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During the summer of 1936, a printing press that had long served Professor Haggard, a Fellow of Timothy Dwight, in the pursuit of his hobby was moved from his house in Woodbridge to a room in the College, and early in the fall term three undergraduates, no one of whom had ever set a line of type before, were turning out work of very gratifying quality from the printing office of Timothy Dwight College. Arguably the first Press on the Yale campus, Timothy Dwight has stayed a steady course for two thirds of a century. Equipped with two presses, substantial type and supporting equipment, the TD press is also blessed with a supportive Master who strongly believes in the cultural and academic value of an operating letterpress print shop. Today, as Timothy Dwight embarks on a year-long top-to-bottom renovation, plans are in place to ensure that the TD Press will, like that of Branford, be completely restored and improved during the college’s overhaul in 2001-2002. The Master of the College, as well as supportive alumni and friends, expect that the renovated Timothy Dwight Press will receive additional equipment and type as well as a photopolymer unit, and occupy a completely overhauled, OSHA-compliant print shop. Timothy Dwight already is planning to sponsor a credit-bearing college seminar in the Art of the Book during the Fall Semester of 2002. UpdateTD's press was inaugurated in 1936, the same year as JE's, and has had a long, illustrious and steady history ever since. Thank in large part to the support of Master T for over two decades, the TD Press enters this year's renovations in good shape, and will emerge next year in great shape. During the 2001-2002 year, TD will receive new type, cabinets and cases and a new composing stone from the American cache. And thanks to the energy of former TD Chief Printer Ed Hirs '79, and TD Fellow and Press Advisor Alex Torello and his daughter Mary, of New Haven's Charlton Press, TD will be the lucky recipient of a 14 x 20" Little Giant 6" cylinder press. This will become available as Charlton relocates their shop to Branford. In the meantime, for this academic year TD printers are being invited to use the facilities of the Pierson and Davenport Presses, so neither their presses nor their skills will get rusty.
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