Copying Pad Baths Early Office Museum

Early Office Museum

Copying Pad Baths

By the late 1870s, an improved method for moistening pages in copying books had been invented, and by the late 1880s it had been widely adopted. Rather than using a brush or damper to wet the tissues, the clerk inserted a thin moist cloth or pad between each oil paper and the following tissue. A supply of moist pads was prepared in advance using a copying bath, such as Hill's Blotter Bath, patented in 1879 (Plate 6B), or Tatum's Ideal Copying Pad Bath, patented in 1887 (Plate 7). Tatum also produced larger copying tanks that included wringers to remove excess water from copying pads. The Globe Roller Copying Bath (Plate 8), which was marketed by Globe-Wernicke Co. in the early 1900s, is an example of a copying tank. To prepare a supply of moist pads using the Ideal bath, the clerk removed the tray from the bath, poured water into the pan, and replaced the tray. Also, the clerk sprinkled a set of pads, let them stand overnight, and then placed them in the tray. “The evaporation from the water underneath will generally be sufficient to keep pads damp enough for ordinary work.” Plate 8A shows an 1886 Bailey's Letter Copying Machine with a Moistening Attachment on top.

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