HICK’S REPLICA GUTENBERG PRESS
The nameplate on this replica press reads “Mediaeval wooden printing press made in the form that might have been used in 1450, the beginning time of printing. Handcrafted for Jeff Craemer by Dick Hicks in the year 1981.” It was donated to the Printing Museum by Craemer in 2010, along with a number of other replica presses crafted by Hicks.
Richard Hicks (1922-2012) was a prolific craftsmen and woodworker who built around 30 presses that are now held in institutions and private collections throughout the world. He built his first Bobcat press in 1975 and continued the work until his death in 2012. The work was slow moving due to a wound he sustained in WWII, but it brought him a great amount of joy.
This press also had a cameo in the TV show American Gods, which you can see in Season 3, Episode 10.
