Bythistime，otherwell-knownLondonprinters，Messrs。TaylorandWoodfall，hadjoinedKoenigandBensleyintheirpartnershipforthemanufactureandsaleofprintingmachines。TheideawhichnowoccurredtoKoenigwas，toemployacylinderinsteadofaflatPlatenmachine，fortakingtheimpressionsoffthetype，andtoplacethesheetroundthecylinder，therebymakingit，asitwere，partoftheperiphery。Asearlyastheyear1790，oneWilliamNicholsonhadtakenoutapatentforamachineforprinting“onpaper，linen，cotton，woollen，andotherarticles，“
bymeansof“blocks，forms，types，plates，andoriginals，“whichweretobe“firmlyimposeduponacylindricalsurfaceinthesamemannerascommonletterisimposeduponaflatstone。“[3]Fromthementionof“colouringcylinder，“and“paper-hangings，floor-cloths，cottons，linens，woollens，leather，skin，andeveryotherflexiblematerial，“mentionedinthespecification，itwouldappearasifNicholson’sinventionwereadaptedforcalico-printingandpaper-hangings，aswellasfortheprintingofbooks。Butitwasneverusedforanyofthesepurposes。Itcontainedmerelytheregisterofanidea，andthatwasall。ItwasleftforAdamParkinson，ofManchester，toinventandmakepracticaluseofthecylinderprintingmachineforcalicointheyear1805，andthiswasstillfurtheradvancedbytheinventionofJamesThompson，ofClitheroe，in1813；whileitwasleftforFrederickKoenigtoinventandcarryintopracticaloperationthecylinderprintingpressfornewspapers。
Aftersomepromisingexperiments，theplansforanewmachineonthecylindricalprinciplewereproceededwith。KoenigadmittedthroughoutthegreatbenefithederivedfromtheassistanceofhisfriendBauer。“Bythejudgmentandprecision，“hesaid，“withwhichheexecutedmyplans，hegreatlycontributedtomysuccess。“ApatentwastakenoutonOctober30th，1811；andthenewmachinewascompletedinDecember，1812。Thefirstsheetseverprintedwithanentirelycylindricalpress，weresheetsG
andXofClarkson’s’LifeofPenn。’ThepapersoftheProtestantUnionwerealsoprintedwithitinFebruaryandMarch，1813。Mr。
Koenig，inhisaccountoftheinvention，saysthat“sheetMofActon’s’HortusKewensis，’vol。v。，willshowtheprogressofimprovementintheuseoftheinvention。Altogether，thereareabout160，000sheetsnowinthehandsofthepublic，printedwiththismachine，which，withtheaidoftwohands，takesoff800
impressionsinthehour“[4]
KoenigtookoutafurtherpatentonJuly23rd，1813，andafourththelastonthe14thofMarch，1814。Thecontrivanceofthesevariousarrangementscosttheinventormanyanxiousdaysandnightsofstudyandlabour。Buthesawbeforehimonlytheendhewishedtocompass，andthoughtbutlittleofhimselfandhistoils。Itmaybementionedthattheprincipalfeatureoftheinventionwastheprintingcylinderinthecentreofthemachine，bywhichtheimpressionwastakenfromthetypes，insteadofbyflatplatesasinthefirstarrangement。Theformewasfixedinacast-ironplatewhichwascarriedtoandfroonatable，beingreceivedateitherendbystrongspiralsprings。Adoublemachine，onthesameprinciple，——theformealternatelypassingunderandgivinganimpressionatoneoftwocylindersateitherendofthepress，——wasalsoincludedinthepatentof1811。
HowdiligentlyKoenigcontinuedtoelaboratethedetailsofhisinventionwillbeobviousfromthetwolastpatentswhichhetookout，in1813and1814。Inthefirstheintroducedanimportantimprovementintheinkingarrangement，andacontrivanceforholdingandcarryingonthesheet，keepingitclosetotheprintingcylinderbymeansofendlesstapes；whileinthesecond，headdedthefollowingnewexpedients:afeeder，consistingofanendlessweb，——animprovedarrangementoftheendlesstapesbyinneraswellasouterfriskets，——animprovementoftheregisterthatis，onepagefallingexactlyonthebackofanother，bywhichgreateraccuracyofimpressionwasalsosecured；andfinally，anarrangementbywhichthesheetwasthrownoutofthemachine，printedbytherevolvingcylinderonbothsides。
ThepartnersinKoenig’sPatentshadestablishedamanufactoryinWhitecrossStreetfortheproductionofthenewmachines。Theworkmenemployedweresworntosecrecy。Theyenteredintoanagreementbywhichtheywereliabletoforfeit100L。iftheycommunicatedtoothersthesecretofthemachines，eitherbydrawingsordescription，oriftheytoldbywhomorforwhomtheywereconstructed。Thiswastoavoidthehostilityofthepressmen，who，havingheardofthenewinvention，wereupinarmsagainstit，aslikelytodeprivethemoftheiremployment。Andyet，asstatedbyJohnsoninhis’Typographia，’themanuallabourofthemenwhoworkedatthehandpress，wassosevereandexhausting，“thatthestoutestconstitutionsfellasacrificetoitinafewyears。“Thenumberofsheetsthatcouldbethrownoffwasalsoextremelylimited。
Withtheimprovedpress，perfectedbyEarlStanhope，about250
impressionscouldbetaken，orl25sheetsprintedonbothsidesinanhour。Althoughagreaternumberwasproducedinnewspaperprintingofficesbyexcessivelabour，yetitwasnecessarytohaveduplicatepresses，andtosetupduplicateformsoftype，tocarryonsuchextrawork；andstilltheproductionofcopieswasquiteinadequatetosatisfytherapidlyincreasingdemandfornewspapers。ThetimewasthereforeevidentlyripefortheadoptionofsuchamachineasthatofKoenig。Attemptshadbeenmadebymanyinventors，buteveryoneofthemhadfailed。
Printersgenerallyregardedthesteam-pressasaltogetherchimerical。
SuchwastheconditionofaffairswhenKoenigfinishedhisimprovedprintingmachineinthemanufactoryinWhitecrossStreet。Thepartnersintheinventionwerenowingreathopes。
Whenthemachinehadbeengotreadyforwork，theproprietorsofseveraloftheleadingLondonnewspaperswereinvitedtowitnessitsperformances。AmongstthemwereMr。PerryoftheMorningchronicle，andMr。WalterofTheTimes。Mr。Perrywouldhavenothingtodowiththemachine；hewouldnotevengotoseeit，forheregardeditasagimcrack。[5]Onthecontrary，Mr。
Walter，thoughhehadfiveyearsbeforedeclinedtoenterintoanyarrangementwithBensley，nowthatheheardthemachinewasfinished，andatwork，decidedtogoandinspectit。Itwasthoroughlycharacteristicofthebusinessspiritoftheman。Hehadbeenveryanxioustoapplyincreasedmechanicalpowertotheprintingofhisnewspaper。HehadconsultedIsambardBrunel——oneofthecleverestinventorsoftheday——onthesubject；butBrunel，afterstudyingthesubject，andlabouringoveravarietyofplans，finallygaveitup。HehadnexttriedThomasMartyn，aningeniousyoungcompositor，whohadaschemeforaself-actingmachineforworkingtheprintingpress。But，althoughMr。Waltersuppliedhimwiththenecessaryfunds，hisschemenevercametoanything。Now，therefore，wasthechanceforKoenig！
Aftercarefullyexaminingthemachineatwork，Mr。Walterwasatoncesatisfiedastothegreatvalueoftheinvention。Hesawitturningouttheimpressionswithunusualspeedandgreatregularity。Thiswastheverymachineofwhichhehadbeeninsearch。Butitturnedouttheimpressionsprintedononesideonly。Koenig，however，havingbrieflyexplainedthemorerapidactionofadoublemachineonthesameprinciplefortheprintingofnewspapers，Mr。Walter，afterafewminutes’consideration，andbeforeleavingthepremises，orderedtwodoublemachinesfortheprintingofTheTimesnewspaper。Here，atlast，wastheopportunityforatriumphantissueoutofKoenig’sdifficulties。
Theconstructionofthefirstnewspapermachinewasstill，however，aworkofgreatdifficultyandlabour。Itmustberememberedthatnothingofthekindhadyetbeenmadebyanyotherinventor。Thesingle-cylindermachine，whichMr。Walterhadseenatwork，wasintendedforbookworkonly。NowKoenighadtoconstructadouble-cylindermachineforprintingnewspapers，inwhichmanyofthearrangementsmustnecessarilybeentirelynew。Withtheassistanceofhisleadingmechanic，Bauer，aidedbythevaluablesuggestionsofMr。Walterhimself，Koenigatlengthcompletedhisplans，andproceededwiththeerectionoftheworkingmachine。TheseveralpartswerepreparedattheworkshopinWhitecrossStreet，andtakenfromthence，inassecretawayaspossible，tothepremisesinPrintingHouseSquare，adjoiningTheTimesoffice，wheretheywerefittedtogetheranderectedintoaworkingmachine。Nearlytwoyearselapsedbeforethepresswasreadyforwork。Greataswasthesecrecywithwhichtheoperationswereconducted，thepressmenofTheTimesofficeobtainedsomeinklingofwhatwasgoingon，andtheyvowedvengeancetotheforeigninventorwhothreatenedtheircraftwithdestruction。Therewas，however，alwaysthisconsolation:everyattemptthathadheretoforebeenmadetoprintnewspapersinanyotherwaythanbymanuallabourhadprovedanutterfailure！
Atlengththedayarrivedwhenthefirstnewspapersteam-presswasreadyforuse。Thepressmenwereinastateofgreatexcitement，fortheyknewbyrumourthatthemachineofwhichtheyhadsolongbeenapprehensivewasfastapproachingcompletion。Onenighttheyweretoldtowaitinthepress-room，asimportantnewswasexpectedfromabroad。Atsixo’clockinthemorningofthe29thNovember，1814，Mr。Walter，whohadbeenwatchingtheworkingofthemachineallthroughthenight，suddenlyappearedamongthepressmen，andannouncedthat“TheTimesisalreadyprintedbysteam！“Knowingthatthepressmenhadvowedvengeanceagainsttheinventorandhisinvention，andthattheyhadthreatened“destructiontohimandhistraps，“heinformedthemthatiftheyattemptedviolence，therewasaforcereadytosuppressit；butthatiftheywerepeaceable，theirwagesshouldbecontinuedtoeveryoneofthemuntiltheycouldobtainsimilaremployment。Thisprovedsatisfactorysofar，andheproceededtodistributeseveralcopiesofthenewspaperamongstthem——thefirstnewspaperprintedbysteam！Thatpapercontainedthefollowingmemorableannouncement:——
“OurJournalofthisdaypresentstothePublicthepracticalresultofthegreatestimprovementconnectedwithprintingsincethediscoveryoftheartitself。ThereaderofthisparagraphnowholdsinhishandoneofthemanythousandimpressionsofTheTimesnewspaperwhichweretakenofflastnightbyamechanicalapparatus。Asystemofmachineryalmostorganichasbeendevisedandarranged，which，whileitrelievesthehumanframeofitsmostlaborious’effortsinprinting，farexceedsallhumanpowersinrapidityanddispatch。Thatthemagnitudeoftheinventionmaybejustlyappreciatedbyitseffects，weshallinformthepublic，thatafterthelettersareplacedbythecompositors，andenclosedinwhatiscalledtheforme，littlemoreremainsformantodothantoattenduponandtowatchthisunconsciousagentinitsoperations。Themachineisthenmerelysuppliedwithpaper:
itselfplacestheforme，inksit，adjuststhepapertotheformenewlyinked，stampsthesheet，andgivesitforthtothehandsoftheattendant，atthesametimewithdrawingtheformeforafreshcoatofink，whichitselfagaindistributes，tomeettheensuingsheetnowadvancingforimpression；andthewholeofthesecomplicatedactsisperformedwithsuchavelocityandsimultaneousnessofmovement，thatnolessthan1100sheetsareimpressedinonehour。
“Thatthecompletionofaninventionofthiskind，nottheeffectofchance，buttheresultofmechanicalcombinationsmethodicallyarrangedinthemindoftheartist，shouldbeattendedwithmanyobstructionsandmuchdelay，maybereadilyimagined。Ourshareinthiseventhas，indeed，onlybeentheapplicationofthediscovery，underanagreementwiththepatentees，toourownparticularbusiness；yetfewcanconceive——evenwiththislimitedinterest——thevariousdisappointmentsanddeepanxietytowhichwehaveforalongcourseoftimebeensubjected。
“Ofthepersonwhomadethisdiscoverywehavebutlittletoadd。
SirChristopherWren’snoblestmonumentistobefoundinthebuildingwhichheerected；soisthebesttributeofpraisewhichwearecapableofofferingtotheinventoroftheprintingmachine，comprisedintheprecedingdescription，whichwehavefeeblysketched，ofthepowersandutilityofhisinvention。Itmustsufficetosayfurther，thatheisaSaxonbybirth；thathisnameisKoenig；andthattheinventionhasbeenexecutedunderthedirectionofhisfriendandcountryman，Bauer。“
Themachinecontinuedtoworksteadilyandsatisfactorily，notwithstandingthedoubters，theunbelievers，andthethreatenersofvengeance。TheleadingarticleofTheTimesforDecember3rd，1814，containsthefollowingstatement:——
“Themachineofwhichweannouncedthediscoveryandouradoptionafewdaysago，hasbeenwhirlingonitscourseeversince，withimprovingorder，regularity，andevenspeed。ThelengthofthedebatesonThursday，thedaywhenParliamentwasadjourned，willhavebeenobserved；onsuchanoccasiontheoperationofcomposingandprintingthelastpagemustcommenceamongallthejournalsatthesamemoment；andstartingfromthatmoment，we，withourinfinitelysuperiorcirculation，wereenabledtothrowoffourwholeimpressionmanyhoursbeforetheotherrespectablerivalprints。Theaccuracyandclearnessoftheimpressionwilllikewiseexciteattention。
“Weshallmakenoreflectionsuponthosebywhomthiswonderfuldiscoveryhasbeenopposed，——thedoubtersandunbelievers，