Linotype machine and operator, circa 1903
My father was a printer’s devil in his teens at a small town newspaper in the 1940s. When I was young he took me back to his home town, showed me the the press machinery and explained how it all came together and worked. I can still remember the smell of the ink and newsprint and in my mind’s eye I see a hunch-backed little old man in an ink-stained apron setting type. I remember looking at the lead type and noticing that it read backwards when set. It was a marvelous experience for a young boy.