[Nottingham, United Kingdom]

Home must be found for printing collection of the Newark Millgate Museum

From the Printing Historical Society occasional email newsletter, 11 February 2017

Mr Kevin Winter of Newark Museum writes:

Newark Millgate Museum was opened in 1977 as a social history museum, which grew up around a working print room run by Roy Stephenson, whose father had also been a printer in Newark.  Roy continued to run it as a working print shop into the 90s. Roy is now elderly and hadn’t worked for a number of years before Millgate closed in 2012. The owners of the building originally allowed us to keep the print shop in situ, whilst we explored options for a group or individual to take them on as a print museum, but we then had to remove them in the autumn as they redeveloped the building.

They have been in storage in Nottingham since then and we are now looking to dispose of them, hopefully to an accredited museum.  They have been on offer in Museums Journal since November last year and I am now contacting print museum who may be interested in some or all of the collection.

The collection consists of 5 x printing presses, including 1 x Atlas Press dated 1837, 1 x Albion Press, dated 1840, 1 x Cropper treadle platen and a Furnival guillotine, dated early 20th century. There are also 5 pallets full of lead and wooden type (the original cabinets were too fragile to dismantle).

Please contact me for further details if required and if you can let me know if you would be able to put us in touch with anyone who may be interested in any part of the collection I would be grateful.  Anyone interested would need to arrange collection of the items.

The need to dispose of this collection has become urgent, with only a few weeks remaining in which to clear the building that houses the collection. If interested in acquiring a mid-19th century Atlas Press or Albion Press, please contact Mr Winter on +44/0 1636 655777 or by email at Kevin.Winter@newark-sherwooddc.gov.uk.