Label Type
Object LabelLabel
Linotype, Model 31
1950
Mergenthaler Linotype Co., manufacturer
New York, U.S.A.
Gift of Dan Williams
1998.060.01Label Type
Usage LabelLabel
Throughout the 19th century, inventors and their financial backers raced to find a way to create mechanical typesetting. The invention of the Linotype machine in 1885 represented the culmination of this grand effort and ushered in the “Age of the Daily Newspaper”.
Designed by Ottmar Mergenthaler, “Linotype” literally means “line of type.” The new machine had a 90-character keyboard that could be used to produce a whole line of type at the same time. By striking the keys, letter molds were called up from stocks mounted into the machine. A reservoir of molten lead was poured into the molds, making a complete line of type in reverse. When enough lines were formed, they would be transferred into the page frames. Dozens of pages could be made up in this way in a short amount of time against a daily deadline.
By the early 1900s, Linotype machines were common in newspapers and print shops alike. This Linotype was originally purchased by the former Houston Press and later operated for several years at the Houston Chronicle, where as many as 35 of these machines were used to produce the daily and weekend editions. This machine was last employed commercially in the 1980s by a local typographer.
In the 1970s, this “hot metal” method of newspaper composition was replaced by photo composition and improved photo engraving. Today, digital technology allows a complete page to be created on the computer screen, numbered, and sent to an automated press for the daily newspaper run.