Embosser used by Claflin University

Source catalog description

This description refers to material held by Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture. Visual details below describe the original material.

A hand-operated embossing machine used by Claflin University. The exterior is painted black, with paint chipping away throughout surface. The embosser stands flat on a beveled base that is curved on two opposing sides, each containing a hole through the base at the end. The mechanism has a long, rounded lever, with a silver plated top on the end, hinged at the body of the embosser on the opposite side, with a spring element underneath, and is used to push the cylinder element into whatever material will be embossed. Below the cylindrical element, there is a two-tiered base, the bottom being circular with relief type (illegible) on the top, the other sitting on the top curved with straight ends in an oblong shape. There is a slit for the material being embossed to slide into between the pedestal and the cylinder.

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