You might wonder, who in the world was Ottmar Merganthaler? He was a man who loved to read, and adored books. The problem was, books and newspapers were hard to come by in the old days. They were very expensive when purchased, due to the labor involved in their printing. Ottmar moved to America in 1872 and dreamed of inventing something more useful to printers and publishers. In 1883 he conceived the idea of assembling type and casting molten lead into printed words. A company was formed in 1885, with syndicated newspapers fronting the money to pursue Ottmar's vision. The first Linotype machine was designed as a result. Ottmar died in 1899. Many people may not remember his name, but the printed word was made more available through his efforts. The Market House Museum has on display, a unusual Linotype machine, which was used at the Paducah Sun Democrat for years.