Commonwealth Press
active Worcester, Massachusetts, 1911 - 1989
Person TypeInstitution
Last Updated8/7/24
Terms
Worcester, 1859 - 1939, Worcester
BiographyIn 1882, Oliver B. Wood bought a half interest in W. H. Sanford & Co., and the name was changed to Sanford & Wood. Soon afterward Wood became sole proprietor and operated the business as Oliver B. Wood - Printer. In 1911 the name was changed to Commonwealth Press. Wood began business at 3 Maple Street, then moved to 50 Foster Street. In 1913 Commonwealth bought out Blanchard Press and moved to 25 Foster Street. In 1923, Commonwealth, along with Davis Press and J. S. Wesby & Sons, built the Printers Building at 44 Portland Street. Wood's son Hamilton joined the business in 1910 and later became president. The company stayed in the family throughout its life, with Norman S. Wood becoming president and treasurer in later years. When the company began in 1882, it printed ledgers, blank books, stationery and small forms. As technology changed, Commonwealth adapted. Commonwealth led the Worcester industry in the 1950s and 1960s, become the first company to use a two-color offset press, the first to offer a profit-sharing plan and the first with a photocomposition system. In the 1970s Commonwealth installed the first sheet-fed four-color offset press in Worcester. By the 1980s the company specialized in short-run full-color printing. In 1989, suffering from a weak printing market and a large debt, Commonwealth filed for Chapter 11 protection against creditors under the U. S. Bankruptcy Code. It went out of business soon after this. [https://web.wpi.edu/academics/library/collections/printworcester/histories_worcester.html 12/23/2020 DJackson ]