They called it a Copperplate Printing Press, but I wouldn’t be surprised if there was another term for it. Whatever the precise nomenclature, it’s authentic. The J.C. Arts School on the downtown nickel (okay, that’s 5th street between Coles & Monmouth) has added a nearby garage to its club house, a-hem, I mean art collective & education complex and this authentic 20th century Copperplate Press was donated to them. It is used for print making. Etchings are made on a sheet of copper, which is inserted into this magnificent contraption, then the print maker slides thick paper under the plate, turns the wheel, pressing the plate to paper. Thus art was made, not just pre-digital, but pre-analog. It’s the type of thing you had to join a guild to learn, back in the day, just after the age of enlightenment I reckon. 
This chap book is either by or about Agate Veeber. It is written in Estonian (at least, she was Estonian, so I'm guessing that is the language). The pamphlet accompanied the press. This press may have belonged to or been used by her. I found this out online: Agate Veeber (1901 - 1988) Agate Veeber was born in Tallinn and died in New York. She studied at the Ants Laikmaas studio school at the end of 1920s and at the Nurenberg Art School and started in 1933 at the Pallas in Tartu. Her teachers were Ado Vabbe and Hando Mugasto. She graduated in 1938. In 1943-1944 she continued her studies at the higher courses of graphics in Vienna. Agate Veeber was one of the great masters in copperplate printing. The best are her dry point works with extremely fragile striping.”
What a cool set of gears!
Print Making has been phased out of several MFA programs and is considered an at-risk craft. It has been included on the list of endangered art forms for nearly 20 years. Contact the JC Arts School to see how you can help save this craft from the fate scrimshaw suffered.
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