Little Rock: Historic Arkansas Museum

Description:

Location: Historic Arkansas Museum, 200 E 3rd St, Little Rock, AR 72201.
Year: 2010
Catalogue number: -
Builder: Replica after Adam Ramage by Andrew Zawaski and John Horn.
Press dimensions: -
Platen dimensions: -
Platen material: Wood
Spindle material: Metal
Hose type: Metal
One pull/two pull: two pull

Notes:

John Horn and Andrew Zawaski build two presses. One is in the Historic Arkansas Museum, the other one is since November 2021 in San Felipe de Austin State Historic Site in Texas. “Recreation of the Ramage printing press brought west of the Mississippi River in 1819 by William Woodruff.”

The Arkansas Times (August 4, 2016): “Across the block, in the upstairs of a brick building meant to be a representation of the circa 1824 print shop of Arkansas Gazette founder and printer to the Arkansas Territory William Woodruff, stands another project that consumed Zawacki’s craft and passion for over a year: a huge wooden press he built from oak and cherry, copying an original he found in Vincennes, Ind. Featuring Zawacki’s artful woodwork and metal parts fabricated by Stone County Ironworks in Mountain View and Central Machine Shop in Little Rock, the press is period-correct in every detail, and has actually been used on occasion for demonstrations and to do short runs of handbills and other printed goods.”

John Horn wrote (March 6, 2016): “Here the story of their creation. At one time I was a volunteer at the museum with includes a couple of early Little Rock buildings and several reproductions of early buildings. Included in the buildings, was a representation of the second printing office in Little Rock and where I occasionally demonstrated printing. The press the museum had at the time was a St. Louis Type Foundry Washington press dating from the mid-1800s.
We do know that the first press in Arkansas was a Ramage Press and that it was in operation in 1821 in Little Rock. What happened to that press is anyone’s guess. Since the museum represents the early 1800s, the Washington press was technically inaccurate. After working at the museum for a while, I discovered that the conservator there, Andrew Zawaski, was one of the most talented wood workers I've known. I had some conversations with Andy and he felt he was capable of building a reproduction Ramage press. So I went to the director of the museum stating that I was willing to underwrite the cost of building two reproductions, provided I received one of them. The director was agreeable. Andy visited several surviving original Ramage presses, took accurate measurements, and drew his own plans. He then constructed the two presses using traditional methods, for the most part, and accurate materials. So, one Ramage reproduction sits in the Historic Arkansas Museum and the other in my shop. Neither press is used much but I do occasionally operate both presses.”

Literature:

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Photographs: medium size. Clicking enlarges in new window.

Photo: Unknown source.

Photo: Historic Arkansas Museum (December 6, 2021).

Photo: Unknown source.

Photo: Tracie Smith (May, 2018).

Photo: Historic Arkansas Museum (November 7, 2019).

Photo: Unknown source.