Michigan Technological University Digital Commons @ Michigan Tech Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports - Open Reports 2015 WOOD TYPE ARCHAEOLOGY: AN INQUIRY INTO WORKER SKILL IN WOOD PRINTING TYPE MANUFACTURE Daniel Schneider Michigan Technological University Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.mtu.edu/etds Part of the History of Art, Architecture, and Archaeology Commons Copyright 2015 Daniel Schneider Recommended Citation Schneider, Daniel, "WOOD TYPE ARCHAEOLOGY: AN INQUIRY INTO WORKER SKILL IN WOOD PRINTING TYPE MANUFACTURE", Master's Thesis, Michigan Technological University, 2015. https://doi.org/10.37099/mtu.dc.etds/1007 Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.mtu.edu/etds Part of the History of Art, Architecture, and Archaeology Commons WOOD TYPE ARCHAEOLOGY: AN INQUIRY INTO WORKER SKILL IN WOOD PRINTING TYPE MANUFACTURE By Daniel Schneider A THESIS Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF SCIENCE In Industrial Archaeology MICHIGAN TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY 2015 © 2015 Daniel Schneider This thesis has been approved in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of MASTER OF SCIENCE in Industrial Archaeology. Department of Social Sciences Thesis Advisor: Dr. Steven A. Walton Committee Member: Dr. Carl Blair Committee Member: Dr. Scott Marratto Department Chair: Dr. Hugh Gorman Table of Contents Index of Figures ....................................................................................... vii Index of Tables .......................................................................................viii Acknowledgements ................................................................................... ix Abstract.................................................................................................... xi 1: Introduction ......................................................................................... 1 Wood Printing Type, Worker Skill, and Machines ......................................... 1 Past Study of Industrial Skill ........................................................................ 6 Methodology and Study Overview ................................................................. 8 Scope and Importance ................................................................................ 10 2: Industrial Skill & Its Components ....................................................... 12 Industrial Skill Defined .............................................................................. 13 The Factory as Social Environment ............................................................ 16 Workmanship and Industry ....................................................................... 19 Tacit Knowledge in Industrial Work ............................................................ 21 Phenomenology in the Factory .................................................................... 24 Embodiment Relations ............................................................................ 25 Hermeneutic Relations ............................................................................ 27 3: Wood Type History ............................................................................. 31 Type Cutting by Hand, Type Cutting by Machine ....................................... 34 Wood Type on the “Frontier” ....................................................................... 39 Diversification & Hamilton’s Later Years .................................................... 50 4: Type, Wood, and Machinery ................................................................ 57 Letterpress Printing Technology and Wood Type ......................................... 57 Type-High Wood ......................................................................................... 61 Wood Type Measurements .......................................................................... 67 Type Wood, Cut to Line .............................................................................. 69 The Pantograph Router .............................................................................. 73 The Die-Stamping Machine ........................................................................ 81 5: Type Cutting & the Pantograph Router ................................................ 91 Type Cutting .............................................................................................. 91 Type Patterns ............................................................................................. 95 Phenomenology and the Pantograph .......................................................... 99 The Cut-Off Saw & Type Trimming ........................................................... 102 Evidence of Workmanship in Wood Type Letters ...................................... 105 v 6: Die Stamping Decorative Borders ..................................................... 111 Die Stamping ........................................................................................... 111 Tacit Dimensions and the Die-Stamping Machine .................................... 117 Phenomenology and the Die-Stamping Machine ...................................... 119 Social Relations in Wood Type Border Manufacture ................................. 121 Evidence of Complexity in Wood Type Border Specimens ......................... 122 7: Conclusion ........................................................................................ 128 Industrial Skill, Revisited ......................................................................... 129 Industrial Skill as Manual Engagement ................................................... 137 Industrial Skill, Industrial Heritage ......................................................... 142 A Role for Industrial Archaeology ............................................................. 147 Appendix A ............................................................................................ 151 Experimental Archaeology ....................................................................... 151 Experiment Design .................................................................................. 153 Practical Matters ..................................................................................... 157 Notes on Experimental Data Tables ......................................................... 163 Selected Field Notes ................................................................................. 166 Appendix B ............................................................................................ 173 Stamping Dies Recordation Sheets .......................................................... 173 Appendix C ............................................................................................ 181 Border Piece Dimensions ......................................................................... 181 References ............................................................................................ 183 Bibliography ............................................................................................ 183 Oral Histories .......................................................................................... 188 Permissions ........................................................................................... 189 vi Index of Figures 1.1: Wood Printing Type .................................................................................... 2 1.2: Wood Type Border ...................................................................................... 3 1.3: The Pantograph Router ............................................................................... 4 1.4: The Die-Stamping Machine ........................................................................ 5 2.1: The California Job Case ............................................................................ 17 3.1: A Composing Stick ................................................................................... 32 3.2: Printing Form ........................................................................................... 33 3.3: Hamilton & Katz Works, 1885 .................................................................. 43 3.4: The Polhemus Cabinet .............................................................................. 44 3.5: Hamilton Manufacturing Company Works, 1891 ...................................... 46 3.6: 1891 Map of Hamilton Works ................................................................... 48 3.7: Detail of 1891 Map ................................................................................... 49 3.8: The Hamilton Works Expands .................................................................. 52 3.9: Further Expansion ................................................................................... 53 4.1: The Platen Press ....................................................................................... 58 4.2: “Type-High” .............................................................................................. 60 4.3: Circular Saw ............................................................................................ 62 4.4: Shelved Wood ........................................................................................... 63 4.5: The Sanding Machine ............................................................................... 65 4.6: The Height Machine .................................................................................