Handset Press

Liberty Press at Ball State University, Muncie, Indiana

In 2017, Ron Routh contacted Ball State University with an offer to place his Liberty press: "I have had the press about 50 years. It has a Muncie history of the Earnest Young card company from the early 1900s located on East Washington St. I am a printer by trade since 1965, and looking for a place to display this press."

Hans P. Kellogg, an associate professor in the School of Art at Ball State University and manager of the Graphic Arts Management printing program followed up on the offer. "He was probably thinking of it as a presentation piece that might be displayed at the front door, but with the resurgence in interest of letterpress I am hoping to clean it up and include it into our program."

Hans later passed along the information that the press included a brass plaque bolted to the counterweight, and that the serial number, 1165, "is unadorned." This is one of the earliest Liberty presses, probably manufactured in the early 1860s.

In March 2018 the following pictures were posted to the Ball State University TAGA (Technical Association of Graphic Arts) Instagram account:

Press Identification Summary

Owner:	Ronald D. Routh
Location:	Ball State University Muncie, Indiana
Manufacturer:	Fred Otto Degener
Model:	3 (10 x 15 inches)
Serial Number:	1165
Patents:	April 24th 1860
Throw-Off:	No

Thanks to Hans P. Kellogg for providing pictures and information used on this page.

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