Wednesday, October 15, 2008—We are thrilled to announce that on Friday, October 24, at Strawbery Banke, the general public will once again be able to watch this wooden printing press in action.

The hand-made press, built by John. A. “Jack” Williams, of Effingham, is virtually identical to the one used by Daniel Fowle during the first thirty years of this paper’s existence. In fact, the form and operation of printing presses went almost unchanged from the days of Johannes Gutenbererg, until the introduction of iron presses in the early 1800′s.

From 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Jack will be inking the type, putting paper on the tympan, lowering the frisket, rolling the form under the platen, pulling the bar, &c., &c. at Strawbery Banke’s Visitors Center. Jack previously demonstrated this press at the same location during the Gazette’s 250th Anniversary Celebration in 2006. If you missed it then, see it this time. If you saw it then, you know you’d like to see it again.

This press demonstration is admission-free and open to the general public. It is just one part of The New Hampshire Writers Project’s Portsmouth Literary Festival, celebrating the Project’s 20th Anniversary.

Strangely enough, this event will take place 254 years to the day after Daniel Fowle was taken into custody and interrogated by the authorities in Boston, “on mere suspicion” of being involved in the printing of The Monster of Monsters.

The Monster was a scandalous pamphlet, aimed at stopping a tax on rum and spiritous liquors, which happened to cast those very authorities in a very unflattering light.

Daniel was interrogated without charge, and subsequently put into prison for five days without a conviction. This blatant disregard for his rights as an Englishman led him to come to Portsmouth establish New Hampshire’s first print shop, and found The New Hampshire Gazette.