[Schilde, Belgium]
Antique portable duplicating apparatus
Consists of a brown-yellow wooden case with brass handle and closes like a portmanteau.
Dimensions : L. 45 cm B 35,5 cm H 14 cm W 6,5 kg
The stencil of the last document copied is still there. It is in Dutch and entitled : ‘Aanhoudende onzekerheid’ (Persisting uncertainty) The content of the document suggest that the last owner was a labour union.
The case folds open in two lids of uneven height.
Part 1 : Half of it is shut by a sliding panel and contains an ink-roller and a small compartment, probably for a bottle of ink. The other half is used to poor ink in it and spread it by the ink-roller.
Part 2 : Contains a frame that holds the stencil and a printing plate.
The frame is pulled upwards by a spring so as to enable to put a blank sheet of paper on the plate and to remove it after copying
Next step is to pull the frame down to make contact with the printing plate and the apply ink onto the stencil with the ink-roller. Then let the frame loose, the spring pulls it upwards and the copy can be removed from the printing plate and replaced by the following blank sheet.
Contact:
Charles Kouba
charlesenmariette@gmail.com
(A reasonable compensation as finders fee and for conserving it in good condition would be welcome.)