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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1854 | 1 |
| 1861 | 2 |
| 1862 | 4 |
| 1863 | 3 |
| 1872 | 4 |
| 1876 | 5 |
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| 1878 | 7 |
| 1880 | 1 |
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115 stories matching printer
- How Washington Territory's Public Printing Became a Corrupt Political Perk
A Seattle editor rails against the patronage and fraud in the territory's printing contracts, revealing that one printer paid Secretary Smith $2,000 for the appointment.
- The 'Rat' Printers of Seattle
When an 1877 newspaper attempted to cut costs by firing union compositors, the resulting strike sparked a fierce, public feud between rival publications.
- The Governor’s Printing Office Grab
A territorial appointment turns into a public feud over who gets to choose Washington’s public printer—and whether the governor overstepped the legislature’s authority.
- The Mugwump’s Ledger: How Seattle’s Territorial Secretary Gamed the Law Printing Contract
A fierce editorial exposes Secretary Owings for delaying the publication of territorial laws to favor a cronies’ printing bid, while padding the bill with 40 pages of his own party platform.
- Tacoma Printers' War Against the Ledger
A standoff in Tacoma pits union printers against a newspaper management that replaced them with imported 'rat' labor.
- The One-Armed Compositor: A Seattle Printer Defies Gravity and Doubt
Harry Penrod, who lost his left arm in a train accident three years ago, has mastered the art of typesetting with one hand—working faster than two-handed men and setting records that baffle the industry.
- The State Printer Monopoly
An editorial argument against the political corruption inherent in the state printer's office.
- The Rowdy Election of the Territorial Printer
Washington's early legislature devolves into political gridlock as members brawl over the powerful and lucrative appointment of the official Territorial Printer.
- The Price of Printing: A Local Paper’s Battle Against State Monopolies
An Ellensburg editor demands the state stop overpaying for printing contracts, arguing that local newspapers are being squeezed out of business.
- Confetti and Deadlines: A Chaotic Week at the Press
When the editor's daughter falls ill and the printer vanishes to a wedding, the remaining staff struggle to publish the paper.
- The Printer’s Panic: Will the Type-Setting Machine Steal Your Job?
A local compositor argues that fears of automation are overblown, predicting a future where machines assist rather than replace skilled labor in Seattle's printing industry.
- The Newspaper War of Tacoma
A confrontation between the Ledger and the News turns physical as a publisher faces off against a union printer over the use of machinery.
- The Tax Swindle: How Seattle’s Printer Defrauded His Neighbors
In 1872, the publisher of the *Puget Sound Dispatch* exposed a collusive scheme between local tax collectors and a rival newspaper to overcharge delinquent taxpayers for legal notices, sparking a bitter war of words in the territorial press.
- The Tacoma Typographical Union Declares War
Local printers launch a total and rigorous boycott against the Tacoma Ledger, accusing it of undermining labor and importing 'scab' and contract labor.
- The Tacoma Ledger Labor Dispute
A scathing report on how the Ledger imported scab labor from California after union printers resisted wage cuts and automation.
- The Despair of a Radical Reformer
A disillusioned printer and Populist activist ends his life at his ranch near Union City, leaving behind a letter decrying the lack of sympathy in a money-obsessed world.
- The Last Letter From Everett: A Young Printer Vanishes on the Road to Spokane
Elmer H. Rogers told his parents he was headed for Spokane. He never arrived, and his family feared he was killed trying to ride the rails between Seattle and the inland city.
- The 10 Percent Rake-Off That Put Tacoma's Water Board on Trial
A job printer's testimony blows open an inquiry into the Tacoma Board of Public Works, where the president admits he knows little about running the city's water and electric plants—and a councilman asks if he has any shame.
- The Printer and the Preacher: A Life Between Worlds
Rev. Peter C. Stanup, a Puyallup tribal member, reflects on his journey from the reservation school to the pulpit and the printing press.
- The Broken Promises of County Printing
Everett printers expose how local officials ignored campaign pledges to keep public work union-contracted.
- The Public Printer's Stand-Off
A legislative clerk threatened 'foul means' to seize official manuscripts from the printer, leading to a tense standoff over territorial records.
- The Price of Printing: A 19th Century Fight Against 'Cheap John' Contracting
An editorial from the 1873 Seattle Dispatch excoriates the municipal habit of awarding city printing contracts to the lowest bidder, arguing it degrades the press and serves only the interests of 'ward demagogues.'
- The 'Rat' Ledger and the Union Strike
After the Tacoma Ledger arbitrarily cut printers' wages by 30 percent, the labor union responded by boycotting the paper and launching a rival daily.
- Tacoma's Labor Boycott: Business Men Forced to Meet in a Basement as Tensions Escalate
A planned meeting of business men to address the Trades Council's boycott of the Ledger newspaper is postponed after the Commercial Club refuses its rooms. Undeterred, a group meets in a basement, but the Trades Council dismisses it as meaningless. The city remains on edge as labor and business collide.
- Printers’ Union Strikes Back After 'Religious' Rejection
The Trades Council declares the Cascade Printing & Stationery Company 'unfair' after a dispute over religious grounds for opposing labor organization.
Also about this, in other words
- The Price of Print: A Pioneer Newspaper’s Inventory Liquidation
A rare glimpse into the mechanics of 1878 journalism as a Seattle printer liquidates his entire shop, signaling the volatile life of local presses.
- A Printing Office Blunder
A romantic visit to a printing office turns disastrous for a typographer when his fiancée accidentally destroys his hours of labor.
- The End of an Era for a Pioneer Printer
Austin A. Bell closes his Seattle jobbing business, offering his entire stock of type and heavy press equipment at a clearance price.
- The Closing of a Pressroom Era
As the Seattle economy shifts, a local printer liquidates his entire inventory, marking the end of a small-scale business in a growing territory.
- Printers Organize a Pacific Northwest Union
Regional labor delegates meet in Olympia to consolidate power and push for standardized representation across state lines.
- The Union Label Battle
Everett printers and pressmen revolt against a city attorney’s attempt to strike down a mandate for union-made office supplies.
- The Price of Print: A 1878 Tariff Battle
A century and a half ago, Snohomish printers were already navigating the tension between protecting home industry and the rising costs of doing business.
- The End of a Printing Era
As the Seattle economy shifts, one of the city's early job printers liquidates his massive wood type collection, marking a quiet close to a chapter of local industry.