The Craftsman Hand Printer dates from the 1930s, but according to the dates stamped inside my box, this saw action in 1954. Inside is a set of letter and character stamps, printing block and an unrelated, but super cool vintage ruler. My set also included a red, graphic stamp pad, which has been sacrificed to my box of photo styling props. I am unsure if the bag of smaller letter stamps originated with this set as the other photos of the printer online do not include them. My larger letters are not complete, so using this set as stamps is always a fun challenge to put together actual words.
Best of all, my set includes some sample printing by a Mr. Paul Flesner. Mr. Flesner must have been hoping to use the set to print his own business cards. It appears Mr. Flesner had a freight shipping company out of Valparaiso, Indiana in the 1950s. I am not sure if he really got to use the kit as he intended. Pages are still left on his sample pads -- perhaps he wasn't happy with the quality of this DIY printing set?
Recent Comments