Printing press
11 December -
Not much is known about the printing press on display. Some believe it may have printed Māori-language leaflets at the Te Kauwhanganui parliament in Maungakawa during the 1890s.
To imagine how it might have worked, watch this 2 minute video created by the Sacramento Museum which shows a similar press printing a card.
Bob Muirhead found the press in a swamp on his farm in Te Miro in 1958. How it got there and why remains a mystery even today.
What we do know is that the press was too small to have printed Te Paki o Matariki, the official newspaper of the Kīngitanga Movement.
Object details
Hand operated “Excelsior” printing press
Made in the USA by Kelsey Company, 1878
Metal, CM129
We would like to thank Sacramento Museum for giving us permission to share this video.