G.P. Gordon New Style Platen Press - New York
Age: ca 1872, Serial No. 950, Chase size: 10" x 15"
George Phineas Gordon, an American, is the acknowledged inventor of the world’s most successful platen press. From Gordon’s early attempts to improve on Stephen Ruggles design, he was able to design a machine that caught fire around the civilized world. Copies of Gordon’s platen were made all over America and in Britain. The Cropper Minerva and the Wade Arab both descend from Gordon’s design of hisNew Style platen in 1872.
Oddly enough, the new style proved less favorable to Gordon’s original old style platen - first built in 1856. The newer design had a less than ideal opening of the platen, but did feature a throw-off, which Gordon soon added to his old style the same year owing to James Young of Philadelphia having his throw-off patent expire.
Gordon went on to have both the new and old style platen built, first by others then in his own works in New York City. But by 1901, after Gordon’s death, the business was sold to the Chandler & Price Co. of Cleveland where the old style Gordon was built while the new style was dropped. C & P went on to phenomenal success making the Gordon well into the early 1970’s. Every print shop had a platen. Such was the success of George Gordon.
Our machine, circa 1872, although the new style, incorporates some unusual features including a counterweight at the rear of the machine as well as a spring absorber for the platen. Both these features were dropped shortly after.
