Kindai insatsu no akebono: Sutanhōpu to sangyō kakumei = The dawn of modern printing : Stanhope and Industrial Revolution

Uittreksel

"This exhibition was realized when we were fortunate enough to obtain a Stanhope press, a press of rare quality that has been most highly valued among printers. The first all-iron printing press, it totally changed the long tradition passed down from the time of Gutenberg, and led the way to the Industrial Revolution. There are few Stanhope presses in the whole world today and this is the fourth in Japan. We were extremely excited that we were able to acquire such a precious press. However, we were well aware that we should not simply stay overwhelmed with excitement. We decided to take this wonderful opportunity to plan a special exhibition on printing presses, a kind of presentation that was not possible in our museum until now. Along with paper, ink, and type, the printing press is one of the most important aspects of printing. We felt the urge to look at the development of the printing press in a wider perspective and to analyze what was new about this specific printing press and how this invention came about. When the actual planning of the exhibition had begun, we soon realized that this could not be a mere celebration of the beginning of modern printing. We began to understand that the inventor was not only an engineer but also a great scientist: and furthermore, that he was a very radical politician and thinker as well. How could an English aristocrat be at the same time a scientist, an engineer and a unique politician? How could such a miracle happen? Our inquiry took further steps as we became interested in learning how far the path paved by Stanhope had developed. Implementing novel techniques may have roused resistance. Such questions continue to grow in our minds"-- Greeting, Koichi Kabayama (page 5).