Victoria Press during Industrialization of the Printing Press

Emily Faithfull,  a woman's rights activist, founded the Victoria Press in London in 1860.  She created this press in response to the feminist topics, which spurred in light of the British suffrage movement taking place at this time, in aims of creating equal opportunities for women in the workplace. Within the content published by the press are sections discussing working conditions of women and men printers at the time and other relevant print topics including the industrialization of the print industry. 

The Victoria Press began printing using steam presses when they moved to their second location, Farrington Street, in London. The steam press was a relatively new process of printmaking that utilized the rotary principle: the mechanism used cylinders to roll and press the sheet of paper against the typeform placed on a flatbed. The steam press took a new approach to printmaking through this cylindrical process that had not been attempted as successfully prior. The creation of the steam press and its abilities demonstrates the high innovation of the printing industry during the 19th century due to the efficient processes which allowed for higher levels in mass production and the revolutionization of knowledge of mechanisms of the printing press. The Victoria Press utilized these technologies in furthering women's activism through the easier production of books, pamphlets, and articles. 

Although industrialization had its upsides, the products that resulted from it required high initial costs and these larger machines posed high injury risk or health hazards. As the steam press was an expensive luxury, Faithfull realized that the Victoria Press would have to put the machine to constant use if they were to make up the initial costs spent and would have to seek out any other economic resources she could. Luckily for her, this ended up working out. Ultimately, Faithfull found that the high risk warranted her high reward – being the ability to afford and maintain the Victoria Press.