# @sachistorymuseum on Instagram

- **Type:** Image
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/DYNrLhwh_22
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/65522439-sachistorymuseum-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/postThumbnails/fbae14ac0c.jpg
- **Posted:** 2026-05-11T21:37:24.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** Sacramento History Museum (@sachistorymuseum) — https://gondola.cc/sachistorymuseum

## Caption

On May 11, 1854, Ottmar Mergenthaler was born in Württemberg, Germany. Mergenthaler, who was a watch maker by trade, came to the United States in 1872. In 1885, he invented the Linotype Machine and revolutionized the printing industry. 

The Linotype eliminated the tedious need of hand setting type, especially for publication work like newspapers and books. Using a keyboard, the operator would tell the machine to send a matrix (a mold for each letter) to the assembly area. The Linotype would pump molten lead into the matrices, casting a line of type. The Linotype was in common use in newspaper offices until the mid-1970s when offset printing became the norm.

On display at the Sacramento History Museum’s print shop exhibit is a Model 8 Linotype, serial number 16618. This particular Linotype was manufactured in 1913. While our Linotype is fully operational, we lack the electrical power and ventilation in order to use it. Want to learn more about our Linotype and how it functioned? Head over to our YouTube channel and watch Howard explain its operations. 

#OnThisDay #Linotype #TodayInHistory #letterpress #sacramento sachistorymuseum

## Stats

- **Views:** 0
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- **Comments:** 13

## Tags

letterpress, sacramento, todayinhistory, onthisday, linotype

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