Images(5)

Stamp, Marking

Object number2017.97.15 a,b

Manufacturer Pitney Bowes

MediumMetal; Paint(?); Plastic

Credit LineGIft of the Graphic Communications Conference-International Brotherhood of Teamster's Local 24M

DescriptionRectangular gray metal stamp plate with curved face featuring raised text on front; text is backwards and surrounded by red paint(?). Back of plate has lug mount. Rectangular clear plastic zipper-lock bag. Front has white square with green printed text and diagram. Red line across top of bag.DimensionsHeight x Width x Depth (a): 0.938 x 1.813 x 0.688 in. (2.4 x 4.6 x 1.7 cm)
Height x Width x Depth (b): 4.438 x 4.063 x 0.125 in. (11.3 x 10.3 x 0.3 cm)
Inscriptions(a)
Front of stamp has raised text in reverse: on viewer's right "DEMAND / this label on... / all your printing." and on viewer's left is a logo with text around the perimeter "GRAPHIC ARTS INTERNATIONAL UNION / OFFICIAL UNION LABEL / PITTSBURGH 24 J" and at center "G / A / U".

Bottom edge has raised text "FRONT".

(b)
Front has green printed text including "... / Instructions for Installing METER AD / PLATE on all Model 5300/6500 Series / Postage Meters / ..."
Marks(b)
Front has green printed text including "Pitney Bowes".
Historical NotesPart of a collection from Local 24 of the Graphic Communications Conference-International Brotherhood of Teamsters. The national union descends from the National Typographical Union which formed in 1852 and became the International Typographic Union in 1869. The union splintered in the late 1890s/early 1900s into several unions representing pressmen, bookbinders, stereotypers/electrotypers, lithographers, and platemakers, before slowly merging back together over the years. In 1983, the Graphic Communications International Union formed from the merging of the Int. Printing and Graphics Communication Union and the Graphic Arts International Union. Finally in 2005, the GCC union merged with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters to create the present-day organization. Local 24 started in the early 1900s as a group of Lithographers in the Pittsburgh area. In 2016, they downsized their offices and moved from Uptown to Three Mile Run, and in the process, donated their records and this collection of artifacts. Most of the material donated was made by the union such as buttons, posters, stickers, flat product sheets, and two printing sheets that show the change in printing technology from raised letters to flat sheets.

Related institution Graphic Arts International Union

Subjects