Old-time Presses In A Modern World

Colonial Williamsburg operates two reproduction wooden presses patterned after mid-18th-century equipment. One was built using modern machinery, but the other, crafted on-site, utilized Williamsburg's resident tradesmen using old-fashioned construction methods.

"Authenticity and accuracy has a lot to do with why we went to the trouble," says Willie Parker. "If you demonstrate printing as done in the 1700s, you want to be as accurate as possible."