Manufacturer: Maschinenfabrik Karl Krause, Leipzig, Germany

Y.O.M: ca 1860s

Serial No.: 1530

Size: 50 cm / 19.5"

Restored: 2018

Description:

Formed in 1855, Karl Krause was a prolific builder and aggressive marketer. From his first plant in Leipzig, Germany, Krause manufactured hundreds of different machines, mostly for the bookbinding and paper cutting industry. Everything, from shears to cornering, calendering, arming and embossing machines, were made. Even stone lithographic presses became popular.

From our extensive research, we believe this Krause Guillotine was manufactured in 1860s, making it the oldest guillotine we have in our collection.

To our delight, during the restoration, we discovered that the paint work was original, therefore a change of direction was taken with regard to the depth of the restoration work, and only gentle cleaning was applied to the painted areas. Furthermore, we decided to also leave the original old repairs, from the early days of this guillotine's life, untouched.

The bare metal shafts and components received the usual high standard full restoration treatment.

Another unexpected fact - all screws used throughout the machine featured the British Standard Whitworth (BSW) threads, not metric as you would normally encounter on German-made machinery.