By PATRICIA JONES
The equipment in the Ben Fischer Printing Shop at Dobby’s Frontier Town printed area newspapers, flyers, handbills, programs, even wanted posters, along with Iron Man Magazine.
Iron Man, America’s oldest fitness magazine, was founded in 1936 by Peary and Mabel Rader of Alliance, in the building at 808 West 5th Street.
Iron Man Magazine started out as an educational publication to inform people who were interested in weightlifting, bodybuilding, and powerlifting. The magazine has always stressed the health and character-building aspects of weight training, and was the leader in bringing exercise and nutrition concepts to those in the training world. In the early 1950’s, Iron Man Magazine was the first weight-training publication to show women working out with weights as part of their overall fitness regimen.
Inside this building you can see big, heavy machines that were originally all hand powered, later converted to electricity. A cabinet with several shallow drawers holds letters. The printer had to set each letter separately onto the print tray, each one backwards so when the page was inked it was readable. Photos were halftones and were made like this: the original printed photograph was re-photographed through a glass screen with a pattern of tiny apertures, onto a film or a plate. This was then developed at very high contrast, resulting in dots which varied in size according to the intensity in the original. This was used to make a contact print on a sheet of metal using a material which would harden when exposed to light. The rest of that material was then washed away, and acid etch used to dissolve the bare areas between the dots. This resulted in a plate which was used in the printing press. It would be fastened to a wood block and locked into place along with the type on the page.
In 1986, the Raders retired and sold the magazine and equipment. Iron Man Magazine is still published, with editions all over the globe including Japan, Australia, Sweden, Norway, and Italy.
Local jeweler and master watch and clockmaker Ben Fischer purchased the printing equipment from Raders. As a hobby, Fischer printed brochures, business cards, and membership books for various groups in town using the antique linotype printing press. Ben Fischer donated the printing machines under the condition that Dobby’s build a building first… so two weeks later the Frontier Town had a building!
You can see Ben Fischer Printing in the western portion of Dobby’s Frontier Town, 320 East 25th Street/ Nance Road, Alliance. The town is open 10:00-6:00 daily for self-guided tours, and donations are appreciated.