Doña Petronila
Continuing the introduction of the GG Press family, now it’s the turn of Dona Petronila. She’s from Chicago and was crafted by Hacker Manufacturing Company circa 1912. She’s a tabletop cylinder No. 0 Poco proof press. The bed is 12”x18” and she’s used to check printed forms before the final run and to make prints and posters from carved blocks and wood type.
As we continue to honor Venezuelan women, Petronila was the Venezuelan version of “Mata Hari” in the 1800s. She was the wife of Colonel Francisco Esteban Gomez. He won the famous battle of “Matasiete," fighting with 300 men against 3,000 experienced Spanish soldiers. She was a very clever spy. She would infiltrate the Spaniards by cleaning or cooking for them, obtaining key information such as their whereabouts and plans. She was incarcerated while pregnant, giving birth to a healthy baby who would later die of hunger, as the Spaniards would not give her any food while in prison. It was Simon Bolivar who helped her get out of jail. She would later have at least 7 kids and died of cholera in 1854.
By naming this beautiful proof press “Petronila” I’m also honoring another great woman, my maternal grandmother Petronelle. She was born and raised in Lithuania but had to escape communism with 3 little girls and a loving husband. They moved to Venezuela without speaking a single word of Spanish and no money whatsoever. This great country gave them (and me) everything. Unfortunately, history repeats itself and we also had to emigrate and this time it was the United States that received us with open arms and gave me the opportunity to start my own printing studio with the amazing pieces of history that are my printing presses.
