I. Adams & Co. "Acorn" Hand Iron Press - Boston, USA
Age: ca 1832, Serial No. 308, Platen size: 19.5" x 25.5" Medium
Our Adams "Acorn" iron press, from circa 1832, and the St. Louis Type Foundry press are part of our Watkins Collection.
The Acorn arrangement for a hand Iron press is somewhat unusual. Several variants were made - among them the Stansbury (1820), Smith (1822) and Otis Tufts (1831). Adams had made acorn presses for Tufts while branding their own as well. The Adams brothers did, however, use an opposite direction of the knuckle joint to Tufts and so were similar to Smith’s design. The Smith press was also used to print the first Book of Mormon, and subsequently was taken over by the R. Hoe Co. who also produced Acorns with the figure 4 and triangulated bar designs.
Through extensive research, we believe our press was made by the Adams Brothers. The name “Acorn” comes from the outer shape of the box which resembles the shape of an acorn. While there are machines of this type in the USA, it’s still considered rare.
Our machine, sourced from Logan, Utah, arrived with major cracks in the castings on both left and right side of the frame. At some point, brackets were bolted to the frames which did nothing for its appearance. We undertook to nickel weld the frame and fill the unpleasant holes. Now, the Adams looks just as it did when leaving the Boston factory. As a special treat, we have a forme of the Mormon Bible’s first 8 pages - thanks to the late Mr. Keith Watkins of Watkins Printing. Just as Mr. Watkins pulled proofs for interested visitors, we shall be doing the same.
In later years, the R. Hoe company purchased the Adams Company as there were some legal disputes over a patented fly attachment Adams held for their newspaper press. Instead of losing in court, Robert Hoe made a play to buy the whole of Adams concerns. Lawsuit and, probably more important, competition, eliminated!
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