Peerless Gem Paper Cutter
Our art studio will be moving soon and we are wondering about the worth of two items in our shop: Peerless Gem, American Type Founders Company, it is a manual paper cutter from the 1800s. We also have a manual die cutter also believed to be from the 1800s. We would really appreciate some assistance in finding out the worth and then we will decide what we would like to do with the items from there.
Looks like a nice one. I got a larger one (30” blade) for nothing because the owner needed to get rid of it quickly. It was too big for my basement shop so I gave it away for a tax deduction to a new book arts program.
Hard to say what it’s worth. Maybe $100 or $200 depending on where you are. Maybe more. Or you may have to give it away to get rid of it. Unless the buyer is local, the cost of moving often exceeds the selling price. And they’re big and bulky; not everyone has room enough.
Hello,
I’d be very interested in images of that die cutter.
Daniel Morris
The Arm Letterpress
Brooklyn, NY
Pricing of items and appraisals have been recent topics again, but Arie’s comment is quite to the point. A longer explanation can be found on a recent thread at http://www.briarpress.org/8427. Although that topic concerns a press, the same can be said of any piece of letterpress equipment.
How much do you want for it?
Going through a Kansas City Printing equipment warehouse last year, I noticed that the larger floor model cutters were marked $400-500 and the table top ponies were $600-800. I suspected there might be a “cuteness” factor at work here but the owner said that no, it was strictly demand.
I bought a 24” Advance floor model for $25 last year and had to haul it back from Dayton Ohio. It works okay but has a half dozen braze-ups.
The 22” Jewel in Blue Springs, Missouri that I listed yesterday w/the Peerless press, went for $125.
If you are thinking of insurance/replacement value—and the machine is in good shape—better say $600. I’m not seeing any braze-ups in the photo and it appears to be in good restored condition. You should have the spare blade mentioned on the insurance policy, too.
I would agree with Calvert’s explanation. A paper cutter is useful to just about every printer, whether letterpress, offset or digital - the paper still needs to be cut - therefore the demand is fairly high.
However, these ‘antique’ paper cutters are charming but are for the most part totally illegal from an OSHSA standpoint and therefore cannot be used in a commercial shop (if the shop gets periodically inspected). The problem is that there are generally no safety mechanisms on them that require both hands to be clear of the dropping blade. One could easily loose fingers or an arm if one didn’t know what one was doing with these cutters.
A friend of mine has the large Chandler and Price cutter like this one, and he still uses it in his commercial shop (and its a fantastic cutter, I use it all the time!)
Is this still available for sale? Price and dimensions for immediate purchase? Thank you!
HI,
I JUST SAW YOUR PEERLESS PAPER CUTTER,AND WONDERED IF YOU STILL HAVE IT? IF SO WHERE ARE YOU LOCATED AND DO YOU STILL WANT TO GET RID OF IT. PLEASE LET ME KNOW . THANK YOU VERY MUCH !
To anyone interested in the above Peerless Paper cutter, I have one and looking to get rid of it. It’s in the back of our law office in Northern Kentucky.
I also have one in South Florida, contact me if you want to talk about a sale.