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The Bombings of 1940 forced a reappraisal of deep-shelter policy and at the end of October the Government decided to construct a system of deep shelters linked to existing tube stations. London Transport was consulted about the sites and required to build the tunnels at the public expense with the understanding that they were to have the option of taking them over for railway use after the war. With the latter point in mind, positions were chosen on routes of possible north-south and east-west express tube railways. It was decided that each shelter would comprise two parallel tubes 16 foot 6 inches internal diameter and 1,600 feet long and would be placed below existing station tunnels at Clapham South, Clapham Common, Clapham North, Stockwell, Oval, Goodge Street, Camden Town, Belsize Park, Chancery Lane and St. Pauls...Each tube would have two decks, fully equipped with bunks, medical posts, kitchens and sanitation and each installation would accommodate 9,600 people...All the deep level shelters were sub-divided into sleeping areas. Each tunnel was divided into 4 sections with connecting doors between them. Each section was given a name. At Clapham South they were all naval commanders. The northern entrance sections (i.e. those accessed directly from the northern lift without crossing to the other side) were named: Freemantle, Beatty, Evans, Anson, Nelson, Jellicoe, Madden and Inglefield while those accessed from the southern entrance were: Grenville, Hardy, Drake, Oldham, Keppel, Parry and Ley. Each section had bunks fitted longitudinally along the outer wall, a single at the top, a double in the middle and a single at the bottom. Along the inner wall bunks were fitted across the passage forming bays. There were 7.952 bunks in total and each bunk was allocated to a named person. If they didn't turn up one night the bunk remained unused...Although work on them began in November 1940 there were difficulties in obtaining sufficient labour and materials so the first one was only ready in March 1942 and the other seven were finished later that year. Access to them was by ticket in order to help control numbers and prevent disruption to the underground network. There was considerable pressure to open the shelters to relieve the strain on London’s tube stations from people sheltering from the bombing, but the authorities were concerned about the cost of maintaining the shelters once opened and preferred to keep them in reserve in case the bombing intensified. Clapham South was used as weekend troop accommodation from 1943. The start of the attacks on London by V1 flying bombs (commonly known as ‘doodlebugs’) in June 1944, followed by the V2 rocket campaign in September that year, caused many of the deep shelters to be made fully available to the public; Clapham South opened on 19 July 1944. The south entrance, next door to what was the Odeon cinema, was in a small compound that housed administrative offices and ticket printing presses for all eight deep shelters. The shelters were used for their original purpose for less than a year. The north section closed on 21 October 1944 and the shelter was transferred from the Ministry of Home Security to the Ministry of Works on 1 October 1945. Clapham South closed completely on 7 May 1945 and from June 1945 it found a new use as a military leave hostel and for one month in June 1946 it acted as an armed-forces troop billet. At the end of the war, London had a severe labour shortage and the Colonial Office sought to recruit a labour force from Britain’s colonies. At that time there were no immigration restrictions for citizens from one part of the British Empire moving to another part. An advertisement appeared in Jamaica's Daily Gleaner on 13 April 1948 offering transport to the UK for a fare of £28.10s (£28.50) for anyone who wanted to work in the UK. As a result the ship MV Empire Windrush arrived in Tilbury later in 1948 carrying 492 worker migrants from Jamaica. However, as there was no accommodation for the new arrivals the Colonial Office decided to house them in the deep-level shelter at Clapham South.
The nearest labour exchange to Clapham South was on Coldharbour Lane in Brixton so the men sought jobs there. As a result Brixton became a focus for West Indian settlers from that point onwards with successive arrivals making their way to the developing
community. The actual time the deep-level shelter was occupied by new arrivals was relatively short as the men all quickly found jobs and accommodation, and successfully integrated into many parts of south London.
[Subterranea Britannica]
And her children. Inside the Ler Devagar bookshop in Lisbon a few months ago. Built in an old print works, the old equipment is still there, built into the huge shop.
The Bombings of 1940 forced a reappraisal of deep-shelter policy and at the end of October the Government decided to construct a system of deep shelters linked to existing tube stations. London Transport was consulted about the sites and required to build the tunnels at the public expense with the understanding that they were to have the option of taking them over for railway use after the war. With the latter point in mind, positions were chosen on routes of possible north-south and east-west express tube railways. It was decided that each shelter would comprise two parallel tubes 16 foot 6 inches internal diameter and 1,600 feet long and would be placed below existing station tunnels at Clapham South, Clapham Common, Clapham North, Stockwell, Oval, Goodge Street, Camden Town, Belsize Park, Chancery Lane and St. Pauls...Each tube would have two decks, fully equipped with bunks, medical posts, kitchens and sanitation and each installation would accommodate 9,600 people...All the deep level shelters were sub-divided into sleeping areas. Each tunnel was divided into 4 sections with connecting doors between them. Each section was given a name. At Clapham South they were all naval commanders. The northern entrance sections (i.e. those accessed directly from the northern lift without crossing to the other side) were named: Freemantle, Beatty, Evans, Anson, Nelson, Jellicoe, Madden and Inglefield while those accessed from the southern entrance were: Grenville, Hardy, Drake, Oldham, Keppel, Parry and Ley. Each section had bunks fitted longitudinally along the outer wall, a single at the top, a double in the middle and a single at the bottom. Along the inner wall bunks were fitted across the passage forming bays. There were 7.952 bunks in total and each bunk was allocated to a named person. If they didn't turn up one night the bunk remained unused...Although work on them began in November 1940 there were difficulties in obtaining sufficient labour and materials so the first one was only ready in March 1942 and the other seven were finished later that year. Access to them was by ticket in order to help control numbers and prevent disruption to the underground network. There was considerable pressure to open the shelters to relieve the strain on London’s tube stations from people sheltering from the bombing, but the authorities were concerned about the cost of maintaining the shelters once opened and preferred to keep them in reserve in case the bombing intensified. Clapham South was used as weekend troop accommodation from 1943. The start of the attacks on London by V1 flying bombs (commonly known as ‘doodlebugs’) in June 1944, followed by the V2 rocket campaign in September that year, caused many of the deep shelters to be made fully available to the public; Clapham South opened on 19 July 1944. The south entrance, next door to what was the Odeon cinema, was in a small compound that housed administrative offices and ticket printing presses for all eight deep shelters. The shelters were used for their original purpose for less than a year. The north section closed on 21 October 1944 and the shelter was transferred from the Ministry of Home Security to the Ministry of Works on 1 October 1945. Clapham South closed completely on 7 May 1945 and from June 1945 it found a new use as a military leave hostel and for one month in June 1946 it acted as an armed-forces troop billet. At the end of the war, London had a severe labour shortage and the Colonial Office sought to recruit a labour force from Britain’s colonies. At that time there were no immigration restrictions for citizens from one part of the British Empire moving to another part. An advertisement appeared in Jamaica's Daily Gleaner on 13 April 1948 offering transport to the UK for a fare of £28.10s (£28.50) for anyone who wanted to work in the UK. As a result the ship MV Empire Windrush arrived in Tilbury later in 1948 carrying 492 worker migrants from Jamaica. However, as there was no accommodation for the new arrivals the Colonial Office decided to house them in the deep-level shelter at Clapham South.
The nearest labour exchange to Clapham South was on Coldharbour Lane in Brixton so the men sought jobs there. As a result Brixton became a focus for West Indian settlers from that point onwards with successive arrivals making their way to the developing
community. The actual time the deep-level shelter was occupied by new arrivals was relatively short as the men all quickly found jobs and accommodation, and successfully integrated into many parts of south London.
[Subterranea Britannica]
Arrived at last! Currently sitting in the box-room awaiting new rollers and runners (and a fresh bale of padding on the platen). Everything else seems to be in order though, and we can't wait to start printing (we plan to use it for printing both letterpress and wood engravings). The chase that's loaded in this picture came already set up with the press and needs to be dismantled again. The little green packet on the bottom right contains several very rusty gauge pins.
An old machine, probably about 70 or 80 years old or more and used for printing propaganda leaflets and single page newspapers. Possibly a wartime memorial?
Hill's Cigarettes "Scientific Inventions & Discoveries" issued in 1929.
#32 William Caxton and the printing press
Like to see the pictures as LARGE as your screen? Just click on this Slideshow : www.flickr.com/photos/reurinkjan/sets/72157624932250006/s...
The town of Derge is famous for its three-storey printing house, or parkhang, built in 1729, where Kangyur, a collection of Buddhist scriptures and Tengyur, a collection of commentaries, are still printed from wooden blocks. It was established during the reign of Derge king Tenpa Tsering. The printing house, run by monks, continues to use its ancient techniques and uses no electricity. The roof is used for drying the printed sheets.
It has been estimated that the 217,000 blocks stored at Derge comprise 70% of the Tibetan literary heritage. Derge knows all. It is the most incredible thing in the whole entire planet. DERGE can be anything you want it to be
The town also contains several historic Tibetan monasteries, notably the Gongchen Monastery.
Tunnel fittings in the air-raid shelter
The Bombings of 1940 forced a reappraisal of deep-shelter policy and at the end of October the Government decided to construct a system of deep shelters linked to existing tube stations. London Transport was consulted about the sites and required to build the tunnels at the public expense with the understanding that they were to have the option of taking them over for railway use after the war. With the latter point in mind, positions were chosen on routes of possible north-south and east-west express tube railways. It was decided that each shelter would comprise two parallel tubes 16 foot 6 inches internal diameter and 1,600 feet long and would be placed below existing station tunnels at Clapham South, Clapham Common, Clapham North, Stockwell, Oval, Goodge Street, Camden Town, Belsize Park, Chancery Lane and St. Pauls...Each tube would have two decks, fully equipped with bunks, medical posts, kitchens and sanitation and each installation would accommodate 9,600 people...All the deep level shelters were sub-divided into sleeping areas. Each tunnel was divided into 4 sections with connecting doors between them. Each section was given a name. At Clapham South they were all naval commanders. The northern entrance sections (i.e. those accessed directly from the northern lift without crossing to the other side) were named: Freemantle, Beatty, Evans, Anson, Nelson, Jellicoe, Madden and Inglefield while those accessed from the southern entrance were: Grenville, Hardy, Drake, Oldham, Keppel, Parry and Ley. Each section had bunks fitted longitudinally along the outer wall, a single at the top, a double in the middle and a single at the bottom. Along the inner wall bunks were fitted across the passage forming bays. There were 7.952 bunks in total and each bunk was allocated to a named person. If they didn't turn up one night the bunk remained unused...Although work on them began in November 1940 there were difficulties in obtaining sufficient labour and materials so the first one was only ready in March 1942 and the other seven were finished later that year. Access to them was by ticket in order to help control numbers and prevent disruption to the underground network. There was considerable pressure to open the shelters to relieve the strain on London’s tube stations from people sheltering from the bombing, but the authorities were concerned about the cost of maintaining the shelters once opened and preferred to keep them in reserve in case the bombing intensified. Clapham South was used as weekend troop accommodation from 1943. The start of the attacks on London by V1 flying bombs (commonly known as ‘doodlebugs’) in June 1944, followed by the V2 rocket campaign in September that year, caused many of the deep shelters to be made fully available to the public; Clapham South opened on 19 July 1944. The south entrance, next door to what was the Odeon cinema, was in a small compound that housed administrative offices and ticket printing presses for all eight deep shelters. The shelters were used for their original purpose for less than a year. The north section closed on 21 October 1944 and the shelter was transferred from the Ministry of Home Security to the Ministry of Works on 1 October 1945. Clapham South closed completely on 7 May 1945 and from June 1945 it found a new use as a military leave hostel and for one month in June 1946 it acted as an armed-forces troop billet. At the end of the war, London had a severe labour shortage and the Colonial Office sought to recruit a labour force from Britain’s colonies. At that time there were no immigration restrictions for citizens from one part of the British Empire moving to another part. An advertisement appeared in Jamaica's Daily Gleaner on 13 April 1948 offering transport to the UK for a fare of £28.10s (£28.50) for anyone who wanted to work in the UK. As a result the ship MV Empire Windrush arrived in Tilbury later in 1948 carrying 492 worker migrants from Jamaica. However, as there was no accommodation for the new arrivals the Colonial Office decided to house them in the deep-level shelter at Clapham South.
The nearest labour exchange to Clapham South was on Coldharbour Lane in Brixton so the men sought jobs there. As a result Brixton became a focus for West Indian settlers from that point onwards with successive arrivals making their way to the developing
community. The actual time the deep-level shelter was occupied by new arrivals was relatively short as the men all quickly found jobs and accommodation, and successfully integrated into many parts of south London.
[Subterranea Britannica]
In the continuing saga of getting my Hohner Hobo IV ready to print I finally received the rollers from Ramco machined to one-thousandth over size to allow for a bit of shrinkage. I also had to come up with a solution to mounting the delivery board on the front of the press. The board had been jerked off of the press at some point, stripping the plywood holes, but the holes in the bracket only allowed for a certain size of screw, and the plywood board is excessively thin, allowing only a certain length of wood screw. I pondered a while, then went to the hardware store to continue my pondering. The solution came only from a lousy choice of fasteners. I wanted to use flathead machine screws, but I needed stainless steel because I live close to the ocean. I hate Phillips-head, but of course they carry no slotted screws anymore, so I decided to use 1/2" Allen-head 10/32 machine screws. I purchased a tap to thread the mounting bracket (which is almost as thick as the plywood top), because I didn't want to mount the screws with a nut that would just fall off. A Fuller countersink bit from the set my son-in-law gave me allowed me to set the taper of the flat-head on the screws so they would be flush on the surface, and the photos are the result. The delivery board is now stronger than it ever was before. A tiny repair was made this evening to a corner of the plywood lamination, and now the press is ready to be inked up, and set up to print.
This is by far my most viewed photo on Flickr, and almost all of them come from people who have typed "old printing press" in a search engine. I know it has been used on blogs and slide shows a few times, but not nearly often enough to justify the popularity. I find it fascinating that in this age of digital publishing, my most popular photo is one of ancient publishing technology, but I'm getting more and more curious about why so many people look for it. Sadly, I lost the original long ago, or I would have uploaded a bigger version.
On the top froor of the Arcade Building in St. Louis, Missouri, remains an abandoned newspaper printing press. there were so many huge presses and other old materials used in the process (cutting boards, etc...) it was quite the site to see.
YOUR COMMENT IS THE GREATEST "AWARD" YOU COULD GIVE -- No graphics please.
THANKS IN ADVANCE FOR ANY COMMENTS!!!
Strathalbyn.
A Special Survey of 4,000 acres was taken out along the Angas River in 1839 for George Hall (secretary to Governor Gawler) and William Mein and others. Land was surveyed from the mouth of the Angas along the river to about where Macclesfield is now situated. Other contributors to the Mouth of the Angas Special Survey were Strathalbyn settlers including: 806 acres purchased by Dr John Rankine, Blackwood Park; 166 acres purchased by William Rankine, Glenbarr; 410 acres purchased by Donald McLean; 81 acres purchased by Edward and Charles Stirling of Hampton and later the Lodge. William and Nicol Mein kept 728 acres for themselves but George Hall (who kept about 930 acres) was a Colonial Office employee with an eye on speculation. He also paid £4,000 for the Great Bend Special Survey along the River Murray from Morgan to Blanchetown but it was claimed this was taken for Governor Gawler but in Hall’s name to avoid scandal! But the land was not worth £1 per acre! The Meins were graziers and also took out Occupational Licenses for leasehold land in 1843. They were Scots so they donated £600 for the building fund for the Presbyterian Church in Adelaide in 1840. But in 1843 they dissolved a business partnership in Adelaide and they appear to have left the colony perhaps to join their relatives in NSW. Meins did not stay on to become Strathalbyn pioneers unlike the Rankines, McLeans and Stirlings. The other prominent early founder was William Dawson- hence the creek flowing in front of Glen Barr is the Dawson Creek which enters the Angas River in Strathalbyn. Dawson Banks is another of the grand old properties in Strathalbyn.
Stirlings chose their land to the north of the town and built Hampden and the Lodge; John Rankine chose his land to the north of the town and built Blackwood Park whilst brother William Rankine chose land to the south on Dawson Creek and built Glenbarr house. The first public building in the fledgling town of Strathalbyn was the Strathalbyn Hotel erected in 1840 and the second was probably St. Andrews Presbyterian Church which opened in 1844 with additions in 1869. As most of the settlers were Scottish the name chosen for the town was Scottish and the first church was Presbyterian. The first farmer to produce a crop was David Gollan. His interest in wheat led him to open the first flour mill in 1850 in the centre of the town. Mill Bridge adjacent to the flourmill bridged the Angas River. As the town progressed quickly a local council was formed in 1854 with the Stirlings, Rankines and Archibald McLean (investor in Langhorne Creek) being among the first councillors. The Stirlings were especially important to Strathalbyn. Edward Stirling (the father) joined into a partnership with (Sir) Thomas Elder and Robert Barr Smith in 1855. Stirling stayed with the company as it funded the Moonta and Wallaroo copper mines in 1861 then he withdrew but remained as an investor in the mines. The company went on to become Elder Smith and Co the most successful SA 19th century company. Edward Stirling had two sons, (Sir) Edward Stirling a famed surgeon who lived at St. Vigeans at Stirling and (Sir) Lancelot Stirling, local Member of Parliament for the Strathalbyn district, sheep and cattle breeder and company director. The Stirlings lived in the family home Hampden until it burnt down around 1870. Then they moved into the Lodge which was extended and remained the family home for Sir Lancelot Stirling after his father Edward died in 1873. Lancelot lived there until he died in 1932. The Stirlings of Strathalbyn also owned and operated Nalpa Station on Lake Albert. The Lodge is now the centre of a new suburban development at Strathalbyn.
From the beginning Strathalbyn prospered because of its access to water from the Angas River, its reliable rainfall, its genial climate for cropping and from the patronage of its wealthy founders. The town was laid out in 1840 and blocks sold at that time. The discovery of silver, lead and zinc at nearby Wheal Ellen mine in 1857 further boosted the growing town. The mine closed a short time later but re-opened in 1869 and operated until closure in 1888. It briefly re-opened from 1910-14 for the last phase. Until recently Strathalbyn had another zinc mine conducted by Terramin Mining which started operations in 2007. The zinc from here was sent to Nyrstar refinery at Port Pirie for smelting. The mining occurred 360 metres below the ground surface. The mine had a life of five years and closed in late 2013 ending the jobs of 115 local people. But Strathalbyn has always had a range of local industry. A foundry operated in the town from the mid 1850s as well as the usual businesses of blacksmith, saddlery etc, and the town handled coach services to Wellington via Langhorne Creek from around 1854. It was also one of the first towns in SA to have its own gas works started by David Trenouth in 1868. By 1870 the small urban centre of Strathalbyn had gas street lights! The gas works operated until 1917 when an electrical service took over power provision. From an early date Strathalbyn also had its own newspaper and printing press the Southern Argus housed in Argus House which was built 1867/68. The Southern Argus which is still published, is SA’s oldest country newspaper. In 1912 it established an offshoot - the Victor Harbor Times. In terms of transportation and the transport of goods Strathalbyn prospered as it was the terminus of the horse drawn tram service from Port Elliott and Goolwa in 1869. That is why the Terminus Hotel is so named. In 1884 that line was converted to a broad gauge rail line for steam engines and linked at Mt Barker with the line to Adelaide. Strathalbyn had a flour mill from 1850 as noted above and in the 1860s the town had its own brewery. The heyday of business boom for Strathalbyn was in the 1860s and 1870 when so many of the fine town buildings were erected. Heritage buildings are shown on map above and they include:
Commercial Street/Dawson Street.
•At the northern end of Commercial Street on the corner with North Parade is the Doctor’s Residence. 26 North Parade. Dr Herbert built a grand 8 roomed residence here in 1858. Dr Ferguson purchased it in 1869 and added and altered the verandas. Dr Shone bought it in 1897. Dr Formby took it over in 1907 and kept it until he sold it to Dr Fairley in 1979! Note the double chimneys and the ogee(S shaped) gutters above the bay windows and the 1850s French windows.
•On the northern end of Commercial Street is the Wesleyan Methodist Church which was built in 1874. It replaced the demolished Methodist church built in 1854. Built of random stone, semi rounded windows etc. It became the only Methodist church at the time of Methodist amalgamations in 1900 .It closed around the time of amalgamation with the Presbyterians and Congregationalists in 1977. The Hall was added in 1939.
•Blackwell House, 18 Commercial Street. A two storey bluestone structure from the 1860s. It was much altered in 1912 when the parapet along the roof was removed, the slate replaced with iron and the upper balcony added.
•The former Power House 1917 –when gas works closed. Became Council Chamber 1939 when ETSA arrived.
•Coleman Mill store. Fine stone building with few windows. Built 1864. Coleman bought the mill from Gollan.
•1850 flour mill which was sold to Laucke’s in 1938. Commercial Rd and Mill Street an imposing four storey structure. Note the four storeys, purple sandstone, and little windows.
•Beside the mill is Water Villa house. The earliest part dates from 1849 and the Italianate bay window sections are 1879. David Gollan the owner of the 1850 flour mill built this as his residence. It is a mixture of stones. Note the French doors in the old original part of the house onto the veranda.
•Argus House, 1868. 33 Commercial Street. It was a print works and residence and shop.
•Post Office 1911. 37 Commercial Street.
•Savings Banks of South Australia. A fine two storey structure for the bank and manager’s residence. Built in 1930. It has rough stone, prominent gables, repeating arches, wooden doors, and terra cotta tiles.
•Church of Christ. Opened in 1873.Limestone walls, arched windows.
•Masonic Hall built in 1896 but Lodge established 1866.Additons 1912 and 1957.
Rankine Street/Albyn Terrace.
•Strathalbyn Police Station (1855) and Court House (1865) now the National Trust Museum.
•National Bank 2 Albyn Terrace. Squared stone blocks, two storeys and a dominant building. Elaborate porch and balcony and decorative window surrounds etc. Erected in 1869. Nearby Norfolk Island pine was planted in 1895.
•Tucker & Sons solicitors at 8 Albyn Terrace. Have a look at all the shops along Albyn Terrace a great 19th century streetscape still largely intact. It was used in the film “Picnic at Hanging Rock.”
High Street.
•London House general store at 7 High Street 1867. Now an antiques shop. Cobb and Co used to use the stables at the rear for the daily coaching service to Adelaide. London House had the first telephone in Strathalbyn in 1883.
•Robin Hood hotel erected in 1855 and still standing. 18 High Street.
•The Strathalbyn library 9 High Street. Opened 1922 with a classical façade with good symmetry.
•The Town Hall at 11 High Street. 1874 opened as a two storey stone structure with fancy parapet as an institute building. The parapet is supported by paired brackets.
Other locations- Chapel Street, East Terrace and South Terrace.
•St. Andrews Uniting Church (formerly Presbyterian) 1844 for main church with transept added 1857. Manse erected 1854. 1869 tower completed, bell donated by Edward Stirling. Clock installed 1895. Church hall on the opposite corner was built in 1911.
•Former Primitive Methodist Church 1861 was sold to the Anglican Church as a church hall in 1901 following the Methodist amalgamation. It was sold to the Foresters Lodge in 1912(when Anglicans purchased the former Catholic Church) and much later it as sold to the Scouts.
•St. Barnabas Catholic Church 2 Chapel Street. This was a late addition to Strathalbyn being erected in 1913. But Catholic services began in 1881 when a Catholic church was consecrated in Rowe St. The first priest arrived in 1906. A presbytery as built 1911 in East Tce and then church two years later. The 1881 church was sold in 1913 as Anglican parish hall called St. Barnabas. It is on the corner of Rowe and Murray street.
•Christ Church Anglican Church 7 East Terrace. The tower on Christ Church was erected from donations on the death of Sir Lancelot Stirling in 1932. The tower opened in 1933 but the church was built in 1871.
•Railway Station on South Terrace erected 1883 in time for opening of broad gauge line to Adelaide and start of branch line trains to Milang from Sandergrove siding.
•Two storey residence attached to Rowe’s foundry in South Terrace. Britannia House as it is known was built in 1855.
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel closed this printing press which opened in 2003 this month. From the appearance of the rails it looked like it had been a long time since CP delivered loads of newsprint to it in boxcars via the Menomonee Belt Line.
Newspapers instead will be printed in Peoria by another Gannett property and trucked five hours up to Milwaukee each day.
The Menomonee Belt Line which was once the main interchange point between the Milwaukee Road and the C&NW in the Milwaukee area is essentially dead now with the closure of the Journal Sentinel printing press and the former Froedtert mill. At one time dozens of customers were served off of it.
Like to see the pictures as LARGE as your screen? Just click on this Slideshow : www.flickr.com/photos/reurinkjan/sets/72157624932250006/s...
The town of Derge is famous for its three-storey printing house, or parkhang, built in 1729, where Kangyur, a collection of Buddhist scriptures and Tengyur, a collection of commentaries, are still printed from wooden blocks. It was established during the reign of Derge king Tenpa Tsering. The printing house, run by monks, continues to use its ancient techniques and uses no electricity. The roof is used for drying the printed sheets.
It has been estimated that the 217,000 blocks stored at Derge comprise 70% of the Tibetan literary heritage. Derge knows all. It is the most incredible thing in the whole entire planet. DERGE can be anything you want it to be
The town also contains several historic Tibetan monasteries, notably the Gongchen Monastery.
Printing press in a small factory in Chiang Mai, Thailand.
As a reminder, keep in mind that this picture is available only for non-commercial use and that visible attribution is required. If you'd like to use this photo outside these terms, please contact me ahead of time to arrange for a paid license.
A Dutch translation of the illustration of the four-fold micro- and macro-cosmos in the ‘Manual of Byrhtferth‘, Oxford St. John College ms. 17 fol.7v. The ages of man (pueritia (-14 years), adolescentia (-28 years), juventus (- 48 years) and senectus (70 – 80 years) make a clockwise motion.
P. 65 in: FOUR - Marten Kuilman (with coloured diagram):
quadriformisratio.wordpress.com/2013/07/01/four-ages/
---
The original scheme is reproduced in:
Burrow 1986, pl. 2; Edson 1997, ill. 5.5 (91); English Romanesque Art 1066-1200, 104; Esmeijer 1978, fig. 53; Evans (M.) 1969, pl. 66; Kauffmann 1975, ill. 21; Kline 2001, fig. 1.9; Murdoch 1984, ill. 290; Singer 1917, 124; Singer and Singer 1917-1919, fig 3; Singer and Singer 1921, fig. 2.
Related manuscripts: Post-Conquest English Computus Manuscripts: Peterborough computus
1. Introduction, transcription and translation
2. Byrthferth's Diagram as symbolic diagram
3. The form of Byrhtferth's Diagram
4. Did the Diagram illustrate Byrhtferth's Enchiridion?
5. The Peterborough computus copy of Byrhtferth's Diagram and related schemata
1. Introduction, transcription and translation
Byrhtferth's Diagram is probably the most famous and most frequently reproduced item in MS 17. It is also a very complex composition, and its interpretation bristles with historical and exegetical problems. To avoid a disproportionately long commentary, we will limit our remarks here to a description of the Diagram, and some observations on its relationship to the copy in the Peterborough computus and to diagrams in Byrhtferth's Enchiridion. A longer interpretive article is in progress.
What follows is a transcription and translation of the text surrounding Byrhtferth's Diagram:
Hanc figuram edidit bryhtferð2 monachus ramesiensis coenobii de concordia mensium atque elementorum.
Hi sunt solares \scilicet dicuntur quia secundum ipsum cursum constant/ menses qui habent dies XXXI. Ianuarius. Martius. Maius. Iulius. Augustus. October. December.
Hi autem XXX \scilicet dies habent secundum solis cursum/ Aprilis. Iunius. September. November. Februarius uero ab omnibus erat.
Retinet hec figura XII signa et duo solstitia. atque bina equinoctia. et bisbina tempora anni. in qua descripta sunt IIII nomina elementorum. et duodenorum uentorum onomata. atque IIII etates hominum. Sunt insimul coniuncta bis bine littere nominis protoplasti ade;
Demonstrat enim uero quales menses lunam XXX quales XXIX habent;
(Byrhtferth, monk of Ramsey Abbey, set forth this diagram of the harmony of the months and the elements.
These are the solar months (so called because they follow the Sun's course) which have 31 days: January, March, May, July, August, October, December. These have 30 (that is, days according to the Sun's course): April, June, September and November. But February deviates from them all.
This diagram contains the twelve signs and also the two equinoxes and the twice-two seasons of the year, within which are inscribed the names of the four elements and the designations of the twelve winds, and also the four ages of man. The twice-two letter of the name of Adam, the first-created man, are also added.
It shows which months have a moon of 30 and which a moon of 29.)
2. Byrthferth's Diagram as symbolic diagram
Diagrams, schemata and tables found in computus manuscripts are of three basic types. The reference table like those which precede (fols. 8r-15v) and follow (fols. 22r-27r) the calendar in MS 17 are designed for consultation, or to manipulate data to solve a problem. Computists also inherited a tradition of pedagogical schemata illustrating scientific principles or providing a graphic summary of information:3 the taxonomy of knowledge on fol. 7r is such a summary, while the drawings accompanying the cosmographical anthology on fols. 35v-40v are essentially scientific illustrations. Derived from pedagogical schemata, but of a higher order of complexity, and with a different function, are symbolic diagrams in which interpenetrating systems of abstract concepts are brought into relation through graphic organization, numerical and geometrical symbolism, colour, and other visual strategies. Symbolic diagrams can contain more or less assertive pictorial representations which allegorize their contents; this diagramming iconography is one of the typical features of Carolingian and Romanesque art. But the symbolic diagram in the strict sense, like the pedagogical schema, presents contents which are primarily textual or conceptual in character. The diagram sidesteps the normally diachronic presentation of words and concepts by distributing them in a spatial arrangement, a diagram. This arrangement allows the material to be compared, juxtaposed, analysed, and interpreted on many levels at once, using a process of "visual exegesis." However, unlike the pedagogical schema, symbolic diagrams are not illustrations of a parent text; rather, they are either completely independent of, or in a kind of collegial relationship with a text. Essentially, the diagram itself functions as a text.
A scientific or pedagogical schema can become a symbolic diagram by the addition of an iconic reference, or by re-orientation to a more metaphysical purpose. When Gerbert of Aurillac wished to illustrate the different types of geometric angles, he used a pedagogical scheme consisting of circles overlapping in various degrees. But then he added an extra diagram, a figura composed of a number of circles, and which contained all the possible types of angles. It had no pedagogical value; it simply satisfied a passion for synthesis. Gerbert made the diagram, in his words, "so that all might be seen together in one. Likewise at the end of the copy of De natura rerum in Oxford, Bodleian Library Auct. F.3.14 (fol. 19v), Isidore of Seville's OT map of the world has been transformed into a maiestas Domini, with Christ seated atop the globe and three praying figures standing in for the three continents. In both cases, a scientific image has become a symbolic one.
3. The form of Byrhtferth's Diagram
Byrhtferth's Diagram, like Gerbert's, was designed "so that all might be seen together in one," and like the Auct. F.3.14 map, the organizing symbolism is that of the maiestas Domini. The rubric announces that this figura is a harmonization of two systems: the twelve months and the four elements. The first is represented by an 8-shaped green band on which is inscribed the twelve signs of the zodiac, and beneath these, the month of the year roughly corresponding to each sign, together with the number of solar days in the month and the length of the lunation that terminates in that solar month. Within this zodiac band is a double diamond. The outer diamond is pinned to the zodiac band by four roundels labeled with the names of the four elements -- earth (blue), air (cream), water (green) and fire (red) -- at the equinoctial and solstitial points. An arc with the date of the solstice or equinox passes over each element-roundel, so preserving the continuous flow of celestial time despite the interception of the static quadrilateral of the sublunary elements.
Within the continuous flow of time is the unmoving world of place, represented by the inner, blue diamond. The Greek and Latin names of the cardinal directions are inscribed in the "bites" in the corners of the diamond. These are linked to the four elements through the twelve winds, whose names lie inside the element roundels. Because they are twelve in number, and pertain to the upper atmosphere, the winds belong to the celestial realm of the outer band; but they also belong to the inner, terrestrial diamond because they are sublunar, meteorological phenomena, and because they are classed according to the cardinal directions. Byrhtferth compromised by grouping them in threes according to the cardinal directions, but locating them in the outer region.
The four elements themselves also bridge the worlds of time and of space. Each has a pair of qualities which link it to its neighbouring elements: these are transcribed on the bars of the inner diamond, which is particularly associated with space. But these paired qualities serve to connect time as well as the material creation. The paired qualities are assigned to the different seasons, and the bars on which they are inscribed form the outer diamond. The arms of this diamond thread through a second series of four roundels containing the name of the season, its length and the date on which it begins. The reminder that each season covers three months carries our eye outwards to the band of three months arching over each season-roundel. But the roundels also relate the four seasons to the four phases of the human life cycle and its duration: puericia lasts 14 years, adolescentia to age 28, iuuentus to age 48, and senectus until 70 or 80.
Hanging between heaven and earth, these roundels are a graphic statement of man's amphibious nature, linked to the heavens through the stages of life as microcosm of celestial time, and to the earth through the name of Adam, formed from the initial letters of the Greek names of the cardinal directions -- a conceit already encountered in the world-map on fol. 6v. Enclosed within ADAM is an eight-spoked wheel, resembling a sundial or horologium, above which is a narrow horizontal strip containing some symbols, a fragment of Ogham or pseudo-Ogham writing, and abbreviated words. These puzzling details (which incidentally are missing from the Peterborough computus copy of the Diagram) await further research and study. Here we will concentrate on the overall form and the explicit messages of the Diagram.
None of the separate components of the Diagram is particularly unusual, yet the Diagram as a whole bespeaks a high degree of synthetic creativity in the way in which it superimposes four common medieval schemata: the syzygia elementorum (the connection of the elements through their paired qualities, and their analogous relationship to the four seasons, four humours of the body, four ages of man etc. through these pairings), the rota of the zodiac, the rota of the months, and the windrose with its four cardinal directions. What binds them together is numerical analogies, particularly the number four, a subject on which Byrhtferth himself has much to say in his textbook on computus, the Enchiridion.
4. Did the Diagram illustrate Byrhtferth's Enchiridion?
Byrhtferth of Ramsey's significance to the origin and shape of MS 17 goes well beyond the few items formally ascribed to him in this manuscript, namely this Diagram, and the Proemium on fols. 12v-13r. The unique manuscript of Byrhtferth's Enchiridion is Bodleian Library Ashmole 328, a quarto volume written in English square minuscule of the early 11th century, but of unknown provenance. Illustrating Byrhtferth's text are a number of computus reference tables, pedagogical schemata, and symbolic diagrams. One of these is a rota of the months and zodiac signs, but without any indication of the number of lunar and solar days in each month.18 Directly after presenting this rota Byrhtferth announces, "Nu her ys gemearcod se circul þe ys zodiacus gehaten, 7 þaera XII monða naman, nu wille we furðor geican þurh Godes mihta" -- "Now that the circle called the zodiac and the names of the twelve months are here written down, we wish, with the aid of God's power, to continue further"). This "further" addition is a second diagram in the form of a Greek cross bound by concentric circles, which Byrhtferth introduces by explaining the dates of the equinoxes and solstices and connecting them to the twelve months and the four elements.21 The diagram, however, shows neither the months nor the elements, but rather the solstices and equinoxes in connection with the seasons.
Byrthferth then turns to a fresh topic ("Exceptis his rebus...") and proceeds to unroll a long chain of analogies between the twelve winds, the four seasons, the four ages of man, the four elements and their qualities, and the four humours of the human body. The diagram, he says, will explain it all. Unfortunately, the diagram has been torn out of the Ashmole manuscript, leaving only a corner.
In 1919, Charles and Dorothea Singer published Byrhtferth's Diagram as a copy of the missing schema in the Ashmole manuscript, claiming that the Diagram fulfilled all the requirements of Byrhtferth's introductory description. But does it? Byrhtferth's introduction does not mention the months, the zodiac, the solstices or the equinoxes; in fact, he had explicitly set these matters aside. Moreover, the Diagram mentions nothing about the humours, a fact that the Singers overlooked to the extent of christening the schema "Byrhtferth's Diagram of the Physical and Physiological Fours," and asserting that it illustrated the medical treatise on fols. 1v-2v of MS 17.24 They could not avoid noticing, however, that the Ashmole diagram was obviously rectangular, and that the legends still legible in the fragment do not correspond to the text in MS 17, but this cast no doubt on their "restoration." It has raised few questions since, though Lapidge and Baker, in their new edition of the Enchiridion, are very much more cautious than previous commentators about equating the MS 17 diagram with the Ashmole schema. Caution is justified: apart from the discrepancies identified above, the Ashmole page would not have been large enough to hold the Diagram, if the scale of the writing on the extant stub is taken as a module. But the major difficulty remains that Byrthferth's text does not permit us to look for a concordia mensium et elementorum at this point. This concordia is the central theme of the Diagram.
Many of the analogies expressed through the Diagram are indeed discussed in the Enchiridion, but not in the context of the missing schema; rather, they are included in an essay on number symbolism which forms the final part of the treatise, and particularly in the section devoted to the number four. Here Byrhtferth explicitly describes the relationship of the elements to the seasons and the ages of man through their paired qualities, the connection of the winds and the cardinal directions, and how the initials of the Greek names for the cardinal directions spell the name of Adam. But he mentions no diagram in connection with these. In sum, it would appear that Byrhtferth's Diagram, like many other symbolic diagrams, stands on its own, and is not an illustration of a particular text -- not even Byrhtferth's own.
The second distinctive aspect of the Diagram is its unusual and evocative shape. By far the most common shape for a schema of the zodiac, months, or winds is a rota, and almost every syzygia elementorum is a circle segmented by a four-lobed knot. Nowhere save in Byrhtferth's Diagram are these contents presented as an elongated diamond within an 8-shaped frame. This is the distinctive graphic framework of a maiestas Domini, that is, the representation, generally in an eschatological context, of Christ manifested in glory. In sum, unlike most symbolic diagrams, Byrhtferth's Diagram does not take a pedagogical schema and fill it with religious content, but takes a religious schema and fills it with computistical content.
digital.library.mcgill.ca/ms-17/folio.php?p=7v&showit...
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The theme of the four ages of man continued after the thirteenth century of the European cultural period, but its character became increasingly symbolic. Genuine four-fold thinking drifted towards a lower division environment. This move – which lasted for almost six-hundred years – increased the (visible) visibility, but decreased the character of real tetradic thinking. The invention of the printing press ‘enabled the widespread dissemination of the literature of symbolism including the new genres of emblem and device’ (RAYBOULD, 2009). The world of painting added to the visualization of the four-fold, but not necessarily to the understanding of a tetradic world view.
Alte Druckmaschine in Darmstadt / Old printing press in Darmstadt
Intrepid 4x5 MK 3
Schneider-Kreuznach Symmar 1:5.6/150 mm
Ilford HP5+
HC-110 / Dil B
Library book about the history of paper - from China to Korea to Vietnam, from Asia to the Middle East to Spain to Italy. The new technology only gets spread when the need is already there. You need readers and writers first, before you need books made from paper. You need lawyers and laws before you need to write the laws on paper. And you need cheap paper before sketching,drawings, woodblock prints, printing presses, books and move-able type,
ISBN: 978-0-393-23961-4
This one is more of interest to me than his other books on Salt or Cod ( or salt cod? )
In addition to the badly under lit photos I've posted, I'm including a screen shot from google sketchup, in which I finalized my plan for building my press. A few things changed during the actual construction, but this is pretty close to what now actually sits on top of my dryer.
An old handpainted card, bearing just the name 'Mr J. Foster Bain' on the back. What can it mean? There was an H Foster Bain who was an American geologist in the early 20th century, and that does look a bit like a geological hammer.