Click on the image to see a short film made from our visit to see our new book 'Print in Thanet' being printed by En Route
New book celebrates Isle of Thanet’s forgotten industry
A new book celebrates the Isle of Thanet’s lost printing industry, through the stories of just three of over one hundred printing businesses once based in the area
Print Works project images
The images show some of the workshops and events we delivered as part of our Print Works project as we researched, explored, sorted and organised the Thanet Press and Martell Press archives.
Print Works Part 4: Working In The Print Industry
There were a variety of jobs in the pre-digital printing industry, meaning works like the Thanet Press employed large numbers, and needed specialist suppliers so supported small printers, bookbinders, and other trades locally. The key jobs, as a compositor laying out type, proof reading pages, or working with the machines, were highly skilled. A printer's … Continue reading Print Works Part 4: Working In The Print Industry
Print Works Part 2: The Thanet Press
In 1887 Frederick J Bobby, who had been running a small store in Bedford, moved to Margate and took over the Smeeds store, on the junction of Margate High Street and Cecil Square. With business booming, over the next few years Bobby's acquired neighbouring premises to expand the business. In 1907, he bought a nearby … Continue reading Print Works Part 2: The Thanet Press
Print Works Part 1: Forgotten Industry on the Isle of Thanet
Each town on the Isle of Thanet is distinct. Ramsgate has its Royal Harbour, and is still an active port for pleasure craft, and the rugged boats that service the offshore windfarms north of Margate. Broadstairs is the quintessential seaside town, a curve of beach at the break in the chalk cliffs, with the town … Continue reading Print Works Part 1: Forgotten Industry on the Isle of Thanet
The History Of Printing in Union Crescent, Margate: Part 1
The story of The Thanet Press starts not in Union Crescent, but at 4 Queen Street, the home of Margate stationery store Robinson & Co. A door away from Robinson's was a drapery business, Smeed's - on the corner of High Street and Queen Street. The business had been established in 1869. In 1887 Frederick … Continue reading The History Of Printing in Union Crescent, Margate: Part 1
