The Surprising Importance of This Bookmaking Machine 

Learn more about the American Bookbinders Museum at bookbindersmuseum.org/ and twitter.com/BkBindersMuseum Adam learns how old books were made: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-uauXBgeImFc.html

I was hoping we'd get more videos from the Bookbinders museum. Madeleine does a great job explaining all of this stuff.

Adam helping the museum get this machine up and running. Now that’s a one day build (vlog) I’d love to see.

I couldn't care less about bookmaking but I'm enthralled by Madeline's knowledge and ability to explain and dry sense of humor, and of course Adam's enthusiasm and joy of learning.

There is a working one of these in the National Print Museum in Dublin. It is a delight to see in action (as is everything in there)

we recently inherited an old family home, and I have found old notebooks from the late 1800s with the same blue and red lines we have today and I though to myself "how far back was lined paper available?" I hadn't realized it was available before 1900 at all. seeing this machine makes me understand better what was happening during that time frame. Very cool.

As a print specialist, this was amazing! The house I was in during high-school had a shed in the woods where we found an 1876 printing press.

Adam This was a mystery to me when researching my ancestors and one of my 2X great grandfathers was listed in the 1861, 1871 census as being a Paper ruler. I did find a video on RU-vid once of a Paper Ruling machine like the one in your video in operation. My ancestor lived in Medlock Street Salford Manchester. He was a Paper ruler at the time of his marriage in 1853, so this gave him a living for at least 20 years. His son was a printer compositor. Great that these wonderful machines are kept in a museum and not just scrapped. John

“Someday we are going to get this up and running” “REALLY!?” That excitement was so pure

I could watch a whole channel of things like this. Just nerdy, in depth views on extremely interesting contraptions.

I am really enjoying these videos. Its not some big fancy plane or spacesuit, its not a legendary prop from a film, its everyday history. like yeah, how do you draw thousands of lines for a ledger when industrial level printing isn't available yet? And Madeline clearly has a lot of love for this subject and is very knowledgeable about this. I hope to see more videos like these.

Shared with my Dad, a retired print engineer in his 80s, and asked (somewhat joking) if he had ever worked on one of these. Then got this reply! "Yes I have worked on one of those, even an older one that used nibs similar to pen nibs that were tacked onto a wooden strip and fed ink with wicks. These were superseded with discs that had a tiny groove around the circumference to carry the ink and had spacers between them for the line spacing, nowadays a ledger sheet would be printed on an offset machine, horizontal, vertical and all colours in one pass." (he worked on modern Offset machines too)

In 1991 we were using a ledger book to track our cardiovascular patients as they came through our Cath Lab. We had some PCs but the ubiquitous use was not present. It took us another 3 years to retire those books and get them in a computer (the hospital's network was limited by user).

Adam, M&H Type Foundry / Arion Press in San Francisco is well worth the visit if you haven't been there already. If possible, get a tour of their facilities -- they have everything from typecasting, typesetting, printing and binding. The typecasting part was my favorite!

Yeah, its amazing how they did it back then. The reason behind the cams lifting the pens is pagination. Each master sheet has to have 4 imprints, and with that machine you could roll off 100 feet of paper to create about 25 sheets of 4 pages, or 100 pages for one book. I'm more interested in how they made the vertical lines. Also, I think I've seen a sewing machine used on big books. It didn't 'look' like a sewing machine for clothes, it looked like a sewing machine for sails...and, it may have been that. You have to remember, at that time period sails were still being made and factories made sails using specialized sewing machines. I still love old books, far more than new books. I hate modern book binding.

As a guy that builds and implements the kinds of accounting systems that ultimately made this obsolete, it's great to see some of the history that we mimic with our computers. Many in my field would do well to understand this history to improve their current day understanding.

Sometimes the simplest things (or look simplest) are the most complex to build. Loved to learn this.

I really love people like her who understand certain things, have clearly explained it to many people, and are still able to answer new questions or give their own informed thoughts in absence of an answer. I've gotten into leatherworking so the expertise of certain people, coupled with their passion really truly is lifesaving for that persons respective trade.

Absolutely incredible! I love that she compared what the machine does with programming. Smart lady. I worked at a print shop in the 90's for a short time, just outside of Flint Michigan. He owned an 1800's era printing press and was in the process of repairing it when I started there. I was lucky enough to be there when he got it working and printed up some cool old timey news papers of his own.

0:54 and I'm already in love and awe with this fine lady "turning a page of those suckers must've been lots of fun" xDDDD

Back in the 70's I met a man in SW Oklahoma City that was still in operation printing legers using machines just like this he had one just like in the video and one that was all cast iron. The paper was very heavy 100% rag stock and had a thinner area along one edge that allowed the pages to lie flat, I still have some prints on this stock hanging. He also had a very old paper cutter that was run with a 4" leather belt, he also chewed Wrigleys Spearmint gum nonstop... All of this was in a metal building behind his home, He was quite a fellow and a master of his craft.

I have long been interested in the history of printing and typography and, though it makes sense now, I had no idea such a contraption existed. It would be a treat to see this machine at work - what a beauty!

I was taught two entry ledger at college fifty years ago just as computers were starting to be used, but had no idea that every business would have had different ledger layout requirements. Obvious when it's explained, but absolutely fascinating - ! 😊

This is so fascinating thank you for sharing this series with us!

As a spreadsheet fanatic and lover of columnar pads since I was a kid...THIS is FABULOUS!!!

What an absolutely magnificent old machine. I hope they really do get it up and running one day, it'd be thrilling to see such a fine old beast at work. And what a souvenir from a visit to the museum - a ledger or pack of index cards made on a century+ old machine!

I have a fascination for industrial heritage. When innovation and imagination were key components to success.

I never gave any thought to how old ledgers were produced, I might have speculated but the truth is far more interesting than the speculation. Wonderful!

I absolutely love this museum now that I know it exists! Thank you Adam and crew for bringing this to us!

Adam, I hope you have seen a Line-o-type machine. When I was a kid in the 60s, I worked in a print shop that had one, you would type letters and the letter dies would all fall into a line and the hot lead pot would pour in the lead and cool it and a line of type would pop out, it was an incredibly complex machine. It was a tedious and boring job as was most of the printing work. The German Line-o-type machine came with a flask holder next to the lead pot to keep your brandy warm! Alcoholism was a common problem in the printing industry, I think it was a printer that started AA!

I had never thought. Also, the curator is magnificent. This whole video is full of the excitement of discovery.

she is so adorable. Please do another one! such a wealth of knowledge

Thank you for sharing! I remember back in the late 80s I did a tour through the old Levi's factory during school. There is so many amazing things left there. Some times I am sad I moved away for the state really left me. That day the bay bridged collapse ya I was in the middle of that with my sisters. We were just at the Oakland side of the bridge when it fell. Memories. Cheers

Marvelous technology and precision for its day. This is a whole branch of the printing industry I never knew about. Thanks for sharing.

I have an old ledger that I now view with fascination.

there's so much fascinating detail in all these things around us; it's like the world is a fractal - however far you zoom in it just keeps going

What a GIANT pain in the ass BUT without this we don’t have what we now know as AUTOMATION … and I can’t love this enough ❤

This was fascinating! Never gave a thought to how these were made when technology was still operated by hand. Would like to see more of these types of episodes!

Crazy shit. I have seen some of these old ledgers, but never imagined the complexity of the machines that were used to make them. Fantastic content.

Great museum tour Adam and Madeleine. If I am ever in San Fran I'll check it out.

thanks for the tour.

There's just a certain aesthetic beauty in those old machines that I just love. Not only the patina of the wood finish, but also of the (assuming) brass components.

This is wonderful. The level of expertise required in the past to do most things is what fostered and created craftsmen.

What an amazing machine...awesome. Thank you!

This was fantastic. More of this please :)

This is why history is so important. We take books for granted today, but they were luxury items, or even restricted by law at times. This stuff is fascinating. Moar please! ^-^

Absolutely fascinating! Incredible how much infrastructure was needed for such relatively simple processes.

I get such a Mr. Rogers vibe from these tour videos!

Brilliant! Thank you.

really insterested in this video iv been making my own books for a long time

Amazing! I bet it wouldn't take much mechanically to get that beast up & running! Well built modern machines are few & far between.

Fascinating. Thank you for this. 😊

it is mindblowing how things where done when my grandparents were born. They tell stories, but the amount of change is so unimaginable, its insane

This was fascinating!

Dad used these ledger cards in the 1960s and 1970s in his construction businesses. He wants also told me that when the electric adding machine came in, he was able to reduce his office personnel from four women to three women. I can recall the adding machines were you punched in the number mechanically, and then pull the lever on the right hand side. In addition, there were specialized ledgers called One Write for doing checks for accounts, payable and payroll. These were envelope sized pieces of paper with a carbon paper strip horizontally where you would write the name and the amount and the date on the sheet. The carbon with then transfer what you wrote to the below ledger card. Now consider how much work it would be to summarize a single employees, net pay, taxes, pension, deduction, union fees, etc. at the end of the calendar year to produce the paperwork to send to the government. This was a huge task, and was why your employer had several months to get this paperwork done and snail mail you a copy as well as send this to the government.

I see a TV series or just a specific series of Adam and crew touring around the country visiting museums like this.

Ive used ledgers like those, when i was a teenager to get money in the summer holidays when i helped my late-mother

"Now then, kids. This is how grandpa remembered where his _favourite_ websites were back in olden times!"

Jacquard! The thumbnail made me think you'd mention him - the line from loom to Jacquard to Pascal and Babbage is fascinating! I grew up watching James Burke and Connections this reminds me of the crazy contraptions James would talk about :D

Fascinating. Something from a by-gone.

That's modern technology in the early 1900's, thanks for sharing your story 👍

I spent 14 years in the commercial printing trade as a print finisher (what was known as bookbinder back in the day) and I've always loved the history of the trade. I've volunteered at a living museum myself on a few occassions. It's incredible how far we've come in such a short space of time. And now the craft is dying out (thanks, internet!) 😎

Used a Hickok job backer for decades -- what a sweet machine!

Can/will you revisit once they get the printing/binding up and running? That would be awesome! I love stuff like this, I was a press operator and helped in the binding department of where I worked, but it was all automated, would be neat to see how the progression happened! Thank you Adam!

I love this so much! So wonderful.

Wow. Who came up with it, does she know the inventor? It is a lovely piece of furniture, of art, as well as industry. MORE PLEASE?

Telling ya. These series of Adam visiting museums is fascinating.

Fascinating!

I spent a couple months trying to find a home for one of these when the book binder near me closed. I think we still have the manual somewhere. If I find it I’ll see about sending it to the museum.

Something I never thought of but now I’m interested. I think I’ll have to pop by next time I’m in San Francisco.

Every time I see something like this, I can’t help but think of how staggering human ingenuity is. Also, how do we get back to machinery being beautiful things like that?

Major interesting. Gonna start searching for history pieces similar.

Time travel ❤have some old Ledger books loved seeing how it may of been made

Ah I’ve been waiting for this since it was mentioned in the last book episode 😊

There you go Tested, there's a project for you, get it back up and working. And, you give back to your local community. As always thumbs up.

Adam, At 800. The patina of use in Japanese is called "aji' and is very admired.

The technology that came before computers is fascinating. For me, knowing the history just adds more depth to my knowledge of the world. The lower level tech still works, the higher level tech can make things easier…BUT! When TSHTF, you can go back to the lower level tech and still get things done. Adam, you need to help put that machine back in working order. Think of the fun that would be!

I like these videos very much.

As an Ascendance of a Bookworm reader, I live for this stuff.

This is apart of history many people don’t think about coming in to the modern age.

Nice video sir thanks

very very cool!!

I have seen these "pens" before and never knew what there were or what they were for XD fascinating

Brilliant.

Sweet! that`s a lot of old brass!

Suddenly it makes sense why graph paper costs more than composition paper... Twice as many passes through the machine.

This is fantastic

In a word, Wow! My Dad was a printer by trade (actually a Comp, so let's see if anyone knows what that is) and he would have loved this!

Wow! This is amazing. (I have to find more with Madeleine in it, she’s a trip!)

In my regular job, I work in a Legal Stationers. We still print these types of ledgers and analysis paper. Although our machine is a boring litho press, nowhere near as cool as this, it's impressive in it's own way I suppose. 😁

Adam, I really think you would get a kick out of the Baltimore Museum of Industry. It's got a big exhibit on bookmaking and printing. Also, given that the Linotype machine was invented in Baltimore, there are a few working Linotype machines too.

I had kind of wondered about how they made the old ledgers where I worked at the county recorder's office. They had heavy wood covers that were bound in canvas or leather, and really pretty water marbling on the inner covers. I imagine that the ledger lines must have been drawn out by a similar machine, at least by the 20th century. Maybe the 19th century books might have even been drawn out by hand?

Great content

The large ledger still exists in a way at some companies in their database with tables with an insane amount of columns.

Arion Press and M&H foundry next!

Very cool. Those were the days...

Trivia that I will never use, but very interesting!

Amazing machine .....reminds me of the story of the first top secret wooden rule automatic inscribing machine from the early 1800's , cant remember which early rule maker had it ,Stanley? Chapin?, but they kept the technology hidden for a long time.....now go find one Adam and report back :)

Thanks!

Yes!