Black Country Living Museum

The Print Shed at Black Country Living Museum interprets one man’s enthusiasm for Letterpress. Bob (Robert) James, a skilled printer and compositor by trade, was a ‘jobbing printer’ in his spare time, using the shed in his back garden in Bilston. From 1936 until the 1990s, Bob printed posters, cards and handbills for local shops, churches, and societies. He would keep each type set, wrap it in paper, tie it with string, and write the title of the job on it. This gave him ready-made type sets if he was asked to print further copies.

At the Museum, the shed contains Bob’s treadle operated press, made by Cropper Charlton of Nottingham, an Adana tabletop and a poster press. It also has Bob’s cabinets to store the led type. The Museum also stores additional material connected to Bob, including ready-made sets from jobs he completed. Bob’s printing equipment was donated to the Museum in 1998 and for several years, was demonstrated by volunteers. The Museum has plans to bring the shed back into operation in the future.

The Print Shed, sited in the back garden of the 1960s Cast Iron House, is part of the visitor experience at Black Country Living Museum, in Dudley, West Midlands, where over 250 years of history can be explored, from the Industrial Revolution to post-war prosperity. www.bclm.com.