Yesterday, Patrick went to Richmond, south west London, to prepare a couple of etching presses destined for Switzerland.
The first job was to weigh the Littlejohn No.8 which has a bed size of 28” x 48” and some hefty gearing. This was not as much as he expected, weighing in at 522kg.
S. R. Littlejohn of Wellingborough, Northamptonshire, was one of Britain’s leading manufacturers of etching and printmaking equipment during the twentieth century. Their presses became a familiar sight in art schools, colleges and professional print workshops throughout the UK and overseas, earning a reputation for robust engineering, precision manufacture and exceptionally smooth operation. Following the company’s association with Hunter Penrose in the 1960s, presses continued to be produced under the Hunter Penrose Littlejohn name. Many remain in regular use today, a lasting testament to their quality and durability.
Before setting out down the M1 motorway, Patrick had cut some MDF to fit the 1.2m x 1.0m pallet, creating a solid floor. This made it easy to position the press on the pallet and bolt the four feet securely in place. Just for good measure, the press was also secured with a ratchet strap before being pallet wrapped, ready for collection.
The other press was a table-top Rochat, sitting on a stand fitted with castors. The stand was made of steel, so to bolt the press securely in place Patrick had to drill through the sides in order to attach steel brackets to both the stand and the press. Once completed, the press and stand were pallet wrapped, weighed and made ready for collection.
With both presses safely secured and protected for their journey, they are now ready to begin the next stage of their travels to a new home in Switzerland.
