inv. nr.: ΣΤΟΙΧΕΙΟΘ.00007
Manufacturing company: Mergenthaler Linotype Co.
Model: Linotype Model 31, No 54210, Mergenthaler Linotype Co.
Place of manufacture: New York, America
Date of manufacture: Late 19th century.
Material: Metal
Dimensions: 205 x 165 x 170 cm.

This machine, a linotype machine for typesetting and casting lines of text, was manufactured in America in the late 19th century by the Mergenthaler-Linotype-Company. The term linotype is a characterization of how the machine worked, as it had the ability to typeset and mold entire lines of text (eng. Linotype = Printing of lines/arrays). Mass production of Linotype began in 1891, when the Mergenthaler-Linotype-Company was created. The operator of the linotype machine typed a line (array) of text which made the whole process quick and easy. He would then pull the lever and proceed to type the next line. The linotype machine dominated the press and the book world. In Greece, many newspapers for about 100 years and until the 1980s used linotype machines to print their columns.