A unique piece of Perthshire’s printing heritage should be put on national display for all to enjoy, say a newly-formed group.
The Friends of the 1907 Cossar Club are hoping that if enough people join them, then the press, which was in service in Crieff for more than 80 years, could become a prime attraction at the National Museum of Scotland (NMS).
In 2012 NMS agreed it should become part of the museum’s collection and with a great deal of skill and effort it was dismantled and moved to a warehouse in Glasgow where it was cleaned, serviced and reassembled, but since then it has been waiting for its final move.
H Bernulf Clegg, chairman and treasurer of the Friends of the 1907 Cossar Club, said: “We want to reach out to people and let them know that there is this piece of history.
“If you are interested in seeing the world’s oldest reel-fed flatbed letterpress Cossar Newspaper Printing Machine back in action and printing a newspaper, and if you are interested in its history, this is the club for you.”
The 10 ton machine was built into the premises of David Philips Printers by its Govan-based designer, Tom Cossar, in 1907.
The press ran complete editions of the Strathearn Herald every week from its original installation including during two world wars and two national strikes until 1991. Many years previously the machine starred in an episode of Dr Finlay’s Casebook entitled the Rat Race, which was filmed in the Crieff premises and at the BBC on Queen Margaret Drive in Glasgow.
More recently, the producers of the Harry Potter films arrived to study it in order to construct a replica model to be used in the final film of the series, The Deathly Hallows.
The Friends of the 1907 Cossar Club holds a huge amount of information on Cossar presses, and people who join will receive a membership certificate and a DVD of the press in action.
For more information visit www.cossarprintclub.org.uk.