Today, just about everything is powered by electricity.
Then I read about newspapers (and reporters) who covered the Civil War, which got me to wondering.
Since it was before there was an electric grid, what did newspapers use in those days to power their presses? Surely they weren't all hand-cranked, were they?
https://ageofrevolution.org/200-object/koenigs-steam-powered-printing-press/
Steam powered printing had long since been happening prior to the US civil war.
The piston type steam engine dates to 1712, so it could have powered presses to print newspapers about the Revolutionary War.
The piston type steam engine dates to 1712, so it could have powered presses to print newspapers about the Revolutionary War.
Possibly. I know that America was significantly behind Europe during that time frame in regards to mechanized printing, but I couldn't say for sure.
Since it was before there was an electric grid, what did newspapers use in those days to power their presses? Surely they weren't all hand-cranked, were they?
Once you go beyond a 1 sheet at a time hand press, anything that would provide rotary power to turn a drive belt that will turn an axle could in theory be used.
There were sawmills powered by by horses, mules or oxen on treadmills or giant hamster wheels.
A water wheel could be used.
A wind mill could be used.
and of course as Remus2 notes, once steam power is available, it would be far more powerful and far more reliable than any of the other options.
If we are counting wind and water powered printing presses, we can go back to the 1500's. If we are counting water powered presses for wine and olive oil, we go back to Roman times (300 AD).
https://www.uh.edu/engines/epi1161.htm
Though primarily for grains, several side mills were evidenced to be for oil and wine. As you noted, once the means of converting rotary power was established, anything requiring mechanical power could be applied.
If we are counting wind and water powered printing presses, we can go back to the 1500's.
I wasn't aware of that, but I'm not terribly surprised.
Hand powered presses were in use in the US Well into the 1880s, but that was mostly for small town papers with small circulations.
For a big city paper on the US east cost, New York or Boston, I would expect something more than just hand cranked presses (though, I have no idea what they were using) even going back to the early 1800s.
The Gutenberg press in Germany saw it's first commercial use in 1454. It didn't take long after that for someone to apply water power to assist in its operation. The first recognized news paper was in 1605 in Strasbourg (called "Relation").
The first US/colonies newspaper (Boston News-Letter) had its first issue on April 24, 1704.
The methods of mechanization for news papers bleed over into multiple mechanical systems including the calculations for maintaining synchronization for steam train drive wheels and gearing. All of which had earlier roots. For the generalized west, you'd have to go back to the time of Archimedes to get to the roots of it.
No mention of newspapers can be made without recognizing the paper part of that. The first viable paper (as it's recognized today) was from the Eastern Han dynasty of China (25–220 AD). The earlier Western Han dynasty had some, but it wasn't viable.
As the others mention, there were many systems for the larger printing press systems. However, the great majority of the towns were serviced by a local newspaper which was printed as a single broadsheet issue on a hand operated press like in these images:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Cccasarealjf.JPG
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Iserlohn-Druckpresse1-Bubo.JPG
I can remember days in the university library reading the Richmond Enquirer from the Civil War years.
Newspapers were common and cheap.
"Metal presses began to appear late in the 18th century, at about which time the advantages of the cylinder were first perceived and the application of steam power was considered. By the mid-19th century, Richard M. Hoe of New York had perfected a power-driven cylinder press in which a large central cylinder carrying the type successively printed on the paper of four impression cylinders, producing 8,000 sheets an hour in 2,000 revolutions. The rotary press came to dominate the high-speed newspaper field, but the flatbed press, having a flat bed to hold the type and either a reciprocating platen or a cylinder to hold the paper, continued to be used for job printing."
https://www.britannica.com/technology/printing-press
This may also help
http://www.historicpages.com/nprhist.htm
Did you read newspapers during the Civil War?
No, I'm old, but not that old.
Now, if you mean, were there newspapers during the Civil War, then the answer is yes.
Civil War
There have been lots of them over time. None of the participants have been very civil.
From Wikipedia
"In the 1990s, about twenty civil wars were occurring concurrently during an average year, a rate about ten times the historical average since the 19th century. However, the rate of new civil wars had not increased appreciably; the drastic rise in the number of ongoing wars after World War II was a result of the tripling of the average duration of civil wars to over four years. This increase was a result of the increased number of states, the fragility of states formed after 1945, the decline in interstate war, and the Cold War rivalry."
