Gutenberg Press and Declaration of Independence

Gary Gregory

Here's a series of drawings from an old Boston printing shop "The Printing Office of Edes & Gill", located on the Freedom Trail, behind the Old North Church. Historian Gary Gregory, the man in the drawings below, fully clothed in the 18th century colonial attire, spent over 2 hours with our Dalvero group, telling us about the technology of the printing press and how it revolutionized humanity. He let every one of us take turns pulling a print of the 1776 Declaration of Independence, using the 1470s replica of the Gutenberg Press. From inking the movable type to pulling the big lever, this 2-minute experience was like time-travel. Then, Gary did a reading of the entire Declaration of Independence, only to realize that it was July 18th, the 239th anniversary of the first public reading of the Declaration in Boston. The stars truly aligned for us on that day! Big thanks to Gary for everything!

Inking the movable type.

Feeding paper.

Checking print quality.

Rolling up the print of the Declaration of Independence.

Gary Gregory reading the Declaration of Independence, with the Steeple of the Old North Church behind him.