Hempel quoins
This page relates to the Penrith Printing Museum at www.printingmuseum.org.au
Here is an attempt to suggest dates for old quoins made by Hempel and its imitators. Any comments would be appreciated.
Dates. Only two of these quoins have dates on them. The "improved" is marked with two dates "June 11, 78" (1878) and "Dec. 23, 90" (1890). The Dingen's "Can't Slip" quoin is marked "Nov 24, 08" (1908)
There are three kinds of quoin here. One has a ribbed spine, another has a spine without ribs which are here called "straight" quoins. The third is the Dingen's quoin which has a modification of the ribbed spine with two holes at one end.
Some of the ribbed quoins are labelled "ribbed" while others are labeled "improved". Therefore we assume that the improvement was the ribbing, and that this improvement was an attempt to overcome the problem of the quoins with unribbed spines working loose in the form during printing (a problem that was never wholly overcome).
From this we guess that the first date on the "improved" Hempel refers to the original, straight-spined model, and that this model was patented in 1878. The ribbed quoin was apparently introduced by Hempel in 1890, and the third kind, the "Can't Slip" quoin, was introduced by Dingen's of New York in 1908. All the other quoins on this page have been dated using this limited information.
To sum up, we suggest:
1878 First Hempel straight quoins.
Before 1890 imitators:
Damon Peets, New York.
Wimble, Sydney, Australia.
Challenge Companies.
1890 Improved (that is, ribbed) Hempel quoins
1908 Dingen's "Can't slip" quoins, based on Hempel's ribbing plus a locking device as shown below
Possibly more recent:
Ribbed (this term later replaces "improved"?)
HEMPL Trade Mark (a newer trade mark?)
However, it is possible that straight quoins would have been manufactured by some competitors long after Hempel introduced its improved ribbed quoin?
Lengths are approximate. Quoins on this page are all either approx. 75 mm or approx. 100 mm. The larger size is almost exactly 4 inches, but the smaller size seems not to belong to any standard unit, being about 2.9 inches, or 74 mm, or 17.5 picas long.
No. 1 Hempel
Hempel's Patent (with logo as shown)
Hempel's patent. Made in France (75 mm)
Hempel's Patent (without logo) (100 mm)
Hempel's Patent. Made in France. (100 mm)
Challenge Cos. Hempel (100 mm)
Damon, Peets Co. N.Y. (100 mm)
Damon & Peets N.Y. (75 mm)
Wimble Ltd. Sydney (Australia). (100 mm)
Hempel's Improved. Clearly marked "Hempel's Pat'd June 11, 78. Dec. 23, 90". Note ribbing. (100 mm)
Hempel's Improved. (75 mm)
These seem to be exactly the same as the "improved' quoins in all respects except name.
Hempel Ribbed (100 mm)
Hempel Ribbed (75 mm)
Hempel Ribbed. Made in England
Hempel Ribbed (Bronze) (75 mm)
Wimble (Bronze) (75 mm)
Possibly more recent than the other Hempel quoins, with a trade mark that changes the spelling of Hempel.
HEMPL (100 mm)
HEMPL (75 mm)
Dingen's "Can't Slip" (after 1908)
These seem to come from a rival maker with their own improvement on the "improved" Hempel. They are a ribbed quoin with two holes at one end that possibly housed a spring or lock device, which is corroded in our example.
Dingen's "Can't Slip". Patented "Nov. 24, 08" (1908)
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