slightly O/T Edison Mimeograph

[phonophan79]

I think A.B. Dick Co. sold Edison Mimeographs? I'm not sure... I just posted cause the thing looks pretty damn cool!

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... 0324526559

[JohnM]

Edison's early Mimeograph consisted of a one-sheet-at-a-time stencil-in-a-frame printer and Edison's Electric Pen perforator. A.B. Dick licensed the invention within a couple of years and was the manufacturer and distributor after that. Eventually, stencil paper was developed that could be typed upon, so the pen became obsolete. The eBay Mimeograph is an early rotary model. I've had a couple of the 'Rotary Neostyle' models over the years, but while I'm no authority, this one looks earlier . . . but maybe not? I've certainly never seen the domed leather case! Neat!

John M

[richardh]

It looks great...but what does it do? Nothing in the ebay description explains anything about how it works or what function it performs....can anyone enlighten me

RJ

[WDC]

It looks great...but what does it do? Nothing in the ebay description explains anything about how it works or what function it performs....can anyone enlighten me

RJ

That's fairly easy, Richard.
A mimeograph was used for making copies on paper in small series. It was faster and easier to use than printing types.
There's a detailed article on Wikipedia about it: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mimeograph

Actually, it can be a pretty dirty job to use of these machines!