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...other than to crush craniums in slapstick comedies? I'm talking about this: . Watching Arbuckle's "Back Stage" it seems like every well-appointed office had one but it's real purpose eludes me. Seems like a lot of hardware to have around just to seal envelopes or affix a stamp. And really, how many times can a heavy be counted on to fall right into it after being kicked in the ass?

Rob Farr wrote:...other than to crush craniums in slapstick comedies? I'm talking about this: . Watching Arbuckle's "Back Stage" it seems like every well-appointed office had one but it's real purpose eludes me. Seems like a lot of hardware to have around just to seal envelopes or affix a stamp. And really, how many times can a heavy be counted on to fall right into it after being kicked in the ass?

It was some sort of a portable printing press I believe, so today you could stick Curly's head in a Xerox machine, getting multiple copies of his mushed expressions in the process.

RICHARD M ROBERTS

It may have been employed that way, but I believe it's a book press, used in bindery to clamp and flatten out books as the binding glue cures. Some artisan bookbinders still have them, like this person (see the sixth photo down):

http://windyweatherbindery.com/news/?m=200903

Ian Elliot wrote:It may have been employed that way, but I believe it's a book press, used in bindery to clamp and flatten out books as the binding glue cures. Some artisan bookbinders still have them, like this person (see the sixth photo down):

http://windyweatherbindery.com/news/?m=200903

That makes sense as well, but I've seen film of them being used as part of some actual printing process as well, and Ben Franklin's first printing press certainly resembles something like it.


RICHARD M ROBERTS