Field Research Project: The significance of the printing press in the history of Panama City

The Significance of the Printing Press in the History of Panama City  

Emily Kirkland

Spring 2026

 A freshly made print from the Panama City Publishing Company Museum.

Project Goals and Background Research 

What were the major effects of the printing press in building the economy, and the significance of St. Andrews and Panama City as shown by the Panama City Publishing Company Museum? I was unfamiliar with the rich history that Panama City holds and wanted to learn more about how our city became what it is today. The printing press, in particular, was one of the first forms of technology that aided in the spread of mass communication. Distributing and preserving forms of physical media is also important to our understanding of humans of the past, as it comes directly from the source. 

In the article, "The Art of Printed Words: An Auto-Enthography" by Alexander Ginsberg, Ginsberg is completing an assignment for their studio art honors thesis. Their plan was to use a letterpress printing press, which is a large machine that requires a delicate and intense maneuvering process, while broadcasting their work live on Twitter. The goal was to form a discussion on the spread of media and the differences between physical media and digital media, and how the advancements of technology have greatly impacted the ways of mass communication. 

The Art of Printed Words: An Auto-Ethnography

In the article, "Media Anthropology: Meaning, Embodiment, Infrastructure, and Activism" by Bryce Peake, Peake describes the history of media anthropology and how it was originally dismissed by anthropologists, as it was seen that its transfer between people did not affect the meaning of the media. Peak goes on to explain how media is an important factor in the meaning of communication, understanding, and meaning of all types of aspects of human interaction. Media comes in many forms, such as physical and digital, but print stands out as it was the original form of physical documentation. 

Media Anthropology: Meaning, Embodiment, Infrastructure, and Activism

In the article, "Toward an Anthropology of Print" by Edward H. Wouk, Wouk explains how print media was not only important in the spread of text, but in the spread of images and graphics as well. With the printing press, audiences could better visualize the world, as they gained easy access to knowledge not available in their immediate communities. 

Toward an Anthropology of Print

In the article, "Media and the Virtual" by Sheena Nahm McKinlay, McKinlay explains how forms of visual media can be used for economic gain. Representation of a specific culture or area to other communities drives curiosity. Advertisements or a show of infrastructure can cause tourism. Tourism is a key economic gain to many communities, as it also expands knowledge of a certain culture or way of life. 

Media and the Virtual

Methodology

On April 23rd, I visited the Panama City Publishing Company Museum located in St. Andrews. It was purchased in 2005, then restored and turned into a museum in 2008, where it has been well preserved and cared for today. I introduced myself to the welcoming staff and explained that I was interested in learning about the history of Panama City, and more specifically, the significance of the printing press and its economic advantages to the city. They were ecstatic to share their knowledge, and I was able to sit down with them to further discuss. I was shown a binder full of preserved original newspapers from the Panama City Pilot, which was one of the first newspapers created by George and Lillian West. I was then given a demonstration of the types of printing presses used in the early 1900s when the publishing company was in business. I was even able to have a fresh print of my own made during my visit. Then I was given a personal tour of George and Lillian West's office, where their original desks, personal items, and early writings were preserved and on display. I was then able to explore the rest of the museum on my own, where I observed multiple types of printing presses, more original newspaper articles encased in picture frames, and many different types of graphics, letter types, and small mechanical pieces that work together to produce print media from the printing press. 

Results

The Panama City Publishing Company was founded by George and Lillian West in 1920, right off of St. Andrews Bay. The couple is credited as the founders of Panama City. The area at the time was undeveloped, and George saw it as a huge economic opportunity. Economic anthropology is the study of how we distribute goods and services. George had something to gain while offering a speciality service. He was a savvy businessman with a speciality in the railroad. He wanted to bring a railway line to Panama City, as, at the time, the railway system brought immense economic gain. He had a vision that Panama City could be something great. To bring his vision to life, he founded the Gulf Coast Development Company, which is still around today, and created the Bay Line, a railway running through Jackson and Washington County, which is also still in use today. But George wanted more; his vision was not yet complete. To share his ideas with the rest of the nation, he created the newspaper The Panama City Pilot, which was also one of the first projects by the Gulf Coast Development Company. The newspaper captured the attention of people across the U.S. who took an interest in the developing city. Tourism also brings immense economic gain and can be seen today as our community relies on it. It can also be shown in local historic graveyards, where many headstones have different cities and states carved in them. 

A copy of a letter sent by the state of Michigan discussing the Panama City Pilot.

A copy print of the Panama City Pilot discussing George West's significance in the founding of Panama City. 

I was also able to learn about the delicate and intricate workings of the printing press. The machine is heavy with multiple moving parts, and the ones used by the Panama City Publishing Company were worked manually. The machine is loaded with a specific design made by the manufacturer and placed upon the machine, where ink is then applied. The user must spin a large wheel that loads the design with ink, then stamps it onto a medium, usually paper. Although much faster than handwriting, the machine maneuvers at a slower pace than what can be printed today. However, at the time, this piece of technology was able to quickly mass-produce physical media such as newspapers, tickets, and advertisements. With a faster production rate, more people could see these forms of physical media. With more attention came more economic gain. Culture was also shared as more people across the nation were able to hear of the economic advantages of this growing city and its prime location on the bay. The switch between handwriting and the invention of the printing press can be seen as a form of modernization. The early primative form of producing physical media was taken over by an industrial form of production by the printing press. 

The Platten printing press. 

A larger-scale Platten printing press.

Individual letterings and graphics used to make prints from the printing press. 

Discussion and Conclusion

Overall, I greatly enjoyed my experience visiting the Panama City Publishing Company Museum. I was able to learn about the deep history that our city holds. The printing press was a monumental invention in the early 1900s and was a leap in industrialization that led us to the technology we use today to spread and produce media. It was not only important to the economy of Panama City, but it also served as an important factor in preserving the history of our city. 

For future use in anthropology, this study could be used to further the understanding of technology used for mass communication. The printing press, although important, was only a small step in the larger picture of how we can communicate across regions today. How did industrialization and the urge for economic gain play a role in the spread of communication through media? 

Works Cited 

Ginsberg, Alexander. “The Art of Printed Words: An Auto-Ethnography.” Wesleyan.edu, Apr. 2014, digitalcollections.wesleyan.edu/object/ir-238. Accessed 24 Apr. 2026.

McKinlay, Sheena Nahm. “Media and the Virtual.” Teaching Cultural Anthropology for 21st Century Learners, Pressbooks, 15 Apr. 2023, viva.pressbooks.pub/culturalanthro/chapter/media/. Accessed 24 Apr. 2026.

“PANAMA CITY PUBLISHING COMPANY MUSEUM - Historic St. Andrews Waterfront Partnership.” Historic St. Andrews Waterfront Partnership, 14 Oct. 2024, historicstandrews.com/museum/.

Peake, Bryce. “Media Anthropology: Meaning, Embodiment, Infrastructure, and Activism | Perspectives: An Open Invitation to Cultural Anthropology.” Lumenlearning.com, 2015, courses.lumenlearning.com/suny-culturalanthropology/chapter/media/. Accessed 24 Apr. 2026.

Wouk, Edward. ““Toward an Anthropology of Print,” in Prints in Translation 1450-1750: Image, Materiality, Space, Ed. Suzanne Karr Schmidt and Edward Wouk (London: Routledge, 2017), Pp. 1-18.” Academia.edu, 21 Oct. 2017, www.academia.edu/34914496/_Toward_an_Anthropology_of_Print_in_Prints_in_Translation_1450_1750_Image_Materiality_Space_ed_Suzanne_Karr_Schmidt_and_Edward_Wouk_London_Routledge_2017_pp_1_18. Accessed 24 Apr. 2026.