If you buy after clicking affiliate links on this site we might receive a commission from companies such as eBay, Amazon etc This does not affect the price you pay.
If you buy after clicking affiliate links on this site we might receive a commission from companies such as eBay, Amazon etc This does not affect the price you pay.
Click here to see similar items on eBay, and to buy.
PENNSYLVANIARAILROAD:
“FRAGLE, GLASS” – LETTERPRESS
PRINTING BLOCK, UNIQUE ITEM !
Lead-Copperbased and WoodenLetterpressWooden Printing Block.
NOTE: If youwant to purchase a piece of American railroad history, don’t buy animage ripped out of some magazine or newspaper. Instead, buy theprinting block that printed the actual image!Priorto the digital age, books, posters, tickets, forms, newspapers, andother types of printed paper wereproduced on a printing press. Movable type and wooden/ metal printing blocks (alsoknown as a letterpresscut orprintingdies) wereset in a frame (known as achase) andink was rolled over the surface of the metal image with a roller(also known as abrayer)before the paper was pressed into the inked surface. This processwas known as reliefprinting whichincluded woodcut,relief etching, linocut, linotype, andmetal cut. Youare purchasing an extremely rare letterpress printing block used toprint the PRR’s warning labels for plate glass or glass merchandiseshipped on their lines. In the late 1800’s and early 1900’s, plateglass was highly prized, fairly expensive and often times had to beordered from a hardware or glass company in a distant city. Thisletterpress block shows traces of red ink and would have stamped theimpression: THE PENNSYLVANIA RAILROAD. GLASS. HANDLE WITH CARE DO NOT CRUSH. The letterpress block also displays the formnumber of 85G66 at the block’s upper left corner. SPECIFICATIONS: This letterpress metal and wood printing block measures0.925″ deep by 1.5″ high by 4.262″ wide and weighsapproximately 6.9 ounces (197 grams). This stamp is a professionallymade, letterpress block used for printing. It shows some surfacewear from being in the press. Based upon this blocks’ composition,this block is believed to have been produced and used during the1930’s. Although you will be receiving the entire wood and metalprinting block, the images you are looking at are high-resolutionimages of just the block’s metal printing surface (so that you cansee the considerable detail). COPPERELECTROPLATING: This particular letterpress block has acopper electroplated surface. Copper or zinc electroplating wasadded to the surface of letterpress plates to keep the images sharp-and- to increase the number of impressions a plate could producebefore being “retired.” If you would like to “shineup” the surface of the plate, we would suggest you use a littlecopper cleaner on a toothbrush to bring out its brilliant coppercolor, remove tarnish and any residual inks.ABOUTTHE RAILROAD:The Pennsylvania Railroad was an American Class I railroad, foundedin 1846 and was headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.ThePRR was the largest railroad (by traffic and revenue in the UnitedStates) for the first half of the twentieth century and was at onetime the largest publicly traded corporation in the world. At itspeak it controlled about 10,000 miles of rail line; in the 1920s itcarried about three times the traffic (measured by ton-miles offreight) as other railroads of comparable length. The only rival wasNew York Central, which carried around three-quarters of PRR’ston-miles.Duringits history the PRR merged with or had an interest in at least 800other rail lines and companies. At one point the budget for the PRRwas larger than that of the U.S. government; at its peak it employedabout 250,000 workers.In1968 the Pennsylvania Railroad merged with its rival, the New YorkCentral Railroad, to form the Penn Central Transportation Company. (Credit to all of the folks that make Wikipedia.com a reality).Thisrare letterpress printing block makesa perfect gift for yourself, your coffee or end table, on your deskat work, on a shelf, or in your collection. It also makes afantastic gift (no one else is going to give this as a gift!). Thereis little doubt that friends who see it will pick it up and ask”Where did you ever find this unusual item?” NOTESABOUT THE IMAGE SURFACE:Every timea die passes through the printing press, the pressure of the die’simpression on the paper subtly degrades the surface of theplate/die/block. Please see the listing’s photographs regarding thesuitability of this block if you actually intend to use it forprinting.Wehave inspected the surface of this block and it appears to be inextremely good condition; still has a considerable amount of relief. IMAGECORRECTION / ADJUSTMENT:One ofthis listing’s photographs has been intentionally reversed. In thatphotograph, the image is a “mirrored image” so that you cansee what the image would look like when it was printed (as well asread the text). The printing block you will receive will be what isknown in the printing industry as “wrong reading,” whichmeans that when you hold the block in your hand and look at it, theimage is reversed.WARRANTYand/or RETURNS:Thisletterpress block is subject to individual interpretation. We havemade every effort to list the information and condition as accuratelyas possible: Thus, no warranty or returns on this item. HOWFAST IT’S GOING TO GET TO YOU:As soon asPayPalnotifiesus that your payment has been posted, your item will be packaged,labeled, and readied for shipping. Shipping is usually the same dayor next day. Wedon’t like to wait on our items to be mailed – so we’re guessing youdon’t either.Don’t have a PayPal account? Feel free to contact us to see if otherarrangements can be made (we’re pretty easy to get along with).INTERNATIONALSHIPPING: This printingblock WILLSHIP INTERNATIONALLYto manycountries. If you’re willing to pay the shipping cost to have thisprinting block sent overseas, we’re happy to ship it to you. We willcomplete the United States Custom’s Form required to ship this itemto your country – you are responsible for any import costs, taxes,duties, tariffs, or fees associated with the receiving country (i.e.your country). The United States Custom’s Form requires you includea telephone number in your country where you can be reached if youare using a post office box. The United States Custom’s Form willindicate the contents as: “Printing Materials.”Pleasebe certain your country is one of the countries we ship to by usingthe pull down “Shipsto” menu. Due to problems with theft by customs / mail officials, credit cardfraud and high postal non-delivery rates, we have blocked certaincountries from purchasing. If your country isn’t listed, you willneed to contact us to see if we can make arrangements. Internationalshipping requires you pay with Pay-Pal.SHIPPINGand HANDLING COST:There isno excessive “padding” with this item’s shipping andhandling, it is a fair heavy letterpress printing block weighingalmost half-a-pound.It ships United States First Class Mail to your United Statesaddress. It ships United States First Class International Mail toyour foreign address. Foreign addresses will incur an additional$1.00 processing charge for completing the United States Custom’sForm required to ship this item internationally. INSURABLE?:eBays policy changed in 3rd Quarter 2009, (which previouslyallowed buyers the option of selecting and paying for coverage fortheir purchases). Thus, this item is not insurable. We don’t make thepolicies, we simply have to try to keep up with them. Given theblock’s wood and metal composition – coupled with our packagingtechniques – the likelihood of breakage or damage in transit isminimal.SECURITYFEATURE:Thephotographs posted on eBay contain digital watermarks to reducefraud. These watermarks are not on the actual item – only thephotographs. In addition, the photos will contain an inventory numberto assist in locating the exact item in the inventory.FAVORITESELLER:Please,take a moment to peek at our other items AND mark this store as oneof your favorites – – – so that you can come back and visit anothertime – – – even if you’re not buying anything today. We enjoylocating and reselling oddities, offbeat pieces, thought-provokingGreatDepression items,extraordinary and unique curiosities. Anyone can shop at SuperMonsterMart. We sell yesterday’s curiosities – to today’s collectorsand investors.IDON’T LIKE THAT PRICE:As ageneral rule, we affix a price we believe is reasonable. If you don’tlike the price you see, contact us to see if we can bartera price that’smore agreeable to you. The item listed here is intended to make asmall profit for us and provide a historical opportunity andenjoyment to you.WE’REALWAYS BUYING BLOCKS!:Over theyears, we’ve had many people contact us wondering if we’d like to bytheir collection of letterpress wood & lead printing blocks. Weare ALWAYS looking to acquire more – – – so if you’d like to sellyour collection, please, feel free to contact us – – – we’d love tohear from you!CHILDSAFETY NOTICE:This item is a lead based item,(its metal content is mostly lead and/or other semi-soft metals).Lead is known to be toxic to children if handled or ingested.
If you buy after clicking affiliate links on this site we might receive a commission from companies such as eBay, Amazon etc This does not affect the price you pay.
Click here to buy, and to see similar items on eBay
Category: Collectibles:Transportation:Railroadiana and Trains:Signs and Plaques
Location: Dayton, Ohio