This curious machine is in the collection of the International Museum of Printing in Carson, California. I’ve never been to the museum myself.
The museum’s website describes the machine:
Linowriter, Circa 1920
This typewriter with a linotype keyboard arrangement was sold by the Empire Typefoundry, Buffalo. Very few of these machines were made and today their exact purpose is obscure. Possibly this kind of typewriter was intended for the small newspaper office where the editorial staff also operated the linotype.
(9.5 inches high)
The Linotype machine was the device that mechanically set the type to print the newspaper, generally a very large, noisy machine that mechanically assembled lead slugs of letters, and then cast a lead plate that could be used to print the page.
I wonder: Do you know of any linotype machines still in use?
Millard Fillmore's Bathtub 
Cool video. Thanks!
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You can see a real, full-size linotype in action practically any Saturday at the said International Printing Museum, or contact Mark Barbour, Curator, for special arrangement to visit and observe Luis Garcia, the resident operator, put this complex piece of machinery through its paces. F Or, if you can’t make it there in person, screen this video on YouTube, but there’s nothing like being there for this piece of fascinating visual and aural performance art!.
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oh boy an Art History question… (OK Design History, but I TA those courses too…) Woodside Press (http://www.woodsidepress.com/index.html) is one of publishers that still use linotype, albeit for small scale runs.
If you think about it, letter press is expensive in that it requires tremendous attention to detail and is fraught with error. Letter by letter or line by line printing is more suited to small scale runs such as invitations and programs. Here elegance and unique style are the premium it offers.
Offset and digital are better for large scale printing – books, magazines, and so on, as these prefer a continuous common style, every run looks the same.
I must admit, I like Palatino as a font as it provides that sense of elegance to presentations. While I would never use it as a body text, (Garamond, Georgia, & Times New Roman are better serif fonts) it works well in titles, especially when presenting material from 1850 on. Unfortunately, Mac and Windows have different codes for this font. As such, presentations are not directly compatible – they must be modified to display properly on the the particular system.
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