Manuscript letter from L&B to WCC re water for running steam presses (1878)

Lyon & Blair was one of a number of local commercial printers who relied on steam to power their new generation of printing presses. For steam, they required a constant supply of water to the in-house boilers. When water was first reticulated through central Wellington in 1878, the company swiftly applied to the town clerk to be hooked up and even supplied the required pipes. By comparison, the Government Printing Office used steam to drive their presses from 1866.