This Wharfedale printing press was made by Payne & Sons of Otley, Yorkshire in the 1890s. The Wharfedale is one of several mid-19th century designs that uses a cylinder to print rather than a flat plate. It was invented by William Dawson and David Payne in 1858 and could print over 1000 sheets an hour. This particular one was bought by Cambridge University Press in 1893. It was sold to Cambridge printers S.G. Marshall and Sons in 1916, who were later taken over by F. & P. Piggotts.

This object has been exclusively adopted by Cambridge University Press.