Linotype and Machinery

of 188-9 Fleet Street, London. (1908)

of John Street, London, WC1. Telephone: Chancery 6065. Cables: "Linotype, Holb. London" - Head Office. Works at Altrincham, Cheshire. (1947)

• 1903 Public company. The company was registered on 11 August, to amalgamate the Linotype Co and the Machinery Trust.

• 1947 British Industries Fair Advert as Makers of Precision Machinery for Printers. Machinery includes: Linotype, Miehle, Two-Revolution Press, Perfector, Two-Colour, Centurion, Centurette, Intaglio, Autoplate Machinery, L and M, etc. (Printing Machinery Section - Olympia, Ground Floor, Stands No. B.1467 and B.1471)

• 1961 Manufacturers of Linotype composing machines, the Miehle and Two-Revolution printing machines, Stereo machinery, etc for printing trade.

Sources of Information

The Linotype Company was formed in 1889 by the publisher Joseph Lawrence, founder of the Railway Magazine. Lawrence first saw linotype printing in action on a visit to the United States. The linotype machine had been developed by the German watchmaker Ottmar Mergenthaler. It helped to solve a problem for stenographers - how to produce good copy that could be read easily from shorthand notes. Most methods were slow and expensive. Mergenthaler is usually credited with solving the stenographers' problem. The new machine cut down on labour and saved space. It was also much faster than other machines and thus enabled newspapers and periodicals to increase production. In 1889 Lawrence and Stilson Hutchins, a representative of the American manufacturer, the Mergenthaler Linotype Company, brought three experimental machines to England. These caused great interest amongst the printing and newspaper industries. Lawrence was chairman of the Linotype Company from 1895 until his death in 1919.

The company acquired property in Hulme Street, Oxford Road, Manchester, and began to make its own machines. Manchester had an abundance of skilled labour and had good rail and canal networks for transporting raw materials, such as iron and coal, and for distribution of the completed machinery. As the company became more successful, the Hulme Street factory became crowded. Linotype purchased land at Broadheath, Altrincham for a new factory, which was formally opened by Lady Kelvin in 1899. In 1903 the company became known as the Linotype and Machinery Co. Ltd (commonly shortened to L&M) when it amalgamated with the Machinery Trust Ltd.

The linotype machine spread throughout the world, often following the paths of British colonialism. Linotype manufacturers almost worshipped the machine and its ability to spread the printed word. At the outbreak of the First World War, it was estimated that there were 30,000 linotype machines in operation across the world. Julius Muller, who wrote a history of the linotype machine, argued:

   "Let these thirty thousand Linotypes but fall into tune, and there shall arise a chorus, 

  that will, indeed, sweep War from the world forever." 

Just as computers today are seen as part of a technological revolution that has vastly accelerated the speed at which we can communicate, so too the linotype machine was believed to be part of a similarly drastic change. Its invention was compared to the advent of the railways and the telegraph.

Linotype machines were exported early in their history. L&M had branches in Calcutta, Bombay, Madras, Hong Kong, Singapore, South Africa, Nigeria, Egypt and Borneo. The linotype machine was adapted for printing in many scripts,

including Devanagari, Gujarati, Tamil, Telegu, Kanarese, Malay, Hindustani, Uriya, Persian, Sanskrit and Arabic. L&M were particularly proud of the fact that the Vatican installed four linotype presses in 1914.

During both world wars, L&M made munitions, gun parts, aeroplane engines, and tank parts. During the 1960s the company started to investigate the use of computers. However, L&M suffered during the 1970s and 1980s from increased competition. The American company retained the name 'Linotype', while the British company adopted 'L&M' as its official name in 1983. The company still exists today, and now manufactures machinery such as printing presses and stitching machines. As sales fell, the company structure was altered. The company at Broadheath is now divided into separate groups, each responsible for different products. It is entirely based in Manchester. Today, publishing and printing firms no longer use letter presses and the process is rarely seen.

http://www.msim.org.uk/media/33870636/thelinotypeandmachineryco.pdf Museum of Science and Industry