THE TOM PAINE PRINTING PRESS is now at 151 High Street, Lewes, East Sussex, BN7 1XU, UK. It is Peter Chasseaud's project for a working 18th-century ‘common press’ in the environment of an 18th century printing house, with type cases, cabinets, frames and the compositor’s ‘stone’. Posters, broadsheets, pamphlets and books will be printed on the press, which will also be used to show the complexities of letterpress technology and the crucial importance of the printed word in disseminating ideas.
Recent visitors to the Tom Paine Printing Press include Melvyn Bragg (not shown), who is doing a documentary about Thomas Paine, and Voltaire (pictured above).