that drove Reid crazy.
528
00:27:53,545 --> 00:27:55,254
Reid had his own set of problems.
529
00:27:55,255 --> 00:27:57,631
He was a taskmaster.
He was demanding.
530
00:27:57,632 --> 00:27:58,924
He wanted everything immediately.
531
00:27:58,925 --> 00:28:00,843
He put a lot of pressure on Mergenthaler,
532
00:28:00,844 --> 00:28:03,137
but Mergenthaler
put a lot of pressure on himself.
533
00:28:03,138 --> 00:28:08,138
But he also had the problem
of working very late at night.
534
00:28:08,393 --> 00:28:11,145
He had a family to take care of and afford,
535
00:28:11,146 --> 00:28:14,857
and with all those things,
his health began to go.
536
00:28:14,858 --> 00:28:19,069
Ottmar Mergenthaler unfortunately died
of tuberculosis when he was about 44.
537
00:28:19,070 --> 00:28:22,990
He didn't live to see the great success
that the Linotype eventually became.
538
00:28:22,991 --> 00:28:24,366
If he deserves anything,
539
00:28:24,367 --> 00:28:29,163
he deserves the respect of being
the person that we should be thanking.
540
00:28:29,164 --> 00:28:30,789
Thank you for what you've done.
541
00:28:30,790 --> 00:28:34,334
You've put the world 300 years ahead
542
00:28:34,335 --> 00:28:36,587
by inventing the Linotype machine.
543
00:28:36,588 --> 00:28:39,506
It's almost the story of the American dream.
544
00:28:39,507 --> 00:28:41,758
He comes to America with nothing.
545
00:28:41,759 --> 00:28:43,760
He goes on to invent the machine
546
00:28:43,761 --> 00:28:45,012
that will change the world,
547
00:28:45,013 --> 00:28:50,013
and yet almost no one knows who he was.
548
00:29:17,212 --> 00:29:20,505
That is the first question people ask me
when they find out I'm the Public Printer.
549
00:29:20,506 --> 00:29:23,842
They want to know if I print money,
and I say “No,”
550
00:29:23,843 --> 00:29:25,969
and then they say,
“Well, can you get me my passport?”
551
00:29:25,970 --> 00:29:28,180
And I say “No," and then they just move on.
552
00:29:28,181 --> 00:29:32,267
We print the Congressional Record,
the Federal Register.
553
00:29:32,268 --> 00:29:34,895
We print the Code of Federal Regulations
554
00:29:34,896 --> 00:29:38,565
We've printed
every significant historical document
555
00:29:38,566 --> 00:29:41,860
in the life of the nation since 1861.
556
00:29:41,861 --> 00:29:45,113
So our first big historic job was probably
557
00:29:45,114 --> 00:29:47,950
the printing of
the Emancipation Proclamation in 1862.
558
00:29:47,951 --> 00:29:51,286
The stumbling block,
in terms of efficiency and speed,
559
00:29:51,287 --> 00:29:54,248
was that we set everything by hand,
560
00:29:54,249 --> 00:29:56,708
and when we really turned
the equation around
561
00:29:56,709 --> 00:30:01,709
from minutes-per-line to lines-per-minute,
562
00:30:01,923 --> 00:30:03,840
our work here just exploded.
563
00:30:03,841 --> 00:30:06,426
Well, the Linotype battery at GPO,
as far as I know,
564
00:30:06,427 --> 00:30:09,388
was probably the largest in the world.
565
00:30:09,389 --> 00:30:12,975
I think there was about 150 in total,
throughout the building,
566
00:30:12,976 --> 00:30:15,227
and it was just something to see,
567
00:30:15,228 --> 00:30:18,772
all those machines lined
up the full length of the building,
568
00:30:18,773 --> 00:30:20,857
and the noise was pretty loud,
569
00:30:20,858 --> 00:30:24,152
all of those machines running
at the same time, pinging away,
570
00:30:24,153 --> 00:30:26,863
and men shouting and moving around.
571
00:30:26,864 --> 00:30:30,117
It was almost like
a ballet of machinery and men
572
00:30:30,118 --> 00:30:32,869
moving around,
trying to get this thing done
573
00:30:32,870 --> 00:30:37,870
because every night
The Record had to get out.
574
00:30:41,796 --> 00:30:46,300
It's just fascinating how every piece
is an integral part,
575
00:30:46,301 --> 00:30:49,803
of one action leads to another action.
576
00:30:49,804 --> 00:30:54,804
I've just found that to be
as interesting as hell.
577
00:30:56,477 --> 00:30:59,354
I was a Linotype machinist.
I repaired them.
578
00:30:59,355 --> 00:31:02,441
Worked with a head machinist
579
00:31:02,442 --> 00:31:07,195
who was a little reluctant
on teaching me at first
580
00:31:07,196 --> 00:31:11,908
because he noticed I had two fingers gone,
so he didn't figure I'd be able to do it.
581
00:31:11,909 --> 00:31:13,368
He used to go out for lunch everyday,
582
00:31:13,369 --> 00:31:14,619
and while he was gone for lunch,
583
00:31:14,620 --> 00:31:16,705
of course I had to cover the 11 machines,
584
00:31:16,706 --> 00:31:19,708
I'd make sure I took one of them apart,
585
00:31:19,709 --> 00:31:22,919
and when he came back,
he'd see that I had taken it apart.
586
00:31:22,920 --> 00:31:24,546
He'd hit the roof, but that was okay.
587
00:31:24,547 --> 00:31:26,298
He had to put it back together again.
588
00:31:26,299 --> 00:31:28,717
In the meantime I was looking
over his shoulder,
589
00:31:28,718 --> 00:31:33,718
garnishing all of his knowledge.
590
00:31:36,642 --> 00:31:39,394
What's really nice is when you come across
591
00:31:39,395 --> 00:31:43,690
some of the old-timers
that used to run these machines.
592
00:31:43,691 --> 00:31:48,570
They just love it
when they see a running machine.
593
00:31:48,571 --> 00:31:53,075
They'll be out in the hallway,
594
00:31:53,076 --> 00:31:55,410
and you hear the click-click-click,
595
00:31:55,411 --> 00:32:00,411
and all of a sudden they're attracted
like mice to cheese, coming in the door
596
00:32:00,583 --> 00:32:02,084
because they hear that sound.
597
00:32:02,085 --> 00:32:06,296
You've got the clink of the matrices
as they fall down into the assembling tray.
598
00:32:06,297 --> 00:32:09,424
You've got the sounds of the mold disc
being pushed up against it.
599
00:32:09,425 --> 00:32:12,386
You've got all 13 cams
spinning at the same time.
600
00:32:12,387 --> 00:32:14,721
You're adding all of these different sounds
601
00:32:14,722 --> 00:32:17,140
to the whirring sound that's been going,
602
00:32:17,141 --> 00:32:19,768
reassuring you that the machine is on
and that it's working right.
603
00:32:19,769 --> 00:32:22,020
The whirr-
[imitates sound]
604
00:32:22,021 --> 00:32:24,064
Then you hear-
[whooshes]
605
00:32:24,065 --> 00:32:25,524
Just a little tap noise.
606
00:32:25,525 --> 00:32:28,819
Click-click.
There's a clink, which is the spaceband.
607
00:32:28,820 --> 00:32:30,070
Vroom, click.
608
00:32:30,071 --> 00:32:31,613
The elevator moves down.
609
00:32:31,614 --> 00:32:33,198
You hear it go-
[imitates sound]
610
00:32:33,199 --> 00:32:36,701
Clink, and then you hear the sound of a-
[whooshes]
611
00:32:36,702 --> 00:32:39,830
And then that last line comes out
and goes clunk
612
00:32:39,831 --> 00:32:40,914
and drops in place.
613
00:32:40,915 --> 00:32:43,291
And then that's followed
by the cascade of mats
614
00:32:43,292 --> 00:32:46,711
as they fall back down
into the distributor, down into the magazine,
615
00:32:46,712 --> 00:32:50,090
and you hear that brass-against-brass sound
as the mats hit each other.
616
00:32:50,091 --> 00:32:53,009
You'd hear clink-clink-clink,
clink-clink-clink, clink-clink-clink
617
00:32:53,010 --> 00:32:55,011
wherever that mat was going to drop.
618
00:32:55,012 --> 00:32:57,722
It's just a cacophony of sound,
619
00:32:57,723 --> 00:33:00,934
but it is in its own, a Linotype symphony.
620
00:33:00,935 --> 00:33:03,770
And that's the sound that they grew up with,
621
00:33:03,771 --> 00:33:05,605
something that they did for years.
622
00:33:05,606 --> 00:33:07,315
[clinking, whirring]
623
00:33:07,316 --> 00:33:09,317
[clacks, zips]
624
00:33:09,318 --> 00:33:12,696
[clicking, chugging]
625
00:33:12,697 --> 00:33:17,697
[pinging, clanking]
626
00:33:22,623 --> 00:33:27,623
“If your mouth keeps your hands from working,
keep it shut.”
627
00:33:29,630 --> 00:33:31,673
So that's a pretty good motto.
628
00:33:31,674 --> 00:33:34,634
These people that ran them
were really irreplaceable.
629
00:33:34,635 --> 00:33:38,305
You just couldn't put anybody down
at a machine and say, “You do this."
630
00:33:38,306 --> 00:33:41,933
It took several years to really become
631
00:33:41,934 --> 00:33:44,978
a decent printer at a Linotype machine,
632
00:33:44,979 --> 00:33:49,608
and really many, many more years
to become a good operator.
633
00:33:49,609 --> 00:33:54,609
Linotype compositors
were the preeminent laborers of their day.
634
00:33:57,074 --> 00:33:58,283
This wasn't just a job.
635
00:33:58,284 --> 00:34:02,329
This whole thing in this newspaper age,
it was a calling.
636
00:34:02,330 --> 00:34:03,914
It was something bigger.
637
00:34:03,915 --> 00:34:05,540
They were the artists.
638
00:34:05,541 --> 00:34:09,544
They were the people that created
this wonderful, beautiful typography
639
00:34:09,545 --> 00:34:13,298
that we try and emulate today digitally.
640
00:34:13,299 --> 00:34:15,091
The people who operated them
641
00:34:15,092 --> 00:34:19,012
were talented, artistic people
642
00:34:19,013 --> 00:34:23,725
posing as industrial types
in dirty coveralls.
643
00:34:23,726 --> 00:34:28,188
They saved you from making stupid errors-
especially the compositors-
644
00:34:28,189 --> 00:34:31,107
really saved you from making stupid errors,
from upstairs.
645
00:34:31,108 --> 00:34:33,235
And sometimes the guys in composing
646
00:34:33,236 --> 00:34:34,819
would find an error in the story
647
00:34:34,820 --> 00:34:36,488
while they were putting it in and say,
648
00:34:36,489 --> 00:34:38,406
“Did you mean to say he was guilty?"
649
00:34:38,407 --> 00:34:41,785
“Because everything in this
seems to say he's not guilty?"
650
00:34:41,786 --> 00:34:43,370
“What did the jury say?
Was he guilty?”
651
00:34:43,371 --> 00:34:45,121
“Oh, I forgot to put 'not' in it,"
652
00:34:45,122 --> 00:34:47,165
and it went through everybody,
and they never caught it,
653
00:34:47,166 --> 00:34:48,250
but you know who caught it?
654
00:34:48,251 --> 00:34:51,002
The guy down there,
with the cigar, that's putting it in.
655
00:34:51,003 --> 00:34:55,423
The goal was to pick up your paper
656
00:34:55,424 --> 00:34:58,802
at the door of your house
at 7:00 in the morning.
657
00:34:58,803 --> 00:35:00,011
That's the goal.
658
00:35:00,012 --> 00:35:03,306
You wouldn't care how you did it at night
659
00:35:03,307 --> 00:35:05,559
or when you went to press.
660
00:35:05,560 --> 00:35:06,685
That's your problem.
661
00:35:06,686 --> 00:35:10,146
Our problem is we want a paper there
in the morning, first thing.
662
00:35:10,147 --> 00:35:11,731
You had a deadline on Thursday,
663
00:35:11,732 --> 00:35:13,275
and you didn't dare miss that deadline
664
00:35:13,276 --> 00:35:14,609
because if you missed that deadline,
665
00:35:14,610 --> 00:35:16,528
they couldn't print the paper,
666
00:35:16,529 --> 00:35:18,196
and if the paper didn't get printed,
667
00:35:18,197 --> 00:35:20,198
it couldn't get in the mail.
668
00:35:20,199 --> 00:35:21,449
If it couldn't get in the mail,
669
00:35:21,450 --> 00:35:23,285
the subscribers wouldn't get
their paper until late,
670
00:35:23,286 --> 00:35:25,579
and they wouldn't like that.
671
00:35:25,580 --> 00:35:29,374
It was a vicious cycle.
672
00:35:29,375 --> 00:35:31,501
It was not easy...
673
00:35:31,502 --> 00:35:36,502
But it was fun.
674
00:35:42,805 --> 00:35:44,806
I was sitting there at my machine,
675
00:35:44,807 --> 00:35:47,309
doing some classified advertising, I guess,
676
00:35:47,310 --> 00:35:49,352
and along came some people.
677
00:35:49,353 --> 00:35:50,437
I could see them from a distance.
678
00:35:50,438 --> 00:35:53,857
The foreman of the composing room
came over to me,
679
00:35:53,858 --> 00:35:56,359
and he said, “Carl, we have some visitors.”
680
00:35:56,360 --> 00:35:57,819
He brought all the people over,
681
00:35:57,820 --> 00:35:59,487
and there was this woman, and he says,
682
00:35:59,488 --> 00:36:03,617
“Oh, yes, and this is Marilyn Monroe."
683
00:36:03,618 --> 00:36:06,453
You could have knocked me
out of my chair if you wanted to,
684
00:36:06,454 --> 00:36:09,581
but I took the shock.
685
00:36:09,582 --> 00:36:12,417
I said, “Okay, Marilyn Monroe
and anybody else,
686
00:36:12,418 --> 00:36:15,795
you still all have to learn
something about the machine at once."
687
00:36:15,796 --> 00:36:18,465
I set up a line of type in her name.
688
00:36:18,466 --> 00:36:20,342
I set it in bold face
689
00:36:20,343 --> 00:36:22,218
because I knew she would like that.
690
00:36:22,219 --> 00:36:25,263
And I gave it to her and I said,
“This is your name on the piece.”
691
00:36:25,264 --> 00:36:27,015
And she looked at it,
692
00:36:27,016 --> 00:36:30,769
and everybody else was looking at it
and looking at me, I guess.
693
00:36:30,770 --> 00:36:32,937
And she said, “Thank you very much,”
694
00:36:32,938 --> 00:36:34,481
and she kissed me on top of my head
695
00:36:34,482 --> 00:36:37,275
because I'm sitting down here,
and she's standing over me.
696
00:36:37,276 --> 00:36:41,363
And I said to myself, “There goes the day.
697
00:36:41,364 --> 00:36:46,364
That's all they're going to talk about now
today is my head.”
698
00:36:53,376 --> 00:36:58,376
In memoriam, City of Boston Printing
Department, 1897 to 2010.
699
00:37:07,556 --> 00:37:10,475
Good morning ladies and gentlemen.
700
00:37:10,476 --> 00:37:13,436
Welcome to the City of Boston
Graphic Arts Printing Equipment Auction.
701
00:37:13,437 --> 00:37:17,524
Today we are auctioning off
the assets of the printing department.
702
00:37:17,525 --> 00:37:20,985
Here we go, lot 101:
the Heidelberg 4-color perfector.
703
00:37:20,986 --> 00:37:24,406
And how much-
we'll start it off at $20,000,
704
00:37:24,407 --> 00:37:25,615
20,000 to get it going.
705
00:37:25,616 --> 00:37:27,826
20,000 a bidder, now 22,500.
706
00:37:27,827 --> 00:37:29,828
Any interest in the Linotype machine?
707
00:37:29,829 --> 00:37:33,540
$500 on the Linotype?
$500 quickly?
708
00:37:33,541 --> 00:37:35,750
Couple hundred dollars?
Any interest at all?
709
00:37:35,751 --> 00:37:38,878
Any interest in the Linotype?
Hundred dollars-
710
00:37:38,879 --> 00:37:42,006
- [Woman] 1-6-4.
- 164, a hundred dollars?
711
00:37:42,007 --> 00:37:43,508
- Ten dollars.
- Ten dollars.
712
00:37:43,509 --> 00:37:45,176
Ten, now 20?
Ten, now 20?
713
00:37:45,177 --> 00:37:46,970
Now $20.
Ten and now 20.
714
00:37:46,971 --> 00:37:48,471
Ten, now 20, now 20.
715
00:37:48,472 --> 00:37:49,806
This auction is killing me!
716
00:37:49,807 --> 00:37:54,807
I'm here to attempting to and successfully
acquiring a Linotype machine
717
00:37:55,062 --> 00:37:56,438
for the museum in Waltham.
718
00:37:56,439 --> 00:37:59,232
$10, now 20?
Any- for ten, 20?
719
00:37:59,233 --> 00:38:00,942
You want them both?
You're going to take both of them, all right?
720
00:38:00,943 --> 00:38:02,152
- I'll take both.
- Take them both.
721
00:38:02,153 --> 00:38:04,946
I think I spent $10 for a machine.
722
00:38:04,947 --> 00:38:08,950
Whether I bought one machine
or two machines is a matter of conjecture.
723
00:38:08,951 --> 00:38:11,619
[person applauding]
724
00:38:11,620 --> 00:38:15,457
This gentleman is from one of the museums.
I want you to go visit the equipment.
725
00:38:15,458 --> 00:38:17,041
They were sold for ten bucks
726
00:38:17,042 --> 00:38:22,042
to the Museum of Industry and Innovation
out in Waltham, Mass.
727
00:38:23,048 --> 00:38:28,048
They are going to be setting up
some sort of demonstration
728
00:38:29,013 --> 00:38:31,931
to show people how Linotypes work.
729
00:38:31,932 --> 00:38:33,349
- Thank you very much, I appreciate it.
- Thank you very much.
730
00:38:33,350 --> 00:38:35,143
- Good luck. You'll enjoy these.
- I'm going to need it.
731
00:38:35,144 --> 00:38:37,937
All right, now 166.
732
00:38:37,938 --> 00:38:40,523
I know what the machine does,
and I know why it does it.
733
00:38:40,524 --> 00:38:43,777
As far as the operation and maintenance,
734
00:38:43,778 --> 00:38:46,863
I'm very much in the dark on that,
735
00:38:46,864 --> 00:38:50,658
but I guess I'm going to have to learn.
736
00:38:50,659 --> 00:38:54,370
Can you get that?
737
00:38:54,371 --> 00:38:56,372
Of course it's got my name and address on it.
738
00:38:56,373 --> 00:38:58,124
Maybe you shouldn't be
photographing that.
739
00:38:58,125 --> 00:39:00,460
Do you know anybody who wants to take
a second machine?
740
00:39:00,461 --> 00:39:01,795
Offhand, I don't,
741
00:39:01,796 --> 00:39:04,798
but Dave Seat,
because he travels the country-
742
00:39:04,799 --> 00:39:06,508
Why don't you get the word to him?
743
00:39:06,509 --> 00:39:10,011
Because I definitely do not want
a second machine.
744
00:39:10,012 --> 00:39:11,596
They're going to skin me
for the first one.
745
00:39:11,597 --> 00:39:16,226
You really, really should touch base
with Dave.
746
00:39:16,227 --> 00:39:18,394
Let me give you my name,
747
00:39:18,395 --> 00:39:21,564
and I'll give you my phone number
and my email address-
748
00:39:21,565 --> 00:39:23,233
- Well-
- He can get to me any way he cares to.
749
00:39:23,234 --> 00:39:25,068
Well, I'll be very blunt.
750
00:39:25,069 --> 00:39:30,069
You're going to have to get to him.
751
00:39:39,917 --> 00:39:41,709
I'd say since '95,
752
00:39:41,710 --> 00:39:45,129
I've probably worn out four vehicles
753
00:39:45,130 --> 00:39:48,842
and over a million miles, I would say.
754
00:39:48,843 --> 00:39:50,802
Beth and I will get in our vehicle,
755
00:39:50,803 --> 00:39:53,096
and we'll start in Tennessee,
756
00:39:53,097 --> 00:39:57,642
and we'll make a whole circuit
of the West Coast or the East Coast
757
00:39:57,643 --> 00:40:02,105
and might work
on anywhere from 20 to 100 jobs.
758
00:40:02,106 --> 00:40:04,983
We want to teach everybody
in their own print shop
759
00:40:04,984 --> 00:40:07,235
how to take care of their own equipment
760
00:40:07,236 --> 00:40:11,197
because there is nobody else
that's going to travel like we do.
761
00:40:11,198 --> 00:40:14,868
It's good that we both get along
with each other fairly well.
762
00:40:14,869 --> 00:40:19,869
Otherwise I'd be hanging
outside the window sometime.
763
00:40:24,461 --> 00:40:29,461
Basically we're going up to see a customer
at White Star, named Tim Trower.
764
00:40:31,510 --> 00:40:36,510
And he wants a mouthpiece
put on his Linotype.
765
00:40:37,474 --> 00:40:40,310
I went ahead and dug out screws.
766
00:40:40,311 --> 00:40:42,061
Your choice of mouthpieces.
767
00:40:42,062 --> 00:40:43,813
- Okay.
- Probably-
768
00:40:43,814 --> 00:40:46,357
How big of type do you set?
769
00:40:46,358 --> 00:40:49,319
These are not mouthpiece screws.
770
00:40:49,320 --> 00:40:52,030
- Huh.
- Nope. This is F-65.
771
00:40:52,031 --> 00:40:53,406
That's mold screws.
772
00:40:53,407 --> 00:40:56,784
- I don't see any mouthpiece screws in there.
- Okay.
773
00:40:56,785 --> 00:41:01,623
Let's go to the second location.
774
00:41:01,624 --> 00:41:06,336
Looking for F-2791, is the part number.
775
00:41:06,337 --> 00:41:09,505
Okay, 308 is the gas equivalent.
776
00:41:09,506 --> 00:41:11,507
When I look for a part,
sometimes I know the part number.
777
00:41:11,508 --> 00:41:13,259
Sometimes I don't.
778
00:41:13,260 --> 00:41:15,136
There is a spring down there on the left
779
00:41:15,137 --> 00:41:16,888
that is a BB-479.
780
00:41:16,889 --> 00:41:20,850
The rubber rollers are part number
H-2601 for the smooth one.
781
00:41:20,851 --> 00:41:24,145
The keys are 874.
Sometimes they go bad.
782
00:41:24,146 --> 00:41:26,064
Plunger is an F-898.
783
00:41:26,065 --> 00:41:28,399
What we're going to replace
is this piece right here.
784
00:41:28,400 --> 00:41:30,276
It is called the mouthpiece.
785
00:41:30,277 --> 00:41:31,945
That's the old used one.
786
00:41:31,946 --> 00:41:35,698
This is the brand new one
we are going to be putting on.
787
00:41:35,699 --> 00:41:37,450
To run the machine,
788
00:41:37,451 --> 00:41:39,452
the puppy-dog tail needs to be up.
789
00:41:39,453 --> 00:41:42,038
Now we are going to partially cycle
the machine.
790
00:41:42,039 --> 00:41:45,458
- [Linotype whirring]
- Stop it right there.
791
00:41:45,459 --> 00:41:50,254
The mold slide will come
all the way out of the machine.
792
00:41:50,255 --> 00:41:53,091
One of the things is if the throat is dirty,
793
00:41:53,092 --> 00:41:55,301
you will get bad slugs.
794
00:41:55,302 --> 00:41:57,220
They won't look good, they won't fill up.
795
00:41:57,221 --> 00:42:00,473
I've seen him work on a machine,
796
00:42:00,474 --> 00:42:05,353
on a project that would have me
literally cursing and tearing my hair out,
797
00:42:05,354 --> 00:42:08,648
and he breaks a sweat,
and that's about it.
798
00:42:08,649 --> 00:42:12,443
This is a throat saw for a Linotype.
799
00:42:12,444 --> 00:42:15,822
You want to saw on the way out
so you are pulling the dirt out with you.
800
00:42:15,823 --> 00:42:20,823
You don't want to push the dirt back in.
801
00:42:21,578 --> 00:42:26,578
Yep, good flow.
802
00:42:27,918 --> 00:42:30,753
What I just did was I pushed
the plunger down again
803
00:42:30,754 --> 00:42:33,506
so that the metal would squirt out
all the holes
804
00:42:33,507 --> 00:42:37,969
and you can see if you have a good flow
to every hole and a good stream,
805
00:42:37,970 --> 00:42:39,804
and it looks like we had plenty of stream,
806
00:42:39,805 --> 00:42:41,347
plenty of pressure on all holes,
807
00:42:41,348 --> 00:42:43,433
so it looks like we are good right here.
808
00:42:43,434 --> 00:42:46,769
Squirt number two.
809
00:42:46,770 --> 00:42:49,981
What I like about Dave
is that he shows you all of his secrets.
810
00:42:49,982 --> 00:42:52,025
He is a great teacher.
811
00:42:52,026 --> 00:42:54,736
He wants you to learn what he is doing
812
00:42:54,737 --> 00:42:56,612
so that the next time you have a problem
813
00:42:56,613 --> 00:42:59,532
and he is in England on a service trip
or in New England,
814
00:42:59,533 --> 00:43:04,533
you can take care of it yourself.
815
00:43:10,461 --> 00:43:13,296
It's a big, industrial machine,
816
00:43:13,297 --> 00:43:17,633
and the uses today are not
in that industrial setting anymore.
817
00:43:17,634 --> 00:43:22,555
They're in studio settings,
in small-shop settings.
818
00:43:22,556 --> 00:43:23,973
- My name is John Kristensen,
819
00:43:23,974 --> 00:43:27,060
and I am the first among equals
820
00:43:27,061 --> 00:43:30,438
at Firefly Press in Boston, Massachusetts.
821
00:43:30,439 --> 00:43:35,401
We are a commercial letterpress
printing shop.
822
00:43:35,402 --> 00:43:38,696
Letterpress has of course
long-since disappeared
823
00:43:38,697 --> 00:43:42,116
as mainstream, commercial commerce,
824
00:43:42,117 --> 00:43:45,203
but it has come back
in recent years as a craft.
825
00:43:45,204 --> 00:43:46,871
At one point it was just
how things were done.
826
00:43:46,872 --> 00:43:48,831
People weren't too precious about it,
827
00:43:48,832 --> 00:43:51,876
but I think that, given the way
that technology has evolved,
828
00:43:51,877 --> 00:43:55,922
I think there is a certain amount
of integrity in the process
829
00:43:55,923 --> 00:43:57,298
that I respond to.
830
00:43:57,299 --> 00:44:00,802
Letterpress is increasingly being seen
as something quite special,
831
00:44:00,803 --> 00:44:02,470
not because it has changed,
832
00:44:02,471 --> 00:44:04,514
but because the rest of the world
has changed,
833
00:44:04,515 --> 00:44:07,517
and now the bite
and the use of the nice papers
834
00:44:07,518 --> 00:44:09,435
and the brilliance of the colors
835
00:44:09,436 --> 00:44:11,687
and the physical presence of the printing
836
00:44:11,688 --> 00:44:16,025
is something that people now know
to appreciate and to desire.
837
00:44:16,026 --> 00:44:18,569
I love the fact that sitting down
at a keyboard,
838
00:44:18,570 --> 00:44:20,696
I have only so many typefaces,
839
00:44:20,697 --> 00:44:25,034
and so it's my responsibility
to use them with intelligence.
840
00:44:25,035 --> 00:44:28,287
And here then is an element
841
00:44:28,288 --> 00:44:29,705
that enters into letterpress
842
00:44:29,706 --> 00:44:33,042
that simply does not play so large a part
843
00:44:33,043 --> 00:44:36,838
in any of the more modern
printing technologies,
844
00:44:36,839 --> 00:44:38,714
and that is craft.
845
00:44:38,715 --> 00:44:40,925
The simple knowing of a technique.
846
00:44:40,926 --> 00:44:42,844
Craft means you care
847
00:44:42,845 --> 00:44:45,221
and you know about what you are doing.
848
00:44:45,222 --> 00:44:48,099
I think that anybody
that is going to study typography
849
00:44:48,100 --> 00:44:51,477
needs to get rooted first
in the letterpress method
850
00:44:51,478 --> 00:44:53,813
whether they set type by hand
851
00:44:53,814 --> 00:44:55,189
or use a Linotype or a Ludlow.
852
00:44:55,190 --> 00:45:00,190
They need to know how to use type
before they use it.
853
00:45:04,408 --> 00:45:06,742
I had a romantic notion of letterpress
854
00:45:06,743 --> 00:45:09,453
when I was a young fellow,
855
00:45:09,454 --> 00:45:11,372
and I began collecting the stuff
856
00:45:11,373 --> 00:45:13,875
because I never had
much of a budget to work with,
857
00:45:13,876 --> 00:45:18,876
and the stuff was all free.
858
00:45:32,811 --> 00:45:35,396
I studied journalism in college,
859
00:45:35,397 --> 00:45:40,397
and I always wanted to publish
my own journal or magazine.
860
00:45:44,615 --> 00:45:47,241
The Almanac tackles a lot of land issues,
861
00:45:47,242 --> 00:45:49,535
environmental things,
862
00:45:49,536 --> 00:45:51,370
sort of the cultural health of the state.
863
00:45:51,371 --> 00:45:55,791
I don't think there is another publication
in America on this scale
864
00:45:55,792 --> 00:46:00,792
that is done hot metal.
865
00:46:01,215 --> 00:46:03,007
Eldon is one of those angels
866
00:46:03,008 --> 00:46:07,637
who happened to be around
when I was starting out,
867
00:46:07,638 --> 00:46:11,432
and his career-
because of the technology-
868
00:46:11,433 --> 00:46:14,518
his career as a Linotype operator
was winding down
869
00:46:14,519 --> 00:46:16,520
because there just weren't any left,
870
00:46:16,521 --> 00:46:21,359
and he started to working for me,
and he has always worked for me part-time.
871
00:46:21,360 --> 00:46:26,360
He comes out when I need him.
872
00:46:36,458 --> 00:46:38,292
There would have been
no Wapsipinicon Almanac,
873
00:46:38,293 --> 00:46:43,293
at least in its current incarnation,
without Eldon.
874
00:46:43,465 --> 00:46:46,717
[Tim Trower] One of the reasons that
newspapers liked to employ deaf people
875
00:46:46,718 --> 00:46:50,346
is because they weren't bothered
by the noisy work conditions
876
00:46:50,347 --> 00:46:51,847
and yet, strangely enough,
877
00:46:51,848 --> 00:46:53,266
even though they couldn't hear the machine,
878
00:46:53,267 --> 00:46:56,477
they could sense
what was going wrong with the machine
879
00:46:56,478 --> 00:47:01,478
and were able to respond
just about as quickly as a hearing person.
880
00:47:18,875 --> 00:47:23,875
♪ [music playing] ♪
881
00:47:54,995 --> 00:47:59,995
[Woman interpreter]
He says, “I'm not a show-off."
882
00:48:09,593 --> 00:48:14,593
It's very easy to go into a lot
of print shops and see hand printers working,
883
00:48:14,806 --> 00:48:16,849
but very few of them have the experience
884
00:48:16,850 --> 00:48:21,270
of seeing a full, working Linotype machine
that we have here
885
00:48:21,271 --> 00:48:23,939
with our Linotype operator Mr. Ray Loomis,
886
00:48:23,940 --> 00:48:28,940
who comes here every Saturday
as a volunteer.
887
00:48:32,407 --> 00:48:34,658
My name is Raymond Loomis,
888
00:48:34,659 --> 00:48:38,412
born in Baltimore, Maryland 82 years ago.
889
00:48:38,413 --> 00:48:39,872
So I have been around a while.
890
00:48:39,873 --> 00:48:41,957
Our machine is 75 years old,
891
00:48:41,958 --> 00:48:43,834
and it still runs, and it runs well.
892
00:48:43,835 --> 00:48:46,962
It was well-maintained over its lifetime,
893
00:48:46,963 --> 00:48:51,509
and we try to keep it running, too.
894
00:48:51,510 --> 00:48:53,844
When I was working by myself,
895
00:48:53,845 --> 00:48:55,638
which is a bad thing on a machine like this,
896
00:48:55,639 --> 00:48:56,972
to be by yourself,
897
00:48:56,973 --> 00:49:01,102
and I was checking to see
if the cooling blower was on,
898
00:49:01,103 --> 00:49:02,478
and I put my hand down,
899
00:49:02,479 --> 00:49:07,479
and the machine came back
on my hand and held it.
900
00:49:07,901 --> 00:49:11,112
I turned it off quick enough
as soon as I felt it, but I was stuck.
901
00:49:11,113 --> 00:49:13,531
I couldn't move,
I couldn't reach anything,
902
00:49:13,532 --> 00:49:16,450
I didn't know what to do.
903
00:49:16,451 --> 00:49:18,869
And then I thought
the only thing I could really do
904
00:49:18,870 --> 00:49:22,873
is to pull that advance lever
and let it go do its thing,
905
00:49:22,874 --> 00:49:25,668
and I pulled it and squinted,
906
00:49:25,669 --> 00:49:29,588
and it backed right off.
907
00:49:29,589 --> 00:49:33,008
It didn't come any further than
my fingers were already caught.
908
00:49:33,009 --> 00:49:35,052
They were black-and-blue for a while,
909
00:49:35,053 --> 00:49:40,053
two or three of those fingers there.
910
00:49:40,684 --> 00:49:42,768
Operating a Linotype
can be a little frightening.
911
00:49:42,769 --> 00:49:46,021
You don't hurry on the Linotype.
912
00:49:46,022 --> 00:49:49,233
You clear your head before you start,
913
00:49:49,234 --> 00:49:52,236
and you can't be thinking
about a lot other things.
914
00:49:52,237 --> 00:49:54,905
There is a lot going on,
a lot you have to watch for.
915
00:49:54,906 --> 00:49:56,907
[John Kristensen]
This is all pre idiot-proof,
916
00:49:56,908 --> 00:49:59,285
all pre-OSHA equipment.
917
00:49:59,286 --> 00:50:01,537
The assumption was
you knew what you were doing.
918
00:50:01,538 --> 00:50:02,955
There are so many moving parts,
919
00:50:02,956 --> 00:50:05,916
and there is metal that is 550 degrees
920
00:50:05,917 --> 00:50:07,585
that could explode on me at any minute.
921
00:50:07,586 --> 00:50:09,795
There is something we call a squirt.
922
00:50:09,796 --> 00:50:11,172
Lead will squirt out,
923
00:50:11,173 --> 00:50:14,967
and you're used to-
you hear a certain sound, you shove back.
924
00:50:14,968 --> 00:50:18,929
That meant there was something wrong
in the setting line
925
00:50:18,930 --> 00:50:20,973
where there was a gap or a space.
926
00:50:20,974 --> 00:50:23,184
That space was going to be filled
with hot metal,
927
00:50:23,185 --> 00:50:24,602
and it was going to come at you.
928
00:50:24,603 --> 00:50:26,729
[Harry Saracena]
And when lead comes out of that thing,
929
00:50:26,730 --> 00:50:29,815
it's got to be right on the button.
930
00:50:29,816 --> 00:50:31,609
You get so attuned to the machine
931
00:50:31,610 --> 00:50:33,861
that you can hear it getting ready to squirt.
932
00:50:33,862 --> 00:50:35,112
And if you're good,
933
00:50:35,113 --> 00:50:36,280
you can get out of the way.
934
00:50:36,281 --> 00:50:38,073
Otherwise you get a pant leg full of metal.
935
00:50:38,074 --> 00:50:42,077
But a lot of the times I would jump
out of the chair while I was casting,
936
00:50:42,078 --> 00:50:43,787
just in case I didn't do it right.
937
00:50:43,788 --> 00:50:46,540
I saved my first squirt.
938
00:50:46,541 --> 00:50:51,541
I have it somewhere.
I'm not sure where it is.
939
00:51:05,185 --> 00:51:07,353
Good morning.
940
00:51:07,354 --> 00:51:08,896
Morning.
941
00:51:08,897 --> 00:51:11,148
I asked a guy one time,
942
00:51:11,149 --> 00:51:13,025
“ls there anybody teaching this?"
943
00:51:13,026 --> 00:51:16,612
And he says, “No, not anymore.
944
00:51:16,613 --> 00:51:20,324
They used to do it all the way
around the world.”
945
00:51:20,325 --> 00:51:24,620
I said, “Well I'd like to start
Linotype University 1."
946
00:51:24,621 --> 00:51:28,415
And... pretty good idea.
947
00:51:28,416 --> 00:51:32,127
If you read the word that says
“Linotype University,"
948
00:51:32,128 --> 00:51:36,715
you're thinking of a campus
with big brick buildings or something.
949
00:51:36,716 --> 00:51:39,468
Well, that's not the printing business.
950
00:51:39,469 --> 00:51:42,638
This is Linotype University VIII class-
951
00:51:42,639 --> 00:51:47,434
this is where people come
to the United States, to Denmark, Iowa
952
00:51:47,435 --> 00:51:49,937
to learn how to operate a Linotype.
953
00:51:49,938 --> 00:51:52,022
[Ruth Skelton] I probably learned more
about the machine this week
954
00:51:52,023 --> 00:51:57,023
than I ever had in the 15 years
or so that I operated the machine.
955
00:51:57,237 --> 00:52:01,073
[Buddy Lang] People all over the country
and world that are interested in it,
956
00:52:01,074 --> 00:52:06,074
like this week we've got one
fellow from Australia and one from England.
957
00:52:07,247 --> 00:52:12,247
[Nicholas Smith] We have a very good range of
professional or ex-professional Linotype engineers
958
00:52:12,294 --> 00:52:16,297
who are very, very generous
with their advice and help.
959
00:52:16,298 --> 00:52:21,298
Linotype University
is a unique corner of America,
960
00:52:21,845 --> 00:52:23,554
run by a guy named Larry Raid.
961
00:52:23,555 --> 00:52:25,806
This gentleman that runs this museum here
962
00:52:25,807 --> 00:52:27,057
and welcomed me here,
963
00:52:27,058 --> 00:52:29,560
is Mr. Larry J. Raid,
964
00:52:29,561 --> 00:52:33,564
and I've got to say, as we say in Australia,
“Good on ya, mate!”
965
00:52:33,565 --> 00:52:35,941
And he, from what I could gather,
966
00:52:35,942 --> 00:52:38,777
is just a fanatic for the machine
967
00:52:38,778 --> 00:52:40,696
and taught himself how to use it.
968
00:52:40,697 --> 00:52:44,783
His two passions are vastly different:
969
00:52:44,784 --> 00:52:46,994
Linotype machines and locomotives.
970
00:52:46,995 --> 00:52:48,621
The train?
971
00:52:48,622 --> 00:52:51,206
It's a Davenport Locomotive,
972
00:52:51,207 --> 00:52:53,459
an 060 diesel mechanical
973
00:52:53,460 --> 00:52:55,127
with a CAT-V8 engine in it.
974
00:52:55,128 --> 00:53:00,128
I rebuilt six miles of rail road track
with that Ford 8N,
975
00:53:01,343 --> 00:53:02,551
had a little boom on the back.
976
00:53:02,552 --> 00:53:07,097
He bought a train and laid track for it?!
977
00:53:07,098 --> 00:53:08,766
Who does that kind of thing?
978
00:53:08,767 --> 00:53:10,059
Larry's a collector.
979
00:53:10,060 --> 00:53:13,896
It's very hard for him to part
with anything, as you can see.
980
00:53:13,897 --> 00:53:17,691
Most of the places
that have them are museums,
981
00:53:17,692 --> 00:53:19,568
and if they have one Linotype,
982
00:53:19,569 --> 00:53:21,111
they don't need two of them.
983
00:53:21,112 --> 00:53:22,571
If they have one printing press,
984
00:53:22,572 --> 00:53:25,115
they don't need
a third or fourth or fifth one,
985
00:53:25,116 --> 00:53:26,700
and I'm not that way.
986
00:53:26,701 --> 00:53:31,455
These are a couple Linotypes
and lntertypes that I'm using for parts,
987
00:53:31,456 --> 00:53:35,751
and as we go down,
there's another Linotype over this way.
988
00:53:35,752 --> 00:53:39,129
I've just been a collector,
989
00:53:39,130 --> 00:53:43,258
and I just keep collecting
and keep collecting,
990
00:53:43,259 --> 00:53:46,387
and now I've got something
like over 90 of them all together.
991
00:53:46,388 --> 00:53:49,765
What some people
don't understand about Larry
992
00:53:49,766 --> 00:53:52,935
is his dad owned a junkyard,
993
00:53:52,936 --> 00:53:55,979
so Larry grew up in a junkyard,
994
00:53:55,980 --> 00:54:00,980
so having machines sitting
outside or rusting or whatever
995
00:54:01,277 --> 00:54:03,195
doesn't surprise Larry.
996
00:54:03,196 --> 00:54:05,656
Larry says, “Oh yeah we'll get that running.
We'll fix that.”
997
00:54:05,657 --> 00:54:09,159
And so it's just setting there
waiting to be restored again.
998
00:54:09,160 --> 00:54:12,621
Because to Larry nothing is ruined.
999
00:54:12,622 --> 00:54:14,873
It's all still good.
It's metal.
1000
00:54:14,874 --> 00:54:15,999
It'll fix.
1001
00:54:16,000 --> 00:54:18,293
I've also encountered people
1002
00:54:18,294 --> 00:54:23,173
that sort of belittle the whole program,
1003
00:54:23,174 --> 00:54:24,508
and I can see why.
1004
00:54:24,509 --> 00:54:26,135
He's not classically trained.
1005
00:54:26,136 --> 00:54:29,847
He wasn't trained by Linotype to do this,
1006
00:54:29,848 --> 00:54:32,891
but in his own way he's a total genius.
1007
00:54:32,892 --> 00:54:36,311
There's so many people
that have called and said,
1008
00:54:36,312 --> 00:54:37,688
“Well Larry Raid says call you,”
1009
00:54:37,689 --> 00:54:41,400
or “Larry Raid says this,"
or “Larry says that."
1010
00:54:41,401 --> 00:54:46,401
And it's because Larry's excited,
other people get excited, too.
1011
00:54:46,948 --> 00:54:48,741
He's the kind of prophet
1012
00:54:48,742 --> 00:54:53,620
that I think this sort of thing needs,
this gospel, if you will, needs,
1013
00:54:53,621 --> 00:54:55,873
is somebody who is passionate
1014
00:54:55,874 --> 00:54:58,792
and maybe a little bit crazy.
1015
00:54:58,793 --> 00:55:03,793
You need that, I think.
1016
00:55:14,350 --> 00:55:16,685
[Filmstrip Narrator]
People change.
1017
00:55:16,686 --> 00:55:18,604
Products change.
1018
00:55:18,605 --> 00:55:20,689
Everything changes,
1019
00:55:20,690 --> 00:55:24,818
and every change adds
to the problem of communications.
1020
00:55:24,819 --> 00:55:27,488
The rate of change is accelerating,
1021
00:55:27,489 --> 00:55:31,909
faster, faster, faster.
1022
00:55:31,910 --> 00:55:35,871
Stop!
1023
00:55:35,872 --> 00:55:37,539
But you can't stop.
1024
00:55:37,540 --> 00:55:40,501
You can't hold back the surge of change
1025
00:55:40,502 --> 00:55:42,711
or the growth of information.
1026
00:55:42,712 --> 00:55:44,880
It will continue in spite of you,
1027
00:55:44,881 --> 00:55:48,717
and you're going to have to cope with it.
1028
00:55:48,718 --> 00:55:51,220
- Otherwise...
- [explosion]
1029
00:55:51,221 --> 00:55:53,931
The death knell for the Linotype
1030
00:55:53,932 --> 00:55:56,850
and all typesetting machines that use metal
1031
00:55:56,851 --> 00:55:59,144
started in 1945,
1032
00:55:59,145 --> 00:56:01,563
when the lntertype company
1033
00:56:01,564 --> 00:56:03,816
showed a machine called the Fotosetter.
1034
00:56:03,817 --> 00:56:07,402
A Fotosetter mat doesn't cast
hot metal at all,
1035
00:56:07,403 --> 00:56:12,403
but it shoots a beam of light
through a small photo negative in the mat,
1036
00:56:12,909 --> 00:56:15,244
onto a specially prepared piece of paper,
1037
00:56:15,245 --> 00:56:16,703
which is then photographed
1038
00:56:16,704 --> 00:56:18,455
and prepared for offset production.
1039
00:56:18,456 --> 00:56:20,874
So it looked like a Linotype,
acted like a Linotype,
1040
00:56:20,875 --> 00:56:23,085
did everything a Linotype did
1041
00:56:23,086 --> 00:56:27,047
but photographically.
1042
00:56:27,048 --> 00:56:32,048
Okay, here we have-
1043
00:56:33,680 --> 00:56:35,848
and I don't know if you can get in on that.
1044
00:56:35,849 --> 00:56:37,224
It's from The New York Times.
1045
00:56:37,225 --> 00:56:40,435
It's the last standing type
1046
00:56:40,436 --> 00:56:45,436
as the Times went
from hot-metal to cold-metal type,
1047
00:56:45,692 --> 00:56:48,902
but I believe this is a page
of the obituaries,
1048
00:56:48,903 --> 00:56:50,445
which is kind of sad, isn't it?
1049
00:56:50,446 --> 00:56:53,198
In one way you felt sadness.
1050
00:56:53,199 --> 00:56:58,199
You had to because you knew
it was coming eventually,
1051
00:56:58,204 --> 00:57:03,204
like a dying patient.
1052
00:57:18,558 --> 00:57:23,558
And they came to work one day,
and it was all over.
1053
00:57:23,897 --> 00:57:26,356
I've been a printer now for 26 years,
1054
00:57:26,357 --> 00:57:29,985
been at this place for 2O years-
six years apprenticeship,
1055
00:57:29,986 --> 00:57:31,570
20 years journeyman-
1056
00:57:31,571 --> 00:57:34,781
and these are words
that aren't just tossed around.
1057
00:57:34,782 --> 00:57:38,410
All the knowledge I've acquired
over these 26 years
1058
00:57:38,411 --> 00:57:43,411
is all locked up in a little
box now called a computer.
1059
00:57:43,666 --> 00:57:45,918
[sigh]
1060
00:57:45,919 --> 00:57:50,172
I had some guys around me,
and we poured a couple of glasses out,
1061
00:57:50,173 --> 00:57:55,173
and we said “To yesterday.”
1062
00:57:58,848 --> 00:58:03,848
So we said “goodbye" to the past
and “hello" to the future.
1063
00:58:17,158 --> 00:58:22,037
We had these machines
on the back of a dump truck,
1064
00:58:22,038 --> 00:58:24,122
and I stopped at a junkyard,
1065
00:58:24,123 --> 00:58:25,749
a salvage yard,
1066
00:58:25,750 --> 00:58:28,251
and I just turned my head
and pulled this lever,
1067
00:58:28,252 --> 00:58:32,130
and those machines slid off.
1068
00:58:32,131 --> 00:58:33,924
I couldn't even look at it
1069
00:58:33,925 --> 00:58:36,176
because I knew they were good machines,
1070
00:58:36,177 --> 00:58:37,636
but nobody was running them anymore,
1071
00:58:37,637 --> 00:58:38,845
as far as I knew.
1072
00:58:38,846 --> 00:58:40,389
And the wreckers-
1073
00:58:40,390 --> 00:58:42,265
they just smashed it up
1074
00:58:42,266 --> 00:58:43,433
with a big 12-pound hammer,
1075
00:58:43,434 --> 00:58:47,479
and I thought,
“Oh, that's the sad part of it all.”
1076
00:58:47,480 --> 00:58:51,400
At the end of the Linotype's usefulness here,
1077
00:58:51,401 --> 00:58:53,485
there was no market for the machines,
1078
00:58:53,486 --> 00:58:58,486
and the only way they could be gotten rid of
was to scrap them.
1079
00:58:58,825 --> 00:59:01,868
As far as I know, they were all surplussed,
and they were let go.
1080
00:59:01,869 --> 00:59:04,162
Unfortunately, they were probably junked.
1081
00:59:04,163 --> 00:59:08,583
They opened up a window
at the back of the floor
1082
00:59:08,584 --> 00:59:11,586
where the largest
of the Linotype batteries was,
1083
00:59:11,587 --> 00:59:15,716
and just pushed them out
into the parking lot,
1084
00:59:15,717 --> 00:59:19,636
pushed them out to be piled up
and hauled off for scrap.
1085
00:59:19,637 --> 00:59:21,388
They're scrapped in two ways.
1086
00:59:21,389 --> 00:59:25,726
The machines are hauled
to the junkyard and melted,
1087
00:59:25,727 --> 00:59:29,312
and the skill sets and the expertise
1088
00:59:29,313 --> 00:59:31,898
and the knowledge
of the people that ran them
1089
00:59:31,899 --> 00:59:34,818
is also hauled to the junkyard.
1090
00:59:34,819 --> 00:59:38,447
All the presses, the Linotypes,
the proof presses,
1091
00:59:38,448 --> 00:59:39,614
all of that disappeared,
1092
00:59:39,615 --> 00:59:43,618
all that iron scrap went out in the back
and rusted there, for this.
1093
00:59:43,619 --> 00:59:45,829
[Filmstrip Narrator]
it's a cathode-ray tubed
1094
00:59:45,830 --> 00:59:47,497
photo typesetting system
1095
00:59:47,498 --> 00:59:51,626
called "Linotron 505. "
1096
00:59:51,627 --> 00:59:54,463
It produces high-quality typography.
1097
00:59:54,464 --> 00:59:56,423
Machines like the Photon,
1098
00:59:56,424 --> 00:59:59,885
the very first photo typesetting machine...
1099
00:59:59,886 --> 01:00:04,222
It looks like a combination
of a Steelcase desk, a typewriter,
1100
01:00:04,223 --> 01:00:06,349
and something from Star Trek.
1101
01:00:06,350 --> 01:00:08,643
This was the future back in 1985,
1102
01:00:08,644 --> 01:00:11,646
and as you can see, the future has passed.
1103
01:00:11,647 --> 01:00:13,190
Well, this is the end of the tour.
1104
01:00:13,191 --> 01:00:15,942
This is the unresolved thread of our tour.
1105
01:00:15,943 --> 01:00:17,569
This is the computer room,
1106
01:00:17,570 --> 01:00:20,822
the “Digital Type Setting Room,”
and it is very old.
1107
01:00:20,823 --> 01:00:25,823
This is from 1990.
1108
01:00:30,416 --> 01:00:35,416
♪ Farewell, farewell, Etaoin Shrdlu ♪
1109
01:00:38,966 --> 01:00:43,966
♪ The best years of my life
I've spent with you♪
1110
01:00:47,725 --> 01:00:51,186
♪ Now our printing days are at an end ♪
1111
01:00:51,187 --> 01:00:55,732
♪ You've set your final type, my friend ♪
1112
01:00:55,733 --> 01:01:00,733
♪ Computers are the thing that finished you♪
1113
01:01:02,448 --> 01:01:06,368
This is what the Linotype company
looked like in Brooklyn.
1114
01:01:06,369 --> 01:01:10,914
At one time two blocks,
two square blocks, were the factory.
1115
01:01:10,915 --> 01:01:12,707
One square block
was where they made the machines.
1116
01:01:12,708 --> 01:01:16,753
The other square block was the headquarters
and the matrix manufacturing.
1117
01:01:16,754 --> 01:01:19,256
It's now a storage facility
for some moving company.
1118
01:01:19,257 --> 01:01:20,507
It's very sad.
1119
01:01:20,508 --> 01:01:24,761
♪ You've got to go ♪
1120
01:01:24,762 --> 01:01:28,765
♪ No more hot lead ♪
1121
01:01:28,766 --> 01:01:33,186
♪ The type we love to set ♪
1122
01:01:33,187 --> 01:01:38,187
♪ That way is dead ♪
1123
01:01:38,901 --> 01:01:43,029
♪ Computers and cathode tubes
replaced us ♪
1124
01:01:43,030 --> 01:01:47,492
♪ But, by God, they'll not erase us ♪
1125
01:01:47,493 --> 01:01:49,911
♪ 'Cause we taught them ♪
1126
01:01:49,912 --> 01:01:54,912
♪ Everything they know ♪
1127
01:01:55,251 --> 01:01:58,128
When Mergenthaler moved out
of the old Ryerson Street building,
1128
01:01:58,129 --> 01:02:00,797
I walked through the building
with the old building supervisory,
1129
01:02:00,798 --> 01:02:03,884
and I found a few things including
this rather nice sign.
1130
01:02:03,885 --> 01:02:07,512
I don't know where it had been
on the walls at Mergenthaler,
1131
01:02:07,513 --> 01:02:10,140
asking employees to keep the place clean,
1132
01:02:10,141 --> 01:02:11,766
but I thought it was kind of nice,
1133
01:02:11,767 --> 01:02:15,312
and I saved that
and some reason have kept it ever since.
1134
01:02:15,313 --> 01:02:17,856
I'm Matthew Carter, Type Designer,
1135
01:02:17,857 --> 01:02:20,525
former Linotype employee.
1136
01:02:20,526 --> 01:02:22,527
There was a huge amount of work involved,
1137
01:02:22,528 --> 01:02:24,321
particularly for the letter drawing office,
1138
01:02:24,322 --> 01:02:27,782
in adapting the metal types for film.
1139
01:02:27,783 --> 01:02:32,783
My job was to explore
certain advantages there might be
1140
01:02:34,081 --> 01:02:36,333
in this new technology,
1141
01:02:36,334 --> 01:02:41,129
a sort of liberation
from the constraints of metal typecasting.
1142
01:02:41,130 --> 01:02:42,714
[Filmstrip Narrator]
At Mergenthaler,
1143
01:02:42,715 --> 01:02:45,717
we make a tool for the graphic arts industry,
1144
01:02:45,718 --> 01:02:48,803
a sophisticated tool using modern electronics
1145
01:02:48,804 --> 01:02:53,058
to perform one of the most vital functions
in printing and publishing-
1146
01:02:53,059 --> 01:02:55,727
high-speed photo typesetting.
1147
01:02:55,728 --> 01:02:59,231
I think there are some qualities
that did get lost.
1148
01:02:59,232 --> 01:03:04,232
There's often something very beautiful
about the impression of type on good paper,
1149
01:03:04,987 --> 01:03:09,987
as was done in the past if you look
through the history,
1150
01:03:10,826 --> 01:03:13,828
so there may have been
some loses along the way.
1151
01:03:13,829 --> 01:03:17,123
For me, the gains outweigh the losses.
That's all I can say.
1152
01:03:17,124 --> 01:03:20,835
If I put them in the balance, the gains win,
1153
01:03:20,836 --> 01:03:23,713
but, again, other people sitting here
1154
01:03:23,714 --> 01:03:27,342
could disagree with me violently about that.
1155
01:03:27,343 --> 01:03:32,343
And then I suppose the other very significant
development since then has been the Web,
1156
01:03:33,641 --> 01:03:38,641
screen fonts and so on.
1157
01:03:44,610 --> 01:03:48,321
Linotype GmbH has taken over
as the responsibility
1158
01:03:48,322 --> 01:03:52,117
for the typefaces
but not for the mechanical parts,
1159
01:03:52,118 --> 01:03:54,411
so we sometimes have customers asking here
1160
01:03:54,412 --> 01:03:57,080
for spare parts to the machine,
1161
01:03:57,081 --> 01:04:00,792
but we have no material,
and we have no solution for that.
1162
01:04:00,793 --> 01:04:04,045
Linotype of today, the current company,
1163
01:04:04,046 --> 01:04:08,633
has no relationship at all
with the Linotype machine.
1164
01:04:08,634 --> 01:04:11,803
The machine is no longer in use,
1165
01:04:11,804 --> 01:04:14,472
and the other Linotype machines
which Linotype has developed
1166
01:04:14,473 --> 01:04:17,225
also disappeared from the market,
1167
01:04:17,226 --> 01:04:22,063
but what we see as the heritage
is to continue our typefaces.
1168
01:04:22,064 --> 01:04:26,693
The Linotype machine had
a really good contribution to type design.
1169
01:04:26,694 --> 01:04:30,280
This is secondary in terms
of the overall population,
1170
01:04:30,281 --> 01:04:32,907
but for the type-design world,
this is really important
1171
01:04:32,908 --> 01:04:37,908
because the fact that the Linotype machine
became so popular around the globe
1172
01:04:39,081 --> 01:04:44,081
gave it enough capital to be
able to invest in good typography.
1173
01:04:51,927 --> 01:04:56,473
Here you have one of the most amazing
archives that anyone has ever known about.
1174
01:04:56,474 --> 01:05:00,518
It is every drawing, for every glyph,
or character, or symbol,
1175
01:05:00,519 --> 01:05:03,355
that was ever made
into a matrix for the Linotype machine.
1176
01:05:03,356 --> 01:05:06,608
This is a 9-point Caslon old-face italic,
1177
01:05:06,609 --> 01:05:10,320
and here you can see the drawings
for italic “A" in Caslon.
1178
01:05:10,321 --> 01:05:12,364
They did alternate characters as well,
1179
01:05:12,365 --> 01:05:15,533
so here's a beautiful cap “A"
with a swash on it.
1180
01:05:15,534 --> 01:05:18,953
This is an example of a drawing
1181
01:05:18,954 --> 01:05:23,954
of the kind that was made at Linotype
for many decades for metal type.
1182
01:05:25,878 --> 01:05:30,878
It wasn't just this nuts-and-bolts,
let's get black stuff down on white paper
1183
01:05:31,384 --> 01:05:34,552
and that's all that was necessary.
1184
01:05:34,553 --> 01:05:39,553
Linotype and Monotype
were committed to fine typography.
1185
01:05:40,601 --> 01:05:43,978
As you go through here,
you actually see the history of typography.
1186
01:05:43,979 --> 01:05:45,397
Here's Century Schoolbook.
1187
01:05:45,398 --> 01:05:48,650
Right now in front of me I've got Cloister.
1188
01:05:48,651 --> 01:05:49,984
I've got Garamond.
1189
01:05:49,985 --> 01:05:51,736
Memphis. Memphis is a square serif.
1190
01:05:51,737 --> 01:05:55,115
Here's Devanagari.
That's the first font I ever worked on.
1191
01:05:55,116 --> 01:05:57,033
When we talk about typefaces,
1192
01:05:57,034 --> 01:06:00,703
everybody knows the canon
of the Linotype typefaces,
1193
01:06:00,704 --> 01:06:03,915
but they never really think about
where they came from or how they came to be.
1194
01:06:03,916 --> 01:06:07,001
Here's Primer, which was used for textbooks,
1195
01:06:07,002 --> 01:06:11,423
Metrolite, which was very popular
for the newspapers for display advertising,
1196
01:06:11,424 --> 01:06:15,343
Opticon, which was
one of the newspaper typefaces.
1197
01:06:15,344 --> 01:06:17,637
This is very interesting.
Here's Bengali Bold,
1198
01:06:17,638 --> 01:06:20,306
so to sell machines in India,
1199
01:06:20,307 --> 01:06:23,601
they had to create a font
for the Bengali dialect.
1200
01:06:23,602 --> 01:06:27,021
Even when the Linotype machine is not there,
it's legacy continues
1201
01:06:27,022 --> 01:06:29,482
because it made possible
for us to have these typefaces,
1202
01:06:29,483 --> 01:06:30,733
and we still use them today.
1203
01:06:30,734 --> 01:06:32,694
And that's amazing to me,
1204
01:06:32,695 --> 01:06:36,364
that the designs are so strong
for this machine
1205
01:06:36,365 --> 01:06:41,365
that they've transcended
the transition into a digital face.
1206
01:06:46,709 --> 01:06:50,753
If the 90-some machines
are gone to the junk man,
1207
01:06:50,754 --> 01:06:55,754
all my endeavors are gone down the tube
after I pass away.
1208
01:06:56,927 --> 01:06:58,303
Someday I will.
1209
01:06:58,304 --> 01:07:03,304
My wife is probably going to throw
the machines in the hole right after me.
1210
01:07:03,809 --> 01:07:06,978
It's the only way
you're going to keep me down.
1211
01:07:06,979 --> 01:07:09,772
Hopefully they'll go onto somebody else
that will take them
1212
01:07:09,773 --> 01:07:11,858
and learn how to use them.
1213
01:07:11,859 --> 01:07:14,402
Hopefully I'll find somebody
that wants to learn the machine,
1214
01:07:14,403 --> 01:07:16,779
and I'll be able to teach them.
1215
01:07:16,780 --> 01:07:19,699
Then the best case scenario,
if that doesn't happen,
1216
01:07:19,700 --> 01:07:21,075
is that they go to a museum
1217
01:07:21,076 --> 01:07:23,578
where they're at least preserved
as a static display
1218
01:07:23,579 --> 01:07:25,413
of what they used to be able to do.
1219
01:07:25,414 --> 01:07:26,581
Worst case scenario?
1220
01:07:26,582 --> 01:07:29,459
Somebody's going to come
in here, look at them, and go,
1221
01:07:29,460 --> 01:07:31,794
“Man, that's worth nine cents a pound.”
1222
01:07:31,795 --> 01:07:36,795
A scrap metal man would want money
to break one up and remove it for you,
1223
01:07:37,092 --> 01:07:42,092
but that is why those guys are usually
measured by size-17 shirts,
1224
01:07:43,224 --> 01:07:45,099
size-17 shoes,
1225
01:07:45,100 --> 01:07:50,021
and size-17 IQ.
1226
01:07:50,022 --> 01:07:52,607
They weigh about 4,000 pounds.
1227
01:07:52,608 --> 01:07:56,819
I think scrap is going for $280 a ton
in this area, someone told me today,
1228
01:07:56,820 --> 01:07:59,697
so, you know, $560,
1229
01:07:59,698 --> 01:08:01,824
total value,
if you took it to the scrap yard.
1230
01:08:01,825 --> 01:08:03,201
It is a damn shame
1231
01:08:03,202 --> 01:08:08,164
that so much is being
pushed out of the back of factories,
1232
01:08:08,165 --> 01:08:10,375
just crashing to the ground
or being broken up.
1233
01:08:10,376 --> 01:08:12,126
Most Linotypes got thrown out.
1234
01:08:12,127 --> 01:08:16,339
My dad says he's probably thrown out
a thousand Linotypes in the scrap
1235
01:08:16,340 --> 01:08:17,590
because they have no use for them.
1236
01:08:17,591 --> 01:08:20,969
That should give a sense of urgency
1237
01:08:20,970 --> 01:08:25,970
to the maintenance and the salvaging
of the stuff that is already out there.
1238
01:08:26,976 --> 01:08:28,142
There are just too many.
1239
01:08:28,143 --> 01:08:31,896
You would like to save some,
but there are too many.
1240
01:08:31,897 --> 01:08:36,897
You have to do something with it.
1241
01:08:37,403 --> 01:08:42,403
It would cost me maybe $4,000 or $5,000
to get it operating again.
1242
01:08:44,868 --> 01:08:48,329
We've offered the machine
to a number of museums.
1243
01:08:48,330 --> 01:08:50,540
Most museums already have a Linotype,
1244
01:08:50,541 --> 01:08:51,916
but they too are just sitting there.
1245
01:08:51,917 --> 01:08:56,337
They aren't doing anything.
1246
01:08:56,338 --> 01:09:01,009
Most of these machines
are headed for salvage yards,
1247
01:09:01,010 --> 01:09:06,010
and I wish it were otherwise.
1248
01:09:15,316 --> 01:09:17,734
So we have made the decision
1249
01:09:17,735 --> 01:09:21,404
to take this to the salvage yard,
with a few tears.
1250
01:09:21,405 --> 01:09:26,405
It's not what I really prefer to do.
1251
01:09:38,255 --> 01:09:41,299
But I want to be here carefully
to document the fact
1252
01:09:41,300 --> 01:09:43,259
that, that is the right decision,
1253
01:09:43,260 --> 01:09:45,762
and it is not an easy one
1254
01:09:45,763 --> 01:09:47,639
as we say goodbye to this today.
1255
01:09:47,640 --> 01:09:50,767
I guess I'm glad not to have to watch it
1256
01:09:50,768 --> 01:09:55,104
because I know
how finely machined this thing is,
1257
01:09:55,105 --> 01:09:57,482
what a fine tool it is,
1258
01:09:57,483 --> 01:09:59,984
and to see it just destroyed,
1259
01:09:59,985 --> 01:10:03,696
my mind keeps going back to the inventor,
1260
01:10:03,697 --> 01:10:05,657
Ottmar Mergenthaler,
1261
01:10:05,658 --> 01:10:08,493
and that hurts.
1262
01:10:08,494 --> 01:10:12,080
[bangs]
1263
01:10:12,081 --> 01:10:17,081
[bangs]
1264
01:10:17,795 --> 01:10:20,171
Well, that's pretty devastating,
1265
01:10:20,172 --> 01:10:25,172
but it also shows you
the durability of the machine.
1266
01:10:33,644 --> 01:10:36,938
It was emotionally tougher
than I expected it to be.
1267
01:10:36,939 --> 01:10:40,817
A little twinge of regret, but not really
1268
01:10:40,818 --> 01:10:43,861
because, hey, everything has to make way,
1269
01:10:43,862 --> 01:10:48,574
and even Ottmar Mergenthaler's
Linotype has to make way.
1270
01:10:48,575 --> 01:10:50,827
Over the next few decades,
1271
01:10:50,828 --> 01:10:52,495
without Dave Seat and people like him,
1272
01:10:52,496 --> 01:10:54,455
these machines will just stand here idly.
1273
01:10:54,456 --> 01:10:56,499
After a while,
because they are doing nothing,
1274
01:10:56,500 --> 01:10:58,084
they will sell them for scrap metal.
1275
01:10:58,085 --> 01:10:59,711
Being a young operator
1276
01:10:59,712 --> 01:11:02,046
and learning this stuff
from people who are 80 years old
1277
01:11:02,047 --> 01:11:05,049
also feels like a bit of a responsibility,
1278
01:11:05,050 --> 01:11:08,636
that I should learn
as much as I can, while I can.
1279
01:11:08,637 --> 01:11:11,222
If it's to survive,
if it's to be appreciated,
1280
01:11:11,223 --> 01:11:12,390
and if it's to endure,
1281
01:11:12,391 --> 01:11:17,391
I think someone
is going to have to pass it on.
1282
01:11:25,195 --> 01:11:28,448
The machines themselves were put up
for auction in Boston.
1283
01:11:28,449 --> 01:11:30,074
They were purchased
by one of our founders and trustees,
1284
01:11:30,075 --> 01:11:31,492
a man named Howard Gorin,
1285
01:11:31,493 --> 01:11:35,037
who in turn asked if he could
donate them to the museum.
1286
01:11:35,038 --> 01:11:37,123
We expected to only receive one.
1287
01:11:37,124 --> 01:11:42,124
However, when the riggers left
this afternoon, there were two here.
1288
01:11:44,882 --> 01:11:48,176
We had two Linotype machines delivered.
1289
01:11:48,177 --> 01:11:51,721
They still need to be connected electrically.
1290
01:11:51,722 --> 01:11:54,640
A lot of electric wiring has to be replaced.
1291
01:11:54,641 --> 01:11:56,976
They are going to need
some mechanical attention.
1292
01:11:56,977 --> 01:11:59,771
A lot of the drive belts have to be replaced,
1293
01:11:59,772 --> 01:12:01,898
and from there on we will just see.
1294
01:12:01,899 --> 01:12:06,899
The accomplishment is seeing them
not going to China as scrap metal.
1295
01:12:07,988 --> 01:12:10,364
I was looking for a home for the second one,
1296
01:12:10,365 --> 01:12:12,742
and we couldn't find a home
for the second one.
1297
01:12:12,743 --> 01:12:16,829
I would not feel sorry
about finding a good home for it,
1298
01:12:16,830 --> 01:12:19,832
but I'll be goddamned if I'm
going to see this thing cut up for scrap,
1299
01:12:19,833 --> 01:12:23,211
and that's what it boils down to.
1300
01:12:23,212 --> 01:12:25,379
I think, for most commercial purposes,
1301
01:12:25,380 --> 01:12:27,757
you have to say, “Yes, it is a dead machine."
1302
01:12:27,758 --> 01:12:31,803
You can do it all much more quickly
in other ways.
1303
01:12:31,804 --> 01:12:34,722
On the other hand,
I think it's not a dead machine
1304
01:12:34,723 --> 01:12:36,557
in that there are enthusiasts around,
1305
01:12:36,558 --> 01:12:39,185
and I hope there will continue
to be enthusiasts
1306
01:12:39,186 --> 01:12:41,521
who find them sufficiently interesting.
1307
01:12:41,522 --> 01:12:45,691
Anything that I get into that's new
is going to be obsolete soon,
1308
01:12:45,692 --> 01:12:47,568
so why not get something
that is already obsolete
1309
01:12:47,569 --> 01:12:48,861
and make the best of it?
1310
01:12:48,862 --> 01:12:50,404
It's a closed system.
1311
01:12:50,405 --> 01:12:54,700
It has become what it will now always be,
1312
01:12:54,701 --> 01:12:57,995
so though there is a lot to learn-
1313
01:12:57,996 --> 01:13:00,206
a lotto learn, one lifetime isn't enough-
1314
01:13:00,207 --> 01:13:02,333
at least the technology stands still for you.
1315
01:13:02,334 --> 01:13:05,336
Somebody had to say something
about what the future was like
1316
01:13:05,337 --> 01:13:07,588
and who was being affected by it,
1317
01:13:07,589 --> 01:13:11,884
so I said, “I'll take the voice
of the Linotype machine,
1318
01:13:11,885 --> 01:13:13,094
and I'll be the poet.”
1319
01:13:13,095 --> 01:13:16,055
- "This Ottmar Mergenthaler chap, ”
1320
01:13:16,056 --> 01:13:18,850
"The Linotype he did unwrap. ”
1321
01:13:18,851 --> 01:13:21,644
"Created quite an awful flap, "
1322
01:13:21,645 --> 01:13:24,021
"Within the marketplace."
1323
01:13:24,022 --> 01:13:26,440
"Type foundries trembled,”
1324
01:13:26,441 --> 01:13:28,442
“then they went under. ”
1325
01:13:28,443 --> 01:13:31,487
"Printer's jobs were rent asunder. ”
1326
01:13:31,488 --> 01:13:34,991
"Investors' bellies grew rotunder. "
1327
01:13:34,992 --> 01:13:39,078
"And Linotype replaced a case.”
1328
01:13:39,079 --> 01:13:41,289
"Books and papers multiplied"
1329
01:13:41,290 --> 01:13:43,791
"In an ever-growing tide, ”
1330
01:13:43,792 --> 01:13:46,377
"Making wings for thoughts to ride”
1331
01:13:46,378 --> 01:13:49,547
“Up to outer space. ”
1332
01:13:49,548 --> 01:13:54,548
"Now Linotype has said farewell... "
1333
01:13:55,512 --> 01:13:58,973
Right there.
1334
01:13:58,974 --> 01:14:02,476
“Computer type it did foretell. ”
1335
01:14:02,477 --> 01:14:05,229
"But it let out one final yell: ”
1336
01:14:05,230 --> 01:14:10,230
'”I've served the human race.
1337
01:14:10,986 --> 01:14:15,986
That's it.
1338
01:16:22,034 --> 01:16:24,577
- You want to do this one for me?
- Oh, yeah.
1339
01:16:24,578 --> 01:16:29,578
- Take four!
- [laughter]
106195
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