Frank Wawne Frank or Franks may refer to: People * Frank (given name) * Frank (surname) * Franks (surname) * Franks, a medieval Germanic people * Frank, a term in the Muslim world for all western Europeans, particularly during the Crusades - see Farang Curr ...

(1900–1995) founded the Caxton Press at

Shildon Shildon is a town and civil parish in County Durham, in England. The population taken at the 2011 Census was 9,976. The town has the Locomotion Museum, due to it having the first , built in 1825, and locomotive works on the Stockton and Darli ...

, County Durham, in the United Kingdom in 1930.

History

The business specialised in

letterpress printing Letterpress printing is a technique of relief printing. Using a printing press, the process allows many copies to be produced by repeated direct impression of an inked, raised surface against sheets or a continuous roll of paper. A worker com ...

, and had two 19th-century, belt-driven, hand-fed printing presses, a Gordon and a Golding. In

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, Wawne took the unusual step of ordering a printing press for the business from Heidelberg,Heidelberg-printing-press.com
a German manufacturer. Hostilities meant that the sheet-fed crown platen could not be delivered until 1952. The company went from strength to strength, specialising in

business cards Business cards are cards bearing business information about a company or individual. They are shared during formal introductions as a convenience and a memory aid. A business card typically includes the giver's name, company or business a ...

, invitations and bespoke wedding

stationery Stationery refers to commercially manufactured writing materials, including cut paper, envelopes, writing implements, continuous form paper, and other office supplies. Stationery includes materials to be written on by hand (e.g., letter pape ...

, running from the original 'tin hut' in Mafeking Place, Shildon. On Wawne's retirement in 1989, the business was taken over by a

Worthing Worthing () is a seaside town in West Sussex, England, at the foot of the South Downs, west of Brighton, and east of Chichester. With a population of 111,400 and an area of , the borough is the second largest component of the Brighton and Ho ...

firm. The introduction of modern processes, including the offset printing methods and the introduction of computerised typesetting, led to the closure of the major letterpress suppliers, forcing the business to close its letterpress side of the business in October 2002 after 72 years. The business had no connection with

William Caxton William Caxton ( – ) was an English merchant, diplomat and writer. He is thought to be the first person to introduce a printing press into England, in 1476, and as a printer to be the first English retailer of printed books. His parentage a ...

(1422–1491), the first British printer, whose business was at the sign of the "Red Pale".

References

External links

* {{Authority control Publishing companies established in 1930 Publishing companies of the United Kingdom Printing companies of the United Kingdom British companies established in 1930 British companies disestablished in 2002 Companies based in County Durham Publishing companies disestablished in 2002