Addressograph

thumbnail|right|Illustration of 1896 Addressograph with movable belt of rubber plates thumb|Addressograph, 1950 An addressograph is an address labeler and labeling system.

In 1896, the first U.S. patent for an addressing machine, the Addressograph was issued to Joseph Smith Duncan of Sioux City, Iowa. It was a development of the invention he had made in 1892. His earlier model consisted of a hexagonal wood block onto which he glued rubber type which had been torn from rubber stamps. While revolving, the block simultaneously inked the next name and address ready for the next impression. The "Baby O" model was put into production on July 26, 1893, in a small back room of the old Caxton Building in Chicago, Illinois.