Andy,

    I don't know a thing about cotton presses but it would be great in a Japanese monster movie.  Do you know yet how far under ground it goes?  From the jpegs it looks like there is considerably more hidden below ground.  Please keep the list informed about what you learn, this is a good one.  There should be manufacturing marks all over the thing and these can be easily run down.  How many times in your career do you think you will need a forty foot ladder to trace an artifact?

         Richard Kimmel

-----Original Message-----
From: Andrew or Rebecca Hall [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Friday, October 03, 2003 8:20 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Steam Cotton Presses

Galveston County, Texas is currently tearing down a series of old cotton
warehouses to build a new criminal justice center. The work has
uncovered two enormous steam cotton presses, one of which is largely
intact and seen here:

http://web.wtez.net/r/h/rh61158/CottonPress/DSC04276Small.jpg

Other pictures here:

http://web.wtez.net/r/h/rh61158/CottonPress/

Note that the photographs don't give a clear idea of the scale of these
things -- they're at least 35 feet high; an adult can walk through the
pressing cage at the bottom without stooping.

A preliminary skim of the history of the site indicates that these
presses are older than the c. 1920 construction of the warehouses,
having been bought second-hand from another firm. How much older is
unclear at this point.

Do any HISTARCH members (1) have an idea of the date/manufacturer of
this press, or (2) know of similar presses that have been preserved?

References to works on similar machinery would also be appreciated. This
tremendous artifact is a little outside of my usual area of focus.

Thanks,

-------------> Andy Hall, MA
-------------> Texas Historical Commission Marine Steward