Frasca, R. (n.d.). From apprentice to journeyman to partner: Benjamin Franklin’s workers and the growth of the early American printing trade. The Pennsylvania Magazine of History & Biography, 114.
History of printing timeline. (n.d.). American Printing History Association. Retrieved September 20, 2022, from https://printinghistory.org/timeline/
STEM Connection: Printing as Mechanical Engineering and Information Science
The story of 19th-century printing is more than a literary or artistic journey—it’s a story of industrial innovation, chemistry, materials science, and systems engineering. These sources provide rich opportunities for STEM-focused exploration into how the evolution of print technology shaped society’s access to knowledge.
Mechanical Engineering & Automation: Early presses evolved from manual screw mechanisms to steam-powered rotary presses by the mid-1800s. Teachers can guide students in building small-scale models or simulations of letterpress mechanics, exploring principles of levers, pressure, rotational motion, and gear systems. These engineering innovations allowed for mass production of newspapers, books, and pamphlets—shaping literacy, education, and politics.
Chemistry & Materials Science: Bestow’s treatise on ink production offers insight into 19th-century chemical processes. Students can investigate how pigments were derived (e.g., soot, iron salts, linseed oil), the role of binders, and why ink stability mattered for print quality and longevity. Modern comparisons could include testing ink made from natural materials, analyzing viscosity, or evaluating archival decay in old books due to acidic ink.
Environmental Impact & Industrial Waste: The acquisition of mid-19th-century ink and mucilage bottles (South Street Seaport Museum) opens conversations around chemical waste, glass manufacturing, and early industrial byproducts. Students could explore how these substances impacted soil and water quality in dense urban areas like Lower Manhattan—and compare this to today’s industrial chemical regulations.
Information Science & Networks: The spread of printing technology parallels today’s digital revolution. Educators can lead projects that compare the rise of the printing press to the modern internet: What happens when information becomes cheap and fast to reproduce? How did it change public opinion, governance, and education? Students could create timelines showing how breakthroughs in print media influenced literacy rates or civic engagement.
Labor & Economics: Frasca’s research on the apprenticeship-to-partnership pipeline in the early American printing industry offers an opening to discuss workforce development, wage systems, and the STEM of labor logistics—scheduling, typesetting accuracy, and supply chains of paper, ink, and type.
Together, these sources invite educators to teach printing not just as a craft or art form, but as a cornerstone of industrial STEM development with direct ties to equity, communication, and the democratization of knowledge.