The C.M.C. Jobber
c. 1936-1955

The C.M.C. Jobber is a late example of a platen press, often referred to as a jobber press. Such presses gained their name due to the fact that they were used by printers for short run ‘job’ work, ranging from posters, notices, bills, cards, stationary, tickets, newsletters and the like, usually anything under one page and in contrast to print runs of multiple pages. Powered by a foot-action treadle, the platen press allowed for swifter printing than traditional hand presses.

The platen press was first developed by Stephen P. Ruggles of Boston in the 1840s, and later by George P. Gordon in the 1850s, whose ‘Gordon Franklin’ proved to be amongst the most popular platen presses of the century. When the patents of these early platen presses expired, the market was flooded by numerous models, either copying or improving the early developments achieved by Ruggles and Gordon. It has been estimated that 143 different treadle-driven platen presses were manufactured between 1840 and 1940 in the United States.

The design of the C.M.C. Jobber was derived from an earlier and more popular small floor model platen-press – the Pearl. William Golding, of Golding and Company, (Boston, Massachusetts) introduced the Pearl in 1869, and the “improved Pearl” in 1895. In 1936 the Craftsmen Machinery Company acquired the patterns for the 7×11 Improved Pearl and offered their version of the press as the C.M.C. Jobber until around 1955. The Craftsmen Machinery Company is still in existence, based in Millis, Massachusetts, and continues to produce a variety of machinery, including lithography and printing equipment.

This webpage was researched and produced by Ruth-Ellen St. Onge.