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| Blum House Tour at Old Salem © Katrena |
The Blum House, one of several buildings on tour at Old Salem, once served as a home and shop of a Salem printer. A detailed display entitled
Recording Salem: Printers and Photographers is housed in the building.
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| Old Printing Press on Old Salem Tour © Katrena |
It is hard for younger generations to imagine the amount of time and effort people had to put forth in order to print a newspaper or even a newsletter many years ago. I remember typing school papers on an electric typewriter. Those typewriters did not have an "edit undo" or cut and paste option. If you left out a word, misspelled something, or forgot to leave enough room at the bottom for citations, you had to re-type the entire page if you wanted a decent grade. Heaven forbid if you wanted to change the order of your thoughts back then!
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| Learn About History of Press in Winston-Salem NC © Katrena |
Much of the equipment in the Blum House at Old Salem dates back to the 1800s. The alphabet blocks look almost like toys, but these were used in the printing process. People back then would have been amazed at how small and convenient printers have become today. That old printing press takes up a large percentage of the room and to me it sort of resembled a large weaving loom. Those who worked in the printing industry back then had to be quite meticulous and organized.
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| Vintage Photography Studio in Old Salem © Katrena |
Another room offers a look at how an old photo studio might have looked. The chair for the subject had a rather uncomfortable looking head rest. Photography has also seen some amazing changes over the years as the cameras have become so much smaller and faster. The lighting needed to be just right, and subjects had to remain quite still for a photo to turn out well in those days. My girls and I all agreed that we are thankful that people have kept working to create the quick digital point and click cameras of today.
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| History of Photography Lesson at Old Salem © Katrena |
I recall seeing family members using a camera that was similar to some of the older ones on display (perhaps a Brownie camera?), the ones that look like a box where you look in the top to see the image. I also remember mailing film to be developed and having to wait what seemed like forever before the prints would come back! Photos lacked the instant feedback that we enjoy today...woe to the photographer who accidentally cut off a head, had a finger in front of the lens, or forgot to remove the lens cover back then!
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| Vintage Photos at Old Salem © Katrena |
Seeing the old photographs and news articles gives visitors an opportunity to see hair styles and dress of the period as well as an idea of what events were newsworthy back then. Those who lived in Old Salem were pretty progressive for their time, and many of them kept detailed records that have been preserved over the years. Due to their diligence and careful handling of many of their possessions, we now have a piece of history that future generations can discover and enjoy.
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| See Old Cameras on Tour of Old Salem © Katrena |
The Blum House was one of many places we visited on the Old Salem tour. Readers may also wish to read about other places we visited at Old Salem, such as the:
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| Learn about NC History in Old Salem © Katrena |
Find more family friendly travel articles at Katrena's blogs:
Travel NC With Kids and
Love 2 Travel With Kids.
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