Invented in 1821 by New York printer Samuel Rust, the Washington Press was the most popular US press of its time. By 1829, the Washington Press featured hollow cast iron columns which enclosed iron rods.

Rust, along with his partner Turney, manufactured the earliest models of the Washington Press. The model in Hamilton’s collection was created in the 1890s by the Chicago-based company Ostrander-Seymour.

Ostrander-Seymour made printing presses throughout the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.The Washington Press is still in use at the Still Standing Press Company in Vancouver Canada. 

Hamilton's Ostrander Washington press was restored by Carl Montford of Seattle, WA in 2010, and has been used several times.