This is a Curtis & Mitchell 6x9 Columbian #2 Rotary. Made in Boston, Mass. between the years
of 1878 to 1891. The first two pictures below is as we found it, and where it had been for the last 50 years. It was in the
front office of the Cuba Journal Print Shop -- Cuba, ILL. It was believe to be last used in the 1980's. One of the selling points of
a C&M press was the dwell time of the platen being open was much longer than any other press. In the picture you can see the side
draw arm has a large slot in it, this was how they made for the longer dwell time.
Another view - note the C&M logo in the treadle too. The two sides have a face medallion,
and the front & back have the C&M Logo - old style logo where they blended the letters C&M together as one letter.
Over the years many press got a spray can or brush paint job to "freshen" them up for what ever
reason. I'm guessing when this press went as a front office display piece it got a fresh coat of black paint. But under these paints you can
unlock the dress clothes they were in when sold new!!!!
With a little paint thinner, and some soft rubbing the true colors come back. Note not only is the face
medallion a nice gold but the deep red pin strip around it...and that red pin strip outlines most of the base edges.
