The romance of Linotype

"Clang, clang, clang" went the Lino...type
"Ding, ding, ding" went the bell
"Zing, zing, zing" slid the copy
At the moment I typed it, it fell

"Chug, chug, chug" went the motor
"Bump, bump, bump" rang the lead
"Thump, thump, thump" went the matrices
When it molded, I could see the type fed

"Buzz, buzz, buzz" went the buzzer
"Plop, plop, plop" went the gears
"Stop, stop, stop" went the typesetters
The moment the chapel meeting nears.

If you ever hear one running you would know the verses above are the sounds of the Linotype. In it's height of being used in printing shops and newspapers operators would move from shop to shop looking for the best wages. The operators of the Linotype were so specialized in it's operation that shop managers would do and pay just about anything to keep a good operator.

The romance of Linotype was filled ups and downs, thumps and plops. Linotype was the crazy Victorian machine that somehow overcame its industrial age-Rube Goldberg clunkiness and was the fact of typesetting life for decades before phototype emerged.

Linotype was called the "Eighth Wonder of the World" by Thomas Edison, it revolutionized printing, communication and society.  Because of advances in technology, most Linotypes were scrapped and melted-down by the thousands. Today, very few machines are still in existence. 

The illustrations here are from The Linotype News, one of many publications issued by Linotype to keep its customers and fans abreast of the hot metal.

The art of printing lost one more artist with the end of the Linotype...