The press is a bookbinders cast iron press with a screw mechanism c1890, sometimes called a copy press or nipping press. The press was used to compress books hard bound books during the process of binding. The typical press consists of two vertical pillars, a long stout screw, a platen and the bed. The folded sections of the book were piled upon the bed of the press, and the platen screwed down as tightly as possible. Known history: this press was used at Clarke & Sherwell, a book and catalogue printer in Northampton.
