George E. Clymer

After relocating to England because of better market conditions, Clymer subsequently became one of the principal developers and suppliers of printing presses in Europe in the early nineteenth century.

Clymer was born and raised on his father's large farm in Bucks County, Pennsylvania,[1] on the northern border of Philadelphia.

[1] At age sixteen he learned the trade of carpentry and continued in this capacity for twenty-five years in his home neighborhood, applying his skills and industry in many ways.

Printing historian Charles Henry Timperley reports that Clymer was a rather tall individual who bore a "manly and dignified countenance".

[3] Clymer, along with a number of his contemporaries in Philadelphia, continued making minor improvements to existing wooden printing presses.

[3] Historians estimate that before 1800 Clymer initially began making wooden presses of the type that was commonly used in the eighteenth century and may have introduced his own improvements and modifications to the conventional design.

Before this, wooden presses, which had previously been employed in Europe since the fifteenth century, and also used in the American colonies since the 1600s, including those made by Adam Ramage, were commonly used.

The ornamentation consisted of a cast-iron character of Hermes on each pillar, alligators and other reptiles on the levers, and, above the structure featured an American spread eagle, which also functioned as a counterweight which lifted the platen after printing.

Because most of the printers in America were not as yet established and could not afford Clymer's more expensive printing press he found a limited market for it in the United States.

In 1820 England saw a depression which adversely effected business sales and subsequently Clymer was compelled to make significant reductions in his asking prices, ranging from £75 to £85.