Accession Number: 2004.134.49.120
Description: Black and white glossy; American Printing House for the Blind employees are operating braille presses; the woman on the left is using a Kelly Press; the guy on the right is using a Bobst Rotary Press; she is wearing a knee-length dress; he is wearing a pin-striped short-sleeved shirt with grey slacks; stacks of Reader's Digest sit on shelves in the foreground; reams of paper with tags tied on them line shelves on the wall in the background. Reverse: "Printing 'TheReader's Digest.' 1941 Kelly Press."
Medium: Photographic Paper
Print Size: 8" (h) x 10" (w)
Date: ca. 1941
Photographer: Unidentified
History/Provenance: The Kelly Press was invented by William Kelly in 1914. It was an ink printing press that the American Printing House converted for braille production. The Bobst Rotary Cylinder Press was designed and built by Henry Bobst in 1915 in Switzerland, specifically to emboss braille for the blind. J. Bobst & Son was founded in 1890 by Henry's father, Joseph. The machine printed 14 3/16 x 22 13/16" sheets, and could handle 6000 copies per hour at maximum speed.
Credit Line: (see provenance)
Subjects: Braille Presses Printing presses