Robert Hoe

Robert Hoe (born October 29, 1784, Hoes, Leicestershire, England—died January 4, 1833, South Salem [now Lewisboro], New York, U.S.) was an American printing-press manufacturer who, as head (1823–33) of R. Hoe and Company, bought (1827) and improved Samuel Rust’s patent for a wrought-iron framed printing press and successfully manufactured it as the “Washington” press.

Hoe emigrated to the United States in 1803 and two years later became a partner with two brothers, Matthew and Peter Smith, in a newly founded enterprise, Smith, Hoe and Company, New York City, manufacturers of printers’ equipment. The company prospered, and among several innovations was the introduction of the cast-iron frame to replace the wooden frame in presses. After the death of Matthew (1820) and Peter (1823), Hoe renamed the firm R. Hoe and Company. In 1829 he began improving upon the Napier cylinder press imported from England. The Hoe version of this press was so superior that it supplanted all English-made presses in the United States.