This large and historically valuable archive of over 1200 original working engineering drawings & typesetting prints came from one of the people who helped clear out the old Linotype & Machinery Ltd (L&M) building in Manchester back in 2013. The main bulk of the clearance was over 100,000 original typeface drawings which drew a great deal of international attention at the time (including a slot on the Antiques Roadshow in 2014) and over 60,000 of the typeface letters eventually found their way to the Letterform Archive in California. However they also unearthed a much smaller quantity of other paperwork including these drawings, which to my mind are just as important but were overlooked by them at the time.
This archive consists of 1,204 hand drawn, printed and hand annotated engineering drawings that were created at and used by the L&M factory during the design of their own printing machines, as well as for other international projects they bid for. As very much working design drawings they depict machine parts both big and small, and look to cover the years between 1906 and the late 1980s (although at least three quarters date between the 1930s-70s). They approximately range in size from A5 to A0 and are printed and drawn on a wide range of material including paper, wax paper, tracing paper and acetate. As far as I can tell around 870 are labelled for L&M and a hand full of early ones are from Mergenthaler in the US. 325 were produced by the Intertype Corporation in Slough (probably as joint working). 255 of the L&M sheets are not strictly engineering drawings but matrix alignment charts for different letter fonts and date between 1922-1960.
The invention of Linotype in 1884 by O.Mergenthaler revolutionised the printing industry and put it at the forefront of the newspaper trade until the 1980s. But while his hot metal approach was simple enough, it required a very sophisticated type of machine to achieve it. As such the permanent team of engineers, designers and draftsmen at L&M would have been both highly trained and constantly busy in their quest to design, modify and improve the range of printing machines on offer by the UK branch. These drawings represent an absolutely vital part of the Linotype story and as working documents not only cover components that were eventually tooled up for use in their machines, but also those designs and modifications for parts that got cancelled as well. It is also important to note that while the UK company maintained a close connection to the Mergenthaler parent company in the US, they began producing their own unique machines from the start of the 20th Century onwards.
Please see images for condition but overall they are offered as found with natural wear and tear from use and age. Only a couple have light water damage and all are clearly legible but with rips and folding. Due to the size of the archive I can only include a very small number of photos here to give a flavour of what is included, however do get in touch if you would like further images and a full breakdown of the drawings.
This unique and historic archive would suit any institution interested in the history of engineering and the publishing industry.
Price negotiable upon request
