From Stadacona to the REM · Drawing 10 of 36
The printing press
1764
Ink goes on metal letters, then a sheet is laid over them. The big lever operates the press to print the page. In 1764, printing brought readers the Quebec Gazette!
Look together
What is the printer doing with the big lever?
An idea to try
Draw a small announcement together. Ask how your child could share it with three people. Compare copying it, reading it aloud and making several copies.
For the adult reading along
A little more to discover
On June 21, 1764, William Brown and Thomas Gilmore printed in Québec City the first issue of the Quebec Gazette: four pages in two columns, English on the left and French on the right, pulled on a hand press like the one in the drawing. It was Québec’s first newspaper and first printed work; the two printers had hoped for 300 subscribers and found 143. In Montréal, Fleury Mesplet set up the first press in 1776 and in 1778 launched the Gazette du commerce et littéraire, before publishing the Gazette de Montréal/The Montreal Gazette from 1785.
With your child, tell writing a message by hand apart from producing many copies. The stack of sheets is a starting point: why prepare several identical pages? The press is simplified and the sheets stay blank; the drawing does not show every step of printing.
Sources and context (4)
These links lead to other websites. Explore them with an adult. Source titles appear in their original language; some linked pages are in French.
- UQAM — Atelier typographique
- Répertoire du patrimoine culturel du Québec — Parution du premier imprimé québécois
- Répertoire du patrimoine culturel du Québec — Fleury Mesplet
- Smithsonian — Wooden Hand Presses
Source review: 2026-09-19. Illustrations simplify places and scenes; they are not historical documents.