Calvert B. Cottrell and Nathan Babcock joined forces in July of 1855 to manufacture cotton machinery, woodworking machinery, and printing presses. In subsequent years they added woolen machinery and armaments for the civil war. In 1868 they began specializing in printing presses, and by 1874 it seems they were making nothing else.
in 1880 Cottrell—who was the inventive genius behind the company's considerable success—bought out Babcock and continued operations under the name C. B. Cottrell & Sons. Cottrell became the pre-eminent manufacturer of printing presses in the U.S. during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Information Sources
- The 1874 work, Wiley's American iron trade manual of the leading iron industries of the United States, lists this firm as a maker of printing presses. "New York office, 8 Spruce Street."
- From History of Washington and Kent Counties, Rhode Island by J. R. Cole, 1889, available online at rootsweb.com.