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Title: The American Printer: A Manual of Typography - Containing practical directions for managing all departments - of a printing office. Etc. etc.
Author: MacKellar, Thomas
Language: English
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[Illustration]
THE
AMERICAN PRINTER:
A Manual of Typography,
CONTAINING
PRACTICAL DIRECTIONS FOR MANAGING ALL DEPARTMENTS
OF A PRINTING OFFICE,
AS WELL AS
Complete Instructions for Apprentices:
WITH SEVERAL USEFUL TABLES,
NUMEROUS SCHEMES FOR IMPOSING FORMS IN EVERY VARIETY,
HINTS TO AUTHORS, ETC.
BY THOMAS MACKELLAR, PH. D.
[Illustration: FIAT LUX.]
PHILADELPHIA:
MACKELLAR, SMITHS & JORDAN FOUNDRY.
1893.
[Illustration]
Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1866, by
L. JOHNSON & COMPANY,
In the Clerk’s Office of the District Court of the Eastern District
of Pennsylvania.
Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1878, by
MACKELLAR, SMITHS & JORDAN,
In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington, D. C.
[Illustration]
Eighteenth Edition—Revised and Enlarged.
ELECTROTYPED BY
MACKELLAR, SMITHS & JORDAN FOUNDRY,
PHILADELPHIA.
[Illustration]
EIGHTEENTH EDITION.
This edition of the _American Printer_, while essentially the same as the
previous one, contains some additional matter.
PHILADELPHIA,
_March, 1893_.
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
PREFACE TO FIRST EDITION.
Usefulness rather than originality has been aimed at in the preparation
of the AMERICAN PRINTER, which is offered as an improvement on the
typographical work formerly published by us. In addition to the results
of actual personal experience embodied in the volume, information
has been gathered and extracts have been freely made from various
publications, such as _Ames and Dibdin’s Typographical Antiquities_,
_Thomas’s History of Printing_, _Timperley’s Dictionary of Printers and
Printing_, _Savage’s Dictionary of Printing_, _Johnson’s Typographia_,
_Chambers’s Encyclopædia_, _Beadnell’s Guide to Typography_, as well as
other books referred to in the notes. The work has been prepared amid the
manifold interruptions incident to business life; yet we think nothing
has been overlooked that is essential for the instruction of the learner
or for the assistance of the workman.
Besides the matter relating to practical typography, the volume contains
a sketch of the discovery of printing, and notices of type-founding,
stereotyping, electrotyping, and lithography. The implements employed in
typography are described and their uses explained; and complete schemes
for imposition are laid down. The valuable tables and the plans of cases
for various languages, and for music and labour-saving rule, will be
found extremely useful; as well as the extensive lists of abbreviations
and of foreign words and phrases, and orthographical hints.
Special attention has been given in setting forth the functions and
duties of the foreman and proof-reader, so that the operations of an
office may be prosecuted with efficiency, comfort, and economy.
Authors and publishers, as well as young printers, may consult the volume
with profit; and, indeed, any intelligent person will find it serviceable.
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
CONTENTS.
PAGE.
RISE AND PROGRESS OF PRINTING 13-48
Discovery of Printing—Laurentius
Koster—Geinsfleisch—Gutenberg—Fust—Bible printed—Peter
Schœffer—Caxton—Ulrich Zell—Lambert Palmaert—Abraham
Colorito—Humphreys and De Vinne on the invention of
printing—Lenox’s collection of rare Bibles—Ancient
typographical peculiarities—Catchwords—Invention
of Signatures—Printing introduced into
America—Type-founding in Europe—Decree of the
Star Chamber—Type-founding in America—Prices of
Type—Stereotyping—Electrotyping—Lithography—Engraving—
Walk over a type-foundry.
IMPLEMENTS OR TOOLS OF THE ART 49-120
Types—Roman letter—Italic—Black—Anglo-Saxon—Names and
sizes of type—Gradations of type—Point System of Type
bodies—A Bill of Pica—A Fount of type—Capitals—Small
capitals—Points—Apostrophe—Hyphen—Parenthesis and
Bracket—References—Accents—Numerals—Arabic figures—Old-style
figures—Cancelled figures—Fractions—Signs—Metal
rules or dashes—Braces—Spaces—Two-line
letters—Quadrates—Quotations—Labour-saving quotation
furniture—Hollow quadrates—Circular quadrates—Labour-saving
curvatures—Leads—Flowers and borders—Brass rule—Brass
labour-saving rule—Improved labour-saving rule
case—Earliest written sounds—Hieroglyphic alphabet—Runic
alphabets—Anglo-Saxon alphabet and plan of cases—German
alphabet and plan of cases—Greek alphabet and plan
of cases—Hebrew alphabet and plan of cases—Russian
alphabet—Comparative table of bodies of Music type—Music
composition—Music cases—Modern conveniences.
COMPOSITION 121-140
General remarks—Requisites in an apprentice—American
cases—Position of a compositor—Laying type—Distributing—
Composing—Spacing—Justifying—Head-lines—Notes—Blanking—
Paragraphs—Indexes—Titles—Dedications—Contents—Prefaces—
Signaturing—Errata—Ironical rules—Advice to
apprentices—Ironical rules for beginners in business.
IMPOSITION 141-199
General remarks—Tying up pages—Laying pages—Making
up furniture—Making the margin—Locking up
forms—Memoranda—Nomenclature of sheets—Schemes for
imposing, from folio to 128mo.
PROOF-READING AND CORRECTING 200-217
Qualifications of a reader—Should be a printer—Indebtedness
of authors to proof-readers—Process of reading—Proof
record—Errors made in correcting—Two readers
desirable—Punctuation—Alterations in proof—Stower’s
remarks—Revise—Correcting in the metal—Capricious
alterations—Proper method of correcting—Over-running—Hints
to authors—Table of proof-marks, with explanations—Table of
signatures.
THE FOREMAN OR OVERSEER 218-234
General duties—Treatment of compositors—Punctuality—Morning
duties—Knowledge of all materials on hand—Order—Overseeing
work—Regulating takes of copy—Prompt reading
and correcting—Memorandum—Press-book—Press
duties—Warehouse—Casting off copy—Managing hurried
work—Companionships—Taking copy—Making up—Dividing the
letter—Making up furniture—Imposing and distributing
letter—Correcting—Transposition of pages—Rules to be observed
in a printing-office.
THE PRESS AND ITS WORKING 235-292
History of the printing-press—Blaeu, its first
improver—Ramage press—Stanhope press—Clymer or Columbian
press—Smith press—Washington press—Adams’s bed-and-platen
power-press—Invention of the Cylinder press—Frederick
König—William Nicholson—Dr. Kinsley—Applegath and
Cowper—Account of the house of R. Hoe & Co.—Stop Cylinder
press—Cottrell & Babcock presses—Campbell presses—Richard
M. Hoe’s type-revolving printing machine—Bullock
perfecting press—The Walter perfecting press—The Hoe
perfecting press—Presses at the Centennial Exhibition,
1876—Railroad-ticket printing and numbering press—Job
presses—Ruggles, Hoe, Gordon, Degener, Wells, and
Gally—Franklin press—Nonpareil press—Fire-fly press—Liberty
press—Globe press—Peerless press—Universal press—Amateur
presses—Folding machines—Setting up a Washington
press—Setting up the roller-stand—Composition rollers—Melting
kettle—Covering tympans—Wetting paper—Blankets—Making ready
a form on a hand-press—Pulling—Rules and remedies for
pressmen—Ley-trough—Making ready on cylinder presses—Fine
hand-presswork—Printing wood-cuts—Card printing—Gold
printing—Bronze printing—Printing in colours—Ink stone
and muller—How to use dry colours—How to multiply
colours—Contrast of colours—Oiling a press—How to treat wood
type.
WAREHOUSE DEPARTMENT 293-299
Warehouseman—Warehouse-Book—Receipt of paper and delivery of
sheets—Giving out paper to wet—Over-sheets—Hanging up paper
to dry—Taking down sheets when dry—Filling in and pressing
sheets—Counting out and putting away sheets—Standard sizes of
machine-made paper—Table for giving out paper for a thousand
copies.
JOBBING FACILITIES 300-310
Selection of type and presses—How to make a paying
business—Memorandum order—Estimate book—Ames’s paper and
card scale—Le Blond’s chart—Cabinets and cases—Rules for
the government of a job office—Job composing-sticks—Patent
quoins—Corner quadrates—Shooting sticks—Mitering machine—Lead
cutter—Perforating machines—Imposing stone—Copy-holder—Paper
and card cutters—Megill’s patent gauge pin—Extension
feed-guide—Automatic counters—Patent ink fountain—Iron
furniture.
USEFUL RECEIPTS 311-317
How to make printers’ rollers—German preservative for
rollers—Directions for recasting rollers—Printers’
ley—Paste—Mucilage—Glue—Gum—Magenta surface paper—Coloured
writing inks—Fire-proof ink—Printing ink varnish—Lithographic
transfer ink—To give dark printing inks a bronze or
changeable hue—An ink for marking tin or zinc—Drying
preparations—Silvering solutions—To soften leather
belting—How to open a ball of twine—To prevent adhesion
of paper—To detect ground wood in paper—French gold
printing—Transfer varnish—To make paper waterproof—To
preserve books—To restore engravings.
ORTHOGRAPHICAL 318-332
Discrepancies—_a_ or _an_ before a vowel or silent _h_—_o_
or _oh_—_able_ and _ible_—_im_ or _in_ and _em_ or _en_—_in_
and _un_—_ise_ and _ize_—_or_ and _our_—_sion_ and
_tion_—_Farther_ and _further_—_Peas_ and _pease_—Omission of
_s_ in the possessive case—Formation of the plurals of words
compounded of a noun and an adjective—Pointing of numbers,
weights, measures, &c.—Derivation of English words—Rules for
spelling—Plurals of nouns.
HOW TO SECURE COPYRIGHTS 333-335
Printed title required—Application to be made to Librarian
of Congress—Style of printed title—Fees—Two complete
copies required—Penalty—Notice of copyright to be given by
imprint—Form of notice—Penalty for false notice—Authors
may reserve the right to translate or dramatize—Form of
notice—Original works only will be entered—Duration of
copyright—Renewal—Form of application for renewal—Time of
publication—Copyright may be secured for a projected as well
as for a completed work—Assignments—Fees—Copies or duplicate
certificates—Serials or separate publications—Copyright
required for each volume or part of a book—Copyrights for
works of art—Copyrights cannot be granted upon trade-marks
or labels—Fee for registering at Patent Office—Citizens
or residents of the United States only entitled to
copyright—Full name and residence of claimant required.
THE METRIC SYSTEM 336, 337
TECHNICAL TERMS OF THE CRAFT 338-343
ABBREVIATIONS 344-356
FOREIGN WORDS AND PHRASES 357-372
INDEX 373-383
[Illustration]
[Illustration: HORN-BOOK OF THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY.]
_THE SONG OF THE PRINTER._
Pick and click
Goes the type in the stick,
As the printer stands at his case;
His eyes glance quick, and his fingers pick
The type at a rapid pace;
And one by one as the letters go,
Words are piled up steady and slow—
Steady and slow,
But still they grow,
And words of fire they soon will glow;
Wonderful words, that without a sound
Traverse the earth to its utmost bound;
Words that shall make
The tyrant quake,
And the fetters of the oppress’d shall break;
Words that can crumble an army’s might,
Or treble its strength in a righteous fight.
Yet the types they look but leaden and dumb,
As he puts them in place with finger and thumb
But the printer smiles,
And his work beguiles
By chanting a song as the letters he piles,
With pick and click,
Like the world’s chronometer, tick! tick! tick!
O, where is the man with such simple tools
Can govern the world as I?
With a printing press, an iron stick,
And a little leaden die.
With paper of white, and ink of black,
I support the Right, and the Wrong attack.
Say, where is he, or who may he be,
That can rival the printer’s power?
To no monarchs that live the wall doth he give:
Their sway lasts only an hour;
While the printer still grows, and God only knows
When his might shall cease to tower!
ANON.
[Illustration: American Printer]
[Illustration]
_Hereby, tongues are known, knowledge groweth, judgment increaseth, books
are dispersed, the Scripture is read, stories be opened, times compared,
truth discerned, falsehood detected and with finger pointed, and (all as
I said) through the benefit of Printing._
FOX’S MARTYRS.
_At the very epoch when the greatness of Burgundy was most swiftly
ripening, another weapon was secretly forging, more potent in the great
struggle for freedom than any which the wit or hand of man has ever
devised or wielded. When Philip the Good, in the full blaze of his
power, and flushed with the triumphs of territorial aggrandizement, was
instituting at Bruges the order of the Golden Fleece, “to the glory of
God, of the blessed Virgin, and of the holy Andrew, patron saint of the
Burgundian family,” and enrolling the names of the kings and princes who
were to be honoured with its symbols, at that very moment, an obscure
citizen of Haarlem, one Lorenz Coster, or Lawrence the Sexton, succeeded
in printing a little grammar, by means of movable types. The invention of
printing was accomplished, but it was not ushered in with such a blaze
of glory as heralded the contemporaneous erection of the Golden Fleece.
The humble setter of types did not deem emperors and princes alone worthy
his companionship. His invention sent no thrill of admiration throughout
Christendom; and yet, what was the good Philip of Burgundy, with his
Knights of the Golden Fleece, and all their effulgent trumpery, in the
eye of humanity and civilization, compared with the poor sexton and his
wooden type?_
MOTLEY’S RISE OF THE DUTCH REPUBLIC, Vol. i, 45.
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
The American Printer.
RISE AND PROGRESS OF PRINTING.
DISCOVERY OF PRINTING.
[Illustration]
The credit of inventing the art which perpetuates the history and
achievements of all the arts and sciences has been obstinately
contested, several cities having advanced rival claims to the honour
of the discovery. This, however, should be no matter of surprise when
we consider that the inventor of a new art, unprotected by law, would
naturally endeavour to conceal its processes for his own use and
advantage. After due consideration, we agree with Isaiah Thomas in the
opinion that the probabilities point to LAURENTIUS (sometimes called
Coster, Koster, and Kustos) as the discoverer of the art of printing.[1]
Laurentius lived at Haarlem and was a man of property. He seems to have
been engaged in printing books from wood blocks or plates, well known
to antiquaries as the _Block Books_, in which the reading matter was
illustrated by rude pictures. Fragments of works so printed by him are
still in existence. Among others, the celebrated _Biblia Pauperum_,
executed between 1410 and 1420, has been attributed to him. It was only
natural that his thoughts should be led to the production of single
types, as a means of cheapening and facilitating his work. These were
first made of wood, and afterward of tin. The date of his invention of
separate types is given as about the year 1429. Other dates have been
stated, ranging from 1422 to 1436. The first of his printed books, it is
claimed, was the _Speculum Humanæ Salvationis_, of which about ten copies
are now known to be in existence. A small primer, or _Abecedarium_, in
our opinion, shows all the marks of the first attempt of an experimenter
in a new art. Koster died in 1439.
The necessity for employing workmen to assist in prosecuting the art
led to the divulging of the secret. Among these men, it is supposed,
was John Geinsfleisch, (or Gutenberg, Senior,) who, after learning the
processes, returned to Mentz, his native place, and communicated the
secret to his nephew, John Gutenberg, an ingenious artist of Strasburg.
It is in evidence that the latter, in connection with two partners, spent
a considerable amount of money in some private experiments. These appear
to have occupied several years, from 1436 to 1439, when a legal contest
arose as to the rights of one of the partners whose zealous activity had
caused his death. Gutenberg continued at Strasburg till 1444, when, his
means being exhausted, he rejoined his uncle at Mentz. Here he renewed
his experiments, and, needing money, he procured an introduction to John
Fust, a capitalist and money-lender, who seems to have been struck with
the importance of the work, and who advanced a considerable amount (all
the tools and presses being pledged as security) in furtherance of the
enterprise. Two years were occupied in making the types and necessary
machinery, when the great work of printing the Bible was begun. There
can be little doubt that, during all his years of experiment, Gutenberg
had executed smaller books, one of which is surmised to have been a
reproduction of the Dutch _Speculum_ of Koster. The _Donatus_ of 1451,
the _Appeal against the Turks_ of 1454, and the _Letters of Indulgence_
of 1454 and 1455, all appeared before the Bible,[2] which was not
published till 1455 or 1456. This great book marked an era in the art.[3]
It is painful to be told that about this time Fust foreclosed the
mortgage, and the entire work with all the materials passed into
his possession. It seems, however, that Gutenberg succeeded in
re-establishing a press, and continued to practise the art, but produced
no work at all comparable with the Bible. He died about 1468.
After securing possession of the establishment, Fust engaged the service
of Peter Schœffer, who had been apprentice or assistant to Gutenberg, and
who was distinguished for scholarship as well as mechanical skill. His
skill and the improvements made by him in the art soon led Fust to take
him into partnership, and the Bible, the Psalter, and other important
works were produced. Schœffer was further rewarded by the hand of the
grand-daughter of Fust.
From this rapid summary, we may conclude, 1. That the merit of the
invention of printing, however rude it may have been, belongs to Koster
of Haarlem; 2. That Gutenberg placed the art on a permanent foundation;
and, 3. That its economical application was insured by Peter Schœffer’s
invention of cast metal types.[4]
It was of course impossible to conceal the knowledge of an art so useful
to man, and within ten years after the publication of the great Bible
presses were established in several German cities, in Rome and other
parts of Italy, and soon thereafter in France and England.
William Caxton acquired a knowledge of the art in Germany, and carried it
into practice at Westminster in England. The year 1477 is now accepted
as the date of the introduction, the first book printed with a date in
England being the _Dictes and Sayinges of the Philosophers, emprynted by
me, William Caxton, at Westmestre, the yere of our Lord m.cccc.l.xxvij._
He had previously printed, without a date, _The Recuyell of the Historyes
of Troye_, which was followed by _The Game and Playe of the Chesse,
fynysshid the last day of marche the yer of our lord god. a. thousand
foure honderd and lxxiiii._ These were, however, printed at Bruges; so,
according to Mr. William Blades, “the first indisputable date we have to
stand on is the printing of _The Dictes_ in 1477.”
Though at that time over sixty years old, Caxton was notable for his
industrious habit. He was possessed of good sense and sound judgment;
steady, persevering, active, zealous, and liberal in his devices for
that important art which he introduced into England, labouring not only
as a printer, but as translator and author. The productions of his press
amount to sixty-four. In the churchwardens’ books of St. Margaret’s
Parish, Westminster, his death is thus recorded: “1491. Item, atte
bureyng of William Caxton, for iiii. torches vj_s._ viij_d._ Item, for
the belle atte same bureyng, vj_d._”
The Bible was printed in Spanish at Valencia in 1479 by Lambert
Palmaert, a German; but so completely was it afterward suppressed by the
Inquisition that only four leaves now remain in the archives of Valencia.
The first Hebrew Bible ever printed came from the press of Abraham
Colorito, at Soncino, in 1488—a very remarkable work. Iceland had its
printing-office in 1530, at which a Bible was printed in 1584.
ANCIENT PECULIARITIES.
The pages were either large or small folios, but sometimes quartos, and,
the early books were therefore cumbrous and unhandy. Aldus Manuccio, of
Venice, was the first to introduce the octavo form.
The leaves were without running titles, direction-words, paginal numbers,
or divisions into paragraphs.
The character itself was a rude old Gothic (similar to that now known as
_Old English_ or _Black_) mixed with Secretary, designed to imitate the
handwriting of the times; the words were printed so close to one another
that the matter was not easily read.
To avoid divisions, the early printers used vowels with a mark of
abbreviation over them to denote that one or more letters were omitted
in the word: _e.g._ co̅pose for compose, co̅pletio̅ for completion, &c.
No punctuation-marks were used, except the colon and full point; but an
oblique stroke (/) was after a while introduced, for which the comma was
finally substituted. Logotypes were frequently employed.
Orthography was various and arbitrary. Proper names and sentences were
often begun with small letters, as well as the first words in lines of
poetry.
Blanks were left for the places of titles, initial letters, and other
ornaments, to be supplied afterward by illuminators, whose calling did
not long survive the masterly improvements made by the printers in this
branch of their art. These ornaments were exquisitely fine, and curiously
variegated with the most beautiful colours, and even with gold and
silver. The margins, likewise, were frequently charged with a variety
of figures, of saints, birds, beasts, monsters, flowers, &c., which
sometimes had relation to the contents of the page, though frequently
none at all. These embellishments were often very costly.
The name of the printer, place of his residence, &c. were either omitted
or put at the end of the book, with some pious ejaculation or doxology.
The date was also omitted, or involved in some cramped design, or printed
either at full length or in numerical letters, and sometimes partly one
and partly the other: thus, One Thousand CCCC and lxxiiii; but always
placed at the end of the book.
There was no variety of character, nor intermixture of Roman and
Italic, which were later inventions; but the pages were printed in a
Gothic letter of the same size throughout. Catch-words at the end of
the foot-line (now generally abolished) were first used at Venice, by
Vindeline de Spire. The inventor of signatures is said to have been
Antonio Zarotti of Milan, about 1470.
Books were often encased in massive coverings, which were ornamented with
florid and arabesque designs. Jewels and precious metals, the finest
stuffs, and the most gorgeous colours were sometimes employed. Scaliger
says, that his grandmother had a printed Psalter, the cover of which was
two inches thick. On the inner side was a receptacle, containing a small
silver crucifix, with the name of _Berenica Codronia de la Scala_ behind
it.
Two or three hundred copies of a work were considered to be a large
edition.
PRINTING IN AMERICA.
Printing was introduced into America at Mexico by the Viceroy Mendoza
in 1536. The first book printed was the _Escala espiritual de San Juan
Climaco_, of which no copy is known to exist; but the oldest American
book now extant is the _Manual de Adultos_, dated 1540, of which only
the last four leaves are to be found in the library of the Cathedral of
Toledo. The name of the earliest printer is a matter of question.
Cambridge, Massachusetts, is entitled to the distinction of having
the first printing-press in North America, which was under the charge
of Stephen Daye. For this press the colony was mainly indebted to
the Rev. Jesse Glover, a nonconformist minister possessed of a
considerable estate, who had left England to settle among his friends in
Massachusetts. Some gentlemen of Amsterdam also “gave towards furnishing
of a printing-press with letters, forty-nine pounds and something more.”
This was about 1638. The first book issued was the _Bay Psalm-Book_, in
1640.
The first book issued in the Middle Colonies was an Almanac, printed by
William Bradford in 1685, near Philadelphia. Bradford was brought out
from England in 1684 by William Penn. As the government of Pennsylvania
became very restrictive in regard to the press, Bradford in 1693
removed to New York, and was appointed printer to that colony, where
he established in 1725 the _New York Gazette_, the first newspaper
published there. He died May 23, 1752, after an active and useful life of
eighty-nine years.[5]
The first newspaper in America was the _Boston News Letter_, which was
first issued by John Campbell on Monday, April 24, 1704: it was regularly
published for nearly seventy-two years. The second was the _Boston
Gazette_, begun December 21, 1719. The third was the _American Weekly
Mercury_, issued in Philadelphia, by Andrew Bradford, on December 22,
1719. James Franklin, an elder brother of Benjamin, established the _New
England Courant_, August 17, 1721.
The oldest living paper of the United States is the _New Hampshire
Gazette_, published at Portsmouth, now (Oct. 7, 1892) one hundred and
thirty-six years old.
_The North American and United States Gazette_ leads the existing daily
press of this country in point of antiquity. It is the successor of the
_Pennsylvania Packet_, (begun in 1771 and becoming a daily paper in
1784,) and is still the chief commercial journal of Philadelphia.
The first paper-mill in America was established near Germantown, Pa., in
1690, by William Rittenhouse.[6]
TYPE-FOUNDING IN EUROPE.
For a long period after the discovery of printing, it seems that
type-founding, printing, and binding went under the general term of
_printing_, and that printers cast the types used by them, and printed
and bound the works executed in their establishments. Type-founding
became a distinct calling early in the seventeenth century. A decree of
the Star Chamber, made July 11, 1637, ordained the following regulations
concerning English founders:—
“That there shall be four founders of letters for printing, and no more.
“That the Archbishop of Canterbury, or the Bishop of London, with six
other high commissioners, shall supply the places of those four as they
shall become void.
“That no master-founder shall keep above two apprentices at one time.
“That all journeyman-founders be employed by the masters of the trade,
and that idle journeymen be compelled to work, upon pain of imprisonment
and such other punishment as the court shall think fit.
“That no master-founder of letters shall employ any other person in any
work belonging to the casting or founding of letters than freemen or
apprentices to the trade, save only in pulling off the knots of metal
hanging at the end of the letters when they are first cast; in which work
every master-founder may employ one boy only, not bound to the trade.”
By the same decree, the number of master-printers in England was limited
to twenty.
Regulations like the above were in force till 1693. The “polyglot
founders,” as they have been called, were succeeded by Joseph Moxon
and others. But the English were unable to compete with the superior
productions of the Dutch founders, until the advent of William Caslon,
who, by the beauty and excellence of his type, surpassed his Batavian
competitors, when the importation of foreign type ceased, and his founts
were, in turn, exported to the Continent.
By an act subsequently passed, no founder was to cast any letter for
printing, no joiner to make any press, no smith to forge any iron-work
for a press; no person to bring from parts beyond the seas any letters
founded or cast for printing; nor any person to buy any letters or any
other materials belonging unto printing; without application to the
master and wardens of the Company of Stationers.
TYPE-FOUNDING IN AMERICA.
A foundry, principally for German type, was established at Germantown,
Pennsylvania, about the year 1735, by Christopher Saur, (or Sower,)
a printer, who executed in German the first quarto Bible printed in
America, as well as other valuable works in the German language. Three
editions of the Bible were printed—viz., in the years 1743, 1763, and
1776, the latter two by his son. In 1739, Saur published a newspaper in
Germantown.
An abortive attempt was made about 1768 to set up a foundry at Boston by
a Mr. Mitchelson from Scotland, and another in Connecticut in 1769 by
Abel Buel. In 1775, Dr. Franklin brought from Europe to Philadelphia the
materials for a foundry; but little use of them was made.
John Baine, a type-founder of Edinburgh, sent a relative to this country
with tools for a foundry at the close of the Revolutionary War, and soon
after came over himself. They carried on the business till 1790, when Mr.
Baine died, and his kinsman returned to Scotland.
A Dutch founder, Adam G. Mappa, settled at New York about 1787, and cast
Dutch and German faces, as well as Roman styles and several Oriental
alphabets. Want of capital prevented his success, and many of his
matrices passed into the possession of Binny & Ronaldson.[7]
In 1796, type-founding was commenced in Philadelphia by Archibald Binny
and James Ronaldson, natives of the city of Edinburgh, where Binny had
carried on the same business. Their assortment was not extensive, but it
embraced the essential founts,—Brevier, Bourgeois, Long Primer, Small
Pica, Pica, and two-line letters. They were obliging and attentive, and
in twenty years made a fortune. They improved their foundry according
to the increase of printing and the consequent demands of the trade,
extending their assortment from Pearl, of 180 lines in a foot, to
12-line Pica, having 6 lines. Binny made an important improvement in the
type-mould, by which a caster could cast 6000 letters in a day with as
much ease as he before could cast 4000.[8]
According to Holmes’s _American Annals_, about 200 newspapers were
printed in the United States in the year 1801, of which 17 were issued
daily, 7 three times a week, 30 twice a week, and 146 weekly. There
must also have been at the same time as many as 60 offices engaged in
miscellaneous printing. The whole business had increased threefold in
eleven years. Another type-foundry was put in successful operation in
Baltimore, about 1805, by Samuel Sower & Co. It had in it some moulds and
matrices which had been used by Christopher Sower, who had printed in
Germantown, near Philadelphia, and cast his own types. He printed with
German characters; but now the foundry was revived with excellent Roman
and Italic letters, and among other extraordinary things it had the size
called Diamond, with a smaller face than had ever been cast before. It
was the smallest type in the world.
The demand for type was very brisk till the war of 1812 commenced, and
the foundries were generally three or four months in arrears in their
execution of orders.
The names of the newspapers published in the United States in April,
1810, are given in Thomas’s _History of Printing_, and amount to 359,
of which 27 were daily papers, 38 were printed twice, 15 three times,
and 279 once in a week. Add those required for general printing, and the
whole number of offices could not be less than 500,—being an increase of
240 in nine years, and some of them using several thousand pounds of type
for book-printing.
In 1811, Elihu White established a type-foundry in New York. He had been
long engaged, in connection with Mr. Wing, in the manufacture of printing
types at Hartford, Connecticut, upon a plan of their own invention,
by which twenty or thirty letters were cast at once; but, abandoning
that invention, he adopted the old plan of casting, and, having a good
assortment of faces and bodies, his removal to New York was a great
convenience to its printers, and they gave him a very satisfactory
support. But the principal business in type-founding still continued, as
formerly, to be carried on in Philadelphia.
In 1813, another type-foundry was begun in the city of New York, by D. &
G. Bruce, principally to cast types for their own use. They had carried
on book-printing for seven years, and had now become acquainted with
the stereotype art,—Mr. David Bruce having visited England in 1812 and
acquired it by purchase and actual labour. For ordinary printing, it was
customary to bevel off the body of the type at the face end, or shoulder,
as it is usually called, which unfitted it for making a strong stereotype
plate in the most approved way: hence the necessity for casting type
expressly for stereotype. Their first fount was Bourgeois, with which
they cast two sets of plates of the New Testament, (the Common School
Testament,) and sold one of these to Mathew Carey, of Philadelphia,
retaining the other for their own business. But these were not completed
till 1814. In 1815, they cast the plates of the 12mo School Bible, on
Nonpareil type, prepared, like the Bourgeois, at their own foundry
expressly for stereotyping. They thus gave the first stereotype School
Testament and School Bible to America; but not the first stereotype
book. John Watts, of England, also commenced stereotyping in New York in
1813, and completed the Westminster Catechism that year, a volume of 120
pages 12mo. David Bruce invented the planing-machine for equalizing the
thickness of stereotype plates, which is now used in every stereotype
foundry in the United States. The process of stereotyping is, however,
entirely different from that of ordinary type-founding, and it is,
therefore, generally carried on as a separate business, or connected with
the composing department of a printing-office. Twenty compositors and two
proof-readers will furnish full employment for one moulder, one caster,
and three finishers, who will, among them, complete, on an average, 50
pages of octavo per day.
In 1818, or soon after, a type and stereotype foundry was established in
Boston, and another in Cincinnati, principally through the enterprise
of the late Elihu White, who, having the means of multiplying matrices
with facility, took this method for the extension of his business. Others
followed his example, and type-foundries were established in Albany,
Buffalo, Pittsburgh, Louisville, and St. Louis, with several additional
in New York, Boston, Philadelphia, and Baltimore. The business, in fact,
was overdone, and failures and suppressions took place, as competition
reduced the prices of types.
The mode of type-founding has within forty years undergone important
changes, which must no doubt be considered improvements. First among
them is the introduction of machine-casting, in which a pump forces
the fluid metal into the mould and matrix, and gives a sharper outline
to the letter than was formerly given by the most violent throw of the
caster. The old practice of casting a single type only at a time remains.
The first idea of this machine originated with William M. Johnson, who
obtained a patent for it in 1828. Elihu White put it into use in his
type-foundry, and persevered in using and trying to improve it as long as
he lived; but he did not succeed in removing the greatest fault, which
was a hollowness in the body of the types cast by it, that inclined them
to sink under the pressure of the printing-press. The first successful
type-casting machine was invented by David Bruce, Jr., of New York, and
was patented March 17, 1838. The patent was sold to George Bruce, and
the machines were used by him until 1845. David Bruce meanwhile patented
another machine in 1843, which, with new improvements, patented two years
later, gave entire satisfaction, and is now in general use in American
foundries. By Bruce’s machine, three times the quantity of type that
was cast by Binny & Ronaldson’s improved mould is now cast in a given
time, and nearly five times the quantity that was cast by the common
hand-mould eighty years ago. This improvement has passed into Europe, and
been adopted by most of the German type-founders; but in Great Britain
for some time it found little favour. A so-called “automatic machine,”
for casting and finishing type, invented by Johnson & Atkinson, is in
operation in London; but its rate of production seems to be less than
that of the American machine, while, from its multiform operations, the
proportion of imperfect type turned out must of necessity be considerably
more.
The protection now afforded by the patent laws having checked the
piratical production of matrices by electrotyping, (except in plain
faces, a practice still pursued by unprincipled type-founders,) the
leading founders in this country have been encouraged to produce types of
new styles which in beauty and ingenuity surpass those of foreign origin.
There are now three type-foundries in Boston, seven in New York, one in
Buffalo, four in Philadelphia, four in Baltimore, two in Cincinnati,
four in Chicago, two in Milwaukee, two in St. Louis, one in Richmond,
one in St. Paul, one in Cleveland, one in Kansas City, and three in
California—in all, thirty-six. Some of these foundries not only supply
the printers of the United States, but most of the printers in Canada,
some in the British West India Islands, Mexico, South America, China,
India and Australasia. American type, in quality, style, and finish, is
equal, if not superior, to any made in Europe.
The following are the prices at which plain types have been sold for the
last seventy-five years, given at ten different dates, and naming only
the principal and most useful sizes:—
+----------+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+
| |1806.|1811.|1819.|1827.|1831.|1841.|1860.|1866.|1876.|1893.|
+----------+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+
|Pica |$0·44|$0·55|$0·44|$0·42|$0·36|$0·38|$0·32|$0·56|$0·46|$0·32|
|Small Pica| ·48| ·58| ·48| ·46| ·38| ·40| ·34| ·58| ·48| ·34|
|Lg. Primer| ·56| ·66| ·56| ·50| ·40| ·42| ·36| ·62| ·50| ·36|
|Bourgeois | ·66| ·76| ·66| ·58| ·46| ·46| ·40| ·66| ·52| ·38|
|Brevier | ·76| ·86| ·76| ·70| ·56| ·54| ·44| ·70| ·55| ·42|
|Minion | 1·03| 1·13| 1·00| ·88| ·70| ·66| ·48| ·76| ·58| ·46|
|Nonpareil | 1·40| 1·75| 1·40| 1·20| ·90| ·84| ·58| ·84| ·66| ·52|
|Agate | | | | 1·44| 1·10| 1·08| ·72| 1·00| ·76| ·60|
|Pearl | | | | 1·75| 1·40| 1·40| 1·08| 1·40| 1·20| 1·20|
|Diamond | | | | | | | 1·60| 1·80| 1·62| 1·60|
+----------+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+
STEREOTYPING.
Stereotyping is said to have been invented by J. Van der Mey, in Holland,
about 1698. A quarto Bible and some other books were printed by him
from plates, which were formed by soldering the bottoms of common type
together. William Ged, of Edinburgh, discovered the present mode in
1725, and stereotyped parts of the Bible and Prayer-Book. He encountered
malicious opposition, and the business was abandoned, the new method
dying with the inventor. About 1745, Benjamin Mecom, a nephew of Dr.
Franklin, cast plates for a number of the pages of the New Testament.
Dr. Alexander Tilloch, of Glasgow, re-discovered the art in 1781.
Stereotyping gradually spread, and soon effected a considerable reduction
in the cost of books. The arguments that were advanced against its
utility have a ridiculous look at the present day, when almost every
important work is stereotyped or electrotyped.
Matter for stereotyping is set with high spaces and quadrates. The forms
must be small, containing about two pages of common octavo. A slug
type-high is put above the top line and another below the foot line of
each page, to protect the ends of the plates from injury when they are
passed through the shaving-machine. Beveled slugs, in height equal to the
shoulder of the type, are placed on both sides and between the pages, to
form the flange by which the plate is to be clasped by the hooks of the
printing-block.
Before the form is sent into the foundry, the type must be carefully
compared with the proof, to detect any errors which may have been left
uncorrected. Care must be taken to lock up the form perfectly square and
quite tight, to prevent the types from being pulled out when the mould is
raised from the pages. It must be evenly planed down, and no ink or dirt
or incrustations from the ley be allowed to remain on the surface.
The face of the type being clean and dry, and the bottoms free from
particles of dirt, the form is laid on a clean moulding-stone, and
brushed over with sweet-oil, which must be laid on as thinly as possible,
care being taken that the entire surface of the types is covered. A
moulding-frame, with a screw at each corner, (called a _flask_,) and
fitting neatly to the form, is next placed around it.
The material for moulding is finely ground gypsum, nine parts of which
are mixed with about seven parts of water, and well stirred up. A small
quantity of the liquid mixture is poured over the pages, and gently
pressed into the counter of the types with a small roller, for the
purpose of expelling confined air; after which, the remainder of the
gypsum is poured in, until the mould is somewhat higher than the upper
edge of the flask. In a few minutes the mixture sets, and the upper
side is smoothed over with a steel straight-edge. In about ten minutes
the mould is gently raised by means of the screws at the corners of the
flask; and, after being nicely trimmed at the sides, and nicked on the
surface-edges to make openings for the metal to run in, it is placed on
a shelf in an oven, and allowed to remain until the moisture has quite
evaporated.
The casting-pans may be large enough to hold three or four moulds. The
dried moulds are placed in a pan face downward, upon a movable iron plate
called a floater. The cover of the casting-pan, which has a hole at each
corner for the passage of the metal, is then clamped to it, and lifted
by a movable crane and gently lowered into the metal-pot,—containing,
it may be, a thousand pounds of liquid metal,—till the metal begins to
flow slowly in at the corners. When the pan is filled, it is sunk to the
bottom of the pot. The metal should be hot enough to light a piece of
brown paper held in it. After being immersed eight or ten minutes, the
pan is steadily drawn out by means of the crane, and swung over to the
cooling-trough, into which it is lowered and placed upon a stone so as
just to touch the water, in order that the metal at the bottom of the
pan may cool first. The metal contracts while cooling, and the caster
occasionally pours in a small quantity at the corners from a ladle, till
it will take no more. It may be here remarked that some stereotypers do
not dry the moulds, but immerse them in a green condition into the metal.
The plates are carefully removed from the solid mass which comes out
of the pan, and the plaster is washed from the surface. If, after
examination, the face is good and sharply set, the plates are passed
over to a picker, who removes any slight defects arising from an
imperfection of the mould. They are then trimmed and passed through the
shaving-machine, till all are brought to an equal thickness. The flanges
are neatly side-planed, and the plates are then boxed, ready for the
printing-press.
In England, the plates are merely turned on the back, and consequently
vary in thickness. This must be a source of continual expense
and annoyance to the pressman. The flanges, besides, are very
imperfectly made,—so imperfectly that they cannot be used on American
printing-blocks; and English plates, when imported into this country, are
therefore sent to a foundry here, to be brought to an equal thickness
and to be properly side-planed. An order given some years ago by an
English printer for a set of American printing-blocks was afterward
countermanded, on account of the prejudice against the introduction of
new things.
Several methods of stereotyping are now practised. Many of the leading
newspapers of England and America are printed from stereotype plates
cast in moulds made of prepared paper: this mode, however, yields very
inferior plates, quite unfit for fine books.
Another method, styled the “mud-process,” is by spreading a thin coating
of pulverized soapstone and gypsum over an iron plate, and a mould is
then obtained by pressing the coated face against a page of type. Several
of these mould-plates are then set on end in an iron box, separated from
one another by a wire of the thickness of the stereotype desired, and hot
metal is poured in. This is a very expeditious process, though not so
good as the old method.
In 1804, before the introduction of stereotyping into this country,
Mathew Carey, the well-known enterprising publisher in Philadelphia, had
the Bible in quarto set up entire, and regularly imposed in chases, to
print from at convenience, according to the demand for the volume. The
type was cast by Binny & Ronaldson. Stereotyping would have saved much of
the large outlay required to carry out the scheme, which, nevertheless,
even under these circumstances, was doubtless highly remunerative. The
weight of type must have amounted to 25,000 pounds, to say nothing of the
number of chases and column-rules required.
ELECTROTYPING.
Stereotyping has been superseded by the process of electrotyping, as
described below.
The pages, after being delicately polished with plumbago, are laid in a
press; a pan of prepared wax, warmed, is placed over them and pressed
down into the counter of the types. The wax mould is then dusted with
plumbago, and suspended in the electric bath. On this, in a few hours,
is deposited a thin shell of copper, which, after being coated with tin
solder, is backed up with metal to the usual thickness of a stereotype
plate.
The same care in preparing the pages for electrotyping must be observed
as for stereotyping. For stereotyping, high slugs are placed only at
the top and foot of the page; but, for electrotyping, they must be set
around on all sides, and the bevelled flange must be afterward made by
side-planing.
LITHOGRAPHY.
This is the art of printing, by a chemical process, from designs made
with a greasy material upon stone. It was discovered about the beginning
of the present century by Alois Senefelder, an actor of Munich,
Bavaria, whose patience and perseverance under the most disadvantageous
circumstances were truly remarkable and praiseworthy. Differing from all
other methods of printing, the impressions are obtained from a level
surface.
The stone best calculated for lithographic purposes is a sort of
calcareous slate found on the banks of the Danube, in Bavaria, the finest
being found near Munich. A good stone is porous, yet brittle, of a pale
yellowish drab, and sometimes of a gray neutral tint. The stones are
formed into slabs from one and a-half to three inches in thickness. To
prepare them for use, two stones are placed face to face with some fine
sifted sand between them, and then are rubbed together with a circular
motion, to produce the requisite granulation, which is made finer or
coarser to suit the purpose of the artist.
The principal agents used for making designs on stone are called
lithographic chalk and lithographic ink. They are composed of tallow,
virgin wax, hard tallow soap, shellac, sometimes a little mastic or
copal, and enough lampblack to impart a colour to the mass. These
ingredients are put into an iron sauce-pan, and exposed to a strong fire
till the mass is in a state of ignition. When the quantity is reduced
one-half, the pan is carefully covered, or put into water to extinguish
the flame and cool the mixture. After being well worked up, it is formed
into small cakes or sticks. The ingredients are the same in the chalk and
the ink, but the proportions are varied, and a little Venice turpentine
is often added to the latter. The chalk is used in a dry state; but the
ink is dissolved by rubbing in water, and is used in a pen or with a
camel-hair pencil. The presence of soap renders it soluble in water.
The artist completes a drawing with the chalk upon a grained stone as
he would make a drawing in pencil or chalk upon paper. If while in this
state a wet sponge were passed over the face of the stone, the drawing
would wash off. To prevent this, and to make it capable of yielding
impressions, a weak solution of nitrous acid is poured over it, which
unites with and neutralizes the alkali or soap contained in the chalk,
and renders it insoluble in water. After this, the usual course is to
float a solution of gum over the whole face of the stone; and, when this
is taken off, the drawing is no longer removable by the application of a
wet sponge, because the chalk is now insoluble. The stone is now ready
for the printer, who obtains impressions by the following process.
Having damped the surface of the stone equally with a sponge filled with
water which has been slightly tinctured by acid, the printer finds that
the water has been imbibed by only those parts of the stone which are
not occupied by the drawing, which, being greasy, repels the water and
remains dry. A roller covered with ink is now passed over the stone,
which will not even be soiled where it is wet, from the antipathy of oil
to water. But the parts occupied by the drawing, being dry and greasy,
have an affinity for the printing-ink, which, therefore, leaves the
roller and attaches itself to the drawing. In this state it is said to be
charged or rolled in. A sheet of damped paper is then put over it, and,
the whole being passed through a press, the printing-ink is transferred
from the stone to the paper, and the impression is obtained. Great nicety
is requisite in the preparation of all the agents employed in this art,
and in the process of printing as well as in making the drawing on the
stone.
The most important application of this process is in the production
of copies of coloured drawings and paintings,—a process known as
_chromo-lithography_. The object here being to produce as nearly as
possible fac-similes in colour, touch, and texture, as well as in
drawing and light and shadow, of pictures from the pencils of painters
of the highest standing, it has been found necessary to employ a large
number of stones, in order to produce the almost infinite varieties of
tints which are found united in a single picture,—every stone giving
a separate impression in its own particular colour or tint. The mode
of procedure is somewhat as follows. First, an outline of the entire
subject is made by means of transfer paper, or otherwise, on a stone
which is called the outline or keystone of the work. This stone yields
impressions which are transferred as guides to all the other stones. On a
second and third stone which serve as the basis of the print the general
effect of the drawing is washed in, and from these are printed what may
be called the chiaroscuro, in a faint tint of sepia and of a neutral
colour or gray,—corresponding, in fact, very nearly to the neutral or
dead colouring of a water-colour drawing in the method adopted by the
early water-colour painters. The stones which follow are each charged
with a particular colour or tint, and each leaves its impression on only
a particular portion of the print,—one stone printing only the parts
which are intended to be yellow or a modification of yellow, another
red, another blue, and so on. Other stones charged in parts with grays
or secondary colours serve to blend and harmonize the crude colours;
others follow which modify these; and, finally, one gives the sharp dark
touches, and is usually followed by another which supplies a sort of
glaze or finishing wash, and subdues and harmonizes the whole. Of course,
we have merely indicated the general method. It will be understood that
the sequence of the colours in the printing, the special quality and
strength to be given to each particular tint, the effect to be produced
by their super-position, and many other particulars, have all to be
taken into account in planning the arrangement of the colours on the
stones;—since a sequence in some respects different, and an entirely
different modification of colours, have to be employed for the works
of most artists; and it happens that much of the colour on each of the
earlier stones is covered by that of succeeding stones, and that thus
only can the broken tints of the original be imitated. It is, in fact,
only by watching the progress of a print through all its stages that
any clear idea can be obtained of the beauty and accuracy of the whole
process, of the prevision that must be exercised, and of the skill, care,
and taste required at every step to carry it to a successful termination.
For some of the more elaborate prints, from thirty to forty stones have
been required to produce a finished print. And in order to produce this
print, it must be borne in mind that each sheet of paper has to be
passed as many times through the press as there are stones, since each
stone imprints upon it only its own particular section of the work. Of
course, in proportion to the increase in the number of the stones, does
the difficulty increase of making the work upon each fall exactly upon
its proper place in the general design; for, if any one were misplaced
only the fiftieth of an inch, the drawing and colour of the whole would
be disturbed. Hence it is found necessary to arrange the _register_, or
adjustment of the stones, with the utmost care and precision, and to
exercise the most careful supervision in the printing, since the sheet
of paper expands considerably in passing through the press, and has
to be dried and re-damped before it can be passed through again. But
practically this is all accomplished with seeming ease, and a large and
most complex subject will be found, when the last stage has been reached,
to bear the most minute scrutiny; and the result, even when the copy is
placed alongside the original, will surprise and delight equally those
who have followed the work through its several steps and those who may
only examine the completed work.
Of late, many chromos have been beautifully printed from prepared blocks
on an ordinary cylinder-press.
ENGRAVING.
[Illustration]
The invention of wood engraving has been claimed for the Chinese, whose
books have certainly been printed from engraved wood blocks for ages. It
is not, however, until the beginning of the fifteenth century that we
find any evidence of the existence of wood engraving as we now understand
it.
It is probable that Italy was the first European country to make
engravings, but only for printing playing-cards. Holland and Germany soon
applied the art to better ends.
The earliest print of which any certain information can be obtained is
in the collection of Earl Spencer. It was discovered in one of the most
ancient convents of Germany,—the Chartreuse of Buxheim, near Memmingen
in Bavaria,—pasted within the cover of a Latin MS.; it represents Saint
Christopher carrying the infant Saviour across the sea, and is dated
1423. We give a reduced fac-simile of this curious engraving. The
inscription at the bottom has been thus translated:—
In whichever day thou seest the likeness of St. Christopher,
In that same day thou wilt, at least from death, no evil blow
incur.—1423.
[Illustration]
Shortly afterward, a series of books printed entirely from wood
engravings, called block-books, were issued. The most important of them
were the _Apocalypsis, seu Historia Sancti Johannis_; the _Historia
Virginis ex Cantico Canticorum_; and the _Biblia Pauperum_, the last
containing representations of some of the principal passages of the Old
and New Testaments, with explanatory texts. The illustrations seem to
be drawn with a supreme contempt for perspective and proportion, but
bear evidence of the draperies and hands and faces having been carefully
studied. The above is a copy of one of the cuts in the _Apocalypsis_.
It represents St. John preaching to three men and a woman, with the
inscription: “_Conversi ab idolis, per predicationem beati Johannis,
Drusiana et ceteri_,” (By the preaching of St. John, Drusiana and others
are withdrawn from their idols.) The adjoining cut, from the _Biblia
Pauperum_, is curious as showing the general manner of representing the
creation of Eve during the fifteenth century. Both have the appearance of
careful drawings “spoiled in the engraving.” Previous to the invention of
movable types, whole books of text were also engraved on wood, and the
impressions were evidently taken by rubbing on the back of the paper,
instead of a steady pressure, as in the printing-press, the ink used
being some kind of distemper colour.
[Illustration]
The wood to be engraved on is carefully selected, and cut up into
transverse slices seven-eighths of an inch thick. This is done by
circular saws, which are necessarily very rigid, so as to insure good
even cuts.
After being cut, the slices are placed in racks something like
plate-racks, and thoroughly seasoned by slow degrees in gradually heated
rooms. When sufficiently seasoned they are reduced to parallelograms of
various sizes, the outer portion of the circular section near the bark
being cut away, and all defective wood rejected; such, for instance, as
knots, irregular grain, as that resulting from the position of branches,
which are indicated by light-coloured markings in the wood, known in
the trade as “comets,” from their resemblance in shape to those fiery
bodies. They are softer than the surrounding wood, and consequently do
not cut well with the graver; therefore much care and a practised eye are
needed in selecting suitable wood. A section of boxwood almost always
exhibits parts of widely different values; the more so as it deviates
from the circle in form, for then the annual rings are compressed, and
consequently closer on one side than on the other, the side with the wide
open rings being usually far inferior in value to the denser and smaller
side.
In former times, engravers’ blocks were cut parallel with the grain, the
present system of cutting them across the grain being introduced about
the middle of the last century. In the preparation of a block, say for
a newspaper plate, the parallelograms before spoken of are assorted as
to size and fitted together at the back by brass bolts and nuts. So
accurately do the edges of the wood fit together, that after the artist
has finished his drawing on the smooth face of this compound block, the
screws and bolts are loosened, and the pieces separated and given to
several men to engrave the design; all that is needed after they have
finished their work being to fit the pieces together and screw them up
again, when they form one engraved block ready for the printing-press.
Turkey boxwood, from a region of country in the vicinity of the Black
Sea, is used for fine engravings. The best is of a delicate yellow colour
free from spots or “eyes,” and cuts smoothly without crumbling or tearing.
The tools or gravers necessary in wood-engraving are of three
kinds,—viz., gravers proper (_a_); tint tools (_b_); and scoopers, or
cutting-out tools, for clearing out the larger pieces (_c_). They are
arranged in different sizes, to suit the various portions of the work.[9]
[Illustration]
According to Vasari, the important discovery of chalcography or engraving
on brass or copper was made by Tommaso Finiguerra, a Florentine goldsmith
of the fifteenth century, who lived from 1400 to 1460. The manner in
which he made this discovery is thus stated by the Rev. T. F. Dibdin:—
“Of engraving upon copper, the earliest known impression is that executed
by one Tommaso Finiguerra, a goldsmith of Florence, with the date of
1460 upon it. One of the following circumstances is supposed to have
given rise to the discovery. Finiguerra chanced to cast, or let fall, a
piece of copper, engraved and filled with ink, into melted sulphur; and,
observing that the exact impression of his work was left on the sulphur,
he repeated the experiment on moistened paper, rolling it gently with a
roller. This origin has been admitted by Lord Walpole and Mr. Landseer;
but another has been also mentioned by Huber. ‘It is reported,’ says
he, ‘that a washerwoman left some linen upon a plate or dish on which
Finiguerra had just been engraving, and that an impression of the subject
engraved, however imperfect, came off upon the linen, occasioned by its
weight and moistness.’”
PHOTO-ENGRAVING.
Photo-engravings are produced by means of photography. It is a fact
worthy of note that experiments in photographic engraving gave rise
to photography itself. The aim of Nicéphore Niepce, when he began his
researches in 1813, was not only to fix the image obtained by the camera
obscura on a plate of metal, but to convert this plate into an engraving
which could be used on a printing-press. His early death prevented his
perfecting the process to which he had devoted much time and study.
Three distinct methods of photo-engraving are employed in the United
States, viz.: swelled gelatine, photo-etching, and wash-out. The latter
is known as photo-electrotyping.
The first steps to produce a plate by any of these processes are
exactly alike, _i. e._ a perfectly sharp negative, either in line or
stipple, must be produced. If the copy furnished is a wood-cut, steel
or lithographic print, in which the lines are absolutely black on white
paper or card, the negative is made direct and no drawing is necessary,
unless a very great reduction is required, when it becomes necessary to
make a drawing, the lines of which are made open enough to stand the
necessary reduction. Where the copy furnished is a photograph, or wash
drawing, it is first photographed one half larger, or, where fine work is
desired, twice the size the plate required. In cases where exceptionally
fine work is required it is even made three times the size. The
photograph thus obtained is technically termed a silver print, and is an
untoned print on plain paper. On this silver print the artist makes his
drawing, using the best India ink, which must be so black that the finest
hair-line, when examined through a magnifying glass, appears absolutely
jet black. After the drawing is made, an alcoholic solution of bichloride
of mercury is poured over it, and quickly washed under the tap, leaving
the drawing on perfectly white paper. The artist then does whatever
retouching may be necessary, and the drawing is ready to be photographed.
The advantages of this method of drawing are apparent. The artist, being
able to work directly on the enlarged photograph of the object, obtains
absolutely correct outlines and detail. The drawing, when finished, is
sent to the gallery, where it is photographed to the required size of the
plate. The focus of the camera is carefully adjusted with the aid of a
focusing glass, so that the negative resulting will be perfectly sharp.
This must be carefully done, for unless the negative be sharp a perfect
plate cannot be obtained by any process. The sensitized collodion plate
is exposed in the camera from one to six minutes, after which it is taken
again to the dark room, developed, and fixed. It is then intensified
until the portions representing the whites of the picture are perfectly
opaque. Up to this point all the processes are alike, and the differences
from here will be noted.
If the plate is to be produced by the _swelled gelatine_ process, the
negative is varnished and sent to the gelatine room. Here the gelatine is
dissolved and the sensitized solution of bichromate of potash is added,
and it is flowed on plate glass, then placed in a drying box, where a
current of air is continually passed over it. When the gelatine is dry it
is placed in a printing frame, in close contact with the negative, and
exposed to the light. On removing the negative the picture is plainly
seen on the gelatine, the action of the light having changed the color
of the exposed portions of the gelatine, besides rendering those parts
insoluble, while the parts protected from the action of the light, by the
opacity of the negative, remain soluble, and are swelled up by immersion
in cold water. The gelatine is then an exact opposite of the plate, the
_whites_ being represented by the raised portions. From this mould, or
relief, a cast is made in a preparation of wax or plaster, when it is
ready for the stereotyper.
For the _wash-out_ or photo-electrotype process, the negative, when dry,
is not varnished, but is first coated with a rubber solution and then
with plain collodion, after which it is immersed in a dish of acetic
acid for about five minutes, when it is stripped from the glass and
turned over. It is then what is termed a reversed negative. The method
of preparing the gelatine is very much the same as for the _swelled_
process, with the exception that it is _cooked_ for about forty-eight
hours, and with the addition of several preparations which are introduced
at the time of sensitizing, to make it easily washed out. The negative is
exposed in the same manner as described before, but the time of exposure
is generally less. After being taken from the printing frame the gelatine
is gently scrubbed with a line brush, and kept in tepid water until a
very slight relief is obtained. It is then immersed in alcohol for a few
seconds, and dried with a cloth, when it is covered with a preparation
of lamp black and glycerine, which is allowed to remain about five
minutes, when the surface of the plate is carefully rubbed with clean
muslin, exposing the surface of the lines,—all this being done in a dark
room before an orange light, which is non-actinic. The gelatine is now
placed in a frame and exposed to the light from five to twenty minutes,
the lampblack protecting the spaces between the lines from the action of
the light, so that those portions remain soluble. The gelatine is again
scrubbed until the proper relief is obtained, after which it is allowed
to dry for about twelve hours, when it becomes hard and is ready to be
electrotyped.
The negatives for photo-etching are stripped and reversed in the same
manner as for the _wash-out_ process. The metal generally employed for
this process is zinc, though copper is sometimes used for very fine work.
The zinc is very highly polished, and a thin sensitizing solution is
flowed over it and dried, after which it is exposed under the negative
to the action of the light. It is then rolled up with lithographic
ink, placed in a dish of cold water, and gently rubbed with absorbent
cotton, the ink readily leaving the unexposed parts, but remaining on
the exposed lines or dots. It is then quickly dried and dusted over
with dragon’s-blood powder, which adheres only to the remaining inked
portions. The plate is then heated and cooled, and is ready for the
etching bath, which consists of a small portion of nitric acid and water.
After the first _bite_ the plate is again powdered, heated and cooled,
and more acid added to the bath. This is repeated several times, after
which the plate is ready for the press. The sides of the lines are
protected by the manner in which the powder is applied after the first
_bite_. The relief obtained in this way is greater than can be obtained
by any other process.
In reviewing the three processes above described, it is readily seen that
the photo-etching process is the shorter method, no moulding or casting
being necessary, and the sharpness of the finest lines is preserved in
a manner impossible by the other methods. The plates are much deeper,
and are equally suitable for the finest art work, down to the roughest
newspaper work. This process, of which there are several modes of
operating, has become very popular in the last few years, owing to the
many improvements introduced by the _process inventors_, who have turned
their attention to it. It has many advantages, among which is the fact
that a plate can be put on the press within two hours from the time the
copy is ready; and the wearing capacity of the plates is greater. By this
process more than 300,000 impressions have been taken from plates of
fine work, while swelled gelatine plates of the same character of work
would not stand over 5000, and electrotypes 50,000 impressions. The main
advantage of photo-etchings to the printer is, that the plates do not
require constant washing up, as is the case with plates made by the other
processes.
A photograph, brush drawing, or any copy that is not made up of line
or stipple, can be produced without the necessity of a line drawing by
the aid of the half-tone process. There are several of these processes
in operation in this country; and, although originally introduced in
Germany by Miesenbach, it has been so improved by American inventors that
the European work is far below the standard of the United States. The
principal methods of _half-tone_ in this country are worked secretly by
the inventors, each having modifications and improvements of his own.
It is impossible to give a thorough description here, as none of the
inventors are willing to risk patenting their processes, and a complete
publication is not desirable. The copy is first photographed, giving a
negative with all the details of the original. This negative is then
exposed to the camera, and the result is a _positive_, or, as commonly
called, a transparency. This positive is then placed in contact with a
glass plate covered with ruled lines. This plate is termed a _grating_.
Being placed in contact, they are then photographed together, giving a
negative of the object made up of lines and dots, representing the lights
and shades of the picture. Here the half-tone process ends, the resulting
plate being produced by any of the photo-engraving methods; but the most
satisfactory results are obtained by photo-etching. The main objection
to the half-tone plates is their lack of relief. No great depth can be
obtained without sacrificing the effect. In printing these plates the
greatest care in _making ready_ must be exercised, and a smooth surface
paper must be used. It is also necessary that a fine grade of ink be used
in small quantity, and that it should be properly distributed.
[Illustration: METAL HOUSE.]
A WALK OVER OUR FOUNDRY.
Mr. Typograph, how are you, sir? Glad to see you. How is business with
you? Plenty to do, and customers paying up? You are so prompt in paying
us, that we have no doubt you have a noble set of customers. You wish to
add to your stock our new things? All right, sir. You have a fine office
already, but you want to keep up with the times, and give your patrons
the best the type-founder can invent? That’s the way, sir. The man on the
lookout sees the sun the earliest. Mr. Faithful, show our new things to
Mr. Typograph, and take his order.
You say, Mr. Typograph, that you have never gone over a type-foundry?
We shall be happy to show you every thing. This way, sir. Here is
the metal-house. These piles of dull lead, these casks of sparkling
antimony, this copper, and this tin go to form the grand amalgam of
which type is made. The worthy and kind-hearted man who is stirring at
the kettle, unites, in bonds stronger than matrimony, immense masses of
these metals every week. It may appear to you, Mr. Typograph, to be an
exceedingly simple thing to throw into the kettle certain amounts of
lead and antimony, and copper and tin, and produce type-metal. Not so,
good friend. It is not an easy matter to compose a metal that shall be
hard, yet not brittle; ductile, yet tough; flowing freely, yet hardening
quickly. All these conditions must be met. Break a bar in two, and
examine the grain of our metal: is it not beautiful?
[Illustration: PUNCH.]
[Illustration: MATRIX.]
Now, sir, let us up-stairs and see how these bars are fitted for
printers’ use. This is a punch-cutter—a man of exquisite finger and
unerring eye—sitting amid keen and delicate tools and accurate gauges.
There are but few of this kind of men in the world. On the end of a
piece of steel he is forming a letter. A touch here and a touch there,
and frequent testing by gauges,—so he proceeds, till the letter is done;
then another, and another, till the alphabet is complete; all the letters
harmonizing entirely in height, breadth, appearance, length of stroke,
&c. A smoke-proof of the dies is taken, and if approved the dies are one
by one placed in a stamping-machine, so,—and an oblong piece of copper
is set under it, so,—and then this lever is brought down, so,—and a
perfect impression of the die is left, as you see, deep in the copper.
This is the matrix. The matrices are passed over to other workmen in
the adjoining room. Observe now the carefulness and skill exercised in
fitting up these bits of copper, so that, when placed in the mould, the
types cast in them shall range accurately and be of uniform height. The
slightest variation would give the zigzag appearance which you may have
noticed in badly-made type. This we endeavour sedulously to avoid, and
with how much success you can judge from our Specimen Book. Look at this
drawer full of matrices. You say they are triumphs of art? True saying,
evincive of good judgment.
[Illustration: CASTING MACHINE.]
You wonder what these curious-looking instruments are which lie, in
dusty repose, on the shelves around the room? Those, Mr. Typograph, are
hand-moulds, and at one time they provoked intense covetousness on the
part of rival founders. One of our earliest predecessors, Mr. Archibald
Binny (our foundry dates from 1796), added such valuable improvements to
the ordinary mould, that no other foundry in the world could rival the
expedition and accuracy with which types were cast in the establishment
of which he was a co-proprietor. Their day has passed, however. They
have been superseded by the machines which you will see in operation in
another apartment. But they were capital things in their time, sir, and
we regard them with somewhat of an antiquary’s reverence.
Now we enter the casting-rooms. These tiny machines, small as they
are, can throw out more type in one day than you would be likely to
count in a month, even if you could call off one hundred a minute, and
occupy ten hours a day. Snug little fellows, are they not? They were
invented by a New-Yorker, Mr. David Bruce, Jr. A very ingenious man, you
say? That is true. Look at one carefully. The metal is kept fluid by a
little furnace underneath, and is projected into the mould by a pump,
the spout of which, you see, is in front of the metal-pot. The mould is
movable, and at every revolution of the crank it comes up to the spout,
receives a charge of metal, and flies back with a fully-formed type in
its bosom; the upper half of the mould lifts, and out jumps a type as
lively as a tadpole. You don’t see how the letter is formed on the end
of the type? True, we had forgotten: well, this spring in front holds in
loving proximity to the mould a copper matrix, such as you saw just now
in the fitting-room. The letter a, for instance, stamped in the matrix,
sits directly opposite the aperture in the mould which meets the spout
of the pump; and when a due proportion of a’s is cast, another matrix
with b stamped in it takes its place; and so on throughout the alphabet.
Slow work, you say, one at a time? Well, the world is peopled after that
fashion; and it fills up fast enough. But just time this machine: it is
making small, thin type. Count the type made in a minute. One hundred
and seventy-five, you say. One hundred per minute will probably be the
average of the ordinary sizes of printing type.
The types are not finished yet? Oh, no. These nimble-fingered boys are
breaking off the jets, or waste ends of the type. Quick, a’n’t they?
Now let us go up stairs into the dressing-room. An immense beehive? Yes,
indeed, it looks like one. The lads clustered around the large circular
stones, with leather-protected fingers, rub off the rough edges of the
type. But men as well as type require their rough edges taken off before
they are good for much in the world. These boys at the tables set up the
type in long lines. You think that if you could pick up dollars as fast
as they pick up type, you would retire an independent man in a year or
two? We wish you could, Mr. Typograph; we wish you could.
The lines of type now pass into the hands of the dresser. Observe how
deftly he slips them into a long stick, shakes them down on their face,
screws them up, fastens them into a planing-board, and with one or two
pushes with a planing tool accurately grooves the bottom of the type,
removing entirely the burr left when the jet is broken off, and giving
each type a pair of legs to stand upon, till it is worn out and returned
to the melting kettle. What is the eye-glass used for? Why, sir, as
soon as the types are grooved, the dresser narrowly inspects the face
of the type, and if an imperfect letter is discovered by the aid of the
magnifying glass, it is incontinently turned out. Ah, sir, if we were all
inspected as severely as he criticises type, some of us, perhaps, would
hardly pass muster. The immaculate types are next put up in pages of
convenient size, and are ready for the purchaser.
Let us drop into the large machine-room. Does not every thing hum here!
Is it not a beautiful sight to see the shafts and belts and pulleys
whirling around as if they were all alive? Here we fit up our machines,
make our moulds, repair damages to machinery, &c. The multifarious
uses of these lathes you must be familiar with: this ponderous machine
is an iron planer: how it makes the iron chips fly! What is that
curiously-arranged lathe? That is for cutting Labour-Saving Rule,—the
rule which you have found so convenient and economical in your job-room.
We make it of many different styles of faces: some single, some dotted
or hyphen-lines, and others parallel or double, of varying thicknesses.
They are all cut to Pica ems in length, and are furnished with mitred
corner-pieces of different angles, so contrived, in most of the sizes, as
to allow the rule to be used single or double, and with the fine lines
inside or outside.
[Illustration: SLOTTED BRASS CORNERS.]
Here are specimens of our new slotted brass corners, so handsome and
useful to the skilled printer. See how accurately the slotted pieces
fit in one another, so that you cannot detect the joint. Are they not
effective? Our brass is carefully rolled by the best manufacturers in the
country, and is sent to us in strips or in sheets. That wicked-looking
shears yonder cuts up the thinner brass with as much unction as
Commissioner Yeh’s executioner slices off heads: the thick brass goes
under a circular steam-saw.
[Illustration: STEREOTYPE BLOCK.]
Now, sir, while we are up here, we will peep into the printers’
furnishing-room. Isn’t this a beautiful stereotype-block? Doesn’t
it do your eyes good to look at such perfect workmanship? And these
brass galleys, and mahogany galleys and composing sticks, are they not
admirable? Our effort in this department, as in all others, is to do our
work well. All our miscellaneous wood-work is done here,—stands, racks,
drawers, stereotype and packing boxes, &c. Some curious work has been
designed and executed for the Smithsonian Institution, as well as brass
ciphering-frames for the blind.
Ah, we forgot to show you our large-type room. On our way to the
electrotype department, we will glance in it. The types you see here
cool too slowly to be cast in a machine, so we continue to pour them.
Look over the drawers, and see the multitude of patterns. Some men fancy
one style, and some another. So we try to meet all tastes. Feel how
solid the type is. You can’t squeeze the life out of that type on a
power-press. No, indeed. It is made for wear.
Now, Mr. Typograph, we enter the grimed and murky electrotype-room.
Electrotyping, you are aware, is simply stereotyping in copper. Its
advantages over stereotyping are, sharpness of outline in plates from
wood-cuts, and great durability. Plates for books of large circulation
are always electrotyped, as well as cuts, engravings, binders’ stamps,
&c. The thing to be electrotyped, after being carefully and almost
imperceptibly glazed with plumbago, is laid upon a press, and a prepared
mould is placed over it, and an exact impression taken. This is well
dusted with plumbago, and then deposited in the electric bath. Nature
immediately takes up her part of the work, and a brilliant coating of
copper is deposited upon the mould. When sufficiently thick, it is taken
out of the battery, and, as you may notice, presents on the wrong side
the appearance of a printed sheet of copper. This sheet is then filled
up on the back to the requisite degree of thickness, and fastened to a
block, ready to be used with type on a common printing-press. Plumbago,
you remark, does not improve the countenances of the operatives? True;
but a little soap and water, vigorously applied, proves the title of
these intelligent workmen to rank among white folk.
To you, Mr. Typograph, our composing-rooms present nothing new, except,
perhaps, in its vast number of job founts, due to the fact that we now
mainly confine our work in this department to all kinds of jobbing; and
yet in ten years we have set up in these rooms and stereotyped more than
eight hundred considerable works,—most of them consisting of a single
volume, but some of from two to twelve volumes each,—besides a multitude
of smaller books, tracts, &c. Among the rest we may mention two Quarto
Bibles, (one of them, now published by J. B. Lippincott & Co., the
grandest ever got up in America,) Lippincott’s two great Gazetteers, Dr.
Kane’s Explorations, The North American Sylva, Thiers’ Napoleon, and
Macaulay’s England: Allibone’s magnificent Dictionary of Authors and
Books among the number.
After the pages have been set and carefully read, they are sent down to
the casting-room. In the electrotype-room, every thing is as black as the
brow of a coal-heaver: in the casting-room, all is as white as the neck
of a belle. Take care, sir, or your coat will commit a larceny of our
plaster. The form of type is laid on this stone, and nicely oiled: and
then a mixture of plaster and water—doesn’t it look like a good wife’s
buckwheat batter?—is poured over it, and gently rolled in. In a short
time the plaster sets, and the mould is removed by screws as tenderly as
a nurse handles a baby. It is then dried in this hot-tempered oven, and,
after the moisture is all evaporated, it is laid in a pan and fastened
tightly, as you see, and plunged into this terrible bath of a thousand
pounds of molten type-metal. Phew! you exclaim, what warm work! Yes, sir;
but from that fiery sea of lead soon emerges the pan, and its hissing
heat is gradually overcome by the water in the trough into which the
pan is lowered. Now, caster, break it out. There, Mr. Typograph, is the
plate, fixed,—immovable,—stereotyped. The mould is ruined; but the plate
is comparatively immortalized. It is rough yet, and, like an uncouth boy,
needs polishing.
[Illustration: STEREOTYPE CASTING-ROOM.]
This next room is the finishing-room. Here the plates are carefully
examined, picked, shaved, trimmed, and boxed, ready for the printer.
Take a plate in your hand and examine it: it will bear inspection.
You say it is far better than the untrimmed, uneven plates of English
founders? We know that, sir; for we have often had to re-finish English
plates imported by some publisher who imagined he could save a little by
ordering a duplicate set of plates of a popular foreign book. A mistake,
sir. Both in type-founding and in stereotyping the Americans have driven
the foreigner from the field,—and in the only legitimate way, too: simply
by surpassing him.
In this nook below, our engraving is done. The drawing is made on the
block by the designer, as you see: then patiently and skilfully the
engraver cuts and digs out, till the lines and shapes and lights and
shades are all revealed in the beautiful picture. Our work in this
department gives so much satisfaction that we are seldom without orders.
Now, Mr. Typograph, we shall admit you into our editorial parlour. Walk
in, sir. It is not carpeted, and its principal furnishings comprise
a desk or two, a few presses, stands and cases, with multitudinous
type-surroundings. Here, sir, we edit and print our Specimen Books and
our Typographic Advertiser. Don’t you see poetical flies buzzing around,
and atoms of wit-dust floating in the air, and odours of sentiment
stealing out at the key-holes, and grains of common sense sprinkled all
over the floor. Will you have a few specimens as curiosities? You say
you have already a good assortment in our Advertiser and our Book? Very
well, sir: we hope you will treasure them up. You say truly when you
remark, that the printing done in this room is seldom, if ever, surpassed
in America. We know that; and we intend to stand on the topmost round of
the typographical ladder, and to show our fellow-artists what can be done
with type such as we manufacture.
We are afraid, Mr. Typograph, that your long excursion over the house has
wearied you. Let us go down-stairs again. These, sir, are our warerooms.
On these numerous shelves are ranged founts of all the various sorts of
types made by us, carefully put up, labelled and classified, and all
accessible at a minute’s notice. Our customers throughout the country
keep actively employed all these porters, packers, clerks, salesmen, and
bookkeepers. Many of our customers have never visited us; but we put up
their orders with as conscientious fidelity and care as if they were
standing before us and watching our every movement. We are happy to see
them, and hope none will visit our city without calling in and taking us
by the hand. We like to see them face to face, so that we can hang up
their portraits in our mental gallery; and, when we afterward receive
a letter from them, we can imagine that we are hearing them talk to us
rather than reading their writing.
The side-door on which your eye has just rested leads to one of our
fire-proofs. Enter it. Here, sir, are safely stored many thousand
matrices, as well as moulds, when not in use. As it would require the
labour of many weary years to replace them if destroyed, we endeavour to
keep them secure from the danger of ruin by fire. The upbuilding of a
complete type-foundry is a work of generations.
You will hardly care to look into the basement,—the storehouse of ink and
other typographical appliances? Your time is exhausted? Then, sir, we bid
you good-day. A safe return to your pleasant family, Mr. Typograph.
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
IMPLEMENTS OR TOOLS OF THE ART.
TYPES.
[Illustration]
The types or letters generally used for printing in Europe and America
are termed _Roman_, _Italic_, and _Old English_, or _Black Letter_.
ROMAN LETTER.
Roman letters were employed in MSS. from the fifth to about the close of
the twelfth century, when what are called Gothic letters (afterward Old
English) came gradually into use; these continued for several centuries,
when, in most countries, they were superseded by the Roman characters.
All printing was in black letter down to 1465, when Sweinheim & Pannartz,
in Subiaco near Rome, produced a volume entitled _Lactantius_, in a
character approaching to the actual forms of our modern types. In 1467,
they made an improved set of characters, and printed about forty volumes
within the five years following. About 1469 John of Spires, in Venice,
made a great advance in improving the form of the Roman character, and
printed the _Natural History of Pliny_: the execution of this work is
very remarkable. But Nicholas Jenson may fairly be considered the father
of the style of Roman letter now in vogue. He printed in Venice four
works in the year 1470, the first of which was _Eusebii Præparatio
Novorum_, &c., in types which were cut by him, more perfect in form than
those of any earlier printer. The printers named above were all of them
Germans.
The Roman letters consist of circles, arcs of circles, and straight
lines; and, therefore, on the score of simplicity, precision, and
elegance, they certainly deserve to be adopted as the standard for all
nations.
A printer, in choosing type, should not only attend to the cut of the
letter, but should also observe that its shank is perfectly true, and
that it lines or ranges with accuracy, and is of equal height. The
quality of the metal of which it is composed and the finish of the letter
demand particular attention, as the competition among some of the smaller
foundries (which have sprung into existence through the facilities
afforded of multiplying _matrices_ by the electrotype process) has led
them to use an inferior metal, and produce types without due regard to
nicety of finish and exactness of body and standing.
It is important that types should have a deep face, with strong, bevelled
bases or foundations under the ceriphs or hairlines, and that the letters
should have a deep nick, which should be different from other founts of
like body in the same house.
ITALIC LETTER.
_Aldo Manuccio, born at Bassano, succeeded Jenson at Venice and turned
to good account the latter’s admirable founts of type. He also made
many advances in the art of printing, the most notable of which is the
invention of the style of type now known as Italic. It was first used in
an octavo edition of Virgil issued by him in 1501, and Pope Leo X. gave
him a letter of privilege, entitling him to the sole use of the type he
had invented. It was said to be founded on the handwriting of Petrarch,
which it closely resembles._
Italic was largely employed to distinguish such parts of a book as might
be considered appendages, as _Prefaces_, _Introductions_, _Annotations_,
&c., all of which were formerly printed in this character; so that
perhaps two-fifths of a fount was composed of Italic letter.
At present it is used more sparingly, being superseded by the more
elegant mode of enclosing extracts within inverted commas, and by setting
poetry and annotations in a smaller-sized type. It is very appropriately
used to distinguish the head or subject-matter of a chapter, and is
serviceable in grammars and other school-books as well as scientific
works. The frequent use of Italic words among Roman in ordinary matter
impairs the beauty of the page, and ought to be avoided; yet authors
sometimes stubbornly insist on the gratification of their whimsies, even
at the sacrifice of every principle of correct taste.
BLACK LETTER.
[Illustration: ~This letter, which was used in the infancy of Printing,
descended from the Gothic characters: it is called Gothic by some, and
Old English by others; but printers term it Black Letter, on account of
its heavy appearance.~]
In Germany, the letters in common use are founded on the Gothic
character; but even there scientific works are printed in the German
language with Roman letters.
The Dutch adhere to the black letter in books of devotion and religious
treatises; while they make use of the Roman in their curious and learned
works.
SAXON CHARACTERS.
The Saxon characters originated probably from the Gothic, but were
altered or modified after the Latin ones which the Saxons found in use
in England in the fifth century. The first Saxon types were cut by John
Daye, under the patronage of Archbishop Parker, about the year 1567. We
give the Lord’s Prayer in modern Anglo-Saxon types:
[Illustration: ~Fæder ure þu þe eart on heofenum. Si þin nama gehalgod.
Tobecume þin rice. Cepurðe þin pilla on eorþan, spa spa on heofenum. Urne
dæghpamlican hlaf gyfe us to dæg. And forgyf us ure gyltas, spa ssa pe
forgifað urum gyltendum. And ne gelædde þu ur on costnunge. ac alys us of
yfele. So ðlice.~]
NAMES AND SIZES OF TYPE.
The principal bodies to which printing letters are cast in England and
America are the following:—
1. Diamond.
2. Pearl.
3. Agate.
4. Nonpareil.
5. Minion.
6. Brevier.
7. Bourgeois.
8. Long Primer.
9. Small Pica.
10. Pica.
11. English.
12. Columbian.
13. Great Primer.
14. Paragon.
15. Double Small Pica.
16. Double Pica.
17. Double English.
18. Double Great Primer.
19. Double Paragon.
20. Canon.
Besides the foregoing, a smaller size than Diamond, called Brilliant, is
now cast in the foundry of MacKellar, Smiths & Jordan of Philadelphia,
the body of which is just one-half of Minion. Even this is surpassed in
smallness by a music type cast in the same foundry, named Excelsior,
which is precisely one-half the size of Nonpareil. Another size omitted
in the list is Minionette, (equivalent to six of the Didot points,) which
is next above Nonpareil.
Canon is conceded to have been first produced by a French artisan, and
was probably used in some work relating to the canons of the church; to
which the German title, Missal, alludes.
Two-line Great Primer, Two-line English, and Two-line Pica, owe their
names to the respective bodies of which the depth of two em quadrates
answers to one of the double sizes.
Paragon was probably first cut in France. It is known as Text by the
Germans.
Pica is universally considered as the standard type, and by it furniture,
quotations and labour-saving rules are graduated. A line 83 Pica ems long
is equivalent to 35 centimeters. The twelfth part of Pica is the unit,
called a Point, by which type-bodies are measured. MacKellar, Smiths &
Jordan cast their new borders, ornaments, and job type on Pica, and its
subdivisions of Nonpareil, (½ Pica,) and Excelsior, (¼ Pica,) and their
multiples.
[Illustration: Transcriber’s Note: In the original, each paragraph was
printed in the size of type that it describes (they run from largest to
smallest).]
Great Primer, called Tertia in Germany, is one of the major
sizes of type which were early used for printing considerable
works, and especially the Bible; on which account some persons
term it Bible Text. The French name is Gros Romain.
English is called Mittel by the Germans, and St. Augustin by
the French and Dutch; the word Mittel (Middle) intimating that
the former sizes of letter were seven in number, the centre of
which was English, with Prima, Secunda, and Tertia on one side,
and Pica, Long Primer, and Brevier on the other. The name St.
Augustin was probably given because the writings of that Father
were the first works done in that letter.
Pica is called Cicero by the French and Germans. As the
preceding size was distinguished by the name of St. Augustin,
so this has been honoured with that of Cicero, on account of
the Epistles of that writer having been first done in letter
of this size. It is doubtful whether the name was given by the
French or the Germans.
Small Pica is a grade below Pica, and is now generally employed
in octavo volumes, and is, indeed, almost the only size used
for printing legal reports and other law books. The French call
this letter Philosophie, which, however, is merely a Pica face
on Small Pica body. The Germans call it Kleine Cicero.
Long Primer. Upon the supposition that some bodies of letter
took their names from works in which they were first employed,
we are induced to believe that the Germans gave the name of
Corpus to this character on account of their Corpus Juris being
first done in this size. The French call this letter Petit
Romain.
Bourgeois is a very useful and convenient size of letter. It
is frequently used in double-column octavo pages. The name
indicates that it originated in France; although type of this
body is now called Gaillarde by French printers. Two lines of
this letter are equivalent to one line of Great Primer, or four
lines of Diamond.
Brevier was first used for printing the Breviaries, or Roman
Catholic Church books, and hence its name. The Germans call it
Petit, and Jungfer (maiden letter). It is an admirable type,
and cannot conveniently be dispensed with in any considerable
printing-office.
Minion follows Brevier, and is commonly used for newspapers,
and for notes and indexes in book-work. Its name is due
probably to its being smaller than any type in use at the
period of its invention. It fills a useful place in a
printing-office.
Nonpareil came next in order; and its originator, supposing
that he had reached the extreme of diminutiveness, gave it
this triumphant title. It is extensively used, though mostly
on newspapers, and for notes and indexes for duodecimo books
and smaller. It is certainly the smallest type that should be
allowed in book-work.
Agate probably arose from the necessities of newspaper
publishers. As patronage increased, it became desirable to have
a type less in size than Nonpareil, for the advertisements,
shipping news, markets, &c.; and Agate was made to meet the
emergency. It is now extensively used for pocket editions of
the Bible and Prayer Books.
Pearl may be said to have been born of ambition. As
punch-cutters became more expert, some one possessed of a keen
eye and a delicate mechanical finger determined to surpass
in smallness the achievements of his predecessors. Hence the
origin of this type. This type is also employed in printing
miniature volumes.
Diamond followed, as a matter of course; for human ingenuity,
when provoked, seems determined to go to the utmost verge of
possibility. This type is so minute that a pound of it will
contain more than 3300 of the letter i; yet, to produce each
letter of an alphabet, a steel punch has to be cut and a matrix
made, in which the types are cast one by one, and, being set up
in lines, are rubbed and dressed by the founder for the use of
the compositor.
Brilliant. Expert penmen, it is said, have succeeded in
writing the Lord’s Prayer upon the edge of a sheet of paper.
A type-setter in Berlin, most surprisingly, has formed a type
so minute as to be scarcely readable without a good magnifying
glass. The type of this paragraph, though not so small as the
microscopic letters produced in Prussia, is yet so diminutive
that even Diamond is large by comparison. Of the letter i
nearly 4600 go to a pound.
GRADATION OF TYPES.
The following specimen shows the proportion which one size of type bears
to another in _width_; but it is necessary to observe that it must be
taken with certain limitations, because each founder has letter of every
size that will either drive out or get in with others of the same body,
some faces being more extended and others being more condensed than the
standard width of type. The scale contains thirteen sizes in order of
gradation, viz., Great Primer, English, Pica, Small Pica, Long Primer,
Bourgeois, Brevier, Minion, Nonpareil, Agate, Pearl, Diamond, and
Brilliant.
[Illustration]
POINT SYSTEM OF TYPE-BODIES.
In 1882, MacKellar, Smiths & Jordan began to make type on the
proportional system of bodies. The Pica em, being the eighty-third part
of thirty five centimetres, was divided into twelve parts, or points.
This system of exact proportional type-bodies was approved of and adopted
by the American type-founders generally. It has been favourably received
by printers in this country, and all printing offices will in due time be
fully equipped with types of this description.
The standard for the height of type was fixed at 2⅓ centimetres.
In some European countries printing offices had their types cast to a
height to suit the proprietor’s whim. Some of the foreign founders have
sent young men to Philadelphia to be educated in the American system of
heights and bodies, and at least two foundries in Germany have adopted
the American plan.
The following table shows the systematic gradation of bodies and position
of nicks in the point system, one point being equivalent to 1/12 of a
Pica em.
[Illustration: 3 POINT. Excelsior.
3½ POINT. Brilliant.
4 POINT. Semi-Brevier.
4½ POINT. Diamond.
5 POINT. Pearl.
5½ POINT. Agate.
6 POINT. Nonpareil.
7 POINT. Minion.
8 POINT. Brevier.
9 POINT. Bourgeois.
10 POINT. Long Primer.
11 POINT. Small Pica.
12 POINT. Pica.
14 POINT. English.
16 POINT. Two-line Brevier.
18 POINT. Three-line Nonpareil.
20 POINT. Two-line Long Primer.
22 POINT. Two-line Small Pica.
24 POINT. Two-line Pica.
28 POINT. Two-line English.
30 POINT. Five-line Nonpareil.
32 POINT. Four-line Brevier.
36 POINT. Three-line Pica.]
A BILL OF PICA.
The following is reckoned by the founders a regular fount, complete in
all its sorts:—
A BILL OF 800 LBS. OF PICA.
a 8500
b 1600
c 3000
d 4400
e 12000
f 2500
g 1700
h 6400
i 8000
j 400
k 800
l 4000
m 3000
n 8000
o 8000
p 1700
q 500
r 6200
s 8000
t 9000
u 3400
v 1200
w 2000
x 400
y 2000
z 200
& 200
ff 400
fi 500
fl 200
ffl 100
ffi 150
æ 100
œ 60
— 150
⸺ 90
⸻ 60
, 4500
; 800
: 600
. 2000
- 1000
? 200
! 150
’ 700
( 300
[ 150
* 100
† 100
‡ 100
§ 100
∥ 100
¶ 60
1 1300
2 1200
3 1100
4 1000
5 1000
6 1000
7 1000
8 1000
9 1000
0 1300
é 200
à 200
â 200
ê 200
All other
accents,
each. 100
A 600
B 400
C 500
D 500
E 600
F 400
G 400
H 400
I 800
J 300
K 300
L 500
M 400
N 400
O 400
P 400
Q 180
R 400
S 500
T 650
U 300
V 300
W 400
X 180
Y 300
Z 80
Æ 40
Π30
(Transcriber’s Note: the following were printed as small capitals.)
A 300
B 200
C 250
D 250
E 300
F 200
G 200
H 200
I 400
J 150
K 150
L 250
M 200
N 200
O 200
P 200
Q 90
R 200
S 250
T 326
U 150
V 150
W 200
X 90
Y 150
Z 40
Æ 20
Π15
_Spaces._
Thick 18000
Middle 12000
Thin 8000
Hair 3000
Em Quads 2500
En Quads 5000
Large Quadrates, about 80 lbs.
_Italic, one-tenth of Roman._
Owing to the varying styles of authors and the diverse subjects of books,
some letters will now and then run short in a fount, whatever the
proportions may have been at first. A new fount of type may run evenly on
a work in general literature written in the third person, while a novel
filled with dialogues in the first person will rapidly exhaust certain
letters, and require sorts to render the fount serviceable to its full
general capacity. So with scientific and other books. Even in the case
of two authors writing on the same subject, there is no certainty that
the fount will run alike. The master-printer, therefore, to keep the
entire letter in use, is compelled to order sorts, and his fount is thus
constantly growing larger.
A FOUNT OF TYPE.
A complete fount of type may be comprised under the following heads:—
_CAPITALS._
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Æ Œ &
_SMALL CAPITALS._
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Æ Œ &
_LOWER CASE._
a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z æ œ ff fi ffi fl ffl
_ITALIC CAPITALS._
_A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Æ Œ &_
_ITALIC LOWER CASE._
_a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z æ œ ff fi ffi fl ffl_
_FIGURES AND FRACTIONS._
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 ¼ ½ ¾ ⅓ ⅔ ⅛ ⅜ ⅝ ⅞
_POINTS AND REFERENCES._
, ; : ? ! - ’ ( ) [ ] * † ‡ § ∥ ¶
_BRACES, DASHES AND COMMERCIAL SIGNS._
$ £ ° ` ´ [symb] [symb] [symb] - – — ⸺ ☞ ☜ @ ⅌ ℔
Four kinds of spaces; en, em, two and three em quadrates.
Accents.
These are the ordinary sorts cast to a fount, and are classified by
founders as long, short, ascending, descending, kerned, and double
letters.
LONG LETTERS fill the whole depth of the face of the body, and are both
ascending and descending, such in the Roman as Q and j, and in the Italic
_f_.
SHORT LETTERS have the face cast on the middle of the body, (by founders
called shank,) as a, c, e, m, n, o, r, s, u, v, w, x, z, all of which
will admit of being bearded above and below the face, both in Roman and
Italic.
ASCENDING LETTERS are all the Roman and Italic capitals; in the lower
case, b, d, f, h, i, k, l, t.
DESCENDING LETTERS are g, p, q, y, in Roman and Italic.
KERNED LETTERS are types that have part of the face hanging over either
one or both sides of the body. In Roman, f and j are the only kerned
letters; but, in Italic, _d_, _g_, _j_, _l_, _y_ are kerned on one side,
and _f_ on both sides of its face. Most Italic capitals are kerned on one
side of the face.
The DOUBLE LETTERS in modern use are ff, fi, ffi, fl, ffl; and these are so cast
to prevent the breaking of the beak of the f when used before a tall
letter. The diphthongs æ and œ may be classed among double letters.
Printers divide a fount of letter into two classes.
1. _The upper case_ } _sorts._
2. _The lower case_ }
The upper case sorts are capitals, small capital letters, references,
dashes, braces, commercial signs and fractions.
The lower case consists of small letters, double letters, figures,
points, spaces and quadrates.
CAPITALS.
Lindley Murray gives the following judicious directions in regard to the
use of capital letters:—
It was formerly the custom to begin every noun with a capital; but as
this practice was troublesome, and gave the writing or printing a crowded
and confused appearance, it has been discontinued. It is, however, very
proper to begin with a capital,—
1. The first word of every book, chapter, letter, note, or any other
piece of writing; and,
2. The first word after a period; and, if the two sentences are _totally
independent_, after a note of interrogation or exclamation. But if a
number of interrogative or exclamatory sentences are thrown into one
general group, or if the construction of the latter sentences depends
on the former, all of them, except the first, may begin with a small
letter: as, _How long, ye simple ones, will ye love simplicity? and the
scorners delight in their scorning? and fools hate knowledge?_—_Alas! how
different! yet how like the same!_
3. The appellations of the Deity: as, _God_, _Jehovah_, _the Almighty_,
_the Supreme Being_, _the Lord_, _Providence_, _the Messiah_, _the Holy
Spirit_.
4. Proper names of persons, places, streets, mountains, rivers, ships:
as, _George_, _London_, _the Strand_, _the Alps_, _the Thames_, _the
Seahorse_.
5. Adjectives derived from the proper names of places: as, _Grecian_,
_Roman_, _English_, _French_, _Italian_.
6. The first word of a quotation, introduced after a colon, or when it
is in a direct form: as, _Always remember this ancient maxim: “Know
thyself.”_—_Our great Lawgiver says, “Take up thy cross daily, and follow
me.”_ But when a quotation is brought in obliquely after a comma, a
capital letter is unnecessary: as, _Solomon observes, “that pride goes
before destruction.”_
The first word of an example may also very properly begin with a capital:
as, _Temptation proves our virtue_.
7. Every substantive and principal word in the titles of books: as,
_Johnson’s Dictionary of the English Language_; _Thomson’s Seasons_;
_Rollin’s Ancient History_.
8. The first word of every line in poetry.
9. The pronoun _I_ and the interjection _O_ are written in capitals: as,
_I write: Hear, O earth!_
Other words, besides the preceding, may begin with capitals when they are
remarkably emphatical, or the principal subject of the composition.
The method of denoting capital letters in manuscript is by underscoring
them with _three distinct lines_.
SMALL CAPITALS.
Small Capitals are in general cast to Roman founts only, and are used for
the purpose of giving a stronger emphasis to a word than that conveyed
by Italic. They are likewise used for running heads, heads of chapters,
&c. The first word of every section or chapter is commonly put in small
capitals; but when a two-line initial letter is used, the remainder of
the word should be in capitals.
The small capitals C, O, S, V, W, X, Z so closely resemble the same
letters in the lower case, that care is required to prevent intermixing.
In manuscript, small capitals are denoted by _two lines_ drawn under the
words.
Italic words are designated by a _single stroke_ underneath.
POINTS.
Points consist of a comma, semicolon, colon, period or full-point, mark
of interrogation, and mark of admiration. Shortly after the invention of
printing, the necessity of stops or pauses in sentences for the guidance
of the reader produced the colon and full-point. In process of time, the
comma was added, which was then merely a perpendicular line, proportioned
to the body of the letter. These three points were the only ones used
till the close of the fifteenth century, when Aldo Manuccio gave a better
shape to the comma, and added the semicolon; the comma denoting the
shortest pause, the semicolon next, then the colon, and the full-point
terminating the sentence. The marks of interrogation and admiration were
introduced many years after.
Perhaps there never existed on any subject a greater difference of
opinion among men of learning than on the true mode of punctuation.
Some sprinkle the page with commas almost as promiscuously as if from a
pepper-box, and make the pause of a semicolon where the sense will bear
only a comma; while others are extremely careless, and omit points even
when they are needed to give the true sense of a passage at the first
reading.
The lack of an established practice is much to be regretted. The loss
of time to a compositor occasioned by altering points arbitrarily is
a great hardship. Manuscripts are often placed in the printer’s hands
without being properly prepared: either the writing is illegible, the
spelling incorrect, or the punctuation defective. Unless the author will
take entirely on himself the responsibility of the pointing, it will be
better to omit every point in the copy, except at the end of a sentence,
rather than confuse the mind of the compositor by commas and semicolons
placed indiscriminately, in the hurry of writing, without any regard to
propriety.[10]
The COMMA [,] divides the clauses of a long or involved sentence, and
commonly marks the shortest pause in reading.
Commas are used to denote extracts or quotations from other works,
dialogue matter, or passages or expressions not original, by placing
two of them inverted before the first word of the passage quoted, the
ending being denoted by two apostrophes. A thin space is used to keep the
inverted commas free from the matter. The method of running them down the
sides to the end of the quotation has been found inconvenient, especially
where a quotation occurs within a quotation, or a speech within a
speech: the proper method of distinguishing these is by placing a single
inverted comma before the extra quotation, and concluding with a single
apostrophe. Where both quotations end together, put three apostrophes,
observing after the first to place a thin space.
Inverted commas were first used by Guillemet, a Frenchman, to supersede
the use of Italic letter in emphasized words. As an acknowledgment, his
countrymen call them after his name. French founders cast them double,
thus [«»]. MacKellar, Smiths & Jordan, Philadelphia, furnish them in this
way when desired.
A single comma inverted is improperly used as an abbreviation of the word
Mac, as in M’Gowen: c is preferable, as McGowen.
The SEMICOLON [;] denotes a pause greater than that of a comma, and is
used between dependent clauses of compound sentences.
The COLON [:] is employed in a sentence between clauses less connected
than those which are divided by a semicolon, but not so independent as
separate, distinct sentences.
The PERIOD or FULL-POINT [.] serves to indicate the end of a complete
sentence. When used in abbreviations, it has no effect as a full stop
in the punctuation, unless at the end of a sentence. In some works this
point is discarded as a mark of abbreviation, as in Mr Dr &c.
Full-points are sometimes used as leaders in tables of contents,
figure-work, &c.; but dotted rules or leaders are more economical for
this purpose, as they save considerable time in the composition.
The sign of INTERROGATION [?] is used to denote a question. Every
interrogation or question should begin with a capital letter, (unless
several questions follow one another in connected succession,) according
to the method observed in the Bible, where questions and responses, and
the beginning of sayings, &c. are denoted by a capital letter.
The sign of ADMIRATION or EXCLAMATION [!] denotes surprise, astonishment,
rapture, and other sudden emotions of the mind, whether of joy or sorrow.
This sign is put after the interjections Ah! Alas! Oh! &c.; but there are
exceptional cases, as, Ah me! Alas the day! &c.
All the points, except the comma and the period, should be preceded by
a hair-space; the comma and full-point do not require any space to bear
them off.
The em dash [—], though not ranked as a point, is often used by careless
writers as a substitute for a comma or semicolon. It may be properly
employed in parenthetical sentences, and in rhapsodical writing abounding
in disconnected sentences.
A dash stands for a sign of repetition in catalogues of goods, where
it implies _ditto_; and in catalogues of books, where a dash signifies
_ejusdem_, instead of repeating the author’s name with the title of
every separate treatise of his writing. A sign of repetition should
never appear at the top of a page, but the name of the author, or of the
merchandise, should be set out again at length.
A dash likewise stands for _to_; as, chap. xvi. 3-17; that is, from the
third to the seventeenth verse inclusive. At other times it serves for
an index, to give notice that what follows it is a corollary of what has
preceded; thus:—
APOSTROPHE.
The apostrophe [’] is a comma cast on the upper edge of a type, and is
used as a sign of contraction or abbreviation of words in poetry or
familiar conversation, as _We’re_, _o’er_, _don’t_, &c. In poetry, it
should not be employed where the verb ends with e, as _love_, _change_,
&c., but only in cases where the verb concludes with a consonant, as,
_reign_, _obtain_, &c. It also marks the elision of a vowel at the
beginning of words, as, _’scape_, or of a syllable, as, _’prentice_.
The monosyllables _though_ and _through_ are sometimes shortened to
_tho’_ and _thro’_, but very improperly, as they retain the same
sound, and the abbreviation cannot in the slightest degree assist the
versification.
Words in the possessive case are generally known by having _’s_ for their
termination.
All quotations which are denoted at the beginning by inverted commas
are closed with apostrophes. There is no space required between the
apostrophe and the matter.
HYPHEN.
A hyphen is a sign of connection, and denotes that the part of a word at
the end of a line belongs to the portion at the beginning of the next
line.
A compositor who studies propriety and neatness in his work will not
allow an unnecessary division, even in a narrow measure, if he can avoid
it by overrunning two or three lines of matter. In large type and narrow
measures, the division of words cannot be avoided; but care should be
taken that hyphens do not occur at the end of successive lines. In small
type and wide measures, the hyphen may frequently be dispensed with,
either by driving out or getting in the word, without interfering with
the regularity of the spacing. The compositor who is careful on this
point will find his advantage in the preference given to his work, and
in the respect attached to his character as a master of his business.
Numerous divisions down the side of a page and irregular spacing are the
two greatest defects in composition.
It is proper, if possible, to keep the derivative or radical word
undivided: as, _occur-rence_, _gentle-man_, _respect-ful_, &c. In other
cases, printers generally divide on the vowel, which is an excellent
method.
The hyphen is also used to connect compound words, which are formed of
two substantives, as, _bird-cage_, _love-letter_, &c.; also what are
termed compound adjectives, as, _well-built_ house, _handsome-faced_
child, &c.
The prepositions _after_, _before_, _over_, &c. are often connected
with other words, but do not always make a proper compound: thus,
_before-mentioned_ is a compound when it precedes a substantive, as, in
the _before-mentioned_ place; but when it comes after a noun, as, in the
place _before mentioned_, it should be two distinct words.[11]
PARENTHESIS AND BRACKET.
The use of the PARENTHESIS ( ) is to enclose interpolated words or
sentences which serve to strengthen the argument, although the main
sentence would be complete without the interpolated matter.
Parentheses are not as much used as formerly: authors place their
intercalations between commas,—frequently with a dash at the beginning
and ending,—which make them quite as intelligible as though they were
enclosed between parentheses.
Brackets [ ] are seldom made use of, except to indicate that the word
enclosed within them had been carelessly omitted in the old MS. or copy,
and was now inserted by the editor.
REFERENCES.
References are marks and signs employed to direct the attention of the
reader to notes in the margin or at the bottom of a page.
The characters technically known by printers as references are the
following, which are used in the order here given:—
Asterisk *
Dagger †
Double Dagger ‡
Section §
Parallel ∥
Paragraph ¶
In Roman church-books, the Asterisk divides each verse of a psalm into
two parts, and marks the place where the responses begin: this in the
Book of Common Prayer is denoted by a colon placed between the two parts
of each verse. Asterisks also denote an omission, or an hiatus in the
original copy; the number of asterisks being multiplied according to the
extent of the omission.
The Dagger, originally termed the Obelisk, or Long Cross, is frequently
used in Roman Catholic church-books, prayers of exorcism, at the
benediction of bread, water, and fruit, and upon other occasions, where
the priest is to make the sign of the cross; but the square cross (✠) is
the proper symbol for the purpose. The square cross is used, besides,
in the pope’s briefs, and in mandates of archbishops and bishops,
immediately before the signature of their names. It is not placed among
references.
Besides its use as a reference mark, the Paragraph is now employed
chiefly in Bibles, to show the parts into which a chapter is divided. In
Common Prayer Books, paragraphs are put before the lines that direct the
order of the service, and which are called the Rubrics because they were
formerly printed in red.
The neatest references, when many are required in books, are either
superior letters or superior figures,—thus, ¹, ², ³, or thus, ᵃ, ᵇ, ᶜ.
Superior letters are used chiefly in Bibles and other books which have
more than one sort of notes, and therefore require different references.
When thus used, the letter ʲ should be omitted, as, from its similarity
to the ⁱ, the reader might at times be led into error.
ACCENTED LETTERS.
Letters called accented by printers are the five vowels, marked thus:—
Acute á é í ó ú
Grave à è ì ò ù
Circumflex â ê î ô û
Diæresis ä ë ï ö ü
Long ā ē ī ō ū
Short ă ĕ ĭ ŏ ŭ
We may include the French ç, the Spanish ñ, the Portuguese ã and õ, the
Swedish and Norwegian å and ö, and the Welsh ŵ and ŷ.
NUMERAL LETTERS.
The Greeks at first employed the letters of the entire alphabet to
express the first twenty-four numbers; but the system was cumbrous, and
they adopted the happy expedient of dividing their alphabet into three
portions, using the first to symbolize the 9 digits, the second the 9
tens, and the third the 9 hundreds; and, as their alphabet contained only
twenty-four letters, they invented three additional symbols. Their list
of symbols then stood as follows:—
+-----------------+----------------------+---------------------+
| Units. | Tens. | Hundreds. |
+-----------------+----------------------+---------------------+
|α represents 1|ι represents 10|ρ represents 100|
|β 2|κ 20|σ 200|
|γ 3|λ 30|τ 300|
|δ 4|μ 40|υ 400|
|ε 5|ν 50|φ 500|
|ϝ (introduced) 6|ξ 60|χ 600|
|ζ 7|ο 70|ψ 700|
|η 8|π 80|ω 800|
|θ or ϑ 9|Ϟ or ϟ (introduced) 90|ϡ, [symb], [symb] |
| | | (introd’d) 900|
+-----------------+----------------------+---------------------+
By these symbols, only numbers under 1000 could be expressed; but, by
putting a mark called iota under any symbol, its value was increased
a thousand-fold: thus, ᾳ = 1000, κͅ = 20,000; or, by subscribing the
letter Μ, the value of a symbol was raised ten thousand-fold. For these
two marks, single and double dots were afterward substituted. This
improvement enabled them to express with facility all numbers as high as
9,990,000,—a range sufficient for all ordinary purposes.
It has been supposed that the Romans used M to denote 1000 because it
is the first letter of Mille, which is Latin for 1000; and C to denote
100, it being the first letter of Centum, the Latin term for 100. Some
also suppose that D, being formed by dividing the old M in the middle,
was therefore appointed to stand for 500,—that is, half as much as the M
stood for when it was whole; and that L being half a C, was, for the same
reason, used to denominate 50. But the most natural account of the matter
appears to be this:—
The Romans probably put down a single stroke, Ⅰ, for one, as is still the
practice of those who score on a slate, or with chalk; this stroke they
doubled, trebled, and quadrupled, to express two, three, and four: thus,
ⅠⅠ, ⅠⅠⅠ, ⅠⅠⅠⅠ. So far they could easily number the strokes with a glance
of the eye; but they found that if more were added it would be necessary
to count the strokes one by one: for this reason, when they came to five,
it was expressed by joining two strokes together in an acute angle, thus,
Ⅴ.
After they had made this acute angle, Ⅴ, for five, they then added
single strokes to the number of four, thus, ⅤⅠ, ⅤⅠⅠ, ⅤⅠⅠⅠ, ⅤⅠⅠⅠ, and
then, as the strokes could not be further multiplied without confusion,
they doubled their acute angle by prolonging the two lines beyond their
intersection, thus, Ⅹ, to denote two fives, or ten. After they had
doubled, trebled, and quadrupled this double acute angle, thus, ⅩⅩ, ⅩⅩⅩ,
ⅩⅩⅩⅩ, they then, for the same reason which induced them to make a single
angle first, and then to double it, joined two single strokes in another
form, and, instead of an acute angle, made a right angle, Ⅼ, to denote
fifty. When this was doubled, they then doubled the right angle, thus,
⊏, to denote one hundred, and, having numbered this double right angle
four times, thus, ⊏⊏, ⊏⊏⊏, ⊏⊏⊏⊏, when they came to the fifth number, as
before, they reverted it, and put a single stroke before it, thus, Ⅰ⊐,
to denote five hundred; and, when this five hundred was doubled, then
they also doubled their double right angle, setting two double right
angles opposite to each other, with a single stroke between them, thus,
⊏Ⅰ⊐, to denote one thousand: when this note for one thousand had been
repeated four times, they then put down Ⅰ⊐⊐ for five thousand, ⊏⊏Ⅰ⊐⊐ for
ten thousand, and Ⅰ⊐⊐⊐ for fifty thousand.
The corners of the angles being cut off by transcribers for despatch,
these figures were gradually brought into what are now called numerical
letters. When the corners of ⊏Ⅰ⊐ were made round, it stood thus, ⅭⅠↃ,
which is so near the Gothic ന that it soon deviated into that character;
so that Ⅰ⊐ having the corners made round stood thus, ⅠↃ, and then easily
deviated into D. ⊏ also became a plain C by the same means: the single
rectangle, which denoted fifty, was, without any alteration, a capital
L; the double acute angle was an X; the single acute angle, a V; and a
plain single stroke, the letter I. And thus these seven letters, M, D,
C, L, X, V, I, became numerals. As a further proof of this assertion,
let it be considered that ⅭⅠↃ is still used for one thousand, and ⅠↃ for
five hundred, instead of M and D; and this mark, ന, is sometimes used to
denote one thousand, which may easily be derived from this figure, ⊏Ⅰ⊐,
but cannot be deviations from, or corruptions of, the Roman letter M.
The Romans also expressed any number of thousands by a line drawn over
any numeral less than one thousand: thus, V̅ denotes five thousand, L̅X̅
sixty thousand; so, likewise, M̅ is one million, M̅M̅ two millions, &c.
Upon the discovery of printing, and before capitals were invented, small
letters served for numerals; not only when Gothic characters were in
vogue, but when Roman had become the prevailing character. Thus, in early
times, ~i~ ~b~ ~x~ ~l~ ~c~ ~d~ ~m~ were, and in Roman type are still,
of the same signification as capitals when used as numerals. Though the
capital J is not a numeral letter, yet the lower-case ~j~ is as often and
as significantly used as the vowel ~i~, especially where the former is
employed as a closing letter, in ~ij~ ~iij~ ~bj~ ~bij~ ~biij~ ~dcij~, &c.
In Roman lower-case numerals, the j is not regarded, but the i stands for
figure 1 wherever it is used numerically.
During the existence of the French Republic, books were dated in France
from the first year of the Republic: thus An. XII. (1803,) or twelve
years from 1792.
ARITHMETICAL FIGURES.
The arithmetical or Arabic numerals are 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9.
Properly they should be styled Hindu or Indian numerals; for the Arabs
borrowed them, along with the decimal system of notation, from the
Hindus. They were probably first introduced from the East into Italy
about 1202; yet they did not come into general use before the invention
of printing. Accounts were kept in Roman numerals up to the sixteenth
century. Figures are usually made one en thick; but of late a broader
figure is cast for newspaper use, which is two-thirds or six-sevenths of
an em in width.
OLD STYLE FIGURES.
Though uniform in height and appearance, we do not deem the modern
figures an improvement on the variously-lining figures formerly in vogue,
and now happily coming again into use. The latter can be caught by the
eye with greater ease and certainty, just as lower-case letter can be
read with more facility than continuous lines of capitals. In the new
style the 3 and 8 may easily be mistaken for each other, and so with the
6, 9, and 0; but in the old style figures such errors are quite unlikely
to happen, as some of them occupy the centre of the body only, and others
are ascending or descending characters. The example here given will show
the justice of our remarks:
~1~ ~2~ ~3~ ~4~ ~5~ ~6~ ~7~ ~8~ ~9~ ~0~
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0
SCRATCHED OR CANCELLED FIGURES
1̷ 2̷ 3̷ 4̷ 5̷ 6̷ 7̷ 8̷ 9̷ 0̷
Are used in arithmetical matter when certain figures require to be
crossed over in an operation.
FRACTIONS.
Common Fractions, or broken numbers in arithmetic, are cast solid to all
sizes of type. A great improvement has been introduced by casting the
numerator and denominator separately, on bodies of half size, with the
line on the under figure, so that odd fractions of any amount may be
readily formed, thus: ¹ ² ³ ⁄₂ ⁄₃ ⁄₄ ½ ⅔ ¾.
SIGNS.
COMMERCIAL SIGNS.
⅌ _Per_, each.
@ At or to.
% Percentum.
℀ Account.
¢ Cent.
$ Dollar or dollars.
£ _Libra_, _libræ_, pound or pounds sterling.
/ _Solidus_, _solidi_, shilling or shillings.
MATHEMATICAL, ALGEBRAICAL, AND GEOMETRICAL.
+ _plus_, or _more_, is the sign of real existence of the quantity it
stands before, and is called an affirmative or positive sign. It is also
the mark of addition: thus, _a_+_b_, or 6+9, implies that _a_ is to be
added to _b_, or 6 added to 9.
− _minus_, or _less_, before a single quantity, is the sign of negation,
or negative existence, showing the quantity to which it is prefixed to be
less than nothing. But between quantities it is the sign of subtraction:
thus, _a_−_b_, or 8−4, implies _b_ subtracted from _a_, or 8 after 4 has
been subtracted.
= _equal_. The sign of equality, though Des Cartes and some others use
this mark, ∝: thus, _a_=_b_ signifies that _a_ is equal to _b_. Others
use the mark = to denote identity of ratios.
× _into_ or _with_. The sign of multiplication, showing that the
quantities on each side the same are to be multiplied by one another:
as, _a_×_b_ is to be read, _a_ multiplied into _b_; 4×8, the product
of 4 multiplied into 8. Wolfius and others use a dot between the two
factors: thus, 7·4 signifies the product of 7 and 4. In algebra the sign
is commonly omitted, and the two quantities put together: thus, _bd_
expresses the product of _b_ and _d_. When one or both of the factors are
compounded of several letters, they are distinguished by a line drawn
over them: thus, the factum of _a_+_b_-_c_ into _d_ is written, _d_ ×
_a̅_+̅_b̅__-̅c̅_. Others distinguish the compound factors by including
them in parentheses: thus, (_a_+_b_-_c_)_d_.
÷ _by_. The sign of division: thus, _a_÷_b_ denotes the quantity _a_ to
be divided by _b_. Wolfius makes the sign of division two dots; 12:4
denotes the quotient of 12 divided by 4 = 3.
> or ⫍ are signs of majority: thus, _a_>_b_ expresses that _a_ is greater
than _b_.
< or ⫎ are signs of minority,—when we would denote that _a_ is less than
_b_.
∞ is the character of similitude used by Wolfius, Leibnitz, and others.
It is used in other authors for the difference between two quantities
when it is unknown which is the greater of the two.
∷ _so is_. The mark of geometrical proportion disjunct, and is usually
placed between two pair of equal ratios: as, 3∶6∷4∶8 shows that 3 is to 6
as 4 is to 8.
∶ or ∴ is an arithmetical equal proportion: as, 7.3∶13.9; _i. e._ 7 is
more than 3, as 13 is more than 9.
⬜ quadrate, or regular quadrangle,—viz. ⬜AB=⬜BC; _i. e._ the quadrangle
upon the line AB is equal to the quadrangle upon the line BC.
△ triangle: as, △ABC=△ADC.
∠ an angle: as, ∠ABC=∠ADC.
⟂ perpendicular: as, AB⟂BC.
▭ rectangled parallelogram, or the product of two lines.
∥ the character of parallelism.
⧧ want of parallelism.
≚ equiangular, or similar.
⫨ equilateral.
▱ rhomboid.
◠ concentrix.
○ circle.
∟ right angle.
∫ integration, (_summa_ or sum).
° denotes a degree: thus, 45° implies 45 degrees.
´ a minute: thus, 50´ is 50 minutes; ´´, ´´´, ´´´´, denote seconds,
thirds, and fourths; and the same characters are used where the
progressions are by tens, as it is here by sixties.
∺ the mark of geometrical proportion continued, implies the ratio to be
still carried on without interruption: as, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64 ∺ are in
the same uninterrupted proportion.
√ When used without a figure above it, indicates the square root, and is
called the radical sign. Any other root is expressed by the index figure
placed above the sign. √16 is the square root of 16, ∛27 the cube root of
27, &c.
≅ difference equal.
∹ the difference, or excess.
Q or q, a square.
C or c, a cube.
QQ, the ratio of a square number to a square number.
In algebraical work, authors should be very exact in their copy, and
compositors as careful in following it, so that no alterations may be
necessary after it is composed, the over-running of this kind of matter
being troublesome and costly.
CELESTIAL AND ASTRONOMICAL SIGNS.
_The Twelve Signs of the Zodiac._
♈ Aries.
♉ Taurus.
♊ Gemini.
♋ Cancer.
♌ Leo.
♍ Virgo.
♎ Libra.
♏ Scorpio.
♐ Sagittarius.
♑ Capricornus.
♒ Aquarius.
♓ Pisces.
_The Sun and Major Planets._
☉ Sun.
☿ Mercury.
♀ Venus.
🜨 Earth.
♂ Mars.
♃ Jupiter.
♄ Saturn.
⛢ Uranus.
♇ Neptune.
⚳ Ceres, ⚴ Pallas, ⚵ Juno, ⚶ Vesta, [symb] Astræa, [symb] Hebe, [symb]
Iris, and the other asteroids, or minor planets, are now commonly
designated by a circle enclosing a number which indicates the order of
their discovery: thus, ①, ②, ③, &c.
_Lunar Signs._
🌚 New Moon.
🌛 First Quarter.
🌝 Full Moon.
🌜 Last Quarter.
_Aspects and Nodes._
☌ Conjunction; happens when two planets stand under each other in the
same sign and degree.
☍ Opposition; happens when two planets stand diametrically opposite each
other.
△ Trine; happens when one planet stands from another four signs, or 120
degrees, which make one-third of the ecliptic.
□ Quartile; happens when two planets stand three signs from each other,
which make 90 degrees, or the fourth part of the ecliptic.
⚹ Sextile; is the sixth part of the ecliptic, which is two signs, and
make 60 degrees.
☊ The Dragon’s Head, or ascending node, and
☋ The Dragon’s Tail, or descending node, are the two points in which the
eclipses happen.
_Planets that denote the Seven Days of the Week._
_Dies Solis_—Sunday.
_Dies Lunæ_—Monday.
_Dies Martis_—Tuesday.
_Dies Mercurii_—Wednesday.
_Dies Jovis_—Thursday.
_Dies Veneris_—Friday.
_Dies Saturni_—Saturday.
Many signs and symbols have been invented by pseudo-astronomers to impose
upon the credulity of the ignorant; among which are signs to give notice
on what day it is proper to let blood, to bathe and to cup, to sow and
to plant, to take physic, to have one’s hair cut, to cut one’s nails, to
wean children, and many other absurdities; as well as symbols that serve
to indicate hail, thunder, lightning, or any occult phenomena.
ECCLESIASTICAL SIGNS.
℟ Response, used in prayer-books.
℣ Versicle, used in prayer-books to denote the part recited by the priest.
✠ or ✝ A sign of the cross employed by Roman Catholic ecclesiastical
dignitaries before their signatures. In Roman Catholic prayer-books, it
also denotes the place where the priest is to make the sign of the cross.
* Used in Roman Catholic prayer-books to denote the place in a single
verse where the response begins.
MEDICAL SIGNS AND ABBREVIATIONS.
℞ stands for _Recipe_, or Take.
ā, aa, of each a like quantity.
℔ a pound.
℥ an ounce.
ʒ a drachm.
℈ a scruple.
j stands for 1; ij for 2; iij for 3; and so on.
ss. signifies _semi_, or half.
gr. denotes a grain.
P. stands for _particula_, a little part, and means so much as can be
taken between the ends of two fingers.
P. æq. stands for _partes æquales_, or equal parts.
q. s. _quantum sufficit_, or as much as is sufficient.
q. p. _quantum placit_, or as much as you please.
s. a. _secundem artem_, or according to art.
METAL RULES OR DASHES.
Metal Rules or dashes, [⸺] like quadrates, are commonly cast from one em
to three ems in length. When cast to line and join accurately, they may
be used instead of brass rule.
BRACES.
Braces [⏞] are used chiefly in tables of accounts, botanical and
geological tables, and similar matter. They are placed before or after a
series of items of similar import; and are sometimes used horizontally in
the margin, to cut off a chronological or other series from the proper
notes or marginal references of the work. Braces, two, three, and four
ems in length, are now cast for all sizes of common type.
_Middles_ and _ends_ are also cast, [[symb]] which can be filled out
with dashes to any length required for the brace. Middles and ends are
convenient in genealogical tables, in which they are used the flat way,
and in which the directing point is not always in the middle.
Brass braces of any length, for music and jobbing purposes, are furnished
by type-founders.
SPACES.
Spaces are short blank types, and are used to separate one word from
another. To enable the compositor to space even and to justify with
nicety, they are cast to various thicknesses,—viz. five to an em,
[[symb]] or five thin spaces; four to an em, [[symb]] or four middle
spaces; three to an em, [[symb]] or three thick spaces; and two to an
em, [[symb]] or two en quadrates, which may with propriety be reckoned
among the number of spaces. Besides these, there is what is called
the hair-space, which is cast extremely thin, and is found useful in
justifying lines and assisting uniformity in spacing.
TWO-LINE LETTERS
Are equal in depth to two lines of the type in which they are to be used,
and of proportionate width. They form the almost only proper type for
principal lines in title-pages, and are used at the beginning of chapters
and newspaper advertisements.
QUADRATES.
An em quadrate [■] is a short blank type, in thickness equal to the
square of the letter of the fount to which it belongs; an en quadrate [▮]
is half that size.
The first line of a paragraph is usually indented an em quadrate; but
when the matter is leaded or the measure is wide, an em and en, or two or
even three ems may be used. An em quadrate is the proper space after a
full-point when it terminates a sentence in a paragraph.
En quadrates are generally used after the semicolon, colon, &c., and
sometimes after an overhanging letter. They are useful in spacing.
Em and en quadrates, and figures as well, should be entirely exact and
uniform in body, as even a trifling variation will be apparent when they
are arranged in table or figure-work; and no ingenuity on the part of a
compositor can rectify the zigzag appearance caused by irregular types.
The inconvenience arising from founts of the same body not agreeing in
depth is great, where the quadrates, through necessity, are sometimes
mixed. The founts cast by MacKellar, Smiths & Jordan are not liable to
this charge, as their moulds for all regular type of a specific size
harmonize perfectly, and the quadrates and spaces work together.
QUOTATIONS.
Quotations are large blank type used for filling up considerable spaces
at the beginning or end of a chapter, and also for job-work. They are
cast to two sizes, and are called broad and narrow. They vary in size
according to the standard of the foundry where they are cast. They are
being superseded, however, by
[Illustration: LABOUR-SAVING QUOTATION FURNITURE.]
This is cast with great accuracy to Pica, of assorted widths and lengths;
and, as its name imports, it serves not only for quotations in general
job-work, but also for furniture.
[Illustration: STANDARD METAL FURNITURE.]
Owing to the large assortment of sizes contained in this furniture, it is
useful for blanking out all varieties of work, from the card or circular
to the large hand-bill or poster. As the above metal furnitures are not
liable to warp or shrink, they form a highly economical substitute for
wooden reglet.
[Illustration: HOLLOW QUADRATES]
Answer many of the purposes of quotations, but are principally useful
as frames or miniature chases for circular or oval jobs. The sizes are
graduated from 5 × 8 to 12 × 18 Pica ems.
[Illustration: CIRCULAR QUADRATES.]
These are made of various sizes, so as to form circles or parts of
circles from one to twenty-four inches in diameter. Each piece is exactly
one-eighth of a full circle, and, when combined with similar pieces, will
form quarter, half, three-quarter, and full circles. By reversing the
combination of some of the pieces, serpentine and eccentric curves may be
made of any length or depth.
There are two kinds: _inner quadrates_, with convex surface, and _outer
quadrates_, with concave surface. The curved line is produced by placing
the convex and concave surfaces parallel to each other, so that when
locked up firmly they hold the type inserted between them. The other
sides of the quadrates are flat and right-angled, to allow a close
introduction of type, and an easy justification with common quadrates.
As these quadrates are perfect segments of a large circle, they cannot
be increased or diminished without destroying the truth of the curve. If
the thin ends are pieced out with common quadrates, good justification
will be rendered impossible; if they are shortened by cutting off, they
are ruined. Bits of lead or short pieces of card between the curved
surfaces are also wrong: they destroy that exact parallelism which is
necessary for the security of the type. Very accurate justification of
the outer extremities of the quadrates is also indispensable. If the
curved surfaces are kept parallel, and the flat surfaces kept square, no
difficulty will be found in using them, and they will prove a valuable
aid in ornamental printing.
LABOUR-SAVING CURVATURES, &c.
[Illustration]
Morris’s Adjustable Line Formers, or Labour-Saving Curvatures, do away
with bent leads, plaster, wax, and other methods of making curved lines.
Their economical advantages, and the neatness and exactitude of curve
secured by their use, will be appreciated at a glance by all practical
job printers.
LEADS.
Leads form an essential part of a printer’s outfit, since it is scarcely
possible to set up a single page or job in which they may not be usefully
employed; but their chief purpose is for spreading the lines apart so
as to reduce the amount of matter in a page. Fine works are always
thus leaded. They are usually cast by letter-founders in a long mould,
and then cut to the required lengths. The bodies are regulated by Pica
standard, and they are usually cast four, six, or eight to Pica, but are
occasionally varied from one down to fourteen to Pica. Leads for jobbing
purposes are now cut to graduated lengths, like labour-saving rule.
FLOWERS AND BORDERS.
The flowers and borders designed and cast at the present time far
surpass any made by founders of earlier days. Their richness and variety
enable printers to execute delicate and elaborate work, rivalling plate
engraving, and afford a wide scope for the display of taste and artistic
skill. The combination borders are especially valuable from being cast
on uniform bodies, thus rendering them susceptible of a vast number of
changes.
The ancient practice of ornamenting pages with head and tail pieces of
flowers and odd designs seems to be coming in vogue again, particularly
in works printed in the old-style type.
BRASS RULES.
Rules are required mainly for table-work, and for pages which contain two
or more columns. They are also useful in titles and jobs. Brass rules
should never be more than type height, unless for perforating purposes,
to divide railroad checks, &c. A shade lower would be often better, as
the pressman would be enabled to bring off their impression more clearly.
In table-work, the rule and figures should be separated by a lead, and
all the rules should fit closely and accurately.
The lately-invented
BRASS LABOUR-SAVING RULE
is of immense economical advantage to the printer. Being cut to a
graduated scale, from one em to fifty ems Pica in length, advancing in
the shorter pieces by ens and in the longer by ems, all waste in cutting
is avoided by the printer, as rules of any length can be formed by
employing two or more pieces. This rule is put up in regular founts, of
various styles, with sufficient mitred pieces for outside bordering.
[Illustration]
Metal space-rules, cast by type-founders, are commonly used for
cross-rules in table-work; but the shorter pieces of labour-saving rule
will answer as well.
On the next page we insert a plan of a case for labour-saving rules, with
boxes suited for the various sizes, in which the rule should be kept when
not in use.
[Illustration: IMPROVED LABOUR-SAVING RULE CASE.]
EARLIEST WRITTEN SOUNDS.
The hieroglyphic is the most ancient form of written sounds. The earliest
known monuments containing phonetic hieroglyphics date about forty
centuries ago, or six hundred years before the time of Moses, who is
supposed to have been versed in the knowledge of the hieroglyphs. Yet
nothing worthy of the name of an alphabet existed till a later period,
when the Phœnicians invented a purely alphabetic system, but suppressing
the vowels, and from this has originated all the modes of alphabetic
writing now used.[12] The Greeks introduced the vowels into their
graphic system, and so brought to perfection the invaluable invention of
alphabetic writing.
The discovery of the Rosetta stone furnished a clue to the method of
deciphering the Egyptian hieroglyphics; and Dr. Young and Champollion
were the first to make use of the suggestive opportunity. The words
_Ptolemy_ and _Cleopatra_ were made out; and these served as a key
or incentive to further investigations; and extensive and curious
volumes have been devoted to the interpretation of Egypt’s mysterious
inscriptions on monuments and writings on papyrus.
Among those who have investigated the Egyptian hieroglyphs, Mr. R.
Lepsius is one of the most practical, for he has reduced the ancient
characters to typographical uses for the behoof of the delvers into the
earth’s earliest lore. He began the work soon after his return from
a scientific expedition to Egypt during the years 1842-46, and his
hieroglyphic types now completed number more than thirteen hundred. The
Prussian government furnishing the needful pecuniary means, his first
task was to ascertain the forms of hieroglyphic signs which would be most
suitable for typographical purposes, and here the labour was immense.
After laborious research, he reached the conclusion, that as European
print had been formed, not from the monumental characters of the Greeks
and Romans, but essentially from the current handwriting of documents
on parchment and paper, so the hieroglyphic type should follow, not the
chiseled or painted characters on the monuments, but the style of those
written on papyrus. The style and proportions having been established,
the punch-cutting was mostly executed by Mr. Ferdinand Theinhardt, the
excellent Prussian type-founder, who for a series of years has been
skilfully engaged in producing the matrices. We are indebted to Mr.
Theinhardt for the specimens here given; the first of which is the
hieroglyphic alphabet, and the second is the beginning of an ancient text
found in a leather roll of the Royal Museum of Berlin, referring to the
foundation of the temple of the Sun at On or Heliopolis in Egypt.
HIEROGLYPHIC ALPHABET.
[Illustration]
[Illustration: 1 _Renpt_ III _ȧbeṭ_ III _šat . . . xer ḥen n suten xet
xeper-qu-rā sa-rā usertesen maā-xeru ānx tétta r neḥ:_
2 _suten xāt m sexti, xeper ḥemes m tȧṭet, netńu re n ȧmu-xetef, semer nu_
3 _. . . ānx utȧ senb, seru r ȧst senentu, utu téṭet xeft setem set netńu
re m_
4 _seun ḥer-sen. Mā-ten ḥen-a ḥer šau qat, sexa m sep m xut;_
5 _n-mxet ȧrí-ȧ mennu, semen-ȧ utu reṭu n ḥer xuti._]
TRANSLATION.
Done in the month of Hatoor of the third year of the King of Upper and
Lower Egypt Kheperkara Usertesen I.—the blessed and eternally living.
The King, wearing the double crown, sat in the royal hall. There was
held a council of his attendants, the counsellors of the apartments
of the Pharao (may he live!) and the great (chiefs) for the site of
the foundation. Speeches were made, while they listened; and they
deliberated, stepping forward. “Well!” said the King, “let me order the
work and fittingly commemorate deeds of glory. Henceforth I will erect
buildings and lasting steles to the double Horus,” that is to the god of
the rising and setting Sun, etc.
RUNIC ALPHABETS.
Runes were the earliest alphabets in use among the Teutonic and Gothic
nations of Northern Europe. The exact period of their origin is not
known. The name is derived from the Teutonic _rûn_, a mystery; whence
_runa_, a whisper, and _helrûn_, divination; and the original use
of these characters seems to have been for purposes of secrecy and
divination. Scandinavian and Anglo-Saxon tradition agree in ascribing
the invention of runic writing to Odin or Wodin. The countries in which
traces of the use of runes exist include Denmark, Norway, Sweden,
Iceland, Germany, Britain, France, and Spain; and they are found engraved
on rocks, crosses, monumental stones, coins, medals, rings, brooches,
and the hilts and blades of swords. Runic letters were also often cut
on smooth sticks called _rûn-stafas_, or mysterious staves, and used
for purposes of divination. But there is no reason to believe that they
were at any time in the familiar use in which we find the characters
of a written language in modern times, nor have we any traces of their
being used in books or on parchment. We have an explanation of the runic
alphabet in various MSS. of the early middle ages, prior to the time when
runes had altogether ceased to be understood.
The systems of runes in use among the different branches of the Teutonic
stock were not identical, though they have a strong general family
likeness, showing their community of origin. The letters are arranged
in an order altogether distinct from that of any other alphabetical
system, and have a purely Teutonic nomenclature. Each letter is, as in
the Hebrew-Phœnician, derived from the name of some well-known familiar
object, with whose initial letter it corresponds. Runes, being associated
in the popular belief with augury and divination, were to a considerable
extent discouraged by the early Christian priests and missionaries, whose
efforts were directed to the supplanting of them by Greek and Roman
characters. But it was not easy suddenly to put a stop to their use, and
we find runes continuing to be employed in early Christian inscriptions.
This was to a remarkable extent the case in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms
of Northumbria, Mercia, and East Anglia, where we have traces of runic
writing of dates varying from the middle of the seventh to the middle of
the tenth century. Runes are said to have been laid aside in Sweden by
the year 1001, and in Spain they were officially condemned by the Council
of Toledo in 1115.
The different systems of runes, all accordant up to a certain point,
have been classed as the Anglo-Saxon, the German, and the Norse, each
containing different subordinate varieties. The Norse alphabet is
generally considered the oldest, and the parent of the rest. It has
sixteen letters corresponding to our _f_, _u_, _th_, _o_, _r_, _k_, _h_,
_n_, _i_, _a_, _s_, _t_, _b_, _l_, _m_, _y_, but has no equivalent for
various sounds which exist in the language, in consequence of which the
sound of _k_ was used for _g_, _d_ for _t_, _b_ for _p_, and _u_ and _y_
for _v_: _o_ was expressed by _au_, and _e_, by _ai_, _i_, or _ia_; and
the same letter otherwise was made to serve for more than one sound.
Other expedients came, in the course of time, to be employed to obviate
the deficiency of the system,—as the addition of dots, and the adoption
of new characters. But the runic system received a fuller development
among the Germans and Anglo-Saxons, particularly the latter, whose
alphabet was extended to no fewer than forty characters, in which seem to
have been embraced, more nearly than in any modern alphabets, the actual
sounds of a language. The table on the following page exhibits the best
known forms of the Anglo-Saxon, German, and Norse runic alphabets, with
the names and the power of the several letters.
[Illustration]
The Anglo-Saxon runes, as here given, are derived from a variety of MS.
authorities, the most complete containing forty characters, while some
only extend as far as the twenty-fifth or twenty-eighth letter. Neither
the name nor the power of some of the later letters is thoroughly known,
and they are without any equivalents in the Norse runic system. The
German runes are given from a MS. in the conventual library of St. Gall,
in Switzerland. Though the various runic alphabets are not alike copious,
the same order of succession among the letters is preserved, excepting
that, in the Norse alphabet, _laugr_ precedes _madr_, although we have
placed them otherwise, with the view of exhibiting the correspondence
of the three systems. The number of characters in the Anglo-Saxon
alphabet is a multiple of the sacred number eight; and we have the
evidence both of a Swedish bracteate containing twenty-four characters,
and of the above mentioned St. Gall MS., that there was a recognized
division of the alphabet into classes of eight letters,—a classification
which forms the basis of a system of secret runes, mentioned in that
MS. Of these secret runes, there are several varieties specified: in
particular, 1. _Iis-runa_ and _Lago-runa_ (of which specimens exist
in Scandinavia), consisting of groups of repetitions of the character
_iis_ or _lago_, some shorter and some longer, the number of shorter
characters in each group denoting the class to which the letter intended
to be indicated belonged; the number of longer ones, its position in the
class. 2. _Hahal-runa_, where the letters are indicated by characters
with branching stems, the branches to the left denoting the class, and
those to the right the position in that class. There is an inscription
in secret runes of this description at Hackness, in Yorkshire. 3.
_Stof-runa_, in which the class is indicated by points placed above, and
the position in the class by points below, or the reverse.
The best-known inscriptions in the Anglo-Saxon character are those on two
grave-stones at Hartlepool, in Northumberland, on a cross at Bewcastle,
in Cumberland, and on another cross at Ruthwell, in Dumfriesshire. The
inscription on the west side of Bewcastle cross, which we give as a
specimen of Anglo-Saxon runes, is a memorial of Alcfrid, son of Oswiu,
who was associated with his father in the government of the kingdom of
Northumbria, in the seventh century.
[Illustration: RUNES.]
It has been thus deciphered into the Anglo-Saxon dialect of the period:—
+ THIS SIGBECUN
SETTÆ HWÆTRED
EM GÆRFÆ BOLDU
ÆFTÆR BARÆ
YMB CYNING ALCFRIDÆ
GICEGÆD HEOSUM SAWLUM.
Or, in Modern English:—
This memorial
Hwætred set
and carved this monument
after the prince
after the king Alcfrid
pray for their souls.
The inscription on the Ruthwell cross, after being long a puzzle to
antiquaries, was first deciphered in 1838 by Mr. John M. Kemble, an
eminent Anglo-Saxon scholar. It is written alternately down one side
of the stone and up another, and contains a portion of a poem on the
subject of the Crucifixion. Mr. Kemble’s interpretation received a very
satisfactory confirmation by the discovery of a more complete copy of the
same poem in a MS. volume of Anglo-Saxon homilies at Vercelli.
Mr. D. M. Haigh, whose researches have added much to our knowledge
of Anglo-Saxon runes, has endeavoured to set up for them a claim of
priority over the Norse characters. Instead of considering the additional
Anglo-Saxon letters as a development of the Norse system, he looks on the
Norse alphabet of sixteen letters as an abridgment of an earlier system,
and finds occasional traces of the existence of the discarded characters
in the earliest Norse inscriptions, and in the Scandinavian _Iis-runa_
and _Hahal-runa_, where the letters are classified in accordance with the
Anglo-Saxon groups of eight.
The Scandinavian kingdoms contain numerous runic monuments, some of
them written _boustrophedon_, or with the lines beginning alternately
from the right and left; and there are many interesting inscriptions on
Swedish gold bracteates. The Celtic races, from their connection with
the Scandinavians, became acquainted with their alphabet, and made use
of it in writing their own language; and hence we have, in the Western
Islands of Scotland and in the Isle of Man, runic inscriptions, not
in the Anglo-Saxon, but in the Norse character, with, however, a few
peculiarities of their own. Some of the most perfect runic inscriptions
are in Man; others of similar description exist at Holy Island, in
Lamlash Bay, Arran; and there is an inscription in the same character
on a remarkable brooch dug up at Hunterston, in Ayrshire. Dr. D. Wilson
considers that the Celtic population of Scotland were as familiar with
Norse as the Northumbrians with Saxon runes.
We sometimes find the Norse runes used to denote numerals, in which case
the sixteen characters stand for the numbers from 1 to 16; _ar_ combined
with _laugr_ stands for 17, double _madr_ for 18, and double _tyr_ for
19. Two more letters are used to express higher numbers, as _ur ur_, 20;
_thurs thurs os_, 34.[13]
ANGLO-SAXON ALPHABET.
The Anglo-Saxon alphabet, and the forms and sounds of the letters, are
shown in the following table:—
[Illustration]
Two useful Anglo-Saxon letters have disappeared from modern
English,—namely, Þ or þ th (_th_in), and Ð or ð th (_th_ine).
The Anglo-Saxon letters which vary from those now used were doubtless
mere corruptions of the Roman forms,—viz. the capitals A, C, E, G, H, M,
S, and W, and the small letters d, f, g, i, r, s, t, and w. Several marks
of abbreviation were used by the Saxons, as ꝥ _that_, ⁊ _and_, &c. These
were not original members of the alphabet, but were introduced probably
for despatch.
About the year 1567, John Daye, who was patronized by Archbishop Parker,
cut the first Saxon types which were used in England. In this year,
_Asserius Menevensis_ was published by the direction of the archbishop in
these characters; in the same year, Archbishop Ælfric’s _Paschal Homily_;
and in 1571, the _Saxon Gospels_.
On the two following pages will be found a plan of cases for Saxon types.
[Illustration: SAXON UPPER CASE.]
[Illustration: SAXON LOWER CASE.]
GERMAN ALPHABET.
Outside of Germany, there is perhaps no country in which German printing
is so extensively carried on as in the United States. We present a table
of German characters, with their names, and their corresponding forms in
English.
+---------------+-------------------+-----------------+
| German Form. | English Form. | German Name. |
+---------------+-------------------+-----------------+
| | | |
| ~A~ ~a~ | A a | ah |
| | | |
| ~B~ ~b~ | B b | bay |
| | | |
| ~C~ ~c~ | C c | tsay |
| | | |
| ~D~ ~d~ | D d | day |
| | | |
| ~E~ ~e~ | E e | a |
| | | |
| ~F~ ~f~ ~ff~ | F f ff | ef, ef-ef |
| | | |
| ~G~ ~g~ | G g | gay |
| | | |
| ~H~ ~h~ ~ch~ | H h ch | hah, tsay-hah |
| | | |
| ~I~ ~i~ | I i | e |
| | | |
| ~J~ ~j~ | J j | yot |
| | | |
| ~K~ ~k~ ~ck~ | K k ck | kah, tsay-kah |
| | | |
| ~L~ ~l~ | L l | el |
| | | |
| ~M~ ~m~ | M m | em |
| | | |
| ~N~ ~n~ | N n | en |
| | | |
| ~O~ ~o~ | O o | o |
| | | |
| ~P~ ~p~ | P p | pay |
| | | |
| ~Q~ ~q~ | Q q | koo |
| | | |
| ~R~ ~r~ | R r | er |
| | | |
| ~S~ ~ſ~ ~s~ | S s s | es, |
| ~ſſ~ | ss | es-es |
| ~ſz~ ~ſt~| sz | es-tset, es-tay |
| | | |
| ~T~ ~t~ | T t | tay |
| | | |
| ~U~ ~u~ | U u | oo |
| | | |
| ~V~ ~v~ | V v | fōw |
| | | |
| ~W~ ~w~ | W w | vay |
| | | |
| ~X~ ~x~ | X x | iks |
| | | |
| ~Y~ ~y~ | Y y | ipsilon |
| | | |
| ~Z~ ~z~ ~tz~ | Z z tz | tset, tay-tset |
| | | |
| ~ä~ ~ë~ ~ü~ | ä ö ü _or_ æ œ ue | |
+---------------+-------------------+-----------------+
Several of the German letters, being somewhat similar in appearance, are
liable to be mistaken one for another. To aid the learner, we give such
letters together, and point out the difference.
~B~ (B) and ~V~ (V).
The latter is open in the middle, the former joined across.
~C~ (C) and ~E~ (E).
~E~ (E) has a little stroke in the middle, projecting to the right, which
~C~ (C) has not.
~G~ (G) and ~S~ (S).
~S~ (S) has an opening above, ~G~ (G) is closed, and has besides a
perpendicular stroke within.
~K~ (K), ~N~ (N), ~R~ (R).
~K~ (K) is rounded at the top, ~N~ (N) is open in the middle, ~R~ (R) is
united about the middle.
~M~ (M) and ~W~ (W).
~M~ (M) is opened at the bottom, ~W~ (W) is closed.
~b~ (b) and ~h~ (h).
~b~ (b) is entirely closed below, ~h~ (h) is somewhat open, and ends at
the bottom, on one side, with a projecting hair-stroke.
~f~ (f) and ~ſ~ (s).
~f~ (f) has a horizontal line _through_ it, ~ſ~ (s) on the left side only.
~m~ (m) and ~w~ (w).
~m~ (m) is entirely open at the bottom, ~w~ (w) is partly closed.
~r~ (r) and ~x~ (x).
~x~ (x) has a little hair-stroke below, on the left.
~v~ (v) and ~y~ (y).
~v~ (v) is closed, ~y~ (y) is somewhat open below, and ends with a
hair-stroke.
[Illustration: GERMAN UPPER CASE.]
[Illustration: GERMAN LOWER CASE.]
GREEK.
A small amount of Greek types is indispensable in every considerable book
printing-office. The Greek alphabet contains twenty-four letters, which
we give in the following table, with the name of each character expressed
in Greek and English, and its sound and numerical value.
THE GREEK ALPHABET.
+---------+-------------------+---------+-----------+
| FORMS. | NAMES IN GREEK | SOUNDS. | NUMERICAL |
| | AND ENGLISH. | | VALUE. |
+---------+-------------------+---------+-----------+
| | | | |
| Α α | Άλφα Alpha | a | 1 |
| | | | |
| Β β ϐ | Βῆτα Beta | b | 2 |
| | | | |
| Γ γ | Γὰμμα Gamma | g | 3 |
| | | | |
| Δ δ | Δέλτα Delta | d | 4 |
| | | | |
| Ε ε | Ἒψῖλόν Epsīlon | ĕ short | 5 |
| | | | |
| Ζ ζ | Ζῆτα Zeta | z | 7 |
| | | | |
| Η η | Ἦτα Eta | ē long | 8 |
| | | | |
| Θ ϑ θ | Θῆτα Theta | th | 9 |
| | | | |
| Ι ι | Ἰῶτα Iōta | i | 10 |
| | | | |
| Κ κ | Κάππα Kappa | k c | 20 |
| | | | |
| Λ λ | Λάμβδα Lambda | l | 30 |
| | | | |
| Μ µ | Μῦ Mu | m | 40 |
| | | | |
| Ν ν | Νῦ Nu | n | 50 |
| | | | |
| Ξ ξ | Ξῖ Xi | x | 60 |
| | | | |
| Ο ο | Ὀμῖκρόν Omĭcron | ŏ short | 70 |
| | | | |
| Π π | Πῖ Pi | p | 80 |
| | | | |
| Ρ ρ | Ῥῶ Rho | r | 100 |
| | | | |
| Σ σ ς | Σίγμα Sigma | s | 200 |
| | | | |
| Τ τ | Ταῦ Tau | t | 300 |
| | | | |
| Υ υ | Ύψῖλόν Upsīlon | u | 400 |
| | | | |
| Φ φ | Φῖ Phi | ph | 500 |
| | | | |
| Χ χ | Χῖ Chi | ch | 600 |
| | | | |
| Ψ ψ | Ψῖ Psi | ps | 700 |
| | | | |
| Ω ω | Ὠμεγα Omĕga | ō long | 800 |
+---------+-------------------+---------+-----------+
From a desire, probably, to imitate Greek manuscript, a multitude of
ligatures, abbreviations, and contractions of letters, as well as
duplicates, were cast by the early type-founders. These, however, with
two or three exceptions, have been quite discarded; and a fount of
modern Greek is readily accommodated in a single pair of cases. The only
duplicated characters in the preceding table are β and ϐ, ϑ and Θ, and σ
and ς. β looks best when used as an initial letter, and ϐ as a medial. ϑ
and Θ are used indiscriminately; but ς is employed as a final letter only.
There are twelve diphthongs or compound vowels in Greek, viz.:—
Six proper,—αι, αυ, ει, ευ, οι, ου; and
Six improper,—ᾳ, ῃ, ῳ, ηυ, υι, ωυ. The point under the first three
letters denotes the iota, and is therefore called the _subscript iota_.
ACCENTS AND ASPIRATES.
᾿ Lenis.
῾ Asper.
´ Acute.
` Grave.
῀ Circumflex.
῎ Lenis acute.
῍ Lenis grave.
῞ Asper acute.
῝ Asper grave.
῏ Circumflex lenis.
῟ Circumflex asper.
¨ Diæresis.
΅ Diæresis acute.
῭ Diæresis grave.
Accents are nothing more than small marks which have been introduced
into the language to denote the pronunciation of words, and aid its
acquisition by learners. The ancient Greeks never used them, as is
demonstrated from Aristotle, old inscriptions, and ancient medals. It is
not easy to tell the date when the practice of writing with accents first
obtained, though it is probable not till after the Romans began to learn
the Greek tongue and to send their children to study at Athens,—that is,
about or a little before the time of Cicero.
Accents—by the Greeks called τόνοι, tones—show the rising or falling of
the voice in pronouncing; either separately in distinct syllables, or
conjunctively in the same syllable.
Wherefore there are two sorts of accents: two simple, viz. the acute,
ὀξύς, figured thus [´], which denotes the elevation of the voice; and
the grave, βαρὺς, shaped thus [`], to signify the falling or depression
of the voice: and the circumflex, περισπώμενος which was formed first
of these two lines or points joined together thus [῍] and afterward was
changed into a round sort of a figure like an inverted upsilon, thus
[[symb]], but at length came to be figured like an s drawn crosswise
[῀].[14]
* * * * *
The acute accent raises the voice, and affects one or more of the last
three syllables of a word, if it has so many.
* * * * *
The grave depresses the voice, and affects the last syllable only.
* * * * *
The circumflex lengthens the sound, and affects either the last syllable
of a word or the last but one.
* * * * *
There are two spirits, or breathings: the asper [῾], which is equivalent
to the modern letter h; and the lenis [᾿], which has no perceptible
power, and indicates the bare opening of the mouth and simple emission of
the voice.
All the words that begin with a vowel have one of these breathings over
them; but the vowel upsilon admits of no other than the _spiritus asper_
at the beginning of a word.
In diphthongs the _spiritus_ is put over the second vowel: as αὐτὸς, not
ἀυτὸς.
The letter ρ, at the beginning of a word, has an _asper_ over it, as,
ῥέω; and where two ρs meet in a word, the first has a _lenis_, and the
other an _asper_.
* * * * *
The apostrophe [’] is used for cutting off the vowels α, ε, ι, ο, and the
diphthongs αι and οι, when they stand at the end of a word and the next
word begins with a vowel: as, παρ’ αὐτῷ for παρὰ αὐτῷ; πάντ’ ἔλεγον for
πάντα ἔλεγον.
Sometimes the apostrophe contracts two words into one: as, κᾳ’γὼ for καὶ
ἐγὼ; ἐγῶ’μαι for ἐγῶ οἴμαι; κᾳ’κεῖνος for καὶ ἐκεῖνος.
Sometimes an apostrophe supplies the place of the first vowel beginning a
word: as ὦ ’γαθὲ for ὦ ἀγαθὲ; ποῦ ’ςι for ποῦ ἐςι. This is chiefly used
in poetry.
But the prepositions περὶ and πρὸ suffer no apostrophe though the next
word begin with a vowel; for we write περὶ υμῶν, πρὸ ἐμοῦ; περὶ αὐτον,
πρὸ ἐτῶν, &c.
* * * * *
The diæresis [¨] is put over the last one of two vowels that come
together, to show that they must be pronounced separately, and not as a
diphthong: thus, ἀϋτὴ with a diæresis makes three syllables; but without
a diæresis αυ is a diphthong, and makes αὐτὴ two syllables.
* * * * *
Diastole [,] is put between two particles that would bear a different
sense without it: thus, ὄ,τε ὄ,τι signify _whatever_; whereas ὁτε stands
for _as_, and ὁτι for _that_. Τό,τε with a diastole implies _and this_;
but when without, it answers to the adverb _then_.
* * * * *
The sign of interrogation, in Greek, is made by a semicolon [;].
The colon is made by an inverted full-point [·].
All other points are the same as in English.
* * * * *
The compositor will find it advantageous to bear in mind the following
rules:—
1. No accent can be placed over any other than one of the last three
syllables of a word.
2. The grave accent never occurs but on the last syllable; and, this
being the case, the asper grave ῝ and lenis grave ῍ can be wanted only
for a few monosyllables.
3. No vowel can have a spirit, or breathing, except at the beginning of a
word.
4. The letter ρ is the only consonant marked by a breathing.
5. Almost every word has an accent, but very seldom has more than one;
and, when this happens, it is an acute thrown back upon the last syllable
from one of those words called enclitics (_leaning back_), which in that
case has none, unless it be followed by another enclitic. In no other
case than this can a last syllable have an acute accent, except before a
full-point, colon, or note of interrogation, when the grave accent of the
last syllable is changed to an acute,—a circumstance which has often led
printers, who were ignorant of the reasons for accenting the same word
differently in different situations, to think that there was an error in
their copy, and thus to make one in their proof. Most errors, however,
proceed from those who do not think at all about the matter.
PLAN OF GREEK CASES.
The following plan of cases for Greek type is probably more convenient
than any other. A Roman case may readily be altered to accommodate the
lower-case sorts. Compositors who aspire to a full knowledge of their
art should by all means make themselves familiar with Greek and Hebrew
letters and cases.
[Illustration: GREEK UPPER CASE.]
[Illustration: GREEK LOWER CASE.]
HEBREW.
The Hebrew alphabet has twenty-two letters. Column No. 1 of the following
table indicates the force of Hebrew letters when read without points.
Column No. 2 gives their force when the language is printed with the
Masoretic points or vowels, which are of later date than the letters. The
names and numerical value of the characters are also shown.
THE HEBREW ALPHABET.
+---------------------+--------------------+-------------------+------+
| NAMES. | NO. 1. | NO. 2. |NUMER.|
| | | |VALUE.|
+---------------------+--------------------+-------------------+------+
| א Aleph | Sounded _a_ in | A gentle aspirate | 1 |
| | _war_ (_vowel_) | | |
| ב Beth | ... | _Bh_ | 2 |
| ג Gimel | _g_ hard | _Gh_ | 3 |
| ד Daleth | ... | _Dh_ | 4 |
| ח He | _a_ in hate | A rough aspirate | 5 |
| | (_vow._) | | |
| ו Vau | _u_ _vowel_, or | ... | 6 |
| | before a vowel, | | |
| | _w_ | | |
| ז Zain | ... | _Ds_ | 7 |
| ה Cheth | ... | _Hh_ | 8 |
| ט Teth | _Th_ | ... | 9 |
| י Jod | Like _ee_ in | _j_ consonant, or | 10 |
| | English (_vowel_) | the softer _y_ | |
| כ ך final Caph | _k_ or _c_ hard | ... | 20 |
| ל Lamed | ... | ... | 30 |
| מ ם final Mem | ... | ... | 40 |
| נ ן final Nun | ... | ... | 50 |
| ס Samech | ... | Soft _s_ | 60 |
| ע Ain | _o_ long (_vowel_) | _hg_, or _hgh_, | 70 |
| | | the roughest | |
| | | aspirate | |
| פ ף final Phe | ... | ... | 80 |
| צ ץ final Tzaddi | _j_ soft | ... | 90 |
| ק Koph | _k_ or _qu_ | ... |100 |
| ר Resch | ... | ... |200 |
| ש Shin | ... | _s_ hard |300 |
| or Sin | | | |
| ת Thau | ... | ... |400 |
+---------------------+--------------------+-------------------+------+
LETTERS THAT HAVE A LIKENESS TO OTHERS.
Beth ב
Caph כ
Daleth ד
Caph ך
Resch ר
Vau ו
Zain ז
Jod י
Nun ן
Mem ם
Samech ס
Gimel ג
Nun נ
He ה
Cheth ח
Thau ת
Teth ט
Mem מ
Ain ע
Tzaddi צ
The dividing of Hebrew words not being permitted, the five following
letters are cast broad to enable the compositor to justify the lines
without irregular spacing:—
Aleph ﬡ
He ﬣ
Lamed ﬥ
Mem ﬦ
Thau ﬨ
Hebrew has no capitals, and therefore letters of the same shape, but of
a larger body, are used at the beginning of chapters and other parts of
Hebrew works.
Hebrew reads from the right to the left, which is the case with all other
Oriental languages, except Ethiopic and Armenian. In composing it, the
general method is to place the nick of the letter downward, and after
putting the points to the top, to turn the line and set the points that
come under the letters. If the letter has but one leg, the point is
placed immediately under it; but where the letter has two legs, it is put
under the centre.
The Masoretic points or vowels are subjoined under the consonant בּ
(beth).
1. _The Long Vowels._
Kametz ׇ _aa_ בָּ baa
Tzeri ֵ _ee_ בֵּ bee
Long Chirek י _ii_ בִּי bii
Cholem וֹ _oo_ בּבּוֹ boo
Shurek וּ _uu_ בּוּ buu
2. _The Short Vowels._
Patach ַ _a_ בַּ ba
Sœgol ֶ _e_ בֶּ be
Little Chirek ִ _i_ בִּ bi
Kametz-chataph ָ _o_ בָּ bo
Kibbutz ֻ _u_ בֻּ bu
3. _Shevas, which imply a Vowel to be wanting._
Simple Sheva חְ
Patach furtive חַ
Chataph Patach חֲ _a_
Chataph Sœgol חֱ _e_
Chataph Kametz חֳ _o_
The last three are called compound shevas; and, in fact, they are only
the short vowels, to which the simple sheva [ְְ] is joined.
ACCENTS.
Hebrew accents are either mere points, or lines, or circles.
Those which are mere points or dots consist of one or two or three such
points, and are always placed above the middle of the accented letter,
thus,
{ One, called _rebia_, ב֗ , i.e. _sitting over_.
{
That { Two, called royal _zakeph katon_, ב֔, or, _the little
consisting { elevator_, from its figure, which is composed of upright
of { points.
{
{ Three, called royal _segolta_, ב֒, an inverted [ ֶ].
The lines are either upright, inclined, or transverse.
The upright is either solitary or with points or dots.
The { between two words, ב׀ב, termed _pesick_, or musical
solitary { pause, and terminating a song.
is {
either { or { _Metheg_, בֽ or _bridle_, an euphonic accent
{ under a { at the beginning of a word.
{ word, {
{ { Royal _silluk_, בֽ, _end_, which is placed
{ { before [׃], _sophpasuk_, i.e. toward the end.
With { two, above the letter, royal _zakeph gadhol_, ב֕,
points, { _the great elevator_, strains the sound.
namely, {
{ one, below the letter, royal _tebhir_, ב֛, _broken_
{ sound, from its figure and tone.
Inclined lines hang either above or below.
Above, { the right { Leader _pashta_, ב֙, _extension_, extends the
toward { { voice or sound, and is placed above the last
{ { letter of the word.
{ {
{ { Subservient _kadma_, ב֨, _antecedent_, to the
{ { leader _geresh_; and is placed above the
{ { penult or antepenult letter.
{
{ the left { Leader _geresh_, ב֜, _expulsion_, is sung with
{ { an impelled voice.
{ {
{ { _Gereshajim_, ב֞, _two expellers_, from the
{ { figure being doubled.
Below, { the right { Leader _tiphcha_, ב֖, _fatigue_, from the song
toward { { or note.
{ {
{ the left { Of subservient _merca_, ב֥, _lengthening out_,
{ { from its lengthening out the song or note.
{ {
{ { _Merca kephula_, ב֦, _a double lengthening
{ { out_, from its music and figure.
The transverse line is either right or curved: thus, ־ ֮ .
The right line is placed between two words, connecting them together,
thus, ב־ב, and is called _maccaph_, i.e. _connection_.
The curved or waved line, ב֮, is called leader, _zarka_, or _the
disperser_, from its modulation and figure.
Circles are either entire or semi.
The entire circle is placed always above, and has a small inclined line
attached to it.
Either on the left, when it is placed at the head of the word, ב֠, and
is called leader _telisha the greater_, or _the great evulsion_.
Or on the right, when it is placed at the end, ב֩, and is called
subservient _telisha the less_.
On both together, ב֟, called leader _karne para_, _the horns of the
heifer_, from its modulation and figure.
The semicircle is either _solitary_ or _pointed_.
The solitary is either _angular_ or _reflected_.
The { on the { Subservient _hillui_, ב֬, _elevated_, from the
angular { right { elevation of the voice.
is { {
{ { _Munach_, ב֣, _placed below_, from its position.
{
{ on the { Leader _jethith_, ב֚, _drawing back_, from its
{ left { figure.
{
{ Subservient _mahpach_, ב֤, _inverted_, also from
{ its figure.
The { either single subservient _darga_, ב֧, a _degree_.
reflected {
is { or double, leader, _shalsheleth_, ב֓, a _chain_, from
{ its figure and modulation.
When joined with other points, it is either above or below the letter.
When above the letter, it has a small line attached to it on the left,
ב֡, leader _paser_, _the disperser_ from the diffusion of the note.
When below the letter, it is pointed either downward, ב֑, called royal
_athnach_, _respiration_, as the voice must rest upon it, and respire; or
upward, ב֢, subservient, _jerah-ben-jomo_, _the moon of its own day_,
from its figure.
PLANS OF HEBREW CASES.
The first plan shows a common case for Hebrew without points; the second
exhibits a pair of cases with points.
[Illustration: HEBREW LOWER CASE.]
[Illustration: HEBREW UPPER CASE.]
[Illustration: HEBREW LOWER CASE.]
RUSSIAN ALPHABET.
+-------+-------------------+
| FORM. | SOUND. |
+-------+-------------------+
| А а | ah, a. |
| Б б | b. |
| В в | v. |
| Г г | g, gh. |
| Д д | d. |
| Е е | yai _or_ ai. |
| Ж ж | zsh. |
| З з | z. |
| И и | ee. |
| І і | ee. |
| К к | k. |
| Л л | l (guttural). |
| М м | m. |
| Н н | n. |
| О о | o _or_ ah. |
| П п | p. |
| Р р | r. |
| С с | _hard_ s _or_ ss. |
| Т т | t. |
| У у | oo. |
| Ф ф | f, ph. |
| Х х | kh, ~ch~. |
| Ц ц | ts. |
| Ч ч | ch, tch. |
| Ш ш | ch. |
| Щ щ | sh-tch. |
| Ъ ъ | _mute_ e. |
| Ы ы | we, ee. |
| Ь ь | _half-mute_ e. |
| Ѣ ѣ | yai _or_ ai. |
| Э э | ai. |
| Ю ю | you, ew. |
| Я я | yah. |
| Ѳ ѳ | f, ph. |
| Ѵ ѵ | e. |
| Й й | _short_ e. |
+-------+-------------------+
г, х, е, л, щ, ъ, ы, ь, ѣ, я, о, й, are the only letters whose
pronunciation offers any difficulty.
Г has a sound nearly like _g_ in the English word _goose_, as in гру́ша,
a _pear_; read _groòshah_. But it has a guttural sound not found in
English, and which nearly resembles that of the German ~ch~. This sound
is especially perceivable in the middle of a word when the г is followed
by a consonant, also at the end of a word, as in но́гти, _the nails_;
read _nò~ch~tee_. In inflections аго, яго, ого, его, of adjectives
and pronouns, the letter г is pronounced as _v_; as in кра́снаго, _of
beautiful_; read _kràsnavah_.
Е has three different sounds: 1. In Russian words, and in all syllables
in which it is preceded by a vowel, _е_ has a sound like that of _yai_,
when the _y_ is nearly sunk in the pronunciation, as in ему́, _to him_;
read _yaimoò_. 2. At the beginning of words from foreign languages, and
at the middle and end of a word when preceded by a consonant, it has
the sound of _e_ in _met_, as in берегу́, _I guard_; read _bayregoò_.
3. In the termination екъ of diminutives, in all the characteristic
inflections of cases in the nouns, and of persons in the verbs, in fact,
in almost all words, this letter when accented has a sound nearly like
that of short _yo_ or _o_; as in куле́къ, _a little sack_; веде́шь,
_thou leadest_; медъ, _the honey_; read _koolyòk_, _vaidyòsh_, _myod_.
This sound _yo_ or _o_ of the letter _е_ is commonly distinguished by a
diæresis over the vowel, as кулёкъ, ведёшь, мёлъ.
Л has a guttural sound nearly analogous to the English _w_. Писарлъ, _he
wrote_, read _pisaw_ or _pisou_.
Ль has a soft sound, as in the French word _bouillon_.
Х corresponds to the German ~ch~. It is a strong aspiration that nearly
resembles the sound _k_ when pronounced hastily from the throat; as in
хвала́, _the praise_; read _khvahlàh_.
Щ unites the sound of ш and ч, as in щитъ, _the shield_; read _shtcheet_.
Ъ. This letter has no sound; the preceding consonant, the last letter of
the word, ought to be pronounced a little hollow, as in боо́ъ, _a bean_;
read _bop_.
Ы has a sound nearly like _we_ when the _w_ is pronounced rapidly; as
in бу́квьшы, _the letters_, read _boòkwe_. It has this sound after the
consonants б, в, м, п, ф; but after another consonant it is a thick _e_,
as in сынъ, _the son_; read _seen_.
Ь. This letter at the end of a word has a sound nearly like that of the
very short _e_. When followed by a consonant in the middle of a word it
is mute, but is pronounced when followed by a vowel; as in знатъ, _to
know_; read _znaht_.
Ѣ at the beginning of a word has the sound of _yai_; as in Ѣсть, _to
eat_; read _yaist_. In the middle of a word it is pronounced _yai_, the
sound of _y_ being almost sunk; as in нѣтъ, _no_; read _nyaitt_. At the
end of a word it is sounded _ay_.
Я when accented has the sound of the diphthong _yah_; as in я́ма, _a
pit_; read _yàhmah_. But if not accented it is pronounced _yai_, as in
ядро́, _a ball_; read _yaidrò_. The pronoun ея́, _of her_, is pronounced
_yaiyò_, and the syllable ся of pronominal verbs is pronounced _sah_, as
in стара́ться, _to exert one’s self_; read _stahràhtsah_.
О is pronounced as English _o_; but if unaccented it takes the sound of
_ah_, as in ко́локолъ, _a bell_; колокола́, _bells_; read _kòlahkall_,
_kahlakahlà_.
Й is a short _e_, pronounced very rapidly, as in дай, _give_; read _dàï_
or _die_, giving utterance to a short _e_ after the vowel.
In general the pronunciation of Russian words depends especially upon
the tonic accent, which is no longer printed in Russian books, except
to distinguish some homonymous words, or some grammatical inflections
of similar forms; as за́мокъ, _a castle_, and замо́къ, _a lock_; read
_zàhmok_ and _zahmòk_.
MUSIC TYPE.
In no department of letter-founding has the progress of improvement
been more decided and satisfactory than in the production of music
type. The finest work of the music-stamper cannot surpass the ingenious
combinations of the type-founder and printer. The music of which
specimens are here given is cast on the centre of the body, and any
intelligent workman may learn to compose it with facility. Brass lines
are now furnished with founts when desired.
[Illustration]
[Illustration: COMPARATIVE TABLE OF BODIES.]
MUSIC COMPOSITION.
A knowledge of the rudiments of the art of music is essential to the
correct composition of music type; for, unless the compositor is
acquainted with the relative time-values of the notes and rests, he
cannot space them properly.
The manuscript copy is given to the compositor, with directions regarding
the dimensions of the page required and the size of type to be employed.
He counts the number of measures in the piece, and allots to each measure
the amount of ems in length which the page will permit, so that there
shall be a general equality of space throughout the piece.
In instrumental music, and in pieces which are not interlined with
poetry, the compositor will set two or more staves simultaneously,
ranging the leading notes in the lower staves precisely under the
corresponding ones in the upper staff; that is, a certain amount of space
in each staff, in a brace, must contain the same amount of time-value.
Where lines of poetry are interspersed, as in ballads and in church
music, the staves are necessarily set singly; and in composing the
second, third, and fourth staves the workman must therefore constantly
refer to the first, in order to make the staves correspond.
A good compositor will be careful to make the lines overlap each other,
brick-wise, and not allow a joint to fall directly under another. Masters
who aim to do cheap rather than good work have the music lines cast
double or triple, to expedite composition. Such work has a very slovenly
look, as the joints of the lines, coming under one another, are apparent
in the entire depth of the staff. We have seen books set in this manner,
in which all the lines seem to be composed of dotted rule, instead of a
continuous stroke.
The compositor should be careful to make the stems of all the notes in
a page of the same length, except those of grace-notes, which should be
about half as long.
PLAN OF CASES.
The following plan of cases was arranged by the music typographer, J. M.
Armstrong of Philadelphia, expressly for the founts of music cast by The
MacKellar, Smiths & Jordan Co., specimens of which are shown on page 114.
A table of comparative bodies is given on page 115.
[Illustration: MUSIC UPPER CASE.]
[Illustration: MUSIC LOWER CASE.]
[Illustration: MUSIC SIDE CASE.]
MODERN CONVENIENCES.
At no time since the invention of their art have printers been so fully
supplied as at present with typographic implements for producing exact
and beautiful work. In height of body, harmony and style of face,
and excellence of material, modern type is doubtless superior to any
heretofore made; but the most striking progression of type-founding is
in the beauty and variety of ornamental letters and borders, and in
these the American founders have taken the lead. A glance at their late
Specimen Books proves the truth of this assertion. Among late novelties
produced by THE MACKELLAR, SMITHS & JORDAN CO. are several beautiful
series of ingenious adjustable characters for the ornamentation of
display lines, both straight and elliptical. A specimen is given below.
Other appliances for job-printing are noted on pages 300-310.
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
THE ART OF COMPOSITION.
GENERAL REMARKS.
[Illustration]
Experience proves that the apprentice foreshadows the workman, just as
surely as the bend of the twig foretells the inclination of the tree. The
upright, obedient, industrious lad will become a steady, skilful, and
capable man, as unmistakably as the perverse, idling, careless boy will
ripen into a lazy, dissolute, and worthless fellow. The fact is, a boy
is measurably the maker of his own destiny; and if he fails to acquire
a master-knowledge of the trade to which he is put, it will mainly be
because he did not at his outset determine to be a master-workman. Good
morals and steady industry are indispensable.
When a lad who possesses these qualities proposes to learn the art and
mystery of printing, it should be inquired of him, Has he had a fair
common-school education? Is he a perfect speller? Has he a turn for
reading? Is his eyesight good? Is he under fifteen years of age? A true
affirmative answer to all these queries will entitle him to the position
of reading and errand-boy. He is told the hours at which he is to come
and go, and a strict punctuality is enjoined upon him. He sweeps the
room,—he sorts out the pi,—he learns the position of the various letters
in the case. A year spent in this way is an excellent preparative for
“going to case,” or learning the art of composing type.
When he is put to composition, he is told to set up one line and
show it to the foreman or to the journeyman under whose care he may
be placed. The errors in the line are pointed out to him, and he is
required to correct them himself. When the words are perfectly correct,
he justifies the line tight enough to prevent it from falling down when
the composing-stick is slightly inclined, and yet sufficiently loose
to enable him to lift it out with ease. In thus spacing out the line,
the blanks between the words must be so graduated that, when the matter
is printed, all the words will appear at equal distances apart. No
matter how impatient he may be to get on, he must be drilled at this
exercise till he becomes a thorough master of it. The grand doctrine to
be instilled into him at first is, to do his work well and correctly;
swiftness will follow as a natural consequence. He sets a second line;
and after it has been made faultless he proceeds with the third, and so
on till the stick is full. The utmost care must be taken to keep every
letter and every line in an exact vertical position; and when he essays
to empty the stick he must be taught to lift the entire mass in one
square solid body, and to place it squarely and vertically on the galley.
If the lines are allowed to slant either backward or sidewise, it is
difficult afterward to make them stand accurately.
After the apprentice has become thoroughly conversant with the shape of
every type, and can distinguish “u” from “n,” “b” from “q,” and “d” from
“p,” he is allowed to distribute type for his own use. He is taught to
take up at one time no more matter than he can conveniently grasp in
his left hand, which he holds so that the light falls on the face of
the type, and his eye can readily read it. In distributing the various
letters, he takes a word or two between the thumb and forefinger of his
right hand, and the types are lightly dropped into their respective boxes.
At the outset, and as he proceeds, the novitiate must be cautioned
against the acquisition of bad habits; such as swinging the body as the
types are picked up, nicking the type against the stick several times
before placing it in line, standing on one leg, &c.
While avoiding these ridiculous practices, a learner must acquire (if he
does not possess them already) certain habitudes or principles which lie
at the foundation of successful effort. The first is
_Punctuality._ He must conscientiously observe the time-rules of the
office in coming and leaving. The early hours are the best for work;
and the mind being cheered by the consciousness of doing right, the
body feels the influence, and is strengthened; and when the quitting
hour arrives, the amount of work accomplished will satisfy himself and
his master too. The most successful masters have been distinguished for
punctuality. The apprentice’s time is not his own, but his master’s
property; and wasting it by want of punctuality, or idling during his
master’s absence, is simply equivalent to stealing. The second point is
_Obedience._ The apprentice has no right to question orders given by the
master or his deputy. His duty is promptly to do as he is told, without
grumbling or dissatisfaction. Let him remember that he is under orders,
and that, if he ever expects to learn how to command, he must learn in
his youth how to obey. He will promote his own interests by seeking to
anticipate his master’s wishes, and by endeavouring to make himself so
useful that his services cannot well be dispensed with. Akin to this is
_Courtesy._ Good manners in a youth are wonderfully pleasing, and
effectively aid in his advancement. Courtesy toward his master is a
matter of course, and deserving of little commendation; but he must be
courteous to customers when sent out on an errand, and courteous to the
workmen in the office. By this means he will secure good-will, and many a
friendly hint will be given to him in acquiring a knowledge of the art.
The habit when fixed will bless him and others as long as he lives.
PLAN OF CASES.
The following schemes show the order in which the letters are kept in
cases in this country. In some offices, however, slight deviations will
be found,—such as the transposition of the comma and w, y, p, &c.
[Illustration: AMERICAN UPPER CASE.]
[Illustration: AMERICAN LOWER CASE.]
[Illustration: PROPOSED NEW PLAN FOR THE LOWER CASE.]
POSITION.
The standing position of a compositor should be perfectly upright,
without stiffness or restraint; the shoulders thrown back, the feet
firm on the floor, heels nearly closed, and toes turned out to form an
angle of about forty-five degrees. The head and body should be kept
perfectly steady, except when moving from the Roman to the Italic case,
the operations of distributing and composing being performed by the
various motions of the arm, from the shoulder-joint alone; and if, to
reach a box placed in the further part of the cases, to put in or take
out a letter, he should incline the body by a slight motion, he should
immediately resume his erect position. The height of a compositor and his
frame should be so adjusted that his right elbow may just clear the front
of the lower case by the a and r boxes, without the smallest elevation of
the shoulder-joint; his breast will then be opposite the space, h, and e
boxes. Sitting at work should be rarely permitted, except for lameness,
weakness, old age, or other infirmity; and then the stool should be
a small piece of board fastened to a single leg. Habit will render a
standing position familiar and easy; perseverance in conquering a little
fatigue will be amply repaid by the prevention of knock knees, round
shoulders, and obstructed circulation of the blood and respiration of the
lungs.
LAYING TYPE.
Unwrap carefully the page received from the type-founder, and, laying
it on a galley, soak it thoroughly with thin soap-water, to prevent the
types from adhering to one another after they have been used a short
time. Then, with a stout rule or reglet, lift as many lines as will make
about an inch in thickness, and, placing the rule close up on one side of
the bottom of the proper box, slide off the lines gently, taking care not
to rub the face of the letter against the side of the box. Proceed thus
with successive lines till the box is filled.
Careless compositors are prone to huddle new types together, and,
grasping them up by handfuls, plunge them pell-mell into the box, rudely
jostling them about to crowd more in. This is an intolerable practice.
The type left over should be kept standing on galleys, in regular order,
till the cases need replenishment. A fount of five hundred pounds of Pica
may have, say, four cases allotted to it; the same amount of Nonpareil,
from eight to ten cases.
DISTRIBUTING.
When a learner can infallibly distinguish from each other the letters b
and q, d and p, n and u, and l and I, he may be allowed to distribute
type for himself.
The head of the page being turned toward him, the learner sets a
composing-rule behind the portion to be lifted, and then, placing his
thumbs against the rule and his forefingers against the top line, while
his remaining fingers press together both sides, he raises the matter
quickly. Then, inclining sidewise his right hand, he removes the left,
and allows the matter to balance momentarily in his right, while he
doubles in the third finger and stretches out the thumb of the left for
the reception of the matter, which he at once places in it, the rule
lying as a support on the third finger, while the thumb and other fingers
embrace the sides. He should take up but a few lines at a time, until he
acquires facility in lifting. Large handfuls should always be avoided, as
the weight is fatiguing and weakening to the wrist.
Keeping the handful in an inclined position, so that he may readily
read the lines, he takes up as many letters as he can conveniently hold
between his fingers,—an entire word, if practicable,—and drops the types
slantingly, but with face upward, into the several boxes.
The first aim of the learner must be accuracy, even though his progress
be slow. Correct distribution aids in clean composition. In time he will
be able to drop his types rapidly, with hardly a glance at the boxes;
and, while his fingers are flying about correctly and expeditiously, his
eyes will take in the next word to be distributed; thus proceeding till
the case is filled.
In distributing, the utmost care should be taken in placing the various
spaces in their appropriate boxes. A mixing of spaces characterizes the
botch.
The letter-board should always be kept clean, and the bottom as well as
the face of the form well washed before it is laid on the board and
unlocked; for, if any dirt remain in the type after the form is unlocked,
it will sink into the matter. This precaution taken, the pages should be
well opened, and the whole form washed till the water appears to run from
it in a clean state. If the form is very dirty, it is best to lock it up
again and rinse the bottom of it, and proceed as before.
It is sometimes necessary to dry the letter at the fire after
distributing. In this case, the type should not be used until it is
perfectly cold, as very pernicious effects arise from the antimony in
the composition of which the type is made. The noxious vapour which
arises is sufficient warning of the effects. The compositor ought always
to avoid it as a pestilence which will affect his respiration and his
sinews, inducing lung-complaints, and causing paralysis of the hand or
contraction of the fingers. Where it can be conveniently managed, it is
better to distribute at night, or before meals, so that the letter may
dry without artificial heat.
COMPOSING.
When copy is put into the hands of the compositor, he should receive
directions respecting the width and length of the page; whether it is
to be leaded, and with white lines between the breaks; and whether
any particular method is to be followed in the punctuation and in the
adoption of capitals. These instructions being given, the compositor
will make his measure to the number of ems directed, which is done by
laying them flatwise in the composing-stick, and then screwing it up
sufficiently tight to prevent the slide from moving. He then fits a
composing-rule to the measure, and, his case being supplied with letter,
he commences his work.
The left hand, which contains the composing-stick, should always follow
the right, which takes up the letters. If the left be kept stationary,
considerable time is lost in bringing each letter to the stick, because
the right hand has, consequently, to traverse a much greater space
than is necessary. The eye should always precede the hand, constantly
seeking for the next letter while the fingers are picking up one just
selected. Each letter should be taken up by the upper end. This method
will effectually prevent any false motion, and preclude the necessity
of turning the letter when in the hand. If possible, a sentence of the
copy should be taken at one time, and, while putting in the point and
quadrate at the end of the sentence, the eye may revert to the copy for
the next. It is to dexterity in these particulars that compositors are
indebted for swiftness. The time thus gained is very considerable, while
all appearance of bustle or fatigue is avoided. By taking a sentence into
the memory at one time, the connection of the subject is preserved, and
the punctuation rendered less difficult.
Those who are careful in distribution find the advantage of it in
composition. Foul or slovenly workmanship is disgraceful. To avoid this,
a compositor should accustom himself to glance over each line as he
justifies it, and correct any error as he proceeds, which he may do with
little impediment to his progress.
SPACING.
Uniformity in spacing is, unquestionably, a most important part of a
compositor’s occupation; this requires both care and judgment, and,
therefore, cannot be too strongly impressed upon the mind of the
beginner. Close spacing is as unworkmanlike as wide spacing, and neither
ought to be permitted except in very narrow measures; and, frequently,
even then with care it might partly be prevented. What is commonly called
the thick space is the proper separator between words; though this rule
cannot always be adhered to in narrow measures when large type is used.
It is not sufficient merely to have a line here and there uniformly
spaced: a careful compositor will give every page that uniformity of
appearance which is a chief excellency. The beginner should remember
that it is better to do little, and do that little _well_, than to put
together a great number of letters without any regard to accuracy and
uniformity.
Where a line is evenly spaced, and yet requires justification, the
additional space should be put between those words in the line where it
will be least observable: viz. a d and an h, being tall, perpendicular
letters, will admit an increase of space between them, but not more than
a middle and thin space to a thick-spaced line; and an additional space
may be placed after a kerned letter, the beak of which may bear upon the
top of an ascending letter,—as the f followed by h, &c.
The same rule should be observed where it is necessary to reduce the
spacing of a line, less space being required after a sloping letter
than after a perpendicular one. The comma requires only a thick space,
but the other points should have a hair space before and an en quadrate
after them, except the full-point, which should have an em quadrate,
as terminating a sentence. Should it be necessary to reduce the
spacing generally, the spaces after the points must be altered in the
same proportion. Spaces are cast to such regular gradations that the
compositor can urge no reasonable excuse either for bad justification or
improper spacing.
In matter to be stereotyped, a hair space should be placed after the
letter f and other kerned letters when they stand at the end of the line.
JUSTIFYING.
Accurate justification is absolutely essential, as the letters will be
warped sidewise in a loose line, making it impossible to get a fair
impression from the type. Besides, the letters are liable to be drawn
out by the suction of the rollers, to the detriment of the form and the
press. The instructor of an apprentice should occasionally pass his
finger along the side of matter set by him; and if the lines should not
prove evenly justified, they should be put into the composing-stick again
and properly corrected.
HEAD-LINES.
Head-lines are generally set in small capitals of the same fount, or in
Italic, and sometimes in capitals. Italic capitals of letter somewhat
smaller than the body of the work, with folios of a proportionate size,
have a neat appearance.
NOTES.
The usual rule for note-type is two sizes less than the text of the work:
thus, to Pica work, Long Primer; Small Pica, Bourgeois; Long Primer,
Brevier. Side-notes are usually smaller in proportion. When side-notes or
references drive down below the lines of the text to which they refer,
the expedient of cut-in notes must be resorted to. This is a difficult
part of a compositor’s business, and requires skill and patience to
adjust all parts, so that every line of note and text may have proper
and equal bearing. The reglet or lead between the lines of matter and
the side-note must be cut with as much nicety as possible to the length
of the text, as far as where the note is to run under; and, having
accurately adjusted, by means of the quotations and justifiers, the
situation of the first line of the note, such lead or reglet is added to
the text as will make it precisely correspond in depth with the lines of
note that stand on the side before turning: the remainder of the note is
then set in a long measure, to correspond in width with the text, reglet,
and side-note; and the page is made up with note, or the text begun again
after the note is finished. In Bibles with notes and annotations, in
law-books, and other works, it frequently happens that a page exhibits
several of these alternate frameworks of note and text, which, if done
well, display a workman’s skill to great advantage.
BLANKING.
If the work is very open, consisting of heads, whites, &c., the
compositor must be particularly attentive to their depth; so that though
the white may be composed of different-sized quadrates, yet their
ultimate depth must be equal to the regular body of the type the work
is done in; otherwise the register of the work will be incomplete. The
pressman cannot make the lines back if the compositor is not careful in
making up his matter.
PARAGRAPHS.
The first line of a new paragraph is indented an em quadrate, of whatever
type the work may be; though, when the measure is very wide, two or even
three ems are preferable. By this means the paragraph is more strongly
marked, the indention of an em only being scarcely perceptible in a long
line. Authors vary materially in the mode of making paragraphs. Some
carry the argument of a position to a great length before they relieve
the attention of the reader; while others break off at almost every
place that will admit only of a full-point. But the author’s plan is to
be followed, unless he direct otherwise. Authors should always make the
beginning of a new paragraph conspicuous to the compositor, by indenting
the first line of it far enough to distinguish it from the preceding line
in case it should be quite full.
It is a practice too prevalent among compositors to drive out a word
at the close of a paragraph, or even to divide it, in order to reap
the advantage of a break-line. Part of a word, or a complete word, in
a break-line, if it contain no more than three or four letters, is
improper. It should be the business of the proof-reader to notice and
check this irregularity.
The last line of a paragraph should not on any account begin a page,
neither should the first line of a paragraph come at the bottom of a page
if the work has white lines between the breaks: to prevent this, the
compositor may make his page either long or short, as most convenient,
always taking care that the odd and even pages back, so that the extra
length or shortness of the page may escape observation.
INDEXES.
The index is generally placed at the end of the volume, and set in letter
two sizes less than that of the work. It is always begun upon an uneven
page. In setting an index, the subject-line should not be indented; but,
if the article make more than one line, all but the first should be
indented an em.
In preparing the copy of an index, care should be taken that the
subject-words are arranged alphabetically, as the compositor will not
transpose his matter afterward without remuneration.
Where several index-figures are used in succession, a comma is put after
each folio; but, to save figures and commas, the succession of the former
is noted by putting a dash between the first and last figures: thus,
4-8. Again, if an article has been collected from two pages, the folio
of the second is supplied by _sq._, or _sequente_, and by _sqq._, or
_sequientibus_, when an article is touched upon in succeeding pages. A
full-point is not put after the last figures, because it is thought that
their standing at the end of the line is a sufficient stop. Neither is
a comma or a full-point placed to the last word of an article in a wide
measure and open matter with leaders; but it is proper to use a comma at
the end of every article where the figures are put close to the matter,
instead of running them to the end of the line.
TITLES.
Ornamental type may be used to good purpose in fancy jobs, and without
violating any of the canons of a correct taste. The universal eye is
pleased with ornament; and it is well to foster this fancy, just as we
cultivate a poetical feeling, or a passion for music, or flowers, or any
beautiful thing that God has made. But, as life should not be all music,
or flowers, or poetry, so printing should not be all ornament. And as
men whom nature puts in the fore-front of all other men are noted for a
becoming simplicity of life and style, so the title-page that heralds
all the inner pages of a book should be printed in a style of elegance
severe and unadorned: no fancy type, except a line of Scribe Text, or
Old English,—no italics, unless perchance a single-line motto in Pearl
caps,—no bold-face type, nor Antique, nor Gothic,—but plain, clear,
light-faced letters that seem the embodiment of the soul of thought.
All experienced printers incline to this simple style; but publishers
sometimes interfere with this province of art legitimate only to a
typographer, and insist on the indulgence of a taste which certainly
owes no allegiance to any of the laws of beauty; and the printer or
stereotyper who executes the book receives credit for a title-page which
he would fain utterly repudiate.
We add a few hints which may assist the learner. 1st. Having divided
the title into lines, and decided upon the size of type suitable for
the principal one, begin by composing those of the second and third
class, both in ascending and descending order. 2d. Avoid having two
lines of equal length to follow or come in contact with each other. 3d.
Catch-words should be set on quite a reduced scale, and proportioned
according to the strength of the preceding and succeeding lines; for bold
catch-words detract from the general effect of the title. 4th. Close
attention should be given to those title-pages which are acknowledged to
be displayed with true taste and judgment.
Authors should endeavour to make their title-pages as concise as
possible; for a crowded title can never be displayed with elegance or
taste.
DEDICATIONS.
The dedication generally follows the title, and seldom exceeds one page.
It should be set in capitals and small capitals, neatly displayed. The
name of the person to whom the work is dedicated should always be in
capitals, and the terms, Your very humble and very obedient, &c., should
be in a smaller type, and the signature or name of the author in capitals
of a smaller size than that in which the name of the personage is printed
to whom the book is dedicated.
CONTENTS.
The contents follow the preface or introduction, and may be set either
in Roman or Italic, generally two sizes smaller than the body of the
work; the first line of each summary full, and the rest indented an
em quadrate, with the referring figures justified at the ends of the
respective lines.
PREFACES.
Formerly, the preface was uniformly set in Italic; at present Roman is
used, one size larger or smaller than the body of the work. The running
title to the preface is commonly set in the same manner as that of the
body of the work. If the work has been printed without a running title,
and paged in the centre of the line only, then the preface should be
treated in like manner.
SIGNATURING.
The title, preface, &c. of a volume are commonly left till the body of
the work is finished, as circumstances may arise in the course of its
progress through the press which will induce the author to alter his
original preface, date, &c., or the work may conclude in such a manner
as to admit of their being brought in at the end, in order to fill out
a sheet, and thus save both paper and press-work. For this reason, it
is well to begin the first sheet of every work with signature B (or 2),
leaving A (or 1) for the title-sheet.
It was formerly the custom to omit the letters J, V, and W in the list of
signatures. But the greater convenience attending the use of twenty-five
letters has recently induced several of our largest establishments to
omit the letter J only.
ERRATA.
The errata are put immediately before the body of the work, or at the end
of it. They should consist only of such corrections as are _indispensably
necessary_, without noticing any defects in the punctuation, unless where
the sense is perverted. It is strongly to be wished that works could
be produced perfectly free from errors; but this is almost a vain hope
while imperfection clings to humanity, and while every form is exposed to
accident and every additional proof may be productive of fresh error.
HINTS HONOURED IN THE BREACH.
When you lay a fount of new type, don’t open the papers carefully, and
place the lines evenly with a brass rule in the cases, nick up; but show
your skill by tumbling over each package rapidly, and bringing it down
with a rush on the imposing-stone; then, roughly throwing the a’s into
a chaotic pile, grab them up by handfuls and work them well down in the
appropriate box. The harder you jostle them down, the more you will
get in. Proceed thus with each letter; and, if the operation has been
vigorously performed, the value of the fount will have been reduced, say
ten per cent.
2. While you set out one case, let your galley lie on the overheaped type
of another case.
3. If a line is rather too tight to permit the last letter to get in
easily, push it down hard with your rule or a quadrate. The type may be
injured; but why didn’t it fit in just right at first?
4. Empty your matter at a gentle inclination on the galley, and make it
up at the same angle. You can bring it right afterward—perhaps—by the
energetic application of mallet, shooting-stick, and planer.
5. When the case is half set out, shake up the type energetically, and do
so very often. The exercise will strengthen your muscles.
6. Don’t brush off the stone before you lay the matter down. If any sand
happens to get under, the type will show its impression beautifully deep
and clear on the face of the planer,—perhaps a whole word or two.
7. Don’t plane till the form is locked up, as thus you save the trouble
of the first planing. But, now that you do plane, hammer away, and show
your musical ability in playing a tattoo on the form. Don’t lay the
planer tenderly and lovingly on the types, as if you were afraid to hurt
their feelings, and gently tap it; but hold it off about a quarter or
three-eighths of an inch, and then bring down the mallet with a will.
Phew! how the planer will descend obedient to the stroke, and rebound
again, and perhaps again. If the form is not smooth on the surface now,
it is not your fault. Repeat this each time when the form is locked up,
till it goes to press; and you may depend on it the impression will gain
in boldness, if not in looks.
8. When correcting your numerous errors, don’t trouble yourself to lift
the lines carefully at the ends, but dig right into the head of the
erring letter, and, resting your bodkin on the type below it, pry up the
sinner: it does not matter if you demolish two or three types in the
under line.
9. Wash your form energetically, and apply the ley bountifully with a
good stiff wiry brush. Never mind rinsing: clean type is an old-fogy
notion.
10. When the type is out of use, let it lie around promiscuously,—on a
table, or board, or any place where it will be occasionally convenient
to lay on it a mallet or tin basin. If one strip of matter is placed on
another, room will be economized. Moreover, the under layers will be safe
from dust.
11 (comprehensively). Do every thing in a loose way generally, letting
matters go as they list, throwing your pi into spare boxes or secretly
placing it on the letter-table or some out-of-the-way place, stealing
sorts from your neighbour, overcharging time-work and extras, fishing for
fat takes, &c.
12. If you observe these things faithfully and constantly, and your
employer does not kick you out of his office, why—you do not get your
deserts.
TO THE APPRENTICE.
Aspiring apprentice, a word or two in your ear. If you desire success
in any matter pertaining to this life or the coming, you must have a
purpose,—a determination that, God helping you, you _will_ achieve
success. You may be poor, friendless, unknown,—your clothing scant, your
stomach half filled,—your place may be at the foot of the ladder: no
matter. Whatever your position may be, do your duty in it, stoutly and
perseveringly, with your eye fixed far ahead and upward.
Keeping the purpose before you that you _will_ rise, be obedient to
your employer, attentive to your business, obliging to your shopmates,
and courteous to strangers; and seize every opportunity to improve
your heart, your mind, and your workmanship. Do every thing well,—no
slighting, no hiding defects, aiming always at perfection. Watch
those who are skilful, and strive to equal and excel them. Secure the
friendship of all by deserving it. Allow no opportunity of rendering a
service to pass without improving it, even if it cost you some labour
and self-denial. Be of use to others, even if in a small way; for a time
may come when they may be of service to you. A selfish man may get ahead
faster than you; but selfishness is contemptible,—and you need not envy
his success: when you achieve your object nobly, you will enjoy it, and
be respected.
Always bear in mind that _character is capital_. To gain this, you must
be so scrupulously honest that you would be as willing to put live coals
in your pocket as a penny that is not yours. Never run in debt: do
without what you cannot at once pay for, even though you should suffer
somewhat. No matter what the amount of your earnings may be, save a
portion every week, and invest it in a savings-bank of good standing: it
will grow, and will stand you in good stead some day. Better temporary
abstinence and constant plenty afterward, than unearned present comfort
and future perpetual want. Never lie, openly or covertly, by word or
action. A liar may deceive his fellows,—God and himself never. Conscious
of falsity, a liar can have no self-respect; without self-respect,
reputation cannot be achieved.
With a noble purpose as the end of all your actions, and with actions
becoming your purpose, your success is merely a question of time,—always
provided you have some brain and abundant common sense.
TO BEGINNERS.
Sanguine beginners sometimes fail in their attempts to establish
themselves in business; and in many cases are disposed to lay the blame
on every thing and on everybody except themselves. So we here give some
rules—(in an ironical way, to make them stick in the memory)—
HOW NOT TO SUCCEED.
1. Get from your father, uncle, aunt, grandmother, or somebody, four
or five thousand dollars. You need not give notes or any written
obligations, as they may prove troublesome some day.
2. Rent a comfortable room somewhere, no matter whether in a business
centre or not, but let it be showy and pleasant.
3. Spend one-fourth of your capital in furnishing the room with matters
of personal comfort. Provide an elegant desk, a luxurious lounge, and
a pivot-chair: why shouldn’t the master of a printing office “take it
easy”? Have a closet in your desk, it is so handy for your whisky-bottle
and cigar-boxes.
4. Get all you can from the type-founder, press-maker, and
paper-manufacturers. If they will give you credit for one-half of
what you buy, well and good: if they trust you for the whole amount,
all the better for you, and the more money you will have on hand for
jollifications.
5. Put up your sign—a handsome one—
B. Sipwell Lovepunch,
Printer.
and signalize its erection by keeping “open house” for all comers between
11 A.M. and midnight. The mothers and wives of all who become tight and
go home loose will long remember your public spirit.
6. Be at your office by nine in summer and ten in winter; and, following
Charles Lamb’s witticism, _that he who goes to work late should quit
early_, you need not return after dinner. Let your foreman attend to the
business: isn’t he paid for it?
7. When you do go into your office, curse and grumble promiscuously, and
be sure to swear at the apprentices, to show your spirit, and to let them
know that you are master. Be careful never to praise them or any of the
hands, or they may think they are worth higher wages.
8. Take work at any price that will keep it from a competitor, no matter
whether it pays or not. Perhaps you can save something by giving short
numbers, counting in imperfect copies, using very common ink, &c. The
style is of no consequence: you want to make money if you can, let others
improve the typographical art if they choose.
9. Cultivate the acquaintance of fancy folk, politicians, and wit-livers.
A fast horse or two wouldn’t be a bad thing to bind their friendship;
and, besides, you will never be at a loss for a companion in your rides.
10. If you want new type, and the founder who made your outfit won’t
sell to you unless you pay off the old score, transfer your patronage to
another foundry. How can you expect to get along if you pay your debts?
Such a course would compel you to sell your horse and to taboo rum-shops
and gay saloons, and to live economically; and this, you know, wouldn’t
do at all.
11. Get out a newspaper, and advocate the principles of the strongest
party, swearing thick and thin through every thing. You need not bother
yourself about writing original matter; crib wherever you can. There are
plenty of fellows who want office,—lawyers particularly,—and they will
write slang enough to fill your columns. You might quietly levy a little
black-mail or hush-money from neighbours guilty of indiscretions: dirty
money will buy as much as clean.
12. You needn’t marry, unless some fond rich girl should happen to fancy
a fool. You know, you need not trouble yourself much about her after you
have secured her money: let her father look after her welfare. If she
dies broken-hearted, why—she ought not to have been so sensitive.
13. You may be troubled occasionally by a qualm of conscience; but this
can be settled by a dram or two. After a few doses, conscience will go to
sleep, and trouble you no more, unless you should happen to see a Bible
or hear a sermon, which as a matter of course you will try to avoid. It
is true, wreck and ruin will be sure to overtake you, and the devil will
catch you at last; but why worry yourself before the time?
[Illustration]
IMPOSING, OR PREPARING FOR PRESS.
IMPOSITION
[Illustration]
Comprehends a knowledge of placing the pages so that they may regularly
follow each other when printed and the sheet is folded up; and also the
mode of dressing chases and the manner of making the proper margin. As
many pages as are required for a whole or half sheet being made up, the
compositor lays them upon the imposing-stone, placing the first page with
the signature to the left hand facing him, and then proceeds according
to one of the schemes on pp. 150-199. These will be found to contain
every necessary imposition,—viz. folios, quartos, octavos, twelves,
sixteens, eighteens, twenties, twenty-fours, thirty-twos, thirty-sixes,
forties, forty-eights, sixty-fours, seventy-twos, ninety-sixes, and one
hundred and twenty-eights. We also introduce schemes for imposing from
the centre, by which means the blank or open pages may be thrown in
the centre of the form, leaving the solid pages on the outside to act
as bearers for the rollers, as well as for the better regulation of the
impression.
All odd matter, for any form, should be divided into fours, eights,
twelves, and sixteens, which is the groundwork of all the impositions
except the eighteens, which differ from all the others; for instance,
sixteens, twenty-fours, and thirty-twos are only octavos and twelves
doubled, or twice doubled, and imposed in half sheets: for example, the
sixteens are two octavos imposed on one side of the short cross; the
twenty-fours are two twelves imposed on each side of the long cross; and
a thirty-two is four octavos imposed in each quarter of the chase. Thus,
a sheet may be repeatedly doubled. By this division, any form or sheet
may be imposed, always bearing in mind that the first page of each class
must stand to the left hand, with the foot of the page toward you. Having
set down the first page, then trace the remainder according to the scheme
which applies to its number; in proof of which, the standard rule for all
other impositions may be adopted,—namely, _the folios of two pages, if
placed properly beside each other, will when added together make one more
than the number of pages in the sheet_; that is, in a sheet of sixteens,
pages 1 and 16 coming together will add up 17, and so 9 and 8 will make
17, &c.
In half sheets, all the pages belonging to the white paper, and
reiteration, are imposed in one chase. So that when a sheet of paper is
printed on both sides with the same form, that sheet is cut in two in
the short cross if quarto or octavo, and in the short and long cross of
twelves, and folded as octavo or twelves.
TYING UP PAGES.
In tying up a page, use fine twine, winding it four or five times round
it, and fastening at the right-hand corner, by thrusting a noose of it
between the several turnings and the matter with the rule, and drawing it
perfectly tight, taking care always to keep the end of the cord on the
face of the page. While tying it, keep the forefinger of the left hand
tight on the corner, to prevent the page from being drawn aside.
The twine being fastened, the compositor removes the page from the ledges
of the galley, to see if the turns of cord lie about the middle of the
shank of the letter; if they lie too high,—as most commonly they do,—he
thrusts them lower; and if the page be not too broad, he places the fore
and middle finger of his right hand on the off side of the head of the
page, and his thumb on the near; then, bending his other fingers under,
he presses them firmly against the head of the page; he next places the
fingers of his left hand in the same position at the foot of the page,
and, raising it upright, lays it on a page-paper; then, with his right
hand he grasps the sides of the page and the paper, which turns up
against the sides of the page, and sets it in a convenient spot under his
frame, placing it on the left hand, with the foot toward him, that the
other pages that are in like manner set down afterward may stand by it in
an orderly succession until he comes to impose them.
If the page be a quarto, folio, or broadside, it is, of course, too
wide for his grasp; and he therefore carries the galley and page to the
imposing-stone, and turns the handle of the galley toward him, and,
taking hold of the handle with his right hand, he places the ball of
the thumb of his left hand against the inside of the head ledge of the
galley, to hold it and keep it steady, and by the handle draws the slice
with the page upon it out of the galley, letting the slice rest upon the
imposing-stone; he then thrusts the head end of the slice so far upon it,
that the foot of the page may stand an inch or two within the outer edge
of the stone, and, placing his left hand against the foot of the page, he
quickly draws the slice from under the bottom of the page.
LAYING PAGES.
In taking up his pages for imposition, the compositor tightly grasps the
paper on both sides of the page, in order that it may be kept firm to the
bottom of the page; for if it be left slack, the letters will be liable
to slip out, unless it be particularly well tied up. Having conveyed it
to the stone, he next places the last two fingers of his right hand under
the head of the page, but not under the page-paper at the head of it,
still grasping the sides with his forefingers and thumb; he then slips
his left hand so that the palm of it may turn toward the bottom, and,
lifting the page upright on his right hand, with the left he removes the
paper; he next grasps again the foot-end of the page with his left hand,
in the same manner as the right holds the head of it, and, turning the
face of the type toward him, lays it squarely and quickly down, so that
the whole page may come in contact with the face of the stone at the same
time.
As this method, in inexperienced or careless hands, would frequently
endanger a page containing intricate matter, it will be safer to place
the pages at first on good, strong, but not coarse and rough papers, and,
when they are brought to the stone, instead of lifting them up as just
noticed, slide them off the papers in the same manner as before directed
respecting a folio page on the slice galley, being careful that no
particles of dirt remain under the page.
MAKING UP FURNITURE.
Having ascertained that his pages are laid down right, the compositor
proceeds to dress the chases, which we will suppose to be for a sheet of
octavo. Accordingly he selects a good pair of chases that are fellows in
all respects; and, having laid them over the pages for the two different
forms, he puts such gutter-sticks between page and page, and such reglets
along the sides of the two crosses, as will give the book proper margins
after it is bound.
To ascertain the proper distance, and to prevent wastage of furniture, he
takes short pieces of furniture, or quotations, and quadrates or reglets,
to fit the space between two pages; then, pushing the pages close to
them, he finds the exact width of the furniture necessary, by trying the
ends of various pieces, always measuring from the edge of the lines of
type above the page-cords.
By observing a proper method in cutting up new furniture, the same
will be serviceable for other works as well as the one for which it is
intended, even though the size of the page may differ, provided it agrees
with the margin of the paper. The gutters should be cut two or three
lines longer than the page; the head-sticks wider; the back furniture may
run nearly down to the rim of the chase, but must be level with the top
of the page, which will admit of the inner head-stick running in; the
difference of the outer head-stick may go over the side-stick, and the
gutter will then run up between them. The side-stick only need to be cut
exact, and the furniture will completely justify.
Wood and metal furniture, cut or cast to specific lengths and widths,
may now be had from the type-founders, the use of which will save time,
waste, and labour.
MAKING THE MARGIN.
The next business is to arrange the margin, so that each page may occupy
one side of a leaf, and have the proper proportion of white paper left at
the sides as well as at the head and foot. The page when printed should
be a little higher than the middle of the leaf, and _have a little more
margin on the outside than in the back_. This rule is often neglected by
careless or ignorant printers, and the appearance of the book when bound
is repulsive to the eye of taste.
One mode of making margin is the following:—For octavos, measure and
mark the width of four pages by compasses, on a sheet of paper designed
for the work, beginning to measure at one extremity of the breadth of
the sheet. The rest of the paper divide into four equal parts, allowing
two-fourths for the width of two separate gutter-sticks; the remaining
two-fourths divide again into four equal parts, and allow one-fourth for
the margin along each side of the short cross, and one-fourth for the
margin to each outside page. But as the thickness of the short cross adds
considerably to the margin, reduce the furniture in the back accordingly,
and thereby enlarge the outside margin, which requires the greatest share
to allow for the unevenness of the paper itself, as well as for pressmen
laying sheets unevenly when the fault is not in the paper. Having thus
made the margin between the pages to the breadth of the paper, in
the same manner proportion the margin at the head to the length, and
accordingly measure and mark the length of two pages, dividing the rest
into four parts, one-fourth of which is allowed for each side of the long
cross, and one-fourth for the margin that runs along the foot of the
two ranges of pages. The furniture on both sides of the long one must
be lessened to enlarge the bottom margin, for the reason assigned for
extending the side margin.
Go the same way to work in twelves, where, for the outer margin along
the foot of the pages, allow the amount of two-thirds of the breadth of
the head-sticks, and the same for the inner margin, that reaches from
the foot of the fifth page to the centre of the groove for the points;
and from the centre of that groove to the pages of the quire, or the cut
off, allow half of the breadth of the head-stick. The margin along the
long cross is governed by the gutter-sticks; and it is common to put as
much on each side of the long cross as amounts to half the breadth of
the gutter-stick, without deducting almost any thing for the long cross,
since that makes allowance for the inequality of the outer margin.
Another plan, more simple, is the following:—Having laid the pages as
nearly as possible in their proper places on the stone, with a suitable
chase around them, fold a sheet of paper which has been wetted for
the work, or one of the same size, into as many portions as there are
pages in the form, and, holding the sheet thus folded on the first or
left-hand page of the form, one edge even with the left-hand side of the
type, place the adjoining page so that its left side may be even with
the right-hand edge of the folded paper, which will leave a sufficient
space between the two pages to admit the gutter-stick, which should then
be selected of a proper width to suit the form in hand, as follows:—In
octavos, about a Great Primer less in width than the space between the
pages, as determined by the above rule; in duodecimos, about a Pica
less; in sixteens, about a Long Primer; and proportionably less as the
number of pages are increased. Having thus secured the proper width for
the gutter-sticks, cut them somewhat longer than the page, and holding
one of them between the two pages, above the page-cord, close the pages
up to it; then open the folded sheet so as to cover the two pages, and,
bringing the fold in the paper exactly in the middle of the gutter-stick,
secure it there with the point of a pen-knife or bodkin; the right-hand
edge of the paper thus opened must be brought to the centre of the
cross-bar, which determines the furniture required between it and the
pages. Having thus arranged the margins for the back and fore edge of the
book, proceed in like manner to regulate the head and foot margins, by
bringing the near edge of the folded paper even with the bottom of the
first page, and so placing the adjoining off page that its head may be
barely covered by the off edge of the folded paper, which will give the
required head margin. All other sections of the form must be regulated by
the foregoing measurements, when the margins for the whole sheet will be
found correct.
The greater the number of pages in a sheet, the smaller in proportion
should the margin be: the folded paper, therefore, should lie
proportionally less over the edge of the adjoining page, both for gutter
and back, in a form of small pages than in one of larger dimensions. A
folio may require the page to be half an inch nearer the back than the
fore-edge; while a duodecimo may not require more than a Pica em.
In imposing jobs where two or more of the same size, requiring equal
margins, are to be worked together, fold the paper to the size
appropriate for each, and so arrange the type that the distance from the
left side of one page to the left side of the adjoining one shall be
exactly equal to the width of the folded paper, as before described.
Having dressed the inside of the pages, next place side- and foot-sticks
to their outsides; being thus secured by the furniture, untie the pages,
quarter after quarter, the inner page first, and then the outer, at
the same time forcing the letter toward the crosses, and using every
precaution to prevent the pages from hanging or leaning; and, in order
to guard against accidents, when the quarter is untied, secure it with a
couple of quoins.
LOCKING UP FORMS.
First, carefully examine whether the pages of each quarter are of the
same length; for even the difference of a lead will cause them to hang.
Test their exactness: place the ball of each thumb against the centre of
the foot-stick, raising it a little with the pressure, and, if the ends
of both pages rise equally with the stick, it is a proof they will not
bind; then fit quoins between the side and foot-stick of each quarter and
the chase. After pushing the quoins as far as possible with the fingers,
make use of the mallet and shooting-stick, and gently drive the quoins
along the foot-sticks first, and then those along the side-sticks, taking
care to use an equal force in the strokes, and to drive the quoins far
enough up the shoulders of the side- and foot-sticks, that the letter
may neither belly out nor hang, and the lines be kept straight and even.
Quoins should be slanted on one side only, but the edges should not be
bevelled. The several quarters of a form should be partially tightened
before either quarter is finally locked up; otherwise the cross-bar may
be sprung.
Before locking up the form, plane the pages gently over all the face. If
this be properly done, a second planing is hardly necessary, provided the
justification is perfect and the pages are all of the same length. But,
as this is seldom the case, the second planing can hardly be dispensed
with.
It often occurs that the quoins, when locked up wet, stick so tight to
the furniture as to render it troublesome to unlock them: in such cases,
drive the quoin up a little, and it afterward unlocks with ease.
Before lifting a form after it is locked up, raise it gently a short
distance, and look under it, to ascertain whether any types are disposed
to drop out. If all is right, carry it to the proof-press, and pull a
good proof. Then rub it over gently with a ley-brush, rinse it well,
and place it in a rack, and deliver the proof, with the copy, to the
proof-reader.
MEMORANDA.
Each part of the furniture should be in one piece where it is
practicable,—as, for instance, the gutters, the backs, and the heads;
but sometimes pieces will be wanted of a width that is not equal to any
regular size, and then two must be used.
All the gutters of one sheet should be cut of a precise length; so also
with the backs and the heads; but each sort should be of a different
length from that of the others: thus they can be easily distinguished
from each other, and mistakes be prevented.
The sheet being imposed, the stone should be cleared; the saw and
saw-block put in their places, the shears, the mallet, planer, and
shooting-stick, the surplus furniture, the leads, the quoins, and every
other article. The compositor will tie up his page-cords, and, if he has
any companions, will return to them their proportion.
The chase and furniture of one form should always be used for a similar
form; that is, the chase and furniture of the outer form should be again
used for an outer form, and the chase and furniture of the inner form
should be again used for an inner form; they should also be put round
the pages in the same order in which they were put about those of the
preceding forms. For want of care or thought in these apparently trifling
circumstances, trouble, inconvenience, and loss of time frequently occur;
for the register will be almost sure to be wrong when this is neglected,
and then the forms must be unlocked and the leads changed, to correct the
fault.
_Before the form is printed, a proof should be taken and the sheet
folded, to make sure of the correctness of the imposition._
The preceding rules and directions were intended for type-forms, and
were formerly of universal necessity. Now most books are printed from
stereotyped or electrotyped plates. The same instructions, however, are
generally as applicable to plate as to type pages.
NOMENCLATURE OF SHEETS.
When a sheet of paper of Medium or larger size is folded in two leaves,
like most newspapers, it is called a _folio_; when folded in four leaves,
it is named a _quarto_ or _4to_; when folded in eight leaves, an _octavo_
or _8vo_; in twelve leaves, a _duodecimo_ or _12mo_; in sixteen leaves,
_sextodecimo_ or _16mo_; in eighteen leaves, _octodecimo_ or _18mo_; in
twenty-four leaves, _vigesimo-quarto_, or _24mo_, and so on. The Latin
names beyond _duodecimo_ are seldom used.
[Illustration]
[Illustration: Abstract Title-Deeds of Estates.
Abstract Title-Deeds of Estates are printed with blanks at
the back, with all the margin on the left side, and on single
leaves, which are stitched together at the corner.
This method of imposing the form is to save presswork and the
compositor’s charge.]
[Illustration: A Single Sheet of Folio.]
[Illustration: Two Sheets of Folio, Quired, or lying one in another.
_=Outer Form of the Outer Sheet.=_
_=Outer Form of the Inner Sheet.=_
Imposing in quires may be carried to any extent, by observing the
following rule:—first ascertain the number of pages, then divide them
into so many sheets of folio, and commence laying down the first two
and last two, which form the first sheet, and so on to the centre one,
always remembering that the odd pages stand on the left and the even on
the right; the folios of each two forming one more than the number of
pages in the work: for example, let us suppose the work to consist of
thirty-six pages, which is nine sheets of folio, then they should be laid
down according to the scheme at the foot of the opposite page.]
[Illustration: Two Sheets of Folio, Quired, or lying one in another.
_=Inner Form of the Outer Sheet.=_
_=Inner Form of the Inner Sheet.=_
Outer. Inner. Sheet.
1 36 35 2, _1st_
3 34 33 4, _2d_
5 32 31 6, _3d_
7 30 29 8, _4th_
9 28 27 10, _5th_
11 26 25 12, _6th_
13 24 23 14, _7th_
15 22 21 16, _8th_
17 20 19 18, _9th_
The furniture must be reduced in the backs of the inner sheets, to allow
for stitching.]
[Illustration: A Sheet of Common Quarto.
_=Outer Form.=_]
[Illustration: A Sheet of Quarto, the Broad Way, commonly used in Works
of Music.
_=Outer Form.=_]
[Illustration: A Sheet of Common Quarto.
_=Inner Form.=_]
[Illustration: A Sheet of Quarto, the Broad Way, commonly used in Works
of Music.
_=Inner Form.=_]
[Illustration: Two Half-Sheets of Quarto, worked together.
_=Outer Form.=_]
[Illustration: Half a Sheet of Common Quarto.]
[Illustration: Two Half-Sheets of Quarto, worked together.
_=Inner Form.=_]
[Illustration: Half a Sheet of Quarto, the Broad Way.]
[Illustration: Outer Form of a Sheet of Common Octavo.]
[Illustration: Outer Form of a Sheet of Octavo, the Broad Way.]
[Illustration: Inner Form of a Sheet of Common Octavo.]
[Illustration: Inner Form of a Sheet of Octavo, the Broad Way.]
[Illustration: Outer Form of Two Half-Sheets of Common Octavo, worked
together.]
[Illustration: Half a Sheet of Common Octavo.]
[Illustration: Inner Form of Two Half-Sheets of Common Octavo, worked
together.]
[Illustration: Two Quarters of a Sheet of Octavo, worked together.]
[Illustration: Outer Form of a Sheet of Octavo, 12 of the Work, and 4 of
other Matter.]
[Illustration: Outer Form of a Sheet of Octavo, of Hebrew Work.]
[Illustration: Inner Form of a Sheet of Octavo, 12 of the Work, and 4 of
other Matter.]
[Illustration: Inner Form of a Sheet of Octavo, of Hebrew Work.]
[Illustration: Outer Form of a Sheet of Octavo, Imposed from the Centre.]
[Illustration: A Half-Sheet of Octavo, Imposed from the Centre.]
[Illustration: Inner Form of a Sheet of Octavo, Imposed from the Centre.]
[Illustration: Two Quarters of a Sheet of Octavo, Imposed from the
Centre.]
[Illustration: Outer Form of a Sheet of Twelves.]
[Illustration: Inner Form of a Sheet of Twelves.]
[Illustration: A Sheet of Twelves, without cutting.
_=Outer Form.=_
_=Inner Form.=_]
[Illustration: A Sheet of Twelves, with Two Signatures.
_=Outer Form.=_
_=Inner Form.=_]
[Illustration: A Common Half-Sheet of Twelves.]
[Illustration: Half-Sheet of Twelves, without cutting.]
[Illustration: Different Methods of Imposing Half-Sheets of Twelves, from
the Centre.]
[Illustration: A Sheet of Twelves, Imposed from the Centre.]
[Illustration: Outer Form of a Sheet of Long Twelves.]
[Illustration: One-third, or 8 pages, of a Sheet of Twelves.
To be imposed as a slip, or in the off-cross.
_=Outer Form.=_]
[Illustration: Inner Form of a Sheet of Long Twelves.]
[Illustration: One-third, or 8 pages, of a Sheet of Twelves.
To be imposed as a slip, or in the off-cross.
_=Inner Form.=_]
[Illustration: Two Half-Sheets of Twelves, worked together.
_=Outer Form.=_
_=Inner Form.=_]
[Illustration: Half-Sheet of Twelves, with 2 Signatures. 4 pages of other
matter.]
[Illustration: A Half-Sheet of Sixteens.]
[Illustration: A Sheet of Sixteens, with One Signature.
_=Outer Form.=_
_=Inner Form.=_]
[Illustration: A Half-Sheet of Eighteens.
Containing 16 pages.
The white paper of this half-sheet being worked off, the centre
pages must be transposed,—viz. pages 7 and 10 in the room of 9 and
8, and pages 9 and 8 in the place of 7 and 10: when this is done,
your imposition will be true.]
[Illustration: A Half-Sheet of Eighteens.
When the white paper is worked off, transpose the form,—viz. pages
11 and 8 in the room of 7 and 12, and pages 7 and 12 in the place
of 11 and 8: this being done, the sheet will then fold up right.]
[Illustration: Outer Form of a Sheet of Eighteens, to be folded
together.]
[Illustration: Outer Form of a Sheet of Eighteens, with One Signature.]
[Illustration: Inner Form of a Sheet of Eighteens, to be folded
together.]
[Illustration: Inner Form of a Sheet of Eighteens, with One Signature.]
[Illustration: Outer Form of a Sheet of Eighteens, with Two Signatures.]
[Illustration: Outer Form of a Sheet of Eighteens, with Three Signatures.]
[Illustration: Inner Form of a Sheet of Eighteens, with Two Signatures.]
[Illustration: Inner Form of a Sheet of Eighteens, with Three Signatures.]
[Illustration: A Half-Sheet of Eighteens, without Transposition.
This mode of imposition is very objectionable, as there will be,
when the paper is cut up, three single leaves.]
[Illustration: A Half-Sheet of Twenties, with Two Signatures.]
[Illustration: Inner Form of a Sheet of Twenties.]
[Illustration: Outer Form of a Sheet of Twenties.]
[Illustration: A Half-Sheet of Twenty-Fours.]
[Illustration: Outer Form of a Sheet of Twenty-Fours, with Two
Signatures.]
[Illustration: A Half-Sheet of Twenty-Fours, the Sixteen-way.]
[Illustration: Inner Form of a Sheet of Twenty-Fours, with Two
Signatures.]
[Illustration: A Half-Sheet of Twenty-Fours, without Inset.]
[Illustration: A Half-Sheet of Twenty-Fours, without Inset.]
[Illustration: A Half-Sheet of Twenty-Fours, without Cutting.]
[Illustration: A Half-Sheet of Thirty-Twos.]
[Illustration: Outer Form of a Sheet of Thirty-Twos.]
[Illustration: Outer Form of a Sheet of Thirty-Twos, with Four
Signatures.]
[Illustration: Inner Form of a Sheet of Thirty-Twos.]
[Illustration: Inner Form of a Sheet of Thirty-Twos, with Four
Signatures.]
[Illustration: A Half-Sheet of Thirty-Twos, with Two Signatures.]
[Illustration: A Half-Sheet of Thirty-Twos, 20 pages of the Work, 4 pages
of Title, &c., and 8 of other Matter.]
[Illustration: A Half-Sheet of Thirty-Sixes.]
[Illustration: A Half-Sheet of Thirty-Sixes, without Cutting.]
[Illustration: A Half-Sheet of Thirty-Sixes, with Two Signatures.]
[Illustration: A Half-Sheet of Forties.]
[Illustration: A Quarter-Sheet of Forty-Eights, with Two Signatures.]
[Illustration: A Half-Sheet of Forty-Eights, with Two Signatures.]
[Illustration: A Quarter-Sheet of Forty-Eights, without Cutting.]
[Illustration: A Half-Sheet of Forty-Eights, with Three Signatures.]
[Illustration: A Common Quarter-Sheet of Forty-Eights.]
[Illustration: A Quarter-Sheet of Sixty-Fours, with Two Signatures.]
[Illustration: A Common Quarter-Sheet of Sixty-Fours.]
[Illustration: A Quarter-Sheet of Sixty-Fours, 20 pages of the Work, 8 of
Title, and 4 of other Matter.]
[Illustration: A Half-Sheet of Sixty-Fours.]
[Illustration: A Half-Sheet of Seventy-Twos, with Three Signatures.]
[Illustration: A Half-Sheet of Ninety-Sixes, with Six Signatures.]
[Illustration: A Half-Sheet of One Hundred and Twenty-Eights, with Eight
Signatures.]
[Illustration]
PROOF-READING AND CORRECTING.
PROOF-READING.
[Illustration]
Undeniable as is the fact that a book marred by typographical errors and
grammatical blemishes is a scandal to the profession, it must be admitted
that a careful, steady, and competent reader is indispensable in every
printing-office.
It is eminently desirable that a reader should have been previously
brought up a compositor. By a practical acquaintance with the mechanical
departments of the business, he will be better able to detect those
manifold errata which, unperceived by the man of mere learning and
science, lie lurking, as it were, in a thousand different forms, in every
sheet; and which, if overlooked, justly offend the taste and discernment
of all appreciators of correct and beautiful typography.
Some of the principal imperfections which are more easily observed by
the man of practical knowledge in the art of printing are the following:
viz. imperfect, wrong-founted, and inverted letters, particularly the
lower-case n, o, s, and u, as well as p, d, b, and q; awkward and
irregular spacing; uneven pages or columns; a false disposition of
the reference marks; crookedness in words and lines; bad making-up
of matter; erroneous indention, &c. These minutiæ, which are rather
imperfections of workmanship than literal errors, are apt to be
overlooked and neglected by mere literary readers.
A person of a thoroughly cultivated typographical taste, a quick eye,
and a ready mind, though not a compositor, may doubtless be competent to
detect those minor deviations from exact workmanship in a proof which the
inexperienced and the careless are apt to overlook. But, without these
qualifications, no person can be safely intrusted to read a sheet for
press, and the labours of the printer are liable to go forth into the
world in a manner that will reflect discredit on the employed and give
offence to the employer. No form, therefore, ought to be put to press
until it has been read and revised by an _experienced_ reader.
A thorough proof-reader, in addition to a general and practical
acquaintance with typography, should understand clearly the grammar
and idiomatic structure of his mother-tongue, and have, as it were,
an encyclopedic knowledge of the names, times, and productions of its
writers, as well as an entire familiarity with the Bible especially,
and with Shakspeare. He should be, in fact, a living orthographical,
biographical, bibliographical, geographical, historical, and scientific
dictionary, with some smattering of Hebrew, Greek, Latin, French,
Spanish, Italian, and German. Yet all these accomplishments are valueless
unless he also possess a keen and quick eye, that, like a hound, can
detect an error almost by scent. There are eyes of this sort, that with a
cursory glance will catch a solitary error in a page. The world is little
aware how greatly many authors are indebted to a competent proof-reader
for not only reforming their spelling and punctuation, but for valuable
suggestions in regard to style, language, and grammar,—thus rectifying
faults which would have rendered their works fair game for the critic.
Although no corrector of the press can strictly be required to do
otherwise than to _follow his copy_,—that is, faithfully to adhere to
the original, with all its defects,—yet every one must perceive that
he performs a friendly and perhaps a charitable service, by pointing
out, in proper time, imperfections and mistakes which have escaped
the observation of a quick or voluminous writer. With the spirit, the
opinions, the whims of an author, no corrector of the press has any
business to interfere. In reprints of old and standard works, no license
of alteration ought to be granted to either correctors or editors.
Strict uniformity should always be preserved in the use of capitals,
in orthography, and punctuation. Nothing can be more vexatious to an
author than to see the words _honour_, _favour_, &c. spelt with and
without the _u_. This is a discrepancy which correctors ought sedulously
to prevent. The above observations equally apply to the use of capitals
to noun-substantives, &c. in one place, and the omission of them in
another. However the opinions of authors may differ in these respects,
still the system of spelling, &c. must not be varied in the same work.
When an author gives him the option, a proof-reader ought to spell
ambiguous words and arrange compounds in a methodical and uniform way;
and, to enable the compositors to become acquainted with and to observe
his method, he should furnish for their guidance a list of such ambiguous
words and compounds.[15]
Such being the qualifications of a reader, we exhibit the process which
proof-sheets ought to undergo before the pages are put to press.
When a first proof is pulled, the compositor who imposed the sheet
ought to collect and arrange the copy, and deliver both to the reader,
who, after folding the sheet to prove the accuracy of its imposition,
carefully examines the signatures, head-lines, and paging. He then calls
his reading-boy, to read the copy aloud to him. This boy should be able
to read with ease and distinctness any copy put into his hands. The eye
of the reader should not follow, but rather precede, the voice of the
boy: accustomed to this mode, he will be able to anticipate every single
word in the copy; and, should a word or sentence happen to be missing
in the proof, his attention will the more sensibly be arrested by it
when he hears it pronounced by his reading-boy. He ought to be careful
lest his eyes advance too far before the words of the boy; because, in
his attention to the author’s meaning, he will be apt to read words in
the proof which do not actually appear there, and the accuracy of the
reading-boy will but tend to confirm him in the mistake.
When the reading of the sheet is concluded, the number (if more than
one) of the volume, signature, and _prima_, or first word of the ensuing
sheet, should be accurately marked on the margin of the copy, and a
bracket made before the first word of the next sheet, in order that the
compositor, should he not have composed beyond the sheet, may know where
to begin, without having the trouble of referring either to the proof or
the form, and the reader will be certain that the commencement is right
when he gets the succeeding sheet. This prevents unnecessary trouble both
to the reader and compositor.
Before the proof is sent to the compositor to be corrected in the metal,
an entry should be made in a book, according to the following plan:—
+----------------------------------------------------------------------+
|DATE OF READING. |
| +-------------------------------------------------------------+
| |SIGNATURES. |
| | +--------------------------------------------------------+
| | |NAMES OF WORKS. |
| | | +---------+---------+--------+
| | | |SENT OUT.|RETURNED.|READ FOR|
| | | | | | PRESS. |
+--------+----+---------------------------+---------+---------+--------+
| 1878. | | | 1878. | 1878. | 1878. |
| May 2 | 11 |Decorative Printing | May 2 | May 4 | May 5 |
| ” 4 | 23 |American Printer, (Revised | ” 4 | ” 5 | ” 6 |
| | | Edition) | | | |
| ” 6 | 20 |Specific Heat Tables | ” 8 | ” 9 | ” 9 |
| ” 10 | 2 |The Great Exhibition | ” 10 | ” 12 | ” 13 |
| ” 27 | 13 |Masterpieces of European | ” 29 | ” 30 | ” 30 |
| | | Art | | | |
| | | | | | |
| | | | | | |
+--------+----+---------------------------+---------+---------+--------+
This account being punctually kept, the reader can furnish the employer
or overseer with an exact account of the state of each work without delay
or inconvenience.
After the compositors have corrected the errors in the form, a clean
proof is pulled, which, with the first proof, is handed to the reader,
who then collates the corrected sheet with the one before read, in order
to ascertain whether the corrections have been properly made, and whether
new errors have not been caused by negligence in the process; and, if the
work be a reprint, or if the author is not to examine the proof, he then
proceeds to read it very carefully for press.
Some proofs are so foul, that it is almost impossible for the compositor
to correct all the marks at one time, and it is therefore necessary to
have the neglected errors corrected and another sheet pulled before the
proof is read finally. It not unfrequently happens that compositors,
in the course of correcting, transpose a letter or word, or alter a
letter in a word that is not marked, thus not only leaving one error
uncorrected, but also making another; sometimes also, in respacing a
line, a space is transposed or a hyphen is left in. Consequently it is
absolutely necessary, in revising a proof, that the reader should not
only look at the word marked, but he ought also to glance his eye over
every line in which an alteration has been made.
In offices where two readers are employed, it is advisable that a
proof-sheet should be read over by both; because the eye, in traversing
the same ground, is liable to be drawn into mistake and oversight.
The interest excited by the first reading having abated, a degree of
listlessness imperceptibly steals upon the mind, which greatly endangers
the correctness of a proof. Should _outs_ or _doubles_ occur in a proof,
it ought to be again read by copy, to detect any improper correction in
the overrunning or transposition of lines. Figure work should always be
read twice by copy.
The duty of amending the punctuation should be generally confined to one
reader. Where a compositor is liable, in this particular, to the whim or
caprice of several readers, he certainly suffers injustice, because his
time is unnecessarily frittered away; and not only is the work retarded,
but the types are needlessly exposed to injury, to say nothing of the
liability of creating fresh errors, &c.
Before a manuscript is brought to the printer, it ought to be as perfect
as the author can make it. The compositor is bound to “follow the copy,”
in word and sentiment, unless, indeed, he meets with instances of wrong
punctuation or false grammar, (and such instances are not rare,) which
his intelligence enables him to amend. After the matter has been read
and corrected in the office, a proof is sent to the author; and, if it
corresponds with the copy, the compositor’s responsibility is at an end.
He has done all he is paid for; and, should the author desire any changes
made in his matter, of course he must pay for them.
Sentiments in print look marvellously different from the same ideas
in manuscript; and we are not surprised that writers should wish to
polish a little; nor do we object to their natural desire of amending
or beautifying their mental products. But let them not forget that
pay-time will come,—when the item for alterations will loom out with
a startling distinctness in the bill. They found it easy in the proof
to erase a word or two here and insert a word or two there; without
dreaming, perhaps, that in consequence of these little erasures and
insertions the compositor would be compelled to alter and reconstruct
much of his work. We know of a volume on which the alterations alone have
consumed time equal to one man’s work for nearly two and a half years.
How unreasonable—nay, how transparently unjust—the expectation that the
printer should give gratuitously the time and trouble requisite for the
radical changes in the type which an author’s whim or taste may demand!
Stower says, “It may not be improper, in this place, just to take notice
of the great danger to the correctness of a work which arises from the
practice, too common with some authors, of keeping their proof-sheets
too long in their hands before they are returned to the printer. As the
pages in the metal get dry, the adhesion of the types to each other is
weakened, and the swell or extension of the quoins and furniture, which
the moisture had occasioned, is removed; so that there is great danger of
letters falling out when a form is long kept from the press. Nor is the
danger which is hereby occasioned to correctness the only inconvenience:
the impatience of authors to see their works in a fit state for
publication is almost proverbial. The pleasure arising from beholding, as
it were, the ‘form and texture’ of one’s thoughts, is a sensation much
easier felt than described. That authors, therefore, may partake of this
pleasure in a speedy and regular succession, they should make a point of
forwarding their proof-sheets to the printer as quick as possible, not
only that they may the sooner be got ready for the press, but that the
work may proceed in a regular manner, without being interrupted by the
forwarding of other works in lieu of that the proof-sheets of which are
detained beyond the proper time in the hands of the author.
“Authors are very apt to make alterations, and to correct and amend the
style or arguments of their works, when they first see them in print.
This is certainly the worst time for this labour, as it is necessarily
attended with an expense which, in large works, will imperceptibly swell
to a serious sum; when, however, this method of alteration is adopted by
an author, the reader must always be careful to read the whole sheet over
once more with very great attention before it is finally put to press.
“A proof-sheet, having duly undergone this routine of purgation, may
be supposed to be as free from errata as the nature of the thing will
admit, and the word ‘Press’ may be written at the top of the first page
of it. This is an important word to every reader: if he have suffered his
attention to be drawn aside from the nature of his proper business, and
errors should be discovered when it is too late to have them corrected,
this word ‘Press’ is as the signature of the death-warrant of his
reputation. A reader, therefore, should be a man of one business,—always
upon the alert,—all eye,—all attention. Possessing a becoming reliance on
his own powers, he should never be too confident of success. Imperfection
clings to him on every side. Errors and mistakes assail him from every
quarter. His business is of a nature that may render him obnoxious to
blame, but can hardly be said to bring him in any very large stock of
praise. If errors escape him, he is justly to be censured; for perfection
is his duty. If his labours are wholly free from mistake,—which is, alas!
a very rare case,—he has done no more than he ought, and, consequently,
can merit only a comparative degree of commendation, in that he had the
good fortune to be more successful in his labours after perfection than
some of his brethren in the same employment.”
The form being finally laid on the press, and a revise pulled by the
pressman, he sends it to the overseer, who carefully examines whether
all the marks have been attended to, and looks along the sides and
heads of the respective pages, to observe whether any letter has fallen
out, or there is any crookedness in the locking up of the form, any
battered letters, or any _bite_ from the frisket. Should the revise prove
faultless, he returns it to the pressman, with the word “Revise” written
on the margin; if otherwise, to the compositor to whom the form belongs,
for immediate correction.
CORRECTING IN THE METAL.
Correcting is the most disagreeable part of a compositor’s business,
diminishing as it does his earnings, and causing great fatigue, and, by
leaning over the stone, endangering his health. A foul proof, however, is
a fault without extenuation, and seems to deserve some punishment. The
noise and confusion which prevail in badly governed printing-offices,
from light and frivolous conversation, not only retard business, but
distract the attention of the compositor from the subject he has in hand,
and cause him to make many mistakes. Some men, no doubt, can support a
conversation and at the same time compose correctly; but their noise
confuses those who are unable to preserve accuracy except by close
attention to their copy in silence.
The first proof should contain merely the errors of the compositor;
but it frequently happens that the corrector heightens them by his
peculiarities. When this is unnecessarily done, it is an act of injustice
to the compositor: it is sufficient for him to rectify such mistakes
as arise either from inattention to his copy or want of judgment.
The compositor ought not to suffer from the humour of a reader in
capriciously altering commas and semicolons in the first proof, which
he not unfrequently re-alters in the second, from a doubt as to the
propriety of the points to be adopted.
When a proof is handed to the compositor, he should immediately correct
it; and the reader, correlatively, should be equally prompt in his
department. Can it reasonably be expected that the compositor will feel
inclined to forward his proof, when he knows that the reader will delay
it for hours?
Should a compositor have transposed two or more pages, either from an
error in the folios or any other cause, he must unlock the quarter
containing them, and, loosening the cross or crosses from the furniture,
lift the chase and the remaining quarters off the stone. Should he have
furniture sufficient round each page, he may move them into their proper
stations by pressing the balls of his thumbs and fingers against the
furniture at the head, foot, and sides of each page. If the letter be
small, it will be advisable to wet the pages, because few imposing-stones
are horizontal, or so steady that they will not shake when touched, or
by the motion of the floor occasioned by persons walking or dragging
forms along.
Should a compositor find that his pages _hang_, he must unlock the
quarter, and pat the face of the type with the balls of his fingers until
he gets it into a square position.
When a compositor unlocks a form, he should be careful not to leave the
unlocked quoins too slack, as the force necessary to loosen the others
may _squabble_ the matter, or occasion it to _hang_.
It has been aptly said, “What is required of a compositor when he goes
about correcting a foul proof, is a sharp bodkin and patience; because,
without them, the letter cannot escape suffering by the steel, and
hurrying will not permit him to justify the lines true. No wonder,
therefore, to see pigeon-holes in one place, and pi in another.”[16]
When the compositor has as many corrections between the thumb and
forefinger of his left hand as he can conveniently hold, or, what is
better, in his composing-stick, (beginning at the bottom of the page,
in order that they may follow regularly,) and an assortment of spaces
on a piece of paper, or, what is more convenient, in a small square box
with partitions in it,—let him take the bodkin in his right hand, and,
instead of raising each letter he may have to alter, place the point of
the bodkin at one end of the line, and, with the forefinger of his left
hand against the other, raise the whole line sufficiently high to afford
him a clear view of the spacing; he may then change the faulty letter and
alter his spacing before he drops the line. By this method he will not
injure the type, which he must do if he force the bodkin into their sides
or heads; a greater degree of regularity is insured where there may be
occasion to alter the spacing, and no more time is taken up than by the
other method.
In tables, and other matter, where rules prevent the lines from being
raised, the letters must be drawn up by the bodkin. This is done by the
compositor holding the instrument fast in his right hand, with the blade
between his forefinger and thumb, within about three-quarters of an inch
from the point: thus guiding it steadily to the faulty letter, he sticks
the point of the bodkin into the neck of the letter between the beard and
the face, and draws it up above the other types, so that he can take it
out with the forefinger and thumb of his left hand. In performing this
operation, the blade of the bodkin should be kept as flat as possible
on the face of the type, but it should not touch any of the surrounding
types, as the slightest graze imaginable will injure their face, and they
will consequently appear imperfect in the next proof, when he will have
the trouble of altering them, his employer suffering the loss of the type.
The bodkin blade being held almost flat to the form, a small horizontal
entrance of its point into the neck of the letter will raise it above the
face of the form; but, if the bodkin be held nearly upright, it will not
have sufficient purchase to draw the letter up, because the weight of the
letter and the pressure of the surrounding types will have greater power
than the sharp point of the steel. By pressing sidewise, the bodkin blade
acts as a lever, even though it has no other purchase than the slight
motion of the hand.
[Illustration: COMMON BODKIN.]
[Illustration: POCKET SPRING BODKIN.]
In the olden times the printer made his own bodkin by inserting the
blunt end of a large steel needle in a piece of wood or cork. At the
present day, when every thing is prepared to the workman’s hand, bodkins
are manufactured by printers’ furnishers, and he may take his choice of
styles. The above cut shows a common form; but in some cases (as in table
work) tweezers or a spring bodkin may be preferred. Knives may also be
had with bodkin attached, which serve a double purpose. The objection to
the knife-bodkin is that the handle is too heavy and cumbersome, and it
is sure to injure type should it happen to slip from the fingers and fall
on the page.
[Illustration: TWEEZERS.]
[Illustration: SPRING BODKIN.]
The most careful compositor cannot at all times avoid leaving a word out,
or composing the same word twice. When this happens, he should consider
the best mode of rectifying the accident, by driving out or getting in,
either above the error or below it. This ascertained, let the matter be
taken upon a galley, and overrun in the composing-stick. Overrunning on
the stone is an unsafe, unworkmanlike, and dilatory method, destroying
the justification and rendering the spacing uneven.
[Illustration: KNIFE AND BODKIN.]
In correcting, care should be taken to avoid hair-spacing a line, by
overrunning either back or forward. In overrunning the matter, the
division should be used as little as possible; for, though the compositor
may carefully follow the instructions laid down in this work on the
subject of spacing and dividing, yet the effect of his attention will be
completely destroyed if not followed up at the stone.
We here emphatically remark that, if authors were careful to spell
properly the names of persons and places, technical and scientific terms,
&c., and to write legibly, marking the end of sentences clearly, the work
of the compositor would be facilitated, many errors would be prevented,
and time, temper, and expense greatly economized.
Further. Let us remind authors that every correction made on their proof
that is a variation from the copy as furnished to the printer is charged
for according to the time required to make it. The justice of the charge
is obvious; yet, strange to say, there is probably no item so frequently
disputed by publishers. A man employs a mechanic to build a house
according to fixed specifications; but, in the course of its erection, he
improves or changes the plan, and orders certain portions to be torn down
and rebuilt: is the mechanic to bear the loss? Certainly not. So, when a
compositor builds up his page of type according to the copy furnished, he
is right in requiring compensation for alterations made in it. He is not
to suffer for the author’s desire to improve his intellectual edifice.
[Illustration: PRINTER’S KNIFE.]
TYPOGRAPHICAL MARKS EXEMPLIFIED.
The following table will be appreciated by authors and by all who desire
to become acquainted with the technical marks used by practical readers.
Due attention to the explanations will insure an apt proficiency in the
manual department of proof-reading.
[Illustration: (Transcriber’s Note: showing text marked up by the
proof-reader.)]
[Illustration: (Transcriber’s Note: showing the corrected text, given
below.)]
THOUGH several differing opinions exist as to the individual by whom
the art of printing was first discovered; yet all authorities concur
in admitting PETER SCHOEFFER to be the person who invented _cast metal
types_, having learned the art of _cutting_ the letters from the
Gutenbergs: he is also supposed to have been the first who engraved on
copper-plates. The following testimony is preserved in the family, by Jo.
Fred. Faustus, of Ascheffenburg:
‘PETER SCHOEFFER, of Gernsheim, perceiving his master Faust’s design,
and being himself ardently desirous to improve the art, found out (by
the good providence of God) the method of cutting (_incidendi_) the
characters in a _matrix_, that the letters might easily be singly _cast_,
instead of being _cut_. He privately _cut matrices_ for the whole
alphabet: and when he showed his master the letters cast from these
matrices, Faust was so pleased with the contrivance, that he promised
Peter to give him his only daughter _Christina_ in marriage, a promise
which he soon after performed. But there were as many difficulties at
first with these letters, as there had been before with _wooden ones_,
the metal being too soft to support the force of the impression: but this
defect was soon remedied, by mixing the metal with a substance which
sufficiently hardened it.’]
EXPLANATION OF THE CORRECTIONS.
A wrong letter in a word is noted by drawing a short perpendicular line
through it, and making another short line in the margin, behind which the
right letter is placed. (See No. 1.) So with whole words also, a line
being drawn across the wrong word and the right one written in the margin
opposite.
A turned letter is noted by drawing a line through it, and writing the
mark No. 2 in the margin.
If letters or words require to be altered to make them more conspicuous,
a parallel line or lines must be made underneath the word or letter,—viz.
for capitals, three lines; small capitals, two lines; and Italic, one
line; and, in the margin opposite the line where the alteration occurs,
_Caps_, _Small Caps_, or _Ital._ must be written. (See No. 3.)
When letters or words are set double, or are required to be taken out, a
line is drawn through the superfluous word or letter, and the mark No. 4
placed opposite in the margin.
Where the punctuation requires alteration, the correct point should be
written in the margin. (See No. 5.)
When a space has been omitted between two words, a caret must be made
where the separation ought to be, and the sign No. 6 placed opposite in
the margin.
When a word should form a compound with another, it is denoted as in No.
7.
When a letter has been omitted, a caret is put at the place of omission,
and the letter marked as No. 8.
Where a line is too widely spaced, the mark No. 9 must be placed between
the words and also in the margin.
Where a new paragraph is required, a quadrangle is drawn in the margin,
and a caret placed at the beginning of the sentence. (See No. 10.)
No. 11 shows the way in which the apostrophe, inverted commas, the star
and other references, and superior letters and figures, are marked.
Where two words are transposed, a line is drawn over one word and below
the other, and the mark No. 12 placed in the margin; but where several
words require to be transposed, their right order is signified by a
figure placed over each word, and the mark No. 12 in the margin.
Where words have been struck out that have afterward been approved of,
dots should be marked under them, and _stet_ written in the margin. (See
No. 13.)
Where a space sticks up between two words, a horizontal line is drawn
under it, and the mark No. 14 placed opposite, in the margin.
Where several words have been left out, they are transcribed at the
bottom of the page, and a line drawn from the place of omission to the
written words, (see No. 15;) but if the omitted matter is too extensive
to be copied at the foot of the page, _Out, see copy_, is written in the
margin, and the missing lines are enclosed between brackets, and the word
_Out_ is inserted in the margin of the copy.
Where letters stand crooked, they are noted by a line, (see No. 16;) but,
where a page hangs, lines are drawn across the entire part affected.
When a smaller or larger letter, of a different fount, is improperly
introduced into the page, it is noted by the mark No. 17, which signifies
wrong fount.
If a paragraph is improperly made, a line is drawn from the broken-off
matter to the next paragraph, and _No ¶_ written in the margin. (See No.
18.)
Where a word has been left out or is to be added, a caret must be made in
the place where it should come in, and the word written in the margin.
(See No. 19.)
Where a faulty letter appears, it is denoted by making a cross under
it, and placing a similar mark in the margin, (see No. 20;) though some
prefer to draw a perpendicular line through it, as in the case of a wrong
letter.
Where a word has been accidentally separated by a space, it is marked as
in No. 21.
TABLE OF SIGNATURES.
On the two following pages will be found a complete list of signatures
for books in octavo, twelves and eighteens, sixteens, and twenty-fours.
The 24mo signatures in this table are arranged to bring the second
signature on either the 9th or 17th page of the form. If the sheet is to
be folded as an 8vo and 16mo, the figure signatures may be used; but if
as two 12mos, the letter signatures will be used.
+---------------------------------++------------------------------------
| 8vo. || 12mo and
+----+---------+-----+------------++----+------------+----+------------+
| 1| 1 A | 481| 61 3 L || 1| 1 A | 313| 27 2 B |
| 9| 2 B | 489| 62 3 M || 5| 1* A 2 | 317| 27* 2 B 2|
| 17| 3 C | 497| 63 3 N || 13| 2 B | 325| 28 2 C |
| 25| 4 D | 505| 64 3 O || 17| 2* B 2 | 329| 28* 2 C 2|
| 33| 5 E | 513| 65 3 P || | | | |
| 41| 6 F | 521| 66 3 Q || 25| 3 C | 337| 29 2 D |
| 49| 7 G | 529| 67 3 R || 29| 3* C 2 | 341| 29* 2 D 2|
| 57| 8 H | 537| 68 3 S || 37| 4 D | 349| 30 2 E |
| 65| 9 I | 545| 69 3 T || 41| 4* D 2 | 353| 30* 2 E 2|
| 73| 10 K | 553| 70 3 U || | | | |
| 81| 11 L | 561| 71 3 V || 49| 5 E | 361| 31 2 F |
| 89| 12 M | 569| 72 3 W || 53| 5* E 2 | 365| 31* 2 F 2|
| 97| 13 N | 577| 73 3 X || 61| 6 F | 373| 32 2 G |
| 105| 14 O | 585| 74 3 Y || 65| 6* F 2 | 377| 32* 2 G 2|
| 113| 15 P | 593| 75 3 Z || 73| 7 G | 385| 33 2 H |
| 121| 16 Q | 601| 76 4 A || 77| 7* G 2 | 389| 33* 2 H 2|
| 129| 17 R | 609| 77 4 B || | | | |
| 137| 18 S | 617| 78 4 C || 85| 8 H | 397| 34 2 I |
| 145| 19 T | 625| 79 4 D || 89| 8* H 2 | 401| 34* 2 I 2|
| 153| 20 U | 633| 80 4 E || 97| 9 I | 409| 35 2 K |
| 161| 21 V | 641| 81 4 F || 101| 9* I 2 | 413| 35* 2 K 2|
| 169| 22 W | 649| 82 4 G || 109| 10 K | 421| 36 2 L |
| 177| 23 X | 657| 83 4 H || 113| 10* K 2 | 425| 36* 2 L 2|
| 185| 24 Y | 665| 84 4 I || 121| 11 L | 433| 37 2 M |
| 193| 25 Z | 673| 85 4 K || 125| 11* L 2 | 437| 37* 2 M 2|
| 201| 26 2 A| 681| 86 4 L || | | | |
| 209| 27 2 B| 689| 87 4 M || 133| 12 M | 445| 38 2 N |
| 217| 28 2 C| 697| 88 4 N || 137| 12* M 2 | 449| 38* 2 N 2|
| 225| 29 2 D| 705| 89 4 O || 145| 13 N | 457| 39 2 O |
| 233| 30 2 E| 713| 90 4 P || 149| 13* N 2 | 461| 39* 2 O 2|
| 241| 31 2 F| 721| 91 4 Q || 157| 14 O | 469| 40 2 P |
| 249| 32 2 G| 729| 92 4 R || 161| 14* O 2 | 473| 40* 2 P 2|
| 257| 33 2 H| 737| 93 4 S || | | | |
| 265| 34 2 I| 745| 94 4 T || 169| 15 P | 481| 41 2 Q |
| 273| 35 2 K| 753| 95 4 U || 173| 15* P 2 | 485| 41* 2 Q 2|
| 281| 36 2 L| 761| 96 4 V || 181| 16 Q | 493| 42 2 R |
| 289| 37 2 M| 769| 97 4 W || 185| 16* Q 2 | 497| 42* 2 R 2|
| 297| 38 2 N| 777| 98 4 X || 193| 17 R | 505| 43 2 S |
| 305| 39 2 O| 785| 99 4 Y || 197| 17* R 2 | 509| 43* 2 S 2|
| 313| 40 2 P| 793| 100 4 Z || | | | |
| 321| 41 2 Q| 801| 101 5 A || 205| 18 S | 517| 44 2 T |
| 329| 42 2 R| 809| 102 5 B || 209| 18* S 2 | 521| 44* 2 T 2|
| 337| 43 2 S| 817| 103 5 C || 217| 19 T | 529| 45 2 U |
| 345| 44 2 T| 825| 104 5 D || 221| 19* T 2 | 533| 45* 2 U 2|
| 353| 45 2 U| 833| 105 5 E || 229| 20 U | 541| 46 2 V |
| 361| 46 2 V| 841| 106 5 F || | | | |
| 369| 47 2 W| 849| 107 5 G || 233| 20* U 2 | 545| 46* 2 V 2|
| 377| 48 2 X| 857| 108 5 H || 241| 21 V | 553| 47 2 W |
| 385| 49 2 Y| 865| 109 5 I || 245| 21* V 2 | 557| 47* 2 W 2|
| 393| 50 2 Z| 873| 110 5 K || 253| 22 W | 565| 48 2 X |
| 401| 51 3 A| 881| 111 5 L || 257| 22* W 2 | 569| 48* 2 X 2|
| 409| 52 3 B| 889| 112 5 M || 265| 23 X | 577| 49 2 Y |
| 417| 53 3 C| 897| 113 5 N || 269| 23* X 2 | 581| 49* 2 Y 2|
| 425| 54 3 D| 905| 114 5 O || 277| 24 Y | 589| 50 2 Z |
| 433| 55 3 E| 913| 115 5 P || | | | |
| 441| 56 3 F| 921| 116 5 Q || 281| 24* Y 2 | 593| 50* 2 Z 2|
| 449| 57 3 G| 929| 117 5 R || 289| 25 Z | 601| 51 3 A |
| 457| 58 3 H| 937| 118 5 S || 293| 25* Z 2 | 605| 51* 3 A 2|
| 465| 59 3 I| 945| 119 5 T || 301| 26 2 A | 613| 52 3 B |
| 473| 60 3 K| 953| 120 5 U || 305| 26* 2 A 2| 617| 52* 3 B 2|
+----+---------+-----+------------++----+------------+----+------------+
-----------------++--------------++-------------------------------++
18mo. || 16mo. || 24mo. ||
+----+-----------++----+---------++----+---------+----+-----------++
| 625| 53 3 C || 1| 1 A || 1| 1 A | 433| 19 T ||
| 629| 53* 3 C 2 || 17| 2 B || 9| 1* | 441| 19* ||
| 637| 54 3 D || 33| 3 C || 17| . . A 2| 449| . . T 2 ||
| 641| 54* 3 D 2 || 49| 4 D || 25| 2 B | 457| 20 U ||
| 649| 55 3 E || 65| 5 E || 33| 2* | 465| 20* ||
| 653| 55* 3 E 2 || 81| 6 F || 41| . . B 2| 473| . . U 2 ||
| | || 97| 7 G || | | | ||
| 661| 56 3 F || 113| 8 H || 49| 3 C | 481| 21 V ||
| 665| 56* 3 F 2 || 129| 9 I || 57| 3* | 489| 21* ||
| 673| 57 3 G || 145| 10 K || 65| . . C 2| 497| . . V 2 ||
| 677| 57* 3 G 2 || 161| 11 L || 73| 4 D | 505| 22 W ||
| | || 177| 12 M || 81| 4* | 513| 22* ||
| 685| 58 3 H || 193| 13 N || 89| . . D 2| 521| . . W 2 ||
| 689| 58* 3 H 2 || 209| 14 O || 97| 5 E | 529| 23 X ||
| 697| 59 3 I || 225| 15 P || 105| 5* | 537| 23* ||
| 701| 59* 3 I 2 || 241| 16 Q || 113| . . E 2| 545| . . X 2 ||
| 709| 60 3 K || 257| 17 R || 121| 6 F | 553| 24 Y ||
| 713| 60* 3 K 2 || 273| 18 S || 129| 6* | 561| 24* ||
| | || 289| 19 T || | | | ||
| 721| 61 3 L || 305| 20 U || 137| . . F 2| 569| . . Y 2 ||
| 725| 61* 3 L 2 || 321| 21 V || 145| 7 G | 577| 25 Z ||
| 733| 62 3 M || 337| 22 W || 153| 7* | 585| 25* ||
| 737| 62* 3 M 2 || 353| 23 X || 161| . . G 2| 593| . . Z 2 ||
| 745| 63 3 N || 369| 24 Y || 169| 8 H | 601| 26 2 A ||
| 749| 63* 3 N 2 || 385| 25 Z || 177| 8* | 609| 26* ||
| 757| 64 3 O || 401| 26 2 A || 185| . . H 2| 617| . . 2 A 2 ||
| 761| 64* 3 O 2 || 417| 27 2 B || 193| 9 I | 625| 27 2 B ||
| | || 433| 28 2 C || | | | ||
| 769| 65 3 P || 449| 29 2 D || 201| 9* | 633| 27* ||
| 773| 65* 3 P 2 || 465| 30 2 E || 209| . . I 2| 641| . . 2 B 2 ||
| 781| 66 3 Q || 481| 31 2 F || 217| 10 K | 649| 28 2 C ||
| 785| 66* 3 Q 2 || 497| 32 2 G || 225| 10* | 657| 28* ||
| 793| 67 3 R || 513| 33 2 H || 233| . . K 2| 665| . . 2 C 2 ||
| 797| 67* 3 R 2 || 529| 34 2 I || 241| 11 L | 673| 29 2 D ||
| | || 545| 35 2 K || | | | ||
| 805| 68 3 S || 561| 36 2 L || 249| 11* | 681| 29* ||
| 809| 68* 3 S 2 || 577| 37 2 M || 257| . . L 2| 689| . . 2 D 2 ||
| 817| 69 3 T || 593| 38 2 N || 265| 12 M | 697| 30 2 E ||
| 821| 69* 3 T 2 || 609| 39 2 O || 273| 12* | 705| 30* ||
| 829| 70 3 U || 625| 40 2 P || 281| . . M 2| 713| . . 2 E 2 ||
| 833| 70* 3 U 2 || 641| 41 2 Q || 289| 13 N | 721| 31 2 F ||
| | || 657| 42 2 R || 297| 13* | 729| 31* ||
| 841| 71 3 V || 673| 43 2 S || 305| . . N 2| 737| . . 2 F 2 ||
| 845| 71* 3 V 2 || 689| 44 2 T || 313| 14 O | 745| 32 2 G ||
| 853| 72 3 W || 705| 45 2 U || 321| 14* | 753| 32* ||
| 857| 72* 3 W 2 || 721| 46 2 V || 329| . . O 2| 761| . . 2 G 2 ||
| 865| 73 3 X || 737| 47 2 W || 337| 15 P | 769| 33 2 H ||
| | || 753| 48 2 X || | | | ||
| 869| 73* 3 X 2 || 769| 49 2 Y || 345| 15* | 777| 33* ||
| 877| 74 3 Y || 785| 50 2 Z || 353| . . P 2| 785| . . 2 H 2 ||
| 881| 74* 3 Y 2 || 801| 51 3 A || 361| 16 Q | 793| 34 2 I ||
| 889| 75 3 Z || 817| 52 3 B || 369| 16* | 801| 34* ||
| 893| 75* 3 Z 2 || 833| 53 3 C || 377| . . Q 2| 809| . . 2 I 2 ||
| | || 849| 54 3 D || | | | ||
| 901| 76 4 A || 865| 55 3 E || 385| 17 R | 817| 35 2 K ||
| 905| 76* 4 A 2 || 881| 56 3 F || 393| 17* | 825| 35* ||
| 913| 77 4 B || 897| 57 3 G || 401| . . R 2| 833| . . 2 K 2 ||
| 917| 77* 4 B 2 || 913| 58 3 H || 409| 18 S | 841| 36 2 L ||
| 925| 78 4 C || 929| 59 3 I || 417| 18* | 849| 36* ||
| 929| 78* 4 C 2 || 945| 60 3 K || 425| . . S 2| 857| . . 2 L 2 ||
+----+-----------++----+---------++----+---------+----+-----------++
[Illustration]
THE FOREMAN OR OVERSEER.
GENERAL DUTIES.
[Illustration]
Vigilant and conscientious oversight is the price of profit and success.
An overseer or foreman of a printing-office should be of more than
ordinary capacity, and able to keep his temper in firm control. His
conduct should be guided by justice and equity in regard to the interests
of the employer and the employed. A strict impartiality should be
observed in his treatment of the workmen, and no favouritism should be
displayed. He should make himself acquainted with the capacity of the
men, and apportion work among them accordingly. Some men are valueless
except for plain, straightforward composition; others, distinguished for
taste and skill, delight in intricate work or matter requiring ingenuity
and delicacy, such as tables, music, and algebra. Put one of the first
kind on this sort of composition, and he will botch it, and earn small
wages; while a workman of the latter class will become restive and
dissatisfied with plain, solid matter. While dealing justly with the men
under his charge, the foreman should see to it that the employer suffers
no detriment from negligent or dishonest practices of unconscientious
workmen, whether from careless correcting, allowing dropped types to
lie upon the floor, or overcharging, or other methods well known in a
printing-office. He should be the first and the last in attendance, in
order to satisfy himself that every person does his duty in coming and
leaving at the proper time.
[Illustration: LARGE SORT-CASE CABINET, FOR SORTS, QUADS, ETC.]
The office having been thoroughly swept at an early hour, and the type
found in any alley having been placed in the stick of the compositor
occupying it, the foreman should pass around the room and see that it is
immediately distributed, instead of being thrown on the window-frame or
table. The type found in the body of the rooms should be sorted out and
distributed at once, and not be allowed to accumulate. No pi should be
permitted to remain over till the next day. This is an essential point to
secure a tidy and well-regulated office.
He should see to it that the proof-roller and press are in good
condition, and that a sufficient supply of wetted proof-paper is on hand.
A badly-printed proof should never be allowed to go to the proof-reader
or to the author, as neither can properly read a blurred or imperfect
proof. An author will feel kindly toward an office that furnishes him
with handsome impressions of his matter.
[Illustration: SORT-CASE CABINET.]
The foreman should keep himself fully informed as to the amount and
the condition of the materials in the office, not only in gross, but
in detail, including every style of type, every variety of accents and
peculiar sorts, leads, chases, furniture, rules, borders, corner-pieces,
&c. In this he will be greatly aided by insisting on the observance of
the good old rule, _A place for every thing, and every thing in its place
when not in use_, as well as by keeping a memorandum-book in which every
thing should be entered under its proper head for facility of reference.
[Illustration: CABINET FOR SPACES, QUADS, ETC.]
If the office be well provided, it will contain one or more of the
cabinets for sorts, such as are shown in these pages. Strict attention
should be given to keeping them in perfect order, and in preventing them
from becoming receptacles for pi.
[Illustration: COMBINATION CABINET, FOR SORTS AND QUADS.]
[Illustration: QUAD CABINET.]
As a matter of course, he should watch the progress of every job and
book, and make sure that they shall be completed within the time
contracted for. He should never allow a compositor to have a large take
of copy: small takes facilitate expedition, and really tend to the profit
of the workmen by bringing an earlier return of letter. He should see to
it that every man has his copy closed in proper time, so as not to detain
the make-up, and that he passes the make-up without unnecessary delay.
As soon as a form or sheet is made up, he should order it to be imposed
and a proof pulled, which, with the copy properly arranged, is to be at
once handed to the proof-reader. Nor should he allow of any unnecessary
delay on the part of the reader, nor on the part of the compositors in
correcting the proof when read. When proofs are required by an author,
the foreman must forward them promptly to him, and request him to return
them at the earliest possible moment. If the proof is not to be sent
out, he should have the second reading quickly performed, and the forms
prepared for the foundry or the press.
Systematic attention to the above points will tend to the comfort of
the overseer, to the advantage of the workmen, and to the profit and
satisfaction of the proprietor of the establishment.
The foreman will find a memorandum Press-Book very useful, in which to
make entries of the amount of the paper given out by the warehouseman for
the various works, the number printed, &c., as well as the names of the
pressmen when the work is done on hand-presses.
+----------------------------------------------------------------------+
|WHEN GIVEN OUT TO WET. |
| +-------------------------------------------------------------+
| |NAMES OF WORKS. |
| | +-------------------------------+
| | | NO. |
| | | +------------------------+
| | | |SIGNATURES. |
| | | | +-------------------+
| | | | |DATE WHEN LAID ON. |
| | | | | +----------+
| | | | | |NAMES OF |
| | | | | |PRESSMEN. |
+--------+-----------------------------+------+----+--------+----------+
| 1878. | | | | 1878. | |
| May 8 |Specific Heat Tables | 1000 | 11 | May 10 |Graham. |
| ” 10 |The Great Exhibition | 5000 | 18 | ” 12 |Landsdown.|
| ” 12 |The American Printer | 1000 | 20 | ” 13 |Windisch. |
| ” 15 |Masterpieces of European Art | 3000 | 2 | ” 17 |Smith. |
+--------+-----------------------------+------+----+--------+----------+
If not done by the proof-reader, the foreman should examine the press
revise; in doing which, he will be careful not only to ascertain whether
all the corrections marked in the proof are made, but also to look
carefully over the sides, head, and bottom of each page. It frequently
happens that the folios drop out of the form in lifting it off the
imposing-stone; and in leaded matter, letters at the beginning and ends
of lines sometimes fall out of place. Before the revise is given to
the compositor, the name of the pressman who is to work off the form
should be entered in the Press-Book. With foul compositors, he should
require a second revise, in order to ascertain if all the corrections
have been made which were marked in the first. He should (where there
is not a pressman engaged expressly for the purpose, as is the case
in houses employing numerous machine-presses) go frequently to the
different presses, and examine the work, point out defects, if any, and
glance again over the heads, sides, and bottoms of the pages, to see if
any thing has been drawn out by the rollers, which may occur from bad
justification of the lines, and careless and improper locking up of the
form.
An active and conscientious foreman will not be content with merely
managing the concerns of the composing room: he will also see that the
business of the warehouse is attended to with regularity and accuracy,
and that the warehouseman, errand-boys, and apprentices do their duty.
CASTING OFF COPY.
To cast off manuscript with accuracy and precision is a task which
requires great attention and mature deliberation. The trouble and
difficulty are much increased when the copy is not only irregularly
written, (which is generally the case,) but also abounds with
interlineations, erasures, and variations in the size of paper. At times,
so numerous are the alterations and additions as to baffle the skill and
judgment of the most experienced calculators of copy. Such an imperfect
and slovenly mode of sending works to the press cannot be too strongly
censured.
The first step necessary is to take a comprehensive view of the copy,
noticing whether it has been written even or has many interlineations,
&c., and observing also the number of break-lines, and whether the work
be divided into chapters and sub-heads, in order that allowance may be
made for them in the calculation. These observations may be noted on a
separate piece of paper, to assist the memory and save the trouble of
re-examining the manuscript.
This preparation being made, we ascertain the number of words contained
in the line by counting several separate lines in various parts of the
copy, so that the one we adopt may be a fair average. We then take the
number of lines in a page, and multiply by the number of words found in
the average line: the result we then multiply by the quantity of folios
the manuscript copy may contain, and thus we get the amount of words
contained in the work with a tolerable degree of accuracy. The necessary
allowances should be made for break-lines, chapters, insertions, &c.,
according to the observations previously made on the memorandum.
If information has been furnished as to the size of letter the work is to
be done in and the width of the page, we make our measure accordingly,
and, by composing a few lines of the manuscript copy, we ascertain what
number of words will come into each printed line: we then take the length
of our page in lines, and multiply the one by the other, thus getting
the number of words in the printed page. We divide the whole number of
words in the manuscript by the number contained in the printed page: the
quotient gives the number of pages the manuscript will make. If too many,
the page must be enlarged; if too few, the page must be diminished in
width and length. For example:—We take the number of words in a line of
manuscript at 20, the lines in a page at 50; we multiply 50 by 20, which
will produce 1000 words in a page; we then multiply 1000 by 422, the
number of folios in the manuscript, and we find that it contains 422,000
words. The work being printed in Pica octavo, 20 ems measure, and each
line containing 10 words, each page 40 lines, the case will stand thus:—
MANUSCRIPT.
50
20
----
1000
422
------
2000
2000
4000
------
422000 words in MS.
PRINTED.
40
10
---
400)422000 words in MS.
------
1055 pages.
Divide
16)1055(65 sheets,
15 pages.
Another method for casting off copy is the following, as laid down by a
predecessor:—
“After having made the measure for the work, we set a line of the letter
that is designed for it, and take notice how much copy will come into the
line in the stick,—whether less or more than a line of manuscript; and,
as it is seldom that neither one nor the other happens, we make a mark
in the copy where the line in the stick ends, and number the words that
it contains. But, as this is not the safest way for casting off close,
we count not only the syllables, but even the letters, that are in a
line in the stick, of which we make a memorandum, and proceed to set off
a second, third, or fourth line, till a line of copy falls even with a
line in the stick; and, as we did to the first line in the stick, so we
do to the other, marking on the manuscript the end of each line in the
stick, and telling the letters in each, to see how they balance against
each other. This being carefully done, we begin counting off, each time,
as many lines of copy as we know will make even lines in the stick. For
example, if 2 lines of copy make 3 lines in print, then 4 make 6, 6 make
9, 8 make 12, and so on, calling every two lines of copy three in print.
In like manner we say, if 4 lines make 5, then 8 make 10, and so on,
comparing every four lines of copy to five lines in print. And in this
manner we carry our calculation on as far as we have occasion, either for
pages, forms, or sheets.
The foregoing calculations are intended to serve where a line of print
takes in less than a line of copy; and, therefore, where a line of print
takes in more than a line of copy, the problem is reversed, and, instead
of saying, if 2 lines make 3, we say, in this case, if 3 lines of copy
make 2 lines in print, then 6 lines make 4, 9 make 6, 12 make 8, and so
on, counting three lines of copy to make two lines in print. In this
manner we may carry our calculation to what number of pages, forms, or
sheets we will, remembering always to count off as many lines of copy at
once as we have found they will make even lines in the stick. Thus, for
example, if 5 lines make 7, the progression of 5 is 10, 15, 20, &c., and
the progression of 7 will be 14, 21, 28, &c.
In counting off copy, we take notice of the breaks; and where we judge
that one will drive out, we intimate it by a mark of this shape [; and
again, where we find that a break will get in, we invert it, thus, ]. And
to render these marks conspicuous to the compositor, we write them in the
margin, that he may take timely notice, and keep his matter accordingly.
We also take care to make proper allowance for heads to chapters,
sections, paragraphs, &c.
In examining the state of the copy, we must observe whether it has
abbreviations, that we may guard against them in casting off, and allow
for them according to the extent of the respective words when written out
at length.”
The foregoing will convey a sufficient idea as to the best mode of
casting off copy; still, these remarks more properly apply to regularly
written and thoroughly revised copy. Upon this subject, Smith justly
observes,—
“But how often one or more of these requisites are wanting, compositors
can best tell; though very few will imagine that among men of learning
there should be some who write after such a manner that even those who
live by transcribing rather shun than crave to be employed by them: no
wonder, therefore, if compositors express not the best wishes to such
promoters of printing. But it is not always the capacious genius that
ought to be excused for writing in too great a hurry; for sometimes those
of no exuberant brains affect uncouth writing, on purpose to strengthen
the common notion that _the more learned the man, the worse is his
~(hand)~ writing_; which shows that writing _well_ or _bad_ is but a
habit with those that _can_ write.”
HURRIED WORK.
It is sometimes necessary to print pamphlets and other works of a
temporary nature in the course of a few hours. When a work of this kind
is put in hand, the foreman selects the requisite number of swift and
skilful compositors, whose first concern must be to appoint one from
among them to make up the matter, and to do every thing which would
interfere with the regular business of distributing, composing, and
correcting. While they are distributing letter, the _clicker_, or person
appointed to manage the work, procures the copy, with all necessary
information respecting it, and provides leads, rules, and every other
necessary sort. He then draws out the following table:—
+--------------------+----------------+----------------+-------------+
| COMPOSITORS’ NAMES.| FOLIOS OF COPY.| LINES COMPOSED.| MEMORANDUMS.|
+--------------------+----------------+----------------+-------------+
| Farroe | 1- 5 | 184 | |
| Wilson | 6-10 | 168 | |
| Stratz | 11-16 | 121 | |
+--------------------+----------------+----------------+-------------+
In the first column he writes the name of each compositor when he takes
copy; and, in the second, the folio of the copy, that he may be able
to ascertain instantly in whose hands it lies. In the third column he
sets down, opposite to the workman’s name, the number of lines composed,
as fast as the galleys are brought to him. In the fourth, he inserts
such remarks respecting the copy, &c. as may be necessary, and also any
circumstances that may occur in the companionship.
When the work is finished, each man’s share of lines is readily
ascertained, and all disputes are avoided. The publisher may expedite
the progress of the work by offering a copy of the book, or some other
token, as a premium to the compositor who sets the largest number of ems.
The maker-up or clicker usually receives for his compensation the head
and foot lines, and two or three cents per thousand, which is deducted
from the wages paid to the compositor. Sometimes the compositors work “in
pocket,” as it is called, or share evenly in the proceeds. This, however,
is not a satisfactory mode, and its tendency is to retard the work, as no
man will be anxious to do more than his share.
When the compositors are ready for their first taking of copy, it should
be given to them in pieces as short as possible, the first two beginning
with shorter takes than the others, to prevent delay in the making
up. During the time the first take is in hand, the clicker sets the
half-head, head-lines, white-lines, and signature-lines, together with
notes and other extraneous matter.
When the first person brings his matter, the clicker counts or measures
off with a type-measure the number of lines, and inserts them in the
table; he then gives him another take of copy, and proceeds with the
making up. The same plan is observed with the rest of the compositors.
When the first sheet is made up, the clicker lays the pages on the
stone, and informs the foreman of it, who has previously had chases and
furniture prepared and the clicker immediately imposes the form.
[Illustration: TYPE MEASURE.]
The proofs should be read at once and given to the clicker to have them
corrected. As soon as this is done, he lays up the forms, and gives the
proof to the compositor whose matter stands first, who should immediately
correct it, then forward it to the next, and so on, till the sheet be
corrected; the clicker then locks it up and pulls the second proof, which
must be duly forwarded, and the type be locked up finally for press.
The work will now proceed rapidly, provided the compositors stick close
to their work and there be no hinderance with respect to letter, &c.:
this depends on the good management of the foreman.
If the clicker find that he cannot make up the matter as fast as it is
composed, he should call one of the compositors to his assistance, who
must be the person last in copy.
COMPANIONSHIPS.
Disputes sometimes arise in a printing-office upon trifling as well
as important points, which should be settled by a reference to the
general custom and usage of the trade. These annoying misunderstandings
take place in companionships consisting of several compositors; it
is therefore highly desirable that the generally received rules and
regulations in this regard should be explicitly laid down for the comfort
and government of the compositor.
TAKING COPY.
[Illustration: STEEL COMPOSING RULE.]
When the work to be taken in hand is a reprint which is to be followed
page for page, a fixed number of pages should be given to each compositor
as he comes in turn for copy; or, if the work be in manuscript, an equal
average amount should be allowed as a take for each compositor. None of
the hands should have access to the copy, but the foreman should deal it
out as wanted with perfect impartiality, fat or lean as it may happen to
run. Otherwise, a compositor who has an acquaintance with the copy may
be tempted to loiter if the next take to be given out be lean, or, if it
be fat, to apply for copy before his work in hand is finished. By this
course, the foreman will prevent all such sorts of sharp practice, and
secure harmony in the companionship. When the foreman gives out copy,
he should plainly mark the name of the compositor at the head of the
first page of the take if the work be a page-for-page reprint; if it be
manuscript, or a reprint in a different measure from that of the copy,
he should write the name at the beginning of the first paragraph of the
take. Most compositors desire to have a large portion of copy, under the
erroneous idea that it will be to their advantage to make up many pages
at once. Small takes insure a more rapid execution of the work and bring
a quicker return of letter, and so tend to the profit of the hands.
If one of the companionship absent himself, the man next in order should
close his copy, whether it be good or bad, unless the larger portion of
it be not set, in which case the person who has the last take must go on
with it.
MAKING UP.
The compositor who has the first take on the work proceeds without delay
to make it up as soon as he has completed it. Having completed as many
pages as his matter will make, he passes the overplus, if less than
half a page, with the correct head and folio, to the compositor whose
matter follows his, at the same time taking an account of the number of
lines loaned; if, on the contrary, the overplus makes more than half a
page, he borrows a sufficient number of lines to complete his page; each
compositor keeping an account of the number of lines borrowed and loaned.
The second compositor, following the same course, passes the make-up
to the next in succession; each man passing the make-up in like manner
without unnecessary delay.
[Illustration: STEEL MAKE-UP RULE.]
MAKING UP OF LETTER.
The number of the companionship, if possible, should be determined on
at the commencement of the work, to enable all to proceed upon an equal
footing. The letter appropriated for the work should be adequate to keep
the persons on it fully employed.
If any part of the matter for distribution, whether in chase or in paper,
be desirable on account of the sorts it may contain, it should be divided
equally, or the choice of it thrown for.
When a new companion is put on the work after the respective shares of
letter are made up, and if there be not a sufficiency to carry on all
the companionship without making up more, he must bring on an additional
quantity before he can be allowed to partake of any part of that which
comes from the press.
MAKING UP FURNITURE.
The companions in rotation should make up the furniture in turn, the one
who has the last matter in the first sheet leading off. Should an odd
sheet be wanted, it will be better to throw for the chance of making it
up.
IMPOSING AND DISTRIBUTING LETTER.
The person to whose turn it falls to impose must lay up the form for
distribution. To prevent disputes, it will be well to prepare a blank
form, as follows, which may be filled up as the work proceeds:—
+-------------+-------------------------------------------+-----------+
| | THE GREAT INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION. | |
| +-------------------------------------------+ |
| |BEATTY. | |
| | +-------------------------------------+ |
| | |GOUDY. | |
| | | +-------------------------------+ |
| | | |FARROE. | BY WHOM |
| SIGNATURES. | | | +-------------------------+ IMPOSED. |
| | | | |WILSON. | |
| | | | | +-------------------+ |
| | | | | |CLARK. | |
| | | | | | +-------------+ |
| | | | | | |MCGUIGAN. | |
| | | | | | | +-------+ |
| | | | | | | |MAYHEW.| |
+-------------+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-------+-----------+
| B | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 2 | Clark. |
| C | 2 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 2 | McGuigan. |
| D | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | Farroe. |
| E | 2 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | Wilson. |
| F | | | | | | | | |
+-------------+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-------+-----------+
When the form is laid up, the letter should be divided equally, and, if
possible, each person should distribute the matter originally composed by
him; by this means, the sorts which may have made his case uneven will
return to him. If any man absent himself beyond a reasonable time, his
undistributed matter should be divided equally among his companions, and
when he returns he may have his share of the next division.
CORRECTING, ETC.
The compositor whose matter is first in the proof should lay up the forms
on the imposing-stone and correct it; he then hands the proof to the
person who follows next. The compositor who corrects the last part of the
sheet locks up the forms.
The compositor who has matter in the first and last part, but not the
middle of the sheet, only lays up the forms and corrects his matter; the
locking up is left to the person who corrects last in the sheet.
A compositor having the first page only of the sheet is required to lay
up one form; also to lock up one form if he has but the last page.
If, from carelessness in locking up the form,—viz. the furniture binding,
the quoins badly fitted, &c.—any letters, or even a page, should fall
out, the person who locked up the form should repair the damage. But, if
the accident occur from bad justification, or from letters _riding_ upon
the ends of the leads, the loss should fall upon the person to whom the
matter belongs.
[Illustration: CHASE CABINET.]
It is the business of the locker-up to ascertain whether all the pages
are of equal length; and, though a defect in this respect is highly
reprehensible in the maker-up, (whose duty it is to rectify it,) yet, if
not previously discovered by the locker-up, and an accident happen, he
must make good the defect.
The compositor who imposes a sheet must correct the alterations in that
sheet. He must also rectify any defect in the register arising from want
of accuracy in the furniture.
Forms sometimes remain a considerable length of time before they are put
to press. In this case, particularly in summer, the furniture is likely
to shrink, and the pages may fall out. It is therefore the business of
the locker-up to attend to it in this respect, or he will be subject to
make good any accident which his neglect may occasion.
When forms which have been worked off are ordered to be kept standing,
they are considered under the care of the foreman. When they are cleared
away, it is to be done in equal proportions by the companionship. During
the time any forms may have remained under the care of the foreman,
should there have been any alteration as to form or substance which were
not made by the original compositors, they are not subject to clear away
those parts of the form thus altered. To prevent dust from settling in
the face of the type, it is well to keep the forms in a chase cabinet.
If the pressman unlock a form on the press, and any part of it fall out
from carelessness in the locking up, he is subject to the loss that may
happen in consequence.
The compositor who locks up a sheet takes it to the proof-press, and,
after he has pulled a proof, hands it, together with the foul proof, to
the reader, and deposits the form in a place appointed for that purpose.
TRANSPOSITION OF PAGES.
Each person in the companionship must lay down his pages properly on the
stone for imposition. The compositor whose turn it is to impose looks
them over to see if they are rightly placed. Should they, after this
examination, lie improperly, and be thus imposed, it will be his business
to transpose them; but, should the folios be wrong, and the mistake
arise from this cause, it must be rectified by the person to whom the
matter belongs. Pages without folios or head-lines, laid down wrongly for
imposition, must be rectified by the person who has been slovenly enough
to adopt this plan.
RULES AND REGULATIONS TO BE OBSERVED IN A PRINTING-OFFICE.
Compositors are to receive their cases from the foreman or his assistant,
free from all pi or improper sorts, with clean quadrate and space boxes,
both Roman and Italic, which they are to return to him in equally good
condition.
2. When a compositor receives letter, furniture, &c. from the foreman, he
is to return any portion not used, in as good state as he received it,
the same day.
3. When a case is taken out of the rack, the compositor is to return it
into the proper place immediately after he has done with it.
4. No cases to be placed over others, or under the frames, or on the
floor.
5. Compositors are to impose their matter and pull a proof as soon as
made up, unless directed otherwise, and to correct the proof without
unnecessary delay.
6. The proof, when pulled, to be given to the reader, the copy in regular
order to accompany the first proof, and the foul proof the second.
7. Compositors are not to leave either type or furniture on the stone.
8. A compositor is not to detain an imposing-stone longer than the nature
of the business may require.
9. Head-lines, or other useful materials, on galleys, used during the
course of a work, to be cleared away as soon as the work is finished.
10. When a work is done, the compositor, before beginning another work,
unless otherwise directed, is to clear away the forms, taking from them
the head-lines, white-lines, and odd sorts, as well as the leads and
reglets; which, with the furniture of each sheet, and the matter properly
tied up for papering, are to be given to the foreman.
11. Types dropped on the floor to be picked up at once. Matter broken by
accident to be cleared away on the same day.
12. The saw, saw-block, bowl, sponge, letter-brush, shears, bellows, &c.,
to be returned to their respective places as soon as done with.
13. Letter-boards, windows, frames, &c., to be kept free from pi.
14. No person to take sorts from the cases of another without leave, nor
hoard useful sorts, not wanting or likely to want them.
15. Compositors employed by the week to work not less than ten hours per
day.
16. Unnecessary conversation to be avoided.
[Illustration: GALLEY CABINET.]
[Illustration]
THE PRESS AND ITS WORKING.
HISTORY OF THE PRESS.
[Illustration: OLD COMMON PRESS.]
While poets and orators have expatiated on the glory and power of the
press, rulers have exhausted their cunning in attempts to curb and
regulate the art of which it is the symbol. Hedged in by arbitrary
restrictions, it is not wonderful that printing was long carried on with
clumsy implements. The earliest press resembled a screw-press, with a
contrivance for running the form of types under the point of pressure.
After the impression was taken, the screw was relaxed, and the form
withdrawn and the sheet removed.
This rude press continued in general use till 1620, when WILLEM JANSEN
BLAEU, at first a joiner and afterward a mathematical instrument maker
of Amsterdam, contrived a press in which the bed or carriage was brought
under the point of pressure by moving a handle attached to a screw
hanging in a beam with a spring, the spring causing the screw to fly back
as soon as the impression was given. This movement was afterward effected
by means of a double strap or belt, two ends of which were attached to an
axle, and the others to opposite ends of the bed. The platen was so small
that two pulls were necessary to print one side of a sheet, and each
sheet, therefore, required four pulls to produce a complete impression.
ADAM RAMAGE, who came from Scotland to Philadelphia about 1790, and who
for a long time was the chief press-builder in the United States, made
some improvements in the old press, one of which was the substitution of
an iron bed for the stone one before in use.
About the year 1800, EARL STANHOPE contrived a press which obtained much
notoriety. It was constructed of iron, and of a size sufficient to print
the whole surface of a sheet, and such a combined action of levers was
applied to the screw as to make the pull a great deal less laborious to
the pressman.
[Illustration: COLUMBIAN PRESS.]
The Stanhope press, however, was soon surpassed by the Columbian press,
invented by GEORGE CLYMER, of Philadelphia. Mr. Clymer, as early as 1797,
endeavoured to improve the common wooden press. His next efforts were
directed to the production of an iron press, till finally eminent success
was the result of his labours. In beauty, durability, and power, as well
as facility of pull, the Columbian press stands perhaps unsurpassed. The
power in this press is procured by a long bar or handle acting upon a
combination of exceedingly powerful levers above the platen; the return
of the handle or levers being effected by means of counterpoises or
weights. The powerful command which the leverage enables the workman to
exercise is favourable to delicacy and exactness of printing,—his arm
feeling, as it were, through the series of levers to the very face of the
types. The inventor removed to England in 1817, and introduced the press
there, where it has long been held in high estimation.
[Illustration: WASHINGTON PRESS.]
In the United States, presses of simpler construction have displaced the
imposing Columbian press,—the first of which was invented by PETER SMITH,
of New York, and the latest is SAMUEL RUST’S Washington press, which
has secured general approbation and adoption, as being more simple and
cheaper, if not more effective, than the Columbian press. Hand-presses
are now restricted to country papers of small circulation, and to
book-offices devoted to extra fine printing.
The bed-and-platen power-press invented by ISAAC ADAMS, of Boston, was
for a considerable time the only machine-press capable of producing
fine work and exact register. It will give from six to eight thousand
impressions per day. As the platen rolls off and leaves the bed entirely
exposed, forms can be made ready with great facility. The sheets are
taken from the feed-board by fingers, and, after being printed, are laid
in a pile by a self-acting sheet-flyer.
The Cylinder press, which may be run at a much higher rate of speed than
the bed-and-platen machine, was of earlier invention. FREDERICK KÖNIG,
a Saxon, early in the present century turned his attention to cylinder
printing, and was so successful that on November 28, 1814, the London
_Times_ announced the fact that the number issued on that day had been
printed by machinery propelled by steam. The earliest suggestion of a
cylinder press is due, however, to William Nicholson, of England, who, in
1790 took out a patent for such a machine, but it was never perfected.
According to Mr. Isaiah Thomas, a Dr. Kinsley, of Connecticut, afterward
produced a press varying somewhat from Nicholson’s.
[Illustration: STOP CYLINDER PRESS.]
In 1818, Applegath and Cowper made important improvements in König’s
press, which greatly enlarged its field of usefulness. This machine, with
various modifications and improvements, is in general use in Europe and
America, for newspapers of moderate circulation, and even for fine job
and book work, as entirely accurate register can now be secured on the
new cylinder presses of the best makers, such as Hoe & Co.,[17] Cottrell
& Babcock, Campbell, and others. The stop cylinder press (the latest
improvement) is particularly well adapted for fine printing.
[Illustration: HOE’S TYPE-REVOLVING MACHINE—SIDE VIEW.]
The invention of steam printing presses rendered books and periodicals so
cheap that the progress of knowledge was amazingly accelerated; and soon
the capacity of the cylinder press proved unequal to the work of printing
the enormous editions of some of the leading newspapers of the world; and
the first successful invention to meet the exigency was made by Col.
RICHARD M. HOE, of New York, in the Type-Revolving Printing Machine, of
which we give an engraving. It is, as its name indicates, on the rotary
principle; that is, the form of type is placed on the surface of a
horizontal revolving cylinder of about four and a half feet in diameter.
The form occupies a segment of only about one-fourth of the surface of
the cylinder, and the remainder is used as an ink-distributing surface.
Around this main cylinder, and parallel with it, are placed smaller
impression cylinders, varying in number from four to ten, according to
the size of the machine. The large cylinder being put in motion, the form
of types is carried successively to all the impression cylinders, at each
of which a sheet receives the impression of the types as the form passes.
Thus, as many sheets are printed at each revolution of the main cylinder
as there are impression cylinders around it. One person is required at
each impression cylinder to supply the sheets of paper, which are taken
at the proper moment by fingers or grippers, and after being printed are
carried out by tapes and laid in heaps by means of self-acting flyers,
thereby dispensing with the hands required in ordinary machines to
receive and pile the sheets. The grippers hold the sheet securely, so
that the thinnest newspaper may be printed without waste.
The ink is contained in a fountain placed beneath the main cylinder, and
is conveyed by means of distributing rollers to the distributing surface
on the main cylinder. This surface being lower, or less in diameter, than
the form of types, passes by the impression cylinder without touching.
For each impression there are two inking rollers, which receive their
supply of ink from the distributing surface of the main cylinder: they
rise and ink the form as it passes under them, after which they again
fall to the distributing surface.
This press is capable of printing either from type or from stereotype
plates bent to fit the curve of the cylinder. When type is used, each
page of the paper is locked up on a detached segment of the large
cylinder, which constitutes its bed and chase. The column-rules run
parallel with the shaft of the cylinder, and are consequently straight;
while the head, advertising, and dash rules are in the form of segments
of a circle. The column-rules are in the form of a wedge, with the
thin part directed toward the axis of the cylinder, so as to bind the
type securely. These wedge-shaped column-rules are held down to the
bed by tongues projecting at intervals along their length, which slide
in rebated grooves cut crosswise in the face of the bed. The spaces in
the grooves between the column-rules are accurately fitted with sliding
blocks of metal even with the surface of the bed, the ends of which
blocks are cut away underneath to receive a projection on the sides of
the tongues of the column-rules. The form of type is locked up in the bed
by means of screws at the foot and sides, by which the type is held as
securely as in the ordinary manner upon a flat bed,—if not even more so.
The speed of these machines is limited only by the ability of the feeders
to supply the sheet.
This machine was first used by the _Public Ledger_ of Philadelphia, and
was afterward adopted by the leading newspapers of that city and New
York, as well as of the chief cities of Great Britain and other countries.
To obtain the best results from the largest size of this press it was
necessary to employ a dozen or more hands to feed and run it. This
expensive feature was largely avoided in a new machine projected by Mr.
WILLIAM BULLOCK, whose press was the forerunner of several machines that
may be classed under the general name of Self-feeding or Web Perfecting
Presses.
THE BULLOCK WEB PERFECTING PRESS.
This machine is intended for printing on a continuous roll of dampened
paper, which passes between a pair of cylinders (one of which is an
impression cylinder, and the other a cylinder around which stereotyped
plates are bent) and receives an impression on one side, and the sheet
then goes forward and is printed on the other side while passing between
a second pair of cylinders similar to the first, except that the
impression cylinder is four times the diameter of the plate cylinder
to prevent more effectually the ink from “setting off.” After being
printed, and before delivery, the sheet is cut off by a fixed serrated
cutting blade, the ingenious invention of Victor Beaumont of New York.
A French device for making flexible papier-maché moulds rendered it
possible to cast the type-plates to fit the printing cylinders. Without
this auxiliary, web perfecting presses would have been useless and
impracticable.
[Illustration: THE BULLOCK SELF-FEEDING PERFECTING PRESS, WITH FOLDER,
WILL FLY THE SHEET FLAT, FOLD IT THREE OR FOUR TIMES AT WILL, OR CUT,
FOLD, AND PASTE IT AS FAST AS PRINTED]
Mr. Bullock, born in Greene County, New York, was a mechanical genius,
and was the author of many inventions in various departments of
machinery.[18] About the year 1860, he began to work out the idea of
a rotary self-feeding, or web perfecting press. After making a large
working model, which is still in existence, he adopted a simpler plan,
and in 1861 constructed a machine for the _Cincinnati Times_, which
was successfully operated, but it was far from perfect. Three of
these machines were used for a considerable time in the office of the
_Philadelphia Inquirer_.
He continued his efforts, and in 1865 he produced a press which met his
original anticipation, and a company was formed to manufacture it. In
1867, while setting up a machine for the _Public Ledger_ in Philadelphia,
he suffered a serious injury which terminated his life. More than fifty
of the presses are now in use in the United States. The New York _Herald_
press, printing and cutting two copies at each delivery, is said to
produce, with but three men to attend to it, 30,000 copies per hour. The
New York _Sun_ states: “When our seven Bullock Presses are working, we
can turn off, without extravagant assertion, 210,000 copies an hour.”
This assertion must be taken with some grains of allowance. The press is
twelve feet long by five and a half feet wide.
THE WALTER PERFECTING PRESS.
The Bullock press was not long allowed to be the only press for rapid
printing from cylindrical stereotype plates fed by a so-called endless
roll of paper. The principle was applied to a machine constructed in
the London _Times_ office, called, after the name of its celebrated
proprietor, the Walter press. This appears to be an effective press,
but it seems more complicated than either the Bullock or Hoe machine,
and from its mode of delivering the sheets, it is excessively noisy.
The New York _Times_ was printed on it at the Centennial Exhibition in
Philadelphia.
THE HOE PERFECTING PRESS.
The enterprise of R. Hoe & Co., of New York, soon gave birth to a web
perfecting press combined with a folding machine that answers every
requirement.
[Illustration: THE HOE WEB PERFECTING PRESS.]
The groundwork principle is the same as in other presses of this kind.
The first pair of cylinders over which hangs the roll of paper consists
of one type and one impression cylinder, and by it the first side of the
paper is printed. The second pair, printing the second side, consists
likewise of one type and one impression cylinder, but the latter is below
the former and is of much greater size, so that the “set off” from the
fresh ink shall not fall continuously on the same surface of blanket.
There is a third pair of cylinders which cuts off the sheet, and a fourth
(in which, however, one cylinder is replaced by a brace of rollers) gives
the first fold and shoots the doubled sheet in the circular cutter, which
slits it into two papers, sending them on to be folded again separately
and delivered in their respective places in piles at the side of the
press; or the papers are rolled up exactly on the top of each other, six
in number, and flown perfectly on the fly-board.
This machine printed and folded at the rate of more than 28,000 sheets
an hour at the Centennial Exhibition, printing and folding at one time
two copies of the Philadelphia _Times_. It is already in use in a dozen
newspaper establishments in various parts of the world.
All these machines were in operation at the great Centennial Exhibition
in Philadelphia. A fourth press exhibited,—claimed by its inventor, Mr.
A. Campbell of New York, to be capable of printing much faster than any
other,—was set up too late to prove its capacity by actual test. No press
however, can be made more simple and with fewer parts than this.
RAILROAD-TICKET PRINTING AND NUMBERING PRESS.
These presses not only print, but at the same operation number
consecutively, tickets and coupons of every size and pattern, which are
also indented or cut apart by the machines as fast as printed. Ten local
tickets twenty-six inches in length can be printed at one operation.
The average rate of speed is about fourteen hundred impressions an
hour,—equivalent to fourteen thousand tickets.
JOB PRESSES.
[Illustration: GORDON’S FRANKLIN PRESS.]
The invention of machines for printing small work elegantly as well as
swiftly is of vast advantage to the printer, and has greatly increased
the jobbing department of typography. Here, as in other matters, American
ingenuity has taken the lead of all nations; and the presses invented
by Ruggles, Hoe, Gordon, Degener, Wells, and Gally,—not to mention
numerous other inventors,—defy competition. The Ruggles presses formerly
commanded the trade; but the beautiful machines of Geo. P. Gordon, a man
of decided genius, and the presses of other makers above named, have
entirely displaced them. Hoe’s half medium cylinder job press will run
2500 impressions an hour.
[Illustration: NONPAREIL PRESS.]
Gordon’s Firefly press is unique, and requires a so-called endless
card-board, which it prints and cuts of the required shape as it goes,
at the rate of about ten thousand per hour. This is not in general use;
but his eighth medium, quarto medium, and half medium Franklin presses,
have achieved a high reputation for expedition and excellent performance.
Gordon’s Franklin press has been reproduced in Europe under a different
name.
[Illustration: LIBERTY PRESS.]
We here present an engraving of another press which has achieved not a
little reputation. It is called the Liberty press, and is manufactured
by Degener & Weiler, of New York. In sizes as well as in prices, it
corresponds with the Franklin. This press also is manufactured in Europe.
The Nonpareil, the Globe, the Peerless, and the Universal job presses all
have special points which commend them to favour. Indeed, with so many
good machines at the command of the printer, he is without excuse who
does not produce handsome work.
[Illustration: UNIVERSAL PRESS.]
What are called amateur presses may do well enough to amuse the boys of
a family and keep them out of mischief; but when they are employed by
fledgelings in competition with properly trained printers, they become
mere paper-smearers, the work produced on them being simply detestable to
an educated eye.
[Illustration: PEERLESS PRESS.]
FOLDING MACHINES.
[Illustration: BOOK-FOLDING MACHINE.]
Book and Newspaper Folders are entitled to a high rank among modern
labour-saving machines. For newspapers of large circulation and in book
establishments they have become indispensable. The finest books may be
folded by them with accuracy, speed, and economy; and periodicals can be
folded, pasted, and covered at about one-fourth the cost of hand-folding
alone; while the daily folio newspaper can be folded in two, three, or
four folds as fast as the machine press can print; or an eight-page
daily or weekly can be folded three or four times, and all the pages
pasted together at the back fold, and the head margin trimmed. All these
processes are successfully accomplished by the various machines made
by Chambers, Brother & Co. of Philadelphia. The engraving given above
represents a book-folding machine.
SETTING UP A WASHINGTON PRESS.
All the connecting parts being marked, or indented by points, if these be
observed carefully, the press may be put together without difficulty.
After setting the frame upon its legs, and putting on the ribs and bed,
lay the platen on the bed, placing under it two bearers about type high.
Then put the springs in their places, and the nuts over them, and pass
the suspending-rods through them, observing to place the rods so that
the number of indentations on them correspond with those on the platen.
Give the nuts two or three turns, then run in the bed so as to bring the
platen under the rods, and screw them fast to the platen; after which,
put in the bar-handle, standard, and lever, (or wedge and knees, if a
Smith press.) Turn the nuts on the suspending-rods, so as to compress
the springs just enough to give the platen a quick retrograde motion,
observing at the same time to get the surface of the platen parallel with
the surface of the bed.
After having put the press together and levelled it by means of a
spirit-level, be particular not to raise the end of the ribs by the
gallows, but let it go under rather loose, which will have a tendency to
make the bed slide with more ease on the ribs.
SETTING UP THE ROLLER-STAND.
The roller-stand containing the distributing cylinder should be regulated
to the height of the press, bringing the shelf or bridge even with the
corner irons, and at sufficient distance from the bed to allow it to run
clear; the stand should then be firmly braced, as the constant turning of
the rounce is very apt to loosen it; meanwhile being cautious to observe
that the rounce, in its revolutions, does not come in contact with the
frame of the tympan when up. The position of the distributing cylinder
should be sufficiently high to allow the two composition rollers, at
least one inch apart, to rest on its top without danger of touching the
shelf or bridge in front. It is advantageous to nail two narrow strips
of sole leather on the face of the shelf, about eight or ten inches from
each end, which, acting as bearers, cause the rollers to pass very
smoothly over them.
[Illustration: ROLLER STAND.]
The roller-handle while in use should lie in a horizontal position, the
back end being supported by a bar of wood or iron running parallel with
the distributing cylinder. There should be a notch, or hook, about two
inches from the end of the handle, to catch on the wooden supporter, to
prevent the rollers from jumping forward while distributing or changing.
It is also necessary to have a back-board for the end of the roller
to strike against in coming off the form, to prevent the rollers from
falling backward.
The ink-block is placed about five or six inches to the right of the
roller-handle, and about on a level with it. It is furnished with the
ink-slice, and a brayer, or a small roller about four or five inches
long, and of the same circumference with the larger rollers, being cast
in the same mould.
COMPOSITION ROLLERS.
Put the glue in a bucket or pan, and cover it with water; let it stand
until more than half penetrated with water, taking care that it shall not
soak too long, and then pour it off and let it remain until it becomes
soft, when it will be ready for the melting kettle. This is a double
vessel, like a glue kettle. Put the soaked glue into the inner vessel,
and as much water in the outer boiler as it will contain when the inner
vessel is placed in it. When the glue is all melted, (if too thick, add
a little water,) the molasses may be slowly poured into it, and well
mixed with the glue by frequent stirring. When properly prepared, the
composition does not require boiling more than an hour. Too much boiling
candies the molasses, and the roller, consequently, will be found to lose
its suction much sooner. In proportioning the material, much depends
upon the weather and temperature of the place in which the rollers are
to be used. Eight pounds of glue to one gallon of sugar-house molasses,
or syrup, is a very good proportion for summer-time, and four pounds of
glue to one gallon of molasses for winter use. Glue for rollers should be
clear and bright in body, and even in texture, when held up to the light:
it should break short, and with a clear, sharp edge like glass.
[Illustration: MELTING KETTLE.]
For _hand-press rollers_ more molasses should be used, as they are not
subject to so much hard usage as _cylinder-press rollers_, and do not
require to be as strong; for the more molasses that can be used the
better will be the roller. Before pouring a roller, the mould should be
perfectly clean, and well oiled with a swab, but not to excess, as too
much oil makes the face of the roller seamy and ragged. The end pieces
should then be oiled, and, together with the cylinder, placed in the
mould, the upper-end piece being very open, to allow the composition
to pass down between the interior of the mould and the cylinder. The
cylinder must be well secured from rising, before the composition is
poured in, by placing a stick upon the end of it, sufficiently long
to reach above the end of the mould, and be tied down with twine. The
composition should be poured very slowly, and in such a manner as to
cause it to run down only _one side_ of the cylinder, allowing the air to
escape freely up the other.
If the mould is filled at night, the roller may be drawn the next
morning; but it should not be used for at least twenty-four hours after,
except in very cold weather.
To determine when a roller is in order for working, press the hand gently
on it: if the fingers pass smoothly over its surface, it may be said to
be in order; but should it be so adhesive that the fingers cling to it,
it is not sufficiently dry, and should be exposed to the air.
Rollers should not be washed immediately after use, but should be put
away with the ink on them, as it protects the surface from the action
of the air. When washed and exposed to the atmosphere for any length of
time, they become dry and skinny. They should be washed about half an
hour before using them. In cleaning a _new_ roller, a little oil rubbed
over it will loosen the ink: and it should be scraped clean with the back
of a case-knife. It should be cleaned in this way for about one week,
when _ley_ may be used. New rollers are often spoiled by washing them
too soon with ley. Benzine may be substituted for oil; but, owing to its
combustible nature, it is objectionable, as disastrous accidents have
ensued from its use.
Mr. Hansard, an eminent English printer, says, “Take glue, made from the
cuttings of parchment or vellum, fine green molasses, pure as from the
sugar-refiners, and a small quantity of the substance called Paris-white,
and you will have every ingredient requisite for good composition. The
proportion as follows:—
Glue, 2 lbs.
Molasses, 6 lbs.
Paris-white, ½ lb.
Put the glue in a little water for a few hours to soak; pour off the
liquid; put the glue over the fire, and when it is dissolved add the
molasses, and let them be well incorporated together for at least an
hour; then, with a very fine sieve, mix the Paris-white, frequently
stirring the composition. In another hour, or less, it will be fit to
pour into the mould.”
Various patented compositions for rollers may now be had from
type-founders.
COVERING TYMPANS.
Tympans are generally covered with parchment, which should be of an even
thickness, and about two inches and a half wider and three inches longer
than the tympans. Tympans have been sometimes covered with linen, which,
on account of its evenness, would answer the purpose; but it is so apt to
stretch, that the tympans become slack in a short time, and bag (as it is
termed), and thus slur the impression. Silk is excellent for fine work.
The pressman spreads as much good paste on the edges of the skin as will
cover the frame of the tympan, which is also well pasted. He then lays
the skin on the inner side of the frame, with the flesh side to face
the type, and draws it regularly, as tight as possible, on all sides.
The part of the skin that comes on the grooves of the tympan which
receive the point-screws, is cut and wrapped round the inside edge of
the grooves, which admits a free passage for the screws. After having
fastened the skin on the sides of the tympan, he draws it toward the
joints which receive the frisket, and with a knife cuts across these
joints to let them through the skin; he then puts the frisket-pins
through the parchment, and makes that end of the tympan fast. He next
proceeds to the lower joints, and brings the skin as tight as he can
round that part of the tympan. The point-screws and duck-bill are then
put on, which prevent the skin from starting. The inner tympan, or
drawer, is covered in the same manner. To prevent their warping when the
skin begins to draw, pieces of furniture or wood of any kind should be
placed across the centre till they are perfectly dry.
The skins are put on either wet or dry: if dry, they should be afterward
well wet, which will make them give somewhat; but when they dry they will
contract, and by this means will be rendered much tighter than they would
be if put on wet.
WETTING PAPER.
The size of the wetting-trough should be about two inches longer and
wider than the largest-sized paper, folded, that is to be wet in it,
and about six inches deep. It should have a cover with hinges on the
left side, that the cover may fall over on that side, and, resting
horizontally, serve for a shelf to lay the paper upon previous to wetting
it.
Having received a certain amount of paper from the warehouseman, the
pressman lays one heap on the shelf attached to the wetting-trough,
laying the first token across the heap with the back of the quires toward
his right hand, that he may know when to turn the token-sheet, and that
he may more readily catch at the back of each quire with that hand,
for the purpose of dipping it. He then places the paper-board with its
breadth before him on his right, on a table, laying a wrapper or a waste
sheet of paper on the board, to prevent soiling the first sheet of the
heap.
He then takes a quire by the centre of the back with his right hand, and
the edge of it in his left, and, closing his hands a little, that the
quire may bend downward between his hands, he dips the back of the quire
into the left-hand side of the trough, and, relinquishing his hold with
the left hand, draws the quire briskly through the water with his right.
As the quire comes out, he quickly catches the edge of it again in his
left hand, and brings it to the heap, and, by lifting his left hand,
bears the under side of the quire off the paper previously laid down,
till he has placed the quire in an even position; if the paper be weak
and spongy, he draws the quire through the water quickly; if strong and
stubborn, slowly. To place the quire in an even position, he lays the
back of it exactly upon the open crease of the former, and then lets the
side of the quire in his left hand fall flat down upon the heap, and,
discharging his right hand, brings it to the edge of the quire, and, with
the assistance of his left thumb, still in its first position, opens or
divides either a third or a half of the quire, according to the quality
of the paper; then, spreading the fingers of his right hand as much as he
can through the length of the quire, turns over his opened division of it
upon his right-hand side of the heap.
A different process must be used in the wetting of drawing and plate
papers. These papers are usually sent in quite flat; that is, not folded
into quires or half-quires. The best method of wetting these papers is to
use a brush, such as is called a banister brush; and, instead of dipping
the paper into the trough, he lays it on the paper-board by the side of
the trough, and, dipping the brush into the water, he shakes it gently
over the whole surface, to give an equal degree of moisture to all parts;
and then proceeds as before described. The drawing-paper, being very
hard-sized in the making, will require the brush, and much water, three,
four, or even five times a quire; while the plate-paper should have as
little water as it is possible to give it, so as to cover it all over;
and twice a quire will often be too much. This same mode must also be
adopted in wetting paper of extraordinary dimensions.
Having wet his first token, he doubles down a corner of the upper sheet
of it on his right hand, so that the farther corner may be a little
toward the left of the crease in the middle of the heap, and the other
corner may hang out on the near side of the heap about an inch and a
half. This sheet is called the _token-sheet_, being a mark for the
pressman, when he is at work, to show how many tokens of that heap are
worked off.
Having wet the whole heap, he lays a wrapper, or waste sheet of paper,
upon it; then, three or four times, takes up as much water as he can in
the hollow of his hand, and throws it over the waste sheet, to moisten
and soak downward into the wet part of the last division of the quire;
after which, he places in the heap the label which the warehouseman must
always furnish for each heap, and upon which are written the title of the
work and the date of wetting, one-half hanging out so as to be easily
read.
The paper should be pressed for twelve hours, and then carefully turned
by each three or four sheets, so that no lift be relaid in the same
position with respect to the adjoining lift; at the same time, every fold
and wrinkle must be carefully rubbed out by the action of the hand, so
that nothing but a flat and even surface shall remain; the heap should
then be pressed for about twenty-four hours in a screw-press, and it will
be in good order for working.
The wetting of paper must, in all cases, depend entirely upon its fabric;
and, since the printer has seldom the choice of the paper, it will
require all his skill and patience to adapt his labours to the materials
upon which he is to work. The texture of the paper must be suited to the
fineness and tenacity of the ink. To attempt doing fine work upon common
paper is lost labour. A paper to take the best ink must be made entirely
of linen rags, _and not bleached by chemicals_. A fine hand-made paper,
fabricated a sufficient time to get properly hardened, and well and
equally saturated with size, so as not to imbibe more water in one part
of the dip than in another, nor resisting the water like a duck’s back,
is most suitable for fine printing.
Machines for wetting paper are now used in most large printing-offices.
BLANKETS.
Woollen blankets are unnecessary when a book is printed from new type.
Nothing more should be used than a sheet or two of paper, as in fine work
only the face of the type should show in the impression. But when the
types or plates are worn and rounded, fine cassimere or broadcloth should
be used in the tympan. In this, as in all matters connected with artistic
typography, the pressman must display good judgment and discretion.
MAKING READY A FORM ON A HAND-PRESS.
Before a form is laid on the press, the pressman should carefully wipe
the bottom of the type and the bed perfectly clean; for, if a particle of
sand remain on it, it will cause a type or two to rise, and not only make
a stronger impression, but probably injure the letters.
An octavo form should be laid on the press with the signature-page to
the left hand, or nearest the platen; a duodecimo, or its combinations,
with the signature at the right hand, or nearest the tympan. The form
should be laid under the centre of the platen, and properly quoined up.
The tympan is then laid down, and wet if necessary, and paper or blanket
put in. It was formerly customary to wet the tympans for all works, and
even jobs of almost every description; but, since the introduction of
fine printing, and particularly iron presses, the custom is well-nigh
banished, excepting for very heavy forms, composed with old letter,
which, of course, require more softness to bring them off. After the
inner tympan or drawer is put in, it is fastened with the hooks for that
purpose, which serve to keep it from springing out. The tympan being
lifted up, a sheet of the paper to be worked is folded in quarto, and the
short crease is placed over the middle of the grooves of the short cross,
if it lie in the centre of the form, as in octavo. In a form of twelves,
the paper is folded in thirds, and the long crease placed in the middle
of the long cross, and the short cross over the grooves. The sheet lying
evenly on the form, the tympan is brought down, and a gentle pull will
cause the paper to adhere, when it should be pasted to the tympan and
fully stretched. The points are next screwed to the tympan, for large
paper short-shanked points being used, and long-shanked for small paper.
In twelves, the points must be placed at precisely equal distances from
the edge of the paper. In octavo, the off-point may be a little larger
than the near one, as it enables the pressman to detect a turned heap
when working the reiteration or second side.
When a press is continued upon the same work, the quoins on the off-side
of the bed may remain and serve as gauges for the succeeding forms; for,
if the chases are equal in size, the register will be almost, if not
quite, perfect.
The following operations are comprised in the term of making ready the
form:—
1. The frisket should be covered with stout even paper, in the manner
described for putting on parchment, the paper being carefully placed on
the inside of the frame so as to lie close to the tympan, and to confine
the sheet in its place when laid on for printing. When the paste is
dry, the frisket is put on the tympan, and, after inking the form, an
impression pulled upon it. The frisket is then taken off and laid on a
board, or on the bank, and the impression of the pages cut out with a
sharp knife about a Pica em larger than the page. After being replaced
on the tympan, it is advisable to put a few cords across, to strengthen
the bars of paper, and to keep the sheets close to the tympan. When the
margin is too small to admit bars of paper, it is necessary to work with
cords only.
2. The form should be examined, to see that it is properly locked up and
planed down; that no letters or spaces lie in the white lines of the
form, nor between the lines in leaded matter.
3. White pages which occur in a form must not be cut out; but, if the
page be already cut out, a piece of paper must be pasted on the frisket,
to cover the white page in the form, and a bearer put on to keep the
adjoining pages from having too hard an impression. Some pressmen use
reglets, others furniture cut to a proper height, and a third class adopt
cork, which, from its elasticity, is very useful. Spring bearers, made of
hard paper rolled up, are also employed to guard the sides and bottoms of
light and open pages, when there is an inclination to slur.
4. The pressman must examine whether the frisket bites; that is, whether
it keeps off the impression from any part of the pages.
5. He must consider whether the catch of the frisket stands either too
far forward or backward: if forward, he may be much delayed by its
falling down, and, if backward, it will come down too slowly, and thus
retard the progress of the work and not unfrequently cause the sheet to
slip out of its proper place. He must, therefore, place the catch so that
the frisket may stand a little more than perpendicularly backward, that,
when lightly tossed up, it may just stand, and not come back.
6. He must fit the gallows so that the tympan may stand as much toward an
upright as he can; because it is the sooner let down upon the form and
lifted up again. But yet he must not place it so upright as to prevent
the white sheets of the paper from lying secure on the tympan.
7. The range of the paper-bank should not stand at right angles with the
bed of the press; but the farther end of the bank should be placed so
that the near side may make an angle of about seventy-five degrees with
the near side of the bed.
8. The heap of paper should be set on the horse on the near end of the
paper-bank, near the tympan, yet not touching it. The uppermost or
outside sheet should be laid on the bank; and the pressman then takes
four or five quires off his heap, and shakes them at each end, to loosen
the sheets, till he finds he has sufficiently loosened or hollowed the
heap. Then, with the nail of his right-hand thumb, he draws or slides
forward the upper sheet, and two or three more commonly follow gradually
with it, over the hither edge of the heap, to prepare those sheets ready
for laying on the tympan.
9. He must next pull a _revise_ sheet, which must be sent up to the
overseer for a final revision, and for examining whether any letters have
dropped out of the form in putting it on the press, &c.
10. While the sheet is undergoing a revision, the pressman should
proceed to _make register_, if half-sheet-wise, which is done by pulling
a waste sheet, and turning it, (without inking, as the sheets may
afterward be used for _slip_ sheets,) being particular not to stretch
the point-holes in the least, or to draw the hand along the sheet in
leaving it. In making register, the points must be knocked up or down
in such a direction as will bring the first impression under the last,
knocking the point only half the distance apparent on the sheet. If
register cannot be made with the points, the difficulty must then be
either in the furniture, the length of the pages, or in the springing of
the cross-bars, from the forms being locked up by careless compositors,
who commence at one quarter of the form, and lock it up tightly, and so
go around, instead of gently tapping it at opposite sides till the whole
is equally tightened. In locking up a form, the quoins at the feet should
be gently struck first, to force up the pages and prevent their hanging;
but, in unlocking, the side quoins must be first slackened.
Altering the quoins will not make good register, when the compositor has
not made the white exactly equal between all the sides of the crosses.
The pressman, therefore, will ascertain which side has too much or too
little white, and, unlocking the form, will take out or put in as many
leads or reglets as will make good register.
PULLING.
In taking a sheet off the heap, the pressman places himself almost
straight before the near side of the tympan, but nimbly twists the upper
part of his body a little backward toward the heap, the better to see
that he takes but one sheet off. This he loosens from the rest of the
heap by drawing the back of the nail of his right thumb quickly over the
bottom part of the heap, and, receiving the near end of the sheet with
his left-hand fingers and thumb, catches it by the farther edge with his
right hand, about four inches from the upper corner of the sheet, and
brings it swiftly to the tympan: having the sheet thus in both his hands,
he lays the farther side and two extreme corners of the sheet down even
upon the farther side and extreme farther corners of the tympan-sheet. In
the reiteration, care should be taken to draw the thumb on the margin,
or between the gutters, to avoid smearing the sheet. The sheet being
properly laid on, he supports it in the centre by the fingers of the
left hand, while his right hand, being disengaged, is removed to the
back of the ear of the frisket, to bring it down upon the tympan, laying
at the same moment the tympan on the form. He then, with his left hand,
grasps the rounce, and quickly runs the form under the platen; and, after
pulling, he gives a quick and strong pressure upon the rounce, to run
the carriage out again. Letting go the rounce, he places the fingers of
his left hand toward the bottom of the tympan, to assist the right hand
in lifting it up, and also to be ready to catch the bottom of the sheet
when the frisket rises, which he conveys quickly and gently to the catch:
while it is going up, he slips the thumb of his left hand under the near
lower corner of the sheet, which, with the aid of his two forefingers,
he raises, the right hand at the same time grasping it at the top in
the same manner. Lifting the sheet carefully and expeditiously off the
points, and nimbly twisting about his body toward the paper-bank, he
carries the sheet over the heap of white paper to the bank, and lays it
down upon a waste sheet or wrapper; but, while it is coming over the
white paper heap, though he has the sheet between both his forefingers
and thumbs, yet he holds it so loosely that it may move between them as
on two centres, as his body twists about from the side of the tympan
toward the side of the paper-bank.
When the pressman comes to a token sheet, he undoubles it, and smooths
out the crease with the back of the nails of his right hand, that the
face of the letter may print upon smooth paper; and, being printed off,
he folds it again, as before, for a token-sheet, when he works the
reiteration.
Having worked off the white paper of a form of twelves, he places his
right hand under the heap, and, his left hand supporting the end near
him, turns it over on the horse, with the printed side downward. If the
form be octavo, he places his left hand under the heap, supporting the
outside near end with his right hand, and turns it one end over the
other. All turning of the paper for reiteration is treated in one of
these modes. In performing this operation, he takes from the heap only as
much at once as he can well handle without disordering the evenness of
the sides of the paper.
Having turned the heap, he proceeds to work it off, as before described,
except that with the left hand he guides the point-holes over the points,
moving the sheet with the right hand, more or less, to assist him in so
doing. The token-sheets, as he meets with them, he does not fold down
again.
RULES AND REMEDIES FOR PRESSMEN.
About every five or six sheets a small quantity of ink should be taken;
yet this rule is subject to some variation from the nature of the work
and quality of the ink. A form of large type or solid matter will require
ink to be taken more frequently, and a light form of small type less
frequently. During the intervals in which the roller-boy is not employed
in brayering out or taking ink, he should be almost constantly engaged in
distributing or changing his rollers. He should invariably take ink on
the back roller, as it will the sooner be conveyed to the other roller,
and, consequently, save time in distributing. When, through carelessness,
too much ink has been taken, it should be removed by laying a piece of
clean waste paper on one of the rollers, and working it off till the ink
is reduced to the proper quantity.
If letters, quadrates, or furniture rise up and black the paper, they
should be put down, and the quarter locked up tighter.
If any letters are battered, the quarter they are in must be unlocked,
and perfect ones put in by the compositor.
When bearers become too thin by long working, they should be replaced by
thicker ones.
When the form gets out of register,—which will often happen by the
starting of the quoins which secure the chase,—it must be immediately put
in again, as there can scarcely be a greater defect in a book than the
want of uniformity in this particular.
If picks, produced by bits of paper, composition, or film of ink and
grease or filth, get into the form, they must be removed with the point
of a pin or needle; but if the form is much clogged with them, it should
be well rubbed over with clean ley, or taken off and washed: in either
case, before the pressman goes on again, it should be made perfectly dry
by pulling several waste sheets upon it, in order to suck up the water
deposited in the cavities of the letter.
The pressman should accustom himself to look over every sheet as he takes
it off the tympan: he will thus be enabled not only to observe any want
of uniformity in the colour, but also to detect imperfections which might
otherwise escape notice.
In order to make perfect uniformity in the colour, the roller-boy
should keep his ink well brayered out with the small roller, in proper
quantities for the work in hand, and also should change his rollers well
after taking ink, and at other times. The rollers are changed by moving
the roller-handle slowly to the right and left, while the crank is being
turned briskly with the left hand.
Torn or stained sheets met with in the course of work are thrown out and
placed under the bank. Creases and wrinkles will frequently appear in the
sheets when the paper has been carelessly wet: these should be carefully
removed by smoothing them out with the back of the nails of the right
hand.
If the frame of the tympan rub against the platen, it will inevitably
cause a slur or mackle: this can easily be remedied by moving the tympan
so as to clear the platen. The joints or hinges of the tympan should
be kept well screwed up, or slurring will be the consequence. When the
thumb-piece of the frisket is too long, it always produces a slur: this
can be prevented by filing off a part of it. Loose tympans will at all
times slur the work, and great care must therefore be observed in drawing
them perfectly tight. The paper drying at the edges will also cause a
slur: this may be remedied by wetting the edges frequently with a sponge.
Slurring and mackling will sometimes happen from other causes: it will be
well in such cases to paste corks on the frisket, or to tie as many cords
as possible across it, to keep the sheet close to the tympan.
The pressman should make the boy roll slowly, or the rollers will be
apt to jump, and cause a _friar_. To prevent the rollers from jumping
or bounding, bridges or springs made of thin steel, to reach across the
gutters, may be used: these springs should taper off at the ends, and
having an oblong hole in each end, through which they may be tacked to
the gutter-sticks. In very open forms, it may be necessary to put bearers
or pieces of reglet where the blank pages occur at the end of the form,
to prevent one end of the roller from falling down and leaving a friar
at the opposite end. This difficulty may be obviated in a great measure
by imposing the form in such a manner as to bring the blank pages in the
centre. This mode should always be adopted for title-pages and other
light matter.
Before the pressman leaves his work, he covers the heap of paper by first
turning down a sheet like a token-sheet, to show where he left off, and
then putting a quantity of the worked-off sheets on it, and a paper-board
if convenient. Laying the blanket on the heap after leaving off work is
a bad custom. If the paper be rather dry, it will be well to put wet
wrappers on it, after damping the edges well. If the form be clean, he
puts a sheet of waste paper between the tympan and frisket, and lays them
down on the form; if it be dirty, it must be rubbed over with clean ley,
and several waste sheets pulled on it, as before directed, to suck the
dirty ley out of the cavities of the letter. On his return to work in the
morning, he takes care to wet the tympan, provided the type be worn. If
there should be any pages in the form particularly open, the parts of the
tympan where they fall must not be wetted.
THE LEY-TROUGH.
The form being worked off, it is the pressman’s duty to wash it clean
from every particle of ink, not only for the cleanly working and well
standing of the letter in the subsequent composing, but to save his own
time in making ready when the same letter gets to press again. Many an
hour is lost from not bestowing a minute or two in thoroughly cleansing
and rinsing the form.
For this purpose, printing-offices are provided with a ley-trough,
suspended on a cross-frame, and swinging by iron ears fixed somewhat out
of the precise centre, so that the gravity of the trough will cause it to
fall in a slanting position forward. This trough is lined with lead, the
top front edge being guarded from the pitching of the forms by a plate
of iron. The form having been placed in the trough, on its side, the
pressman takes hold of the rim of the chase by the hook, or instrument
for that purpose, and, laying it gently down, pours the ley upon it, and
sluices it by swinging the trough on its pivots two or three times to and
fro; then, taking the ley-brush, he applies it to the whole form, type,
furniture, and chase; the ley is then let out into a receptacle, and the
form well rinsed with clean water, by swinging the trough as before; the
form is then lifted out, and consigned to the care of the compositor.
The ley is made of pot or pearl ash, or, what is better, of concentrated
ley. A large earthen jar is usually chosen for the purpose; a sufficient
quantity of ash or concentrated ley is added to the water to make it bite
the tongue sharply in tasting.
The ley-brush is made large, the hairs close, fine, and long, in order
not to injure the type, while sufficient force is applied to search every
interstice in the letter where the ink can have insinuated itself.
MAKING READY ON CYLINDER PRESSES.
Make clean the bed of the press and the impression segment of the
cylinder. Adjust the bearers a trifle above ordinary type height. See
that the impression screws have an even bearing on the journals, and
that the cylinder fairly meets the bearers. Select a suitable tympan or
impression surface.
The tympan may be the India-rubber cloth which is furnished with the
press, a thick woollen lapping cloth or blanket, several sheets of thick
calendered printing paper, or one or more smooth and hard pasteboards.
Each of these materials has merits not to be found in any other. Upon the
proper selection of the tympan the presswork in great measure depends,
and the pressman should be thus guided in making choice.
_A pasteboard tympan_ is most suitable for wood-cuts, for perfectly
new type, and for the best kinds of presswork. It is not suitable for
miscellaneous work, nor for heavy forms, nor mixed old and new type. If
the overlaying is properly executed, a pasteboard tympan will enable the
pressman to show a sharper edge and a more delicate impression of the
type than can be possible with any other, and it will wear the type less
than any other. But it will require a very tedious and careful making
ready, or it will prove very destructive to type.
_A woollen blanket_ is best adapted for old stereotype plates, for very
old type which has been rounded on the edges, for posters with large wood
type, and for all common work which requires a clear but dull impression.
For such work a woollen blanket will enable the pressman to make ready a
form more quickly than with any other material; but it is injurious to
new type, and incapable of producing a fine and sharp impression.
_Thick paper_ is much used for book-work. It also answers well for script
circulars and leaded forms. It will not answer so well for mixed old and
new type, nor for table-work with unequal heights of brass rule, nor
for mixed large and small type. It will prove most serviceable for the
average of light and fine presswork.
_The India-rubber cloth_ combines many good qualities not found in other
tympans: it has something of the density of the pasteboard, the hardness
and evenness of paper, and the flexibility of the blanket, combined with
an elasticity peculiarly its own. It will compass a greater variety of
work than any other: posters, script circulars, news and book forms,
stereotype plates, and old or new type, can all be well printed with
an India-rubber blanket. When it is intended to make one tympan answer
for all kinds of work, the India-rubber blanket will be found decidedly
superior to all others; but when very extra presswork is wanted, the
tympan must be specially adapted to the form of type.
There are forms for which none of these tympans are specially suitable.
For such cases careful pressmen combine two or more together,—as Welsh
flannel over rubber, or thin rubber over pasteboard or under paper.
These, however, are exceptional cases, and are only thus combined
when very good presswork is wanted from imperfect materials. Careful
observation of the _quality_ of the impression given by each style of
tympan will teach a pressman how to combine to the best advantage. As it
requires experience and discrimination, an arbitrary rule cannot be given.
Whatever may be the material selected, the tympan must be stretched very
tightly over the cylinder. All labour in overlaying is but thrown away
if this is not carefully attended to. A rubber or woollen blanket can
be secured at one end of the cylinder by small hooks projecting inward,
while it may be laced tightly with saddler’s thread at the other end; or,
by sewing on that end of the blanket a piece of canvas, it may be wound
tightly around the reel, and kept secure by the pawl and ratchet.
But paper and pasteboard require a different process,-viz.: Take a piece
of Nonpareil cherry reglet of the full length of the cylinder. Trim down
the paper or pasteboard to the width of the bed between the bearers, but
leave it a little longer than the impression segment of the cylinder.
Then crease the pasteboard at a uniform distance of half an inch from
the narrower end, and lay this creased part on the flat edge of the
impression segment of the cylinder, under the grippers. Put the reglet
over this, and bring down the clamps hard on the reglet, so as to bind
all securely. When this is done, a thin web of muslin may be stretched
over the whole, in the same way in which a blanket is laid on, and rolled
up tightly, which will prevent any slipping of the board or of the
overlays pasted on it.
A large poster, or newspaper form, or any large form with old type, will
require a soft roller with much suction. Book-work, wood-cuts, or fine
job-work, will require a harder roller, with very smooth, elastic, and
clinging surface. Coloured inks are best printed with a still harder
roller and with much less suction. All rollers should be perfectly clean,
and free from cracks or holes. The suitableness of these rollers cannot
well be explained by words: such a knowledge will be best acquired by
observation and experience. It may, however, be necessary to state that
one roller will not answer for all styles of presswork: the quality of
the work, the size and wear of the type, and the speed of the press, must
control the pressman in his choice.
Posters, with large wood type, require a semi-fluid ink, but not
surcharged with oil. Ordinary news-work requires a better grade, more
tachy, and finely ground. Good book-work should have a stiffer-bodied
ink, soft, smooth, and with little oil. Job ink, which is made expressly
for presswork on dry paper, should be used only for such work. Book and
job inks are not convertible: an ink for wet paper will not work well on
dry paper, and _vice versâ_. Very fine presswork—such as wood-cuts, or
letter-press upon enamelled paper—calls for an ink impalpably fine, very
stiff, of brilliant colour, and nearly or absolutely free from oil.
Every job-office should keep four grades of ink,—news, book, job, and
wood-cut. They can be compounded (if no ink-manufacturer is near) with
each other, or reduced with varnish to suit any form. Good presswork is
impossible without good inks.
Charge the ink-fountain with the ink selected, and keep it well covered,
to protect it from paper dust. Turn down the screws, and cut off all
the ink evenly. When the form is ready, turn on the ink cautiously, and
wait for ten or twelve impressions before again altering the screws. For
small forms and short numbers of any piece of presswork in coloured ink
or extra ink, a fountain is not necessary. The ink may be applied with a
brayer or palette-knife.
The adjustment of the margin is the next process. Although type can be
printed from any quarter of the bed, it will be found most judicious to
lay all forms close to the back part of the bed, and equidistant between
the bearers. This will secure a good impression, give a fair average
margin to every form, and allow the full use of the bed for a large form,
without resetting the cylinder. The bed and cylinder travel together, and
the grippers, which bring down the sheet to the form, should barely lap
over the back part of the bed. So long as the toothed cylinder wheel, and
the short toothed rack on the side of the bed, remain undisturbed, the
grippers will always pass over the bed in exactly the same place. When
the grippers are in this position, (slightly lapping over the back of the
bed,) take measurement of the distance between the back edge of the bed
and the point of one of the nearest grippers. With a piece of reglet cut
a gauge exactly corresponding to this measurement. Let no form be laid
upon the press until the distance between the type and the edge of the
chase tallies with the gauge. This will prevent the grippers from closing
on the form and crushing the type. If the chase will not admit of so wide
a margin, or if an extra margin is wanted on the sheet, put a piece of
furniture of the extra width behind the chase: the margin can thus be
increased or diminished at pleasure.
A book form may be locked up in a chase so large, with the type so far
from the edge of the chase, that the grippers will bring down the sheet
in such a position that it will be printed with the margin all on one
side. To remedy this, the cylinder must be reset. Proceed thus. Remove
the screw and washer, and draw the intermediate wheel out of gear, loosen
screws in the gauge rack, then turn the cylinder to the point required,
connect the intermediate wheel, adjust the gauge rack, and screw up tight.
The press having been adjusted, next examine the form to be printed.
Not only see that it is gauged correctly, but also see that it is not
locked up too tightly,—that chase, quoins, letter, and furniture are all
level, and lie flat upon the bed. If the form springs, the quoins must be
slackened; if this loosens the type too much, the justification should
be amended. Make clean the type by rubbing it over with a dry brush. The
rollers are often made foul and the colour of the ink changed by dust and
particles of dirt clinging to the type.
Fasten the form so securely on the bed that it will not be moved by the
action of the cylinder or the rollers. Take a proof on its own paper,
using very little ink. Proceed to adjust the drop guides so as to bring
the sheet exactly in the right position. Push out the iron tongues at the
edge of the feed-board, and at equal distances from each other, so that
they will equally sustain the paper. Slide the drop guides along the rod
until they fall squarely over the tongues. Set the side guide so that
it will give a true margin in length to the sheet to be printed. Adjust
the grippers so that they will seize the sheet at proper intervals,
making the margin exactly even by lengthening or shortening the drop
guides. Then take a clean proof _on its own paper_, exactly in the right
position, before making ready, when it may be shown to the reader. It
frequently happens that an error in the margin, or an imperfection in the
register, is thus noticed; and its timely discovery and correction before
overlaying will save much time and trouble. A readable proof may be taken
before overlaying, by running through a sheet or two of proof paper.
_Make register_, if it is a book form, _before underlaying_.
When every thing has been found correct, then proceed to regulate the
impression. If the type is fair, the proof should show a decently uniform
impression; but if the form is large, or if it contains old and new or
large and small type, then the proof will show an uneven impression. To
rectify this inequality, pressmen use many expedients.
1. By lowering the bearers and putting on more impression. This, of
itself, is a very poor way; for it wears down new type in order to show
the face of the old, and invariably produces thick and coarse presswork.
2. By raising the low type to a proper height with thicknesses of paper
under them, which is called _underlaying_.
3. By giving additional thickness to the tympan over every part of the
form which shows a weak impression, which is called _overlaying_.
It is very rare that any one of these modes will prove sufficient: all
should be used in conjunction. When the larger part of the proof-sheet
shows a weak impression, almost approaching illegibility, then more
impression should be added. When one side of the proof-sheet shows a weak
impression, while that on the other side is full and clear, then more
impression should be given to the paler side. The impression should be
made decently uniform before any attempt at overlaying or underlaying.
But the bearers should follow the impression screws, both being raised
and lowered together, in order to secure the type from the unimpeded
force of the impression cylinder. Not only should the bearers be of
even height, but the cylinder shaft should always revolve on a true
level. If the impression screws are carelessly used, and the bearers
are rashly raised and lowered, this even bearing will soon be lost;
the difficulty of obtaining a good impression will be much increased,
and the press will receive a serious injury. For the same reason, the
bearers should never be packed, (by the addition of cards, as is usual
on a hand-press,) for it strains the cylinder and all its bearings with
an irregular resistance. The bearers should be tampered with even less
than the impression screws. When the impression screws are so set that
the cylinder gives a fair uniform impression, they have done all that
can be expected, and nothing more should be attempted by them. Sometimes
the proof may show that a cut, or a line of type, or a set of brass
rules, are higher than any other material in the form. But the impression
should be set regardless of this: it will be found quicker and neater to
reduce the impression on one or two such high lines, by cutting _out_
the tympan-sheet over them, than it would be to underlay and bring up
all other types to such an irregular height. Pitch the impression so
that it will face the larger portion of the type, and make the less
conform to the greater. Those parts which are high must be cut out of the
tympan, and those which are low should be raised by underlays, and all
inequalities regulated by overlays.
When any part of the form is very low, it will not answer to attempt
facing it with overlays: it must be brought up to meet the inking rollers
as well as the impression cylinder. When the proof shows low type, cut
out the impression of it, raise the form, and paste it over the feet
of the letter. If some types are high and some are low, make proper
distinction, and carefully avoid increasing the height of any type or
rule which seems to have a full impression. Pursue the same course when a
marked depression appears in the centre, or a dwindling impression at the
edges. Cut out that section which is light, and affix it to the defective
part. If the impression dwindles in any part, the underlays must be cut
of irregular thickness to suit the tapering off of the impression. Cut
out an underlay from the edge where the impression begins to fade; then
cut another of smaller size where it is utterly illegible; paste one over
the other, laying them carefully in their proper positions, and then
paste them all on the bottom of the form, where it is needed, taking care
to lay the smallest underlay nearest the bed. This will restore the type
to a proper level, and the next proof should show a uniform impression.
The same plan will answer for a low corner. Use as little paste as
possible, thin and free from lumps. Be careful that the underlays are
laid on smoothly, without fold or wrinkle. Cut all underlays from a
proof; for the proof serves as a guide both in cutting and in affixing to
the form.
Underlaying should not be done to any great extent upon a cylinder press.
It is a valuable means of bringing up an old line of type, a hollow, or a
low corner. The underlays of any _type_ form should not constitute more
than one-fourth of the surface; if more than this is attempted, they will
rarely ever fail to work up the quadrates and furniture. The action of
the quickly moving cylinder upon a form of type underlaid with yielding
paper, must create a spring and a rocking of all the materials in the
chase.
Of all materials, old stereotype plates need underlays most, as they are
usually very irregular in height. Thin card or pasteboard will be found
preferable to paper for the underlaying of plates secured on wood bodies.
When the plates are on patent blocks, always underlay between the plate
and the block. Always cut the underlay for a plate less in size than the
faint impression would seem to require. This will allow for the spring of
the plate. If it is cut of full size, the next impression will disappoint
the pressman, by being much harder at the edges than he intended. Never
attempt to build up a type form to a proper impression entirely or
chiefly by underlaying.
Underlays should be put under all large and bold-faced types when used
with much smaller types, so as to raise them above the level of the
others. This is needed to give it closer rolling, extra supply of ink,
and that extra force of impression to transfer the ink to paper which all
large types require.
When the type has been so levelled by underlays that all parts receive
proper bearing from the inking rollers, and when the cylinder has
a corresponding even impression, then overlaying may be commenced.
For ordinary news, posters, or job-work, overlaying may be entirely
unnecessary; the tapes and fly may be set, and the printing of the form
may proceed without further delay. But fine press-work cannot be done
without overlays. Underlays are chiefly valuable for securing an even
impression; while overlays are indispensable for giving delicacy and
finish to that impression.
To overlay a form properly, the tympan should be covered with a sheet
of thin, smooth, and hard paper, stretched tightly. Then take a pale
impression on the tympan-sheet, and also run through the press two or
three proofs on thin and hard paper. Examine the proofs carefully on
both face and back. If any brass rules or letters appear too high, cut
them out of the tympan-sheet in one or two thicknesses, as their varying
height may require. Go over the whole proof, examining every line
carefully, and, by cutting out, reduce the impression of all projecting
letters to a uniform standard. For this, as for all other work on
overlays, use a very sharp knife with a thin point, and cut on a smooth
surface, so that there will be no dragged or torn edge to the cut.
The next step should be to raise the impression of those parts of the
form when the type appears dull or weak. Cut out carefully, and paste
the overlays over the tympan smoothly. Overlays are worse than useless
if they are not laid on firmly and smoothly, as the slightest bagginess
will cause slur or mackle. If, by accident, the tympan-sheets or overlays
should bag or wrinkle, tear them off, and commence anew.
Cut out and overlay the more prominent parts first; then try another
impression, and from that cut new overlays for minor defects. Thus
proceed until a perfectly smooth and even impression is obtained.
With common work it will be sufficient to cut overlays in masses, as
pages or parts of pages; but with fine work every line and letter needs
examination, and letters and parts of single letters are often overlaid
by careful pressmen. When the pressman is expert at making ready, it is
not necessary that he should take a new impression with every successive
set of overlays. Many pressmen take a dozen proofs of a form on different
styles of paper, and proceed to cut out and overlay on one of the proofs,
and finally paste this proof on the tympan. But this boldness and
precision can be acquired only by long practice. It is better for the
young pressman to feel his way step by step.
_The Impression._—A diversity of opinion exists among good printers
as to the proper force of the impression: by some a heavy and solid
indentation of the paper is considered necessary; while others insist
that an impression which does not indent the paper is preferable. But the
indentation of the paper is no test of the force of the impression. A
light impression against a woollen blanket will show more forcibly than a
strong impression against a paper or a pasteboard tympan.
Type is worn out not so much by the _direct_ impression of the platen
or cylinder on the flat face of a form, as by a grinding or rounding
impression on the edges of the type, caused by the forcing of the tympan
between the lines and around the corners of every letter. Every fount of
worn-out type, whether from cylinder or platen press, has suffered less
from a reduction in height than from a rounding of the edges. When the
type is new and the tympan hard and smooth, the impression can be made
so flat that the type will not round at the edges, and the impression
will not show on the paper. But this cannot be done with old type or with
a soft tympan: the impression must be regulated to suit the tympan.
On fine work, a rounding impression should be avoided, as it not only
destroys type, but also thickens the hair-line and wears off the ceriphs.
It is not sufficient that the paper should barely meet the type: there
must be sufficient force in the impression to transfer the ink from type
to paper. If there is not sufficient impression, it will be necessary
to carry much ink on the rollers; and this produces two evils: the
type is clogged with ink, and the form becomes foul; too much ink is
transferred to the paper, which smears and sets off for want of force
sufficient to impress it in the paper. Distinction must be made between
a _light_ and _weak_ impression and a _firm_ and _even_ impression. The
latter should be secured even if the paper is indented; though that is
not always necessary. But a form of old type, a poster, or other solid
form, must have a _heavy_ impression, or else a very tedious and careful
making-ready.
_To set New Tapes._—Pass the tape around and close to the cylinder. Lap
it over one of the tape pulleys, and then pass it around the small guide
pulley on the shaft above. To increase its tightness, throw up the guide
pulley from the shaft, and set the binding screw more tightly. All these
pulleys are movable on their shafts, and distance between them may be
altered at pleasure. Let the tapes rest upon the outer margin of the
sheet, and see that the overlays on the tympan over which the tapes pass
are of equal thickness; if not of equal thickness, the sheet will wrinkle.
_To set the Fly._—Run through a sheet of the paper to be printed, and let
it run down the fly so far that it is barely held by the fly pulleys.
Then set the cam which works the fly, so that its point just clears the
small friction roller on the shaft, and it will throw down the sheet
correctly. Tighten the spring according to the size of the sheet, and set
the spring crank so that it will prevent the fly from striking too hard
on the table.
It will be seen that good presswork does not depend _entirely_ upon the
press, nor yet upon the workman or the materials. Nor will a superiority
in any one point compensate for a deficiency in another: the newest
type will suffer from a poor roller, and the most careful making-ready
will be of no avail if poor ink is used. It is necessary that _all_ the
materials should be of the best kind,—that they should be well adapted
to each other, and fitly used. Although a good workman can do much with
insufficient materials, there are cases where a neglect to comply with
one condition is equal to a neglect of all.[19]
FINE HAND-PRESSWORK.
Fine presswork is the art of printing perfect impressions from the
surface of type or engravings in relief: that is, the subject transferred
to paper should be an impression from the surface, and the surface only,
of the types or engraved lines, of such a tone as to produce all the
effect of which the subject is capable, without either superfluity or
deficiency of colour.
The press ought to be in the best condition; otherwise it will be
impossible to get an equal impression without much trouble and loss
of time. The joints of the tympan should not have any play, or the
correctness of the register will be affected, and slurs and doubles be
caused.
The parchments on the tympans should be thin, and of a uniform thickness,
and stretched on the tympans so as not to be flaccid. On account of its
thinness, smoothness, and uniformity, silk is probably preferable.
The face of the platen ought to be a true plane, and parallel to the
press-stone, or table.
The advantage of having a good press is unavailing for the production of
fine work if the types are much worn; for it is impossible to produce
a sharp, clear impression when the type is worn and the fine lines are
rounded by much use. In consequence of this roundness of the letter, it
is necessary to use a thick blanket in the tympan to bring up the type;
thus producing a gross and irregular impression of more than the surface.
Ink for fine work should be characterized by the following peculiarities:—
Intenseness of colour.
Impalpability.
Covering the surface perfectly of the type or engraving.
Quitting the surface of the type or engraving when the paper is pressed
on it, and adhering to the paper.
Not smearing after it is printed.
Complete retention of colour.
Ink ought to be reduced to an impalpable smoothness, either in a mill
or on a stone with a muller. This is essential, as the process gives
it the next quality,—that of completely yet very thinly covering the
surface of the type or the lines of the engraving, and insuring an even
and perfect appearance to the impression on the paper. Another important
requisite is, that the ink shall not only cover the surface of the lines
on the paper printed, but that it shall also quit the face of the type
or engraving and leave it quite clean when the paper is impressed on it,
and attach itself to the paper, so as to give a perfect impression of the
subject represented, without the colour of the paper appearing through
the ink; and that this peculiarity of quitting the type or engraving
and becoming attached to the paper shall continue the same through any
number of impressions, without any accumulation of ink on the surface
printed from. After having obtained these results, and when the printing
is as perfect as it can be made by workmanship, something more is
requisite,—viz.: that the ink shall not smear on being slightly rubbed,
and that it shall retain its colour and appearance without spreading at
the edges or tinging the paper.
The rollers should be in good condition; otherwise the pressman may exert
his skill in vain, with a great loss of time and waste of paper.
The quality of the paper is of great consequence in fine printing; but it
is frequently overlooked by the printer’s employers, who are apt to pay
more attention to a showy appearance and a low price than to quality.
The best paper for printing on is that which is made of fine linen rags
and moderately sized, without the use of acids in bleaching, and without
being adulterated with cotton rags: this paper takes water kindly, is
easily got into good condition, receives a good impression, is durable,
preserves its colour, and does not act upon the ink.
The use of cotton rags, the introduction of gypsum into the manufacture
of fine and other papers, the application of acids and bleaching powders
to improve the colour and produce apparently good paper from an inferior
staple,—these form the grand hinderances to the American printer in his
efforts to equal or excel foreign productions. Hence it is that works
printed in this country are less valued than those from the English
press, which are printed on paper of fine fabric, made mostly of linen
rags, and sufficiently strong to bear a fine ink.
A pressman should, as a matter of course, be well acquainted with the
entire routine of presswork; in addition to which, to form his judgment,
he should examine the most splendid productions of the press, and study
them as patterns of workmanship.
In making ready, it must be evident that, when a clear, sharp impression
is wanted, the pressure should be on the surface only. Of course the
tympan ought not to be very soft, neither should a woollen blanket be
used: the most perfect impression will be obtained when fine thick
paper alone is placed in the tympans; and even of this article but few
thicknesses should be employed.
After an impression is printed, the pressman examines if it be uniform
throughout; if it be,—which is very rarely the case,—he goes on with the
work; if not, he proceeds to overlay, in order to produce regularity of
pressure and of colour over the whole form. Wherever the impression is
weak he pastes a bit of thin, smooth paper, of the size and shape of the
imperfect part, on the tympan-sheet; he then pulls another impression, to
examine the effect of his overlays, and continues to add to them where
wanted, till the pressure of the platen is the same in every part and the
impression is of a uniform shade of colour.
If the impression come off too strong in parts, or at the edges or
corners of the pages or on the head-lines, it will be necessary to cut
away the tympan-sheet in those parts, and, if that does not ease the
pressure sufficiently, to cut away the same parts from one or more of the
sheets that are within the tympans.
It is generally preferable to overlay on a sheet of stout smooth paper
inside the tympan, particularly where the same press does the whole or
great part of the work: this sheet is cut to fit the interior of the
tympan, so as not to slip about, and has overlays pasted on it where
wanted, to bring up the impression till it is very nearly equal. In all
succeeding sheets it saves the pressman a great deal of time, as he will
be certain that when he pulls a sheet of another form of the same work
it will be nearly right, and he will only have to place thin overlays on
occasional parts to make the impression perfect.
It is necessary, where short pages occur in a form, to have bearers to
protect their bottom lines and the edges of the adjoining pages. These
may be of double pica reglet, pasted on the frisket, so as to bear on
some part of the furniture or chase; but bearers made to the height of
the types are better, when they can be used.
It happens occasionally that the tympan causes the paper to touch the
form partially on being turned down, and occasions slurs. This may occur
from the parchment being slack or the paper being thin and soft. To
prevent this inconvenience, it is customary to roll up a piece of thick
paper and paste it on the frisket adjoining the part. Many pressmen
prefer pieces of cork cut to about the thickness of double pica, and
pasted on the frisket.
In working the white paper, instead of pins stuck into the tympan, to
prevent the paper slipping, a duck’s bill (a tongue cut in a piece of
stout paper) is frequently used: it is pasted to the tympan at the bottom
of the tympan-sheet, and the tongue projects in front of it; indeed, the
tympan-sheet appears to rest in it. The bottom of each sheet is placed
behind this tongue, which supports it while the tympan is turned down.
The rollers should be kept clean, but should not be too moist, as this
will prevent the ink from distributing equally over them, and from
covering evenly the surface of the types or engraving; nor should they be
too dry, as in that case they will not dispose of the ink smoothly enough
to produce a fine impression, neither will they retain particles of dirt
on their surface, but it will part with them to the form, thus causing
picks.
The ink ought to be rubbed out thinly and equally on the ink-block, so
that when it is taken it may be diffused smoothly over the surface of the
rollers. It is advisable to keep rubbing the ink out on the block with
the brayer, and to distribute the roller almost constantly; the continual
friction produces a small degree of warmth, which is of advantage,
particularly in cold weather.
As uniformity of colour is requisite for beauty in printing, where the
form is large the pressman should take ink for every impression: this may
be thought troublesome, but it is advantageous in producing regularity
of colour. It is unpleasant to see in a fine book two pages that face
each other differing in colour,—the one a full black, surcharged with
ink, the other deficient in quantity and of a gray colour; yet this must
happen when, as is frequently the case, three or four sheets are printed
with one taking of ink.
In fine books, particularly where the paper is large and heavy and the
type large, set-off sheets are used to interleave the whole impression
while working: these remain till the printed paper is taken down from the
poles by the warehouseman. These set-off sheets are put in when the white
paper is working, and moved from one heap to the other during the working
of the reiteration. They prevent the ink from setting off from one sheet
to another while they are newly printed, from the weight of the paper.
To secure uniformity of impression, the pull should be so adjusted in the
first instance as to give a proper degree of pressure on the form when
the bar is pulled home; then, checking the bar, it should be allowed to
rest in that position during a short pause.
It will be perceived that, to produce presswork of a highly superior
character, great expense and much time are required; and that it is
requisite to have a good press in good condition; to have new types,
or types whose faces are not rounded by wear; to have good rollers in
good condition; that the ink should be strong, of a full black colour,
that it will not fade nor stain the paper, and ground so fine as to be
impalpable; the paper should be of the best quality, made of linen rags,
and not bleached by means of acids or bleaching powders, which have a
tendency to decompose the ink; the rolling should be carefully and well
done; the face of the type should be completely covered with ink, without
any superfluity, so as to produce a full colour; and the pull should be
so regulated as to have a slow and great pressure, and to pause at its
maximum in order to fix the ink firmly upon the paper. These particulars
observed, with nothing but paper in the tympans, perfect impressions of
the face alone of the type will be obtained, and a splendid book will be
produced in the best style of printing.[20]
PRINTING WOOD-CUTS.
A single block, when imposed in a large chase, may spring out of the
chase while being inked, from the quantity of furniture about it. A good
plan is to impose it in a job-chase, and to impose this chase in a larger
one: this will cause it to lie flatter on the press and firmer in the
rolling, the large chase being secured firmly on the press by quoins and
the corner irons.
Before pulling the first impression, the workman should see that the
surface of the cut is perfectly clear from particles of dirt, and that no
pin or lump of paste is on the tympan. He ought then to pull very gently,
or he may injure some of the fine lines of the engraving.
Neither the pressure nor the impression of an engraving on wood should
be uniformly equal: if it be, the effect intended to be produced by the
artist will fail; and, instead of light, middle tint, and shade, an
impression will be produced that possesses none of them in perfection:
some parts will be too hard and black, while other parts will have
neither pressure nor colour enough, nor any of the mildness of the middle
tint, which ought to pervade a large portion of an engraving, and on
which the eye reposes after viewing the strong lights and the deep shades.
To produce the desired effect, great nicety and patience are required
in the pressman: a single thickness of thin India paper, (the best for
overlaying,) with the edges scraped down, is frequently required over
very small parts. The overlay should never be cut at the edges; but, even
where great delicacy of shape is not required, it should be torn into
the form wanted: this reduces the thickness of the edges, and causes the
additional pressure to blend with the surrounding parts As particular
parts of the impression will frequently come up too strong, and other
parts too weak, it will be necessary to take out from between the tympans
a thickness of paper and add an additional tympan-sheet, cutting away the
parts that come off too hard, and scraping down the edges. Scraping away
half the thickness of a tympan-sheet in small parts that require to be
a little lightened will improve the impression. The light parts require
little pressure; but the depths should be brought up so as to produce a
full and firm impression.
If a block be hollow on the surface, underlaying the hollow part will
bring up the impression better than overlaying it, at least so nearly
that only a thickness or two of paper will be needed as overlays. If
a block be too low, it is better to raise it to the proper height by
underlays than to use overlays; as the latter act in some measure as
blankets, and are pressed into the interstices, rendering the lines
thicker than in the engraving.
It will be necessary sometimes, when the surface of the block is very
uneven, to tear away parts of the paper in the tympan, to equalize the
impression where it is too hard.
The pressman will find it convenient to pull a few impressions, while
he is making ready, on soiled or damaged India paper. Out of these he
can cut overlays to the precise shape and size wanted, which are always
necessary when great accuracy is required in overlaying particular
portions. He should be provided with a sharp penknife and a pair of good
small scissors. A fine sharp bodkin and a needle or two, to take out
picks, are also needful; but he should be particularly careful so to use
them that he do no injury. The best way is, to draw the bodkin or needle
point cautiously in the direction of the lines.
Engravings in vignette form require great attention to keep the edges
light and clear, and in general it is necessary to scrape away one or
two thicknesses of paper in order to lighten the impression and keep
it clean: the edges being irregular and straggling, they are likely to
come off too hard. Bearers type-high placed beside the block will be
found advantageous; if they cannot be used, pieces of reglet, pasted on
the frisket in the usual way, and taking a bearing on the furniture,
must be substituted; but the high bearer is to be preferred where it
can be adopted. The bearers equalize the pressure on the surface of the
engraving, and protect the edges from the severity of the pull, which
is always injurious to the delicacy of the external lines. They also
render the subject more manageable, by enabling the pressman to add to or
diminish the pressure on particular parts, so as to produce the desired
effect.
When great delicacy of impression is required in a vignette, it will be
found beneficial, after the engraving is inked, to roll the extremities
with a small roller without ink: this will not only take away any
superfluity of ink, but will prevent picks, and give lightness and
softness to the edges, particularly where the effect of distance is
required.
If the extremities are engraved much lighter than the central parts,
underlays should be pasted on the middle of the block, which will give
a firmer impression to the central parts of the subject. It would save
trouble and aid in getting a good impression if the block were engraved a
little rounded on the face.
When highly finished engravings on wood are worked separately, woollen
cloth, however fine, should never be used for blankets, as it causes too
much impression; a sheet or two of hard smooth paper between the tympans
is better; sometimes even a piece of glazed pasteboard is used inside the
outer tympan. The parchments ought to be in good condition, stretched
tight, of a smooth surface, thin, and of regular thickness, so as to
enable the pressman to obtain an impression as nearly as possible from
the surface only of the engraved lines.
The rollers must be kept in perfect order; and the pressman should be
very particular in taking ink and inking the block. He ought to use the
best ink that can be procured.
When a wood-cut left on the press all night has become warped, lay it
on its face upon the imposing-stone, with a few thicknesses of damp
paper underneath it, and place over it the flat side of a planer, with
sufficient weight upon it: in the course of a few hours the block will be
restored to its original flatness. This method is preferable to steeping
the block in water; as the steeping swells the lines of the engraving,
and, consequently, affects the impression. To preserve the original
effect of the cut as it came from the hands of the artist, the block
should never be wet with water; and, when it has been worked in a form
with types, it should be taken out before the form is washed.
To prevent warping during the dinner-hour or the night, turn the tympan
down upon the form, run the carriage in, and, pulling the bar-handle
home, fasten it so that it will remain in this position during the
interim.
However long boxwood may be kept in the log, it will always twist and
warp when cut into slices for engraving, on account of fresh surfaces
being exposed to the air. Large blocks may be restored to their flatness
in the course of a night by laying them on a plane surface, with the
hollow side downward, without any weight on them.
A fine engraving on wood should never be brushed over with ley: the best
method is to wipe the ink off with a fine sponge damped with spirits of
turpentine, and, if it get foul in working, clean it with a soft brush
and spirits of turpentine; then wipe the surface dry and pull two or
three impressions on dry waste paper. Spirits of turpentine take off
the ink quicker, and affect the wood less, than any other article. The
facility with which the block is again brought into a working state more
than compensates for the trifling additional expense incurred.
When a few proofs only are wanted from a small engraving, good
impressions may be obtained with little trouble on dry India paper, with
about six thicknesses of the same sort of paper laid over it, and pulled
without the tympan. If proofs are wanted from large ones, it will be
found advantageous to put the India paper for a few minutes into a heap
of damp paper.
To do full justice to an engraving, the pressman should get a good
impression from the engraver and place it before him as a pattern, and
then arrange the overlays, &c. till he produce a fac-simile in effect.
Better still is it for an unpractised hand to obtain the assistance of
the artist at the press-side, to direct him in making ready the cut.[21]
CARD PRINTING
Has, since the introduction of enamelled or polished cards, made rapid
strides toward perfection; the fine absorbing quality of the enamel,
under proper management, producing the most beautiful results,—in many
cases scarcely discernible from copperplate. A card, to be well printed,
requires as careful treatment as a wood engraving, (see p. 280,) so far
as making ready is concerned, and in working without blankets and using
the finest ink. Having made a light impression on the tympan-sheet,
place the pins so as to bring the impression as nearly as possible in
the centre of the card, one pin at the lower side and two at the off
side, taking care that the head of the pin does not come in contact with
the types. The impression should be exceedingly light until properly
regulated,—at no time more than is actually necessary to bring up the
_face_ of the type. Cards are now mostly printed on small card-machines,
at the rate of one, two, and even ten thousand per hour. All cards should
be printed dry.
A small quantity of varnish put on the rollers and well distributed will
prevent the enamel from peeling. The addition of a little ultramarine
blue will beautifully intensify the black ink used in printing enamelled
cards.
The patent extension feed guides, or tympan gauge pins, shown on page
310, will be found very convenient and useful.
GOLD PRINTING.
The types being made ready for press in the usual manner, the surface
is covered in the ordinary way with gold size instead of ink, and the
impression taken upon the paper. For a large job, remove only the back
from a book of leaf-gold; for a small one, lay a straight edge across
the book, and cut it through, of the size required, with the point of a
sharp penknife. This must be done before using the size. Slightly wet
the end of the forefinger of the right hand, and, placing the thumb of
that hand on the pile of gold, raise the edge of the paper with the
forefinger sufficiently to dampen it with the moisture of that finger;
then press the moistened edge of the paper on the gold, and it will
adhere sufficiently to enable the fingers to lift gold and paper together
and place it on the impression. Proceed thus until the size is entirely
covered; gently pat the gold with the balls of the fingers, or any soft,
pliable substance, until it is set; then, with a very soft hat-brush,
remove the superfluous gold, when a clear and beautiful impression will
appear. Its sharpness will depend on the judgment of the printer in
applying the size to the type.
BRONZE PRINTING
Is used more extensively than gold printing, being attended with far
less expense in the cost of the material. The method of printing is the
same, except that, instead of laying on the gold-leaf, the impression
is rubbed over with the bronze, by dipping a small block, covered with
a short, fine fur, or a small wad of raw cotton, into the powder, and
brushing off the superfluous bronze with a soft brush, as in gold
printing. Bronze can be procured of various colours, and when laid on
with judgment the effect is beautiful. The palest bronze is best. To
produce a finished effect after bronzing, take finely-powdered soapstone,
and apply in the same manner as bronze.
PRINTING IN COLOURS.
When red and black are to be printed on the same sheet,—the same process
being applicable to all other colours,—the form is made ready in the
usual way, and a chalk-line is traced around the outside of the chase
on the press-bed, to show the exact situation in which the form must be
replaced after having been lifted. The form is then laid with its face
downward on a letter-board covered with the press-blankets. The words
marked in the proof to be printed red are then forced down, and Nonpareil
reglets nicely fitted into the vacancies, which raise the red lines and
words an equal distance from the other matter. A sheet of paper is then
pasted on the form, to keep the Nonpareil underlays in their proper
places. The form is again laid on the press, observing the utmost care in
placing it in its original position as indicated by the marks before made
on the bed.
[Illustration: INK STONE AND MULLER.]
It must then be made perfectly fast to the corner irons, as it is highly
important that it remain firm and immovable during its stay on the press.
The frisket (which is covered with strong paper) is then put on, the form
rolled over with the red ink, and an impression made on it. The red words
are then cut out with a sharp-pointed penknife, with so much nicety as
not to admit the smallest soil on the paper from the other matter.
The red being finished and the form washed, the compositor unlocks it,
(this should be done on the imposing-stone, as the pressman can easily
lay it agreeably to the marks made on the press,) and draws out the
red lines, filling up the space with quadrates. When this is done, the
pressman cuts out the frisket for the black. An extra pair of points
are used to prevent the black from falling on the red, or, as it is
technically termed, _riding_. Generally, when a great number is to be
printed, as many forms are used as there are colours to be printed.
Another method of placing the underlays is adopted for broadsides, &c.
with large letter and with but two or three lines of red. The red lines
are taken out on the press, and underlays are put in, upon which the
lines are placed, and the frisket is cut out as before mentioned.
A more expeditious method can be employed for forms in which the lines
of one colour are not too numerous to be easily lifted. After the form
is ready, and the various colours are marked on the proof, a skeleton
form is made up, with labour-saving quotation furniture or wood furniture
fitted into the spaces of all the lines except those of the colour to be
first printed. When the first colour is printed, its lines are lifted
from the form, and the spaces filled with furniture, and the lines for
the next colour are set in their proper places and printed; and so on
till the job is completed.
The custom of printing broadsides, &c. with several colours is so common
that ink-makers generally now manufacture coloured inks; consequently the
printer can be supplied without the delay and labour of making. We give
the following particulars, however, for the benefit of those who wish to
prepare their own colours.
Varnish is the common menstruum adopted for all colours in printing. Red
is the colour generally used with black. Trieste or English Vermilion,
with a small portion of lake, produces a beautiful red, which should be
ground with a muller on a marble slab till it be perfectly smooth. If it
be in the smallest degree gritty, it clogs the form, and consequently
produces a thick and imperfect impression; no pains should, therefore,
be spared to render it perfectly smooth; it may then be made to work as
clear and free from picks as black. A cheaper red, but not so brilliant,
may be prepared with orange mineral, rose pink, and red lead.
Prussian blue makes also an excellent colour, but will require much time
and labour to make it perfectly smooth. It is also ground with the best
varnish, but made considerably thicker, by allowing a greater portion
of colour with the same quantity of varnish than the red; it will then
work clear and free from picks. As this colour dries rather rapidly, the
rollers should be frequently washed.
Other colours may be made,—viz., lake and Indian red, which produce a
deep red; verditure and indigo, for blues; orpiment, pink, yellow ochre,
for yellows; verdigris and green verditure, for green, &c. All these
colours should be ground with soft varnish, being in themselves driers,
or they will choke up the form. The consistency of the ink must be
governed by the quality of the work to be executed. For a posting-bill or
coarse job, the ink should be very thin, the proportion of varnish being
much greater than required for fine work. Should the work be a wood-cut,
or small type, the pigment should be made as thick as possible.
The best colours for printing are those of the lightest body and
brightest colour.
HOW TO USE DRY COLOURS.
To produce fine qualities of coloured printing inks by mixing pure dry
colours with varnish, the printer will do well to give heed to the
following particulars:—
1. No more should be mixed at a time than will be required for the job in
hand.
2. Coloured inks should be mixed upon a slate or marble slab, by means of
the muller, and never upon an iron or other metallic table. The table,
before mixing, should be thoroughly clean, and perfectly free from the
slightest soil or trace of other inks.
3. For working coloured inks, the roller should not be too hard, and
should possess a biting, elastic face. When change of colour is required,
it should be cleaned with turpentine, and a moist sponge passed over the
face, allowing a few minutes for the roller to dry before resuming its
use.
For bronze printing, the roller should have a firm face, or the tenacity
of the preparation may destroy it; yet it must have sufficient
elasticity to deposit the preparation freely and cleanly on the type.
4. Various shades may be produced by observing the following directions:—
BRIGHT PINK INK.—Use carmine or crimson lake.
DEEP SCARLET.—To carmine add a little deep vermilion.
BRIGHT RED.—To pale vermilion add carmine.
DEEP LILAC.—To cobalt blue add a little carmine.
PALE LILAC.—To carmine add a little cobalt blue.
BRIGHT PALE BLUE.—Cobalt.
DEEP BRONZE BLUE.—Chinese.
GREEN.—To pale chrome add Chinese blue; any shade can be
obtained by increasing or diminishing either colour.
EMERALD GREEN.—Mix pale chrome with a little Chinese blue, then
add the emerald until the tint is satisfactory.
AMBER.—To pale chrome add a little carmine.
DEEP BROWN.—Burnt umber, with a little scarlet lake.
PALE BROWN.—Burnt sienna; a rich shade is made by adding a
little lake as above.
5. GOLD PREPARATION. Print as with ordinary ink, then put on the bronze
powder with a broad camel-hair brush; allow the impressions to remain a
short time for the preparation to set, then clean off the superfluous
bronze: the impressions will be much improved if passed through rollers.
HOW TO MULTIPLY COLOURS.
A printer who has on hand a stock of yellow, carmine, blue, and black
inks, may produce other colours and shades by intermixing as follows:—
Yellow and carmine, mixed, will give Vermilion.
Carmine and blue Purple.
Blue and black Deep blue.
Carmine, yellow, and black Brown.
Yellow and blue Green.
Yellow and black Bronze green.
Yellow, blue, and black Deep green.
Lighter shades may be obtained by adding proper proportions of white ink.
CONTRAST OF COLOURS.
It is wrongly supposed that the art of arranging colours so as to produce
the best effects in printing is entirely dependent on the taste of the
operator; for harmony is determined by fixed natural laws. The increasing
demand for decorative or ornamental work renders it of some importance
to the letter-press printer to make himself acquainted with these laws;
as, without some attention to them, the most elegant designs of the
type founder, and the finest inks that can be made, may yield but an
indifferent, if not a decidedly unpleasing, result.
The following remarks will be of use to persons to whom the subject is
new; but for a thorough explanation of it they should refer to Chevreul
on _Colours_,—a valuable work in the French language, which has been
translated into English.
I. We may, in the first place, consider WHITE LIGHT as composed of
three primary colours—blue, red, and yellow—duly blended; these three,
in an infinite variety of proportion, serving to produce all the hues
in creation. If we take any two of these primaries and mix them, we
have a _secondary_ colour. Thus, blue and red form _violet_, blue
and yellow give _green_, red and yellow make _orange_. Each of these
secondary colours harmonizes perfectly with the primary which does not
enter into its composition. Violet, for instance,—itself a mixture
of red and blue,—harmonizes with yellow; green, having no red in its
composition, agrees well with red; orange, in the same way, forms a
perfect contrast with blue. Either of these contrasts has the effect of
mutually brightening the colours employed; a red and a green, &c. being
more beautiful when placed side by side than when viewed singly. This is
termed the HARMONY OF CONTRAST OF COLOURS; and a good example of it is
seen in the scarlet geranium, or the holly; the one showing a light green
leaf opposed to a bright red flower, and the other a deep green leaf with
a dark red berry.
The _mixing_ of colours is a very different thing from _contrasting_
them; for strange as it may seem, although one combination of the primary
colours gives _white_, yet another proportion will produce _black_.
While, then, red and green look beautiful side by side, it does not
generally answer to print red ink on _green paper_. The reason is, that
as the ink is slightly transparent, some of the green shows through it,
and appears somewhat black, and thus lowers the brilliance of the red in
the same degree as so much black ink would, if mixed with it. This remark
will apply to orange or yellow on a blue paper, &c. The darker and fuller
the body of colour used, the less it is affected in this manner.
The most perfect contrasts are those above mentioned, which are formed
by the complementary colours; yet the primaries blue, red, and yellow
also agree well together. But if such colours as are not in harmony are
placed near each other, the effect is very damaging to their brightness.
While red is made more brilliant by the proximity of green, it is dimmed
and spoiled by placing it next an orange. Neither blue nor red contrasts
well with violet, because the latter contains each of these colours in
its composition. In any case where they must come into juxtaposition,
the unpleasant effect may be lessened by adding a little of the opposite
colour: so, if a violet is to contrast with red, it will be well to give
it a shade of blue, making it more _purple_; if, on the other hand, it is
to contrast with blue or green, it should be made _redder_.
II. COLOURS WITH BLACK. In all contrasts, the depth of the colour is an
important element, but especially so in such as are to be affected by
the presence of black. In but few instances will the latter bear the
neighbourhood of a very deep colour to advantage, while it harmonizes
with the lighter ones by contrast of tone. Yellow, from its near approach
to white, should always be worked “full;” orange and green should also
be full, and moderately deep in tone, to contrast with black. If a blue
is employed, it should be light, or it will impoverish the black and be
weakened itself. A very light blue border, with a broad margin of white
between it and the body of matter enclosed, will give a clean, bright
look to black ink, and whiteness to the paper. A light pink (such as
carmine reduced with flake-white or with clear varnish) is also good;
yet perhaps the preceding is preferable. Dark and heavy borders are
frequently a positive injury to printing, where the working in a light
shade would have secured a good effect; for the border should always be
so far secondary to the matter enclosed as not to draw off the attention
too much to itself.
III. COLOURS ON TINTED PAPERS AND TINTED GROUNDS. Besides the kind of
harmony already mentioned, there is another, which is produced by the
contrast of light and dark shades of the _same_ colour. This might be
employed in letter-press more frequently than it is at present, with some
advantage, as the effects it is capable of yielding are very chaste and
pleasing. In a photograph or an engraving, all the effect is dependent
on difference of tones of one colour; and the beauty of a wood in summer
consists chiefly in the contrast displayed by a variety of shades of
green only. A deep green ink on a paper of a light tone of the same
colour is especially good, if a heavy letter is used; and indeed in
most printing in colours, full, solid-faced letter should be preferred
to outlines or shaded ones, which are difficult to work, and have at
best but an inferior appearance unless the darkest tones are employed.
A deep blue on a light blue ground, or against a light blue border, is
also good; and without the latter accompaniment it is not unpleasant on
a blue wove writing-paper. To secure the proper effect, however, the
tints should be of the same _hue_; that is, if the groundwork is of a
bluish green, the colour that is to be worked upon it should also be
a green inclining to blue; if, on the other hand, the ground is of a
yellower green, the body of ink should also be yellower; and so on. This
may easily be managed by adding a small portion of ink of the colour
required, until the hue is matched.
IV. NEUTRAL TINTS. In selecting borders for the more chaste description
of printing, it is a pretty safe rule to avoid such as cover much
surface, if they are to be worked in any strong colour or in black. When
lighter tints are used, they will bear extension over a larger surface;
and in this case a pale gray or neutral border will have a beneficial
effect on any body with which it is contrasted, as well as on black
itself, which is purified by its proximity. If the central printing
is in black _only_, or in black and yellow, a _lavender_ gray may be
substituted for the border. And in any case in which the central matter
is all in one colour, it will improve it to have a border of gray which
is _slightly tinged with the complementary of such colour_. Thus, if the
body be red, a very small portion of _green_ may be added to the gray;
and so forth.
It must be remembered that in ornamental printing absolute cleanliness
is indispensable. The same roller should never be used for different
colours, even after it has been washed. Instead of hanging exposed to
dust and to the air, rollers should be kept in a tightly-closed box; and
in this manner they will remain a long time in good order. The tins of
ink should be similarly preserved, and the lids never left off except at
the moment of using from them. These are small matters; but it is only by
patient attention to minute details that excellence can be attained in
printing.
OILING A PRESS.
Excessive lubrication is wasteful, unclean, and hurtful to a press. A
small quantity of oil should be used at a time, as a large amount will
overrun on the press, and hold the dust and grit caused by sweeping the
floor; these, working into the journals, will wear the press more than
use. The best oil should be used, whether sperm, lard, or coal. Kerosene
may be used to clean the ways of a press when they have become gummed by
the use of improper oil. Presses should always be kept scrupulously clean.
HOW TO TREAT WOOD TYPE.
To prevent warping, all very large wood type should be set up on the
edge when put away, so that both sides may be equally exposed to the
air. In cleaning it, neither ley nor water should be employed under any
circumstances. Turpentine, camphene, benzine, or kerosene oil may be
used; but turpentine and camphene are the best. Procure a small, shallow
pan; lay the form flat on a board; pour about six tablespoonfuls of
turpentine into the pan; touch the face of the brush to the turpentine,
and pass it quickly over the form before it evaporates. Six to eight
spoonfuls of fluid will be found sufficient to clean a large form, if
thus used.
[Illustration: PALETTE KNIFE.]
[Illustration]
WAREHOUSE DEPARTMENT.
THE WAREHOUSEMAN.
[Illustration]
The warehouseman should be a man sober and upright, and thoroughly
competent to the business, on whom entire reliance may be placed,—one who
will act upon the principle of making his employer’s interest the end of
all his action. The employer or foreman should frequently look to the
concerns of the warehouse, and see that all the work is forwarded with
despatch and accuracy.
The warehouseman should be provided with a book, termed “The Warehouse
Book,” with pages annexed, on the following plan, and about the size of
foolscap quarto:—
+----------------------------------------------------------------------+
|BUTLER’S NEW AMERICAN ARITHMETIC. (NO. PRINTED, 5000.) |
+--------+------------------+----------+------------------+------------+
| | RECEIPT OF |NO. OF |TO WHOM | |
| DATE. | PAPER, AND OF |COPIES |DELIVERED, AND |FOR WHOM. |
| | WHOM. |DELIVERED.|RECEIPTED FOR. | |
+--------+------------------+----------+------------------+------------+
| | | | | |
|1878. | | | | |
|May 3. | 43 reams of E. C.| | | |
| | & P. H. Warren. | | | |
|June 8. | 40 ditto. | | | |
| ” 24. | | 2500 |Speel & Co. |J. H. Butler|
| ” 30. | | 2000 |R. Eyelet, binder.| & Co. |
|Aug. 4. | | 300 |Paul Picot. | ” |
| ” 5. | With waste | 230 |Wm. Crouse. | ” |
| | | ---- | | |
| | | 5030 | | |
+--------+------------------+----------+------------------+------------+
When the paper is brought, the warehouseman should at once compare it
with the bill of delivery, and, if right, enter the quantity immediately
into the warehouse book. The number of printed copies delivered to the
binder or publisher should also be entered, and his signature be taken at
the time of delivery. This plan will prevent disputes with the bookseller
or author relative to the receipt of paper or the delivery of sheets.
Having entered the receipt of the paper, the warehouseman should then
write on each bundle, with red chalk, the title of the book it is to be
used for, and remove it into a convenient part of the warehouse, or into
a store-room provided for that purpose.
GIVING OUT PAPER TO WET.
A bundle of paper consists of two reams, or forty quires, each quire
containing twenty-four sheets. Formerly, the two outside quires were
called cassie quires, as they were mostly made up of torn, stained,
wrinkled, or otherwise imperfect sheets. At present, all the quires are
considered good, although some outer sheets are injured by the twine used
in tying up the bundles.
It is the general custom to print of every work what is termed an _even_
number,—either 250, 500, 750, 1000, &c. These quantities are given out
for the wetter in _tokens_,—viz.: for 250 sheets, one token, containing
10 quires 18 sheets; for 500, two tokens, one 11 quires, and the other
10 quires and a half; for 750, three tokens, two of them 11 quires each,
and the other 10 quires 6 sheets; and for 1000, four tokens, three of
them 11 quires each, and the other 10 quires. If a work is printed in
half-sheets, it of course requires only half the above quantities.
It would be difficult to form any positive and invariable rule for the
quantity to be given out for short numbers, as it must depend in some
degree upon the quality of the paper. The more expensive papers, on
which, generally, short numbers or line copies are printed, must be
given out more sparingly than common paper, and the tympan and register
sheets be supplied by a more common sort, cut to the size of the finer.
For numbers up to 150, on ordinary paper, six sheets over will be
sufficient. Some publishers are very testy on this point of allowance for
waste.
In giving out paper for what are termed _jobs_, the amount necessary can
easily be found by a simple calculation in division.
For example, a job, (label or any thing else,) 750 in number, 32 on
a sheet, will require 24 sheets, which will give an overplus of 18.
Where a sheet has to be cut into many parts, allowance must be made
for accidents. The overplus sheets are allowed for tympan-sheets,
register-sheets, and other incidents, such as bad sheets, faults
committed in rolling, pulling, bad register, &c.; in any of these
casualties, the pressman doubles the sheet in the middle and lays it
across the heap. In laying out the paper, the warehouseman reverses every
other token, to enable the wetter to distinguish the different tokens.
When this is done, he labels the heap, thus: _American Printer, May 10,
1878_,—that the pressman may know how long it has been wet, and the state
it is in for working.
32)750(23
64
---
110
96
---
14
HANGING UP PAPER TO DRY.
When the paper is worked off and counted, the warehouseman carries the
heap to the drying-room, where the poles are fixed for the purpose of
hanging the sheets upon to dry, and lays it down on a table of convenient
height, with one end of the heap toward him. He then takes the handle of
the peel in one hand, and lays the top part down upon the heap, so that
the upper edge may reach near the middle of the sheet; then, with the
other hand, he doubles over as much of the printed paper as he thinks
sufficient to hang up at one lift, which should be about twelve sheets,
according to the pole-room to hang them.
In hanging up the lifts, he places them so that each lift will lap about
an inch over the preceding one. It is necessary, where the end of the
pole is exposed to a strong current of air from a window, to _lock_ the
last lift. This is done by folding a lift two or three times, so as to
concentrate its weight in a small compass, and hanging this over the last
lift near the window.
TAKING DOWN SHEETS WHEN DRY.
When the sheets are sufficiently dry, the warehouseman takes his peel
and begins with the last lift hung up, on account of the wrapper being
with that lift, and proceeds in the reverse order of hanging them up,
successively taking them down, and brushing them, if dusty, till he has
finished the whole.
Another way of taking the sheets down from the poles is, to lay the flat
side of the peel against the edge of that lift which hangs over the other
sheets, and push the peel forward, forcing them to slide, one lift over
another. But by this method the dust which settles on the sheets while
hanging is rubbed in.
FILLING IN AND PRESSING SHEETS.
When the sheets are taken down, the warehouseman removes them to the
warehouse, where they are filled in between smooth pasteboards made for
the purpose. This operation is generally performed by boys, who, after
a little practice, become exceedingly expert at it. We shall try to be
somewhat minute in our description of this operation. We will suppose the
pasteboards to have sheets between them, which will be the case after
they have been once used. The warehouse being provided with long tables
or benches, secured to the wall, and a sufficient number of movable
tables about the size of the largest paper, the warehouseman places one
of the small tables endwise against the long one, forming a right angle,
upon which to lay the pressed sheets as they come out of the boards;
the boy then takes his stand at the right side of the table, with the
dry unpressed sheets at his right hand and the pasteboards at his left,
somewhat elevated, leaving sufficient space before him to fill in the
sheets. He then proceeds as follows. He first moistens the thumb of his
right hand and reaches across to the pasteboards at his left, drawing one
off with his thumb and placing it before him; he then catches a sheet of
the dry paper also with his right hand and places it as near the centre
of the pasteboard as possible; then, twisting his body nimbly round to
the left, he slides the pressed sheet from the pile of pasteboards to
the table at his left side, and, in resuming his former position, again
draws off a pasteboard with his thumb; and so on, till the gross or
bundle is filled. It is then laid aside, and another bundle filled and
laid across the former, taking care always to keep the bundles separated
until they are put in press, when they are separated by smooth boards
made of cherry or other hard wood. The bundles being all filled in, the
warehouseman proceeds to fill up the standing-press, putting in one
bundle at a time and placing a pressing-board between them; there should
also be a stout plank introduced between the top board and the platen. In
case the press should not hold quite as much as desired, more may be got
in by unscrewing the press after it has been once screwed down. The press
is finally screwed down as tight as possible. It should remain so for at
least twelve hours, when it should be entirely emptied before the sheets
are taken out of the boards. The sides of the piles or heaps must be kept
perfectly even. In large offices, hydraulic presses are used.
[Illustration: IMPROVED STANDING PRESS.]
COUNTING OUT AND PUTTING AWAY SHEETS.
When the sheets are taken out, the warehouseman knocks them up, and,
after counting them into quires, ties them up in wrappers, marking the
name of the work and signature on each bundle. Two or three sheets of
each signature should be laid aside, in case the author, bookseller, or
employer should want a copy of the work or a specimen of as many sheets
as are finished.
STANDARD SIZES OF MACHINE-MADE PAPER.
(_Furnished by A. G. Elliot & Co., Philadelphia._)
PRINTING PAPER.
Medium inches, 19 × 24
Royal 20 × 25
Super Royal 21 × 27
Imperial 22 × 32
Royal and Half, 25 × 30
Double Medium 24 × 38
Imperial and Half 32 × 33
Double Super Royal 27 × 42
Double Imperial, 32 × 44.
Other sizes kept on hand, but without technical names, are as follows:—22
× 28; 24 × 36; 25 × 39; 26 × 40; 28 × 42.
WRITING PAPER.
Note inches, 8 × 10
Packet Note 9 × 11½
Letter 10 × 16
Commercial Post 11 × 17
Packet Post 11½ × 18½
Foolscap 13 × 16
Flat Cap 14 × 17
Crown 15 × 19
Demy 16 × 21
Folio 17 × 22
Medium 18 × 23
Royal 19 × 24
Super Royal 20 × 28
Imperial 23 × 31
Elephant 23 × 28
Columbier 23 × 34
Atlas 26 × 33
Double Elephant 27 × 40
Antiquarian 31 × 53
[Illustration]
A TABLE
_For ascertaining the Number of Forms for a Book of any Size, and the
Quantity of Paper necessary to print a thousand copies in any form, from
Octavo to 36mo, half-sheetwise._
+-------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+-------------+
|NO. OF | | | | | | | | PAPER FOR |
|FORMS. | 8vo. | 12mo.| 16mo.| 18mo.| 24mo.| 32mo.| 36mo.| 1000 COPIES.|
+-------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+-------------+
| |PAGES.|PAGES.|PAGES.|PAGES.|PAGES.|PAGES.|PAGES.| REAMS. QRS. |
| _1_ | 8 | 12 | 16 | 18 | 24 | 32 | 36 | _1_ _2_ |
| _2_ | 16 | 24 | 32 | 36 | 48 | 64 | 72 | _2_ _4_ |
| _3_ | 24 | 36 | 48 | 54 | 72 | 96 | 108 | _3_ _6_ |
| _4_ | 32 | 48 | 64 | 72 | 96 | 128 | 144 | _4_ _8_ |
| _5_ | 40 | 60 | 80 | 90 | 120 | 160 | 180 | _5_ _10_ |
| _6_ | 48 | 72 | 96 | 108 | 144 | 192 | 216 | _6_ _12_ |
| _7_ | 56 | 84 | 112 | 126 | 168 | 224 | 252 | _7_ _14_ |
| _8_ | 64 | 96 | 128 | 144 | 192 | 256 | 288 | _8_ _16_ |
| _9_ | 72 | 108 | 144 | 162 | 216 | 288 | 324 | _9_ _18_ |
| _10_ | 80 | 120 | 160 | 180 | 240 | 320 | 360 | _11_ |
| _11_ | 88 | 132 | 176 | 198 | 264 | 352 | 396 | _12_ _2_ |
| _12_ | 96 | 144 | 192 | 216 | 288 | 384 | 432 | _13_ _4_ |
| _13_ | 104 | 156 | 208 | 234 | 312 | 416 | 468 | _14_ _6_ |
| _14_ | 112 | 168 | 224 | 252 | 336 | 448 | 504 | _15_ _8_ |
| _15_ | 120 | 180 | 240 | 270 | 360 | 480 | ... | _16_ _10_ |
| _16_ | 128 | 192 | 256 | 288 | 384 | 512 | ... | _17_ _12_ |
| _17_ | 136 | 204 | 272 | 306 | 408 | ... | ... | _18_ _14_ |
| _18_ | 144 | 216 | 288 | 324 | 432 | ... | ... | _19_ _16_ |
| _19_ | 152 | 228 | 304 | 342 | 456 | ... | ... | _20_ _18_ |
| _20_ | 160 | 240 | 320 | 360 | 480 | ... | ... | _22_ |
| _21_ | 168 | 252 | 336 | 378 | 504 | ... | ... | _23_ _2_ |
| _22_ | 176 | 264 | 352 | 396 | ... | ... | ... | _24_ _4_ |
| _23_ | 184 | 276 | 368 | 414 | ... | ... | ... | _25_ _6_ |
| _24_ | 192 | 288 | 384 | 432 | ... | ... | ... | _26_ _8_ |
| _25_ | 200 | 300 | 400 | 450 | ... | ... | ... | _27_ _10_ |
| _26_ | 208 | 312 | 416 | 468 | ... | ... | ... | _28_ _12_ |
| _27_ | 216 | 324 | 432 | 486 | ... | ... | ... | _29_ _14_ |
| _28_ | 224 | 336 | 448 | 504 | ... | ... | ... | _30_ _16_ |
| _29_ | 232 | 348 | 464 | ... | ... | ... | ... | _31_ _18_ |
| _30_ | 240 | 360 | 480 | ... | ... | ... | ... | _33_ |
| _31_ | 248 | 372 | 496 | ... | ... | ... | ... | _34_ _2_ |
| _32_ | 256 | 384 | 512 | ... | ... | ... | ... | _35_ _4_ |
| _33_ | 264 | 396 | 528 | ... | ... | ... | ... | _36_ _6_ |
| _34_ | 272 | 408 | 544 | ... | ... | ... | ... | _37_ _8_ |
| _35_ | 280 | 420 | 560 | ... | ... | ... | ... | _38_ _10_ |
| _36_ | 288 | 432 | 576 | ... | ... | ... | ... | _39_ _12_ |
| _37_ | 296 | 444 | 592 | ... | ... | ... | ... | _40_ _14_ |
| _38_ | 304 | 456 | 608 | ... | ... | ... | ... | _41_ _16_ |
| _39_ | 312 | 468 | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | _42_ _18_ |
| _40_ | 320 | 480 | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | _44_ |
+-------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+-------------+
EXAMPLE.—_How many reams will be required for a 12mo book containing 408
pages?_ Find the number of pages (408) in the 12mo column: in the outer
column on the left of the table the number of forms is seen, and in the
outer column on the right the quantity of paper required is given.
[Illustration]
JOBBING FACILITIES.
[Illustration]
There is no department in the art that is better provided with means
for its efficient prosecution than job printing. It is true that an
establishment fully provided with all the old and new conveniences
will involve a very considerable outlay; yet a beginner in a small
way, who has to count the cost carefully, may avail himself of many
facilities which were unknown a score of years ago. The smaller the
capital, the more need for the exercise of a wise discretion in the
selection of material. Regard should be had to the special line of
work to be undertaken, and the type and presses adapted to that line
should be selected. If the master himself shall work with head and
hand, perseveringly and early and late, and shall do good work at fair
prices—never cutting-under to secure a job at non-paying rates,—and shall
be obliging in manner and punctual in delivery, and shall waste no dimes
in drink or other useless expenses, the growth of his business will be
only a matter of time; and he will gradually be able to order just what
that growth necessitates, until he shall find himself the proprietor of a
well-appointed office and a paying business. In his first outlay and in
all his additions, the best of every kind should be gotten, if possible,
as cheap things always prove dear.
It matters little how well appointed an office may be, there will be no
gains in it unless the proprietor, counting the cost carefully, makes
sure that every job shall pay a reasonable profit.
When a job is taken in, it should be fully entered in a volume, giving
all particulars in regard to the number of copies, style, and price.
This may serve as a Day Book or Blotter. A memorandum-slip, like the
following, may be filled out for each job, and kept on file after the
work shall have been completed:—
No. of Order _____________________
_Size of Card, Paper or Book, when finished_ _____________________
_Quality_ ________________________________________________________
_Number of Copies_ _______________________________________________
_Style of Type_ __________________________________________________
_Size of Form_ ___________________________________________________
_Colour of Ink_ __________________________________________________
_Time of Composition_ ____________________________________________
_Time on Press_ __________________________________________________
_Proof wanted_ ___________________________________________________
_Goods to be called for_ _________________________________________
_ ” ” delivered_ __________________________________________
_Price_ __________________________________________________________
_Paid in advance, $_ _____________________________________________
_Date_ ____________________________
It will be satisfactory to keep what may be called an Estimate Book,
in which may be entered the particulars of estimates given for various
kinds of work, whether the job be secured or not, these particulars
will be time-saving when a similar piece of work comes in for estimate.
Samples of paper, of all grades and colours, may be kept in a convenient
receptacle, cut up into various sizes, and with memoranda written on each
sample to denote the cost per ream, the weight, and the number of pieces
in a sheet.
A useful thing to have in a job office is Ames’s Paper and Card Scale,
for fractional sizes, showing the number of pieces of any required size
that can be cut from a sheet without waste, with a table giving the
number of sheets required to cut 1000 pieces, and another showing the
cost of paper by the quire, sheet, and hundred sheets, at any given price
per ream. Besides the above, we may mention Le Blond’s Chart, a very
compact affair, showing the number of any given size of card that can be
cut out of a card sheet 22 × 28 inches.
[Illustration: JOB CASE.]
[Illustration: TRIPLE JOB CASE.]
[Illustration: LABOUR-SAVING RULE CASE.]
The modern printer has every convenience that can be desired in the
way of cases, and his type and other material are amply provided with
receptacles well adapted for each special use. There are not only
large and small cabinets, filled with job cases of various styles and
capacities, but there may be had cases for rules, leads, and furniture,
as well as blank cases for indefinite uses. We give representations of
these.
[Illustration: LABOUR-SAVING SLUG CASE.]
[Illustration: LABOUR-SAVING LEAD CASE.]
[Illustration: QUOTATION FURNITURE CASE.]
[Illustration: BLANK CASE.]
All cases should be labelled, and the label should be printed in the same
type that is contained in the case.
Capitals and lower-case job types should not be laid together in the same
boxes. The saving of time in a year will pay for extra cases.
[Illustration: CABINET OF CASES, WITH GALLEY TOP.]
Job type-cases should be kept in cabinets, and not in stand-racks, as the
latter cannot be used without interfering with the hand whose stand may
contain the case wanted. Various kinds of cabinets are shown on pages
219-221, 231 and 234, some of which are constructed to hold cases and
quad and space boxes.
All matter should be cleared away as soon as done with. This work can be
done by careful boys. Standing galleys, or cabinets with galley tops,
for type to be kept awhile, will be found useful and convenient; but
matter preserved for occasional future use were better papered up and
labeled or stored away locked up in a chase cabinet. (See p. 231.) A
rack with sloping boards to support the forms will prove to be a safe
and convenient place for keeping the forms of type which need to be held
standing.
Labour-saving leads, and slugs, and reglets, cut to varying lengths, when
not in use, should be kept in cases specially provided for them. And so
with labour-saving brass rule, quotation furniture, rule, etc. It is
economical as well as tidy to have appropriate places for every thing.
For fixed measures, or measures not often changed, the standard screw
composing-sticks are probably the best; but for jobbing and table-work,
where the measure is frequently altered, it will be well to use the new
styles, such as are shown above; no screw-key or screw-driver being
required, the latter can be quickly and easily set to a new measure.
[Illustration: WOODEN JOB STICK.]
[Illustration: FRANKLIN STICK.]
[Illustration: RAYMOND’S PATENT STICK.]
[Illustration: NEWBURY’S STICK.]
[Illustration: HOE’S PATENT STICK.]
[Illustration: GROVER’S STICK.]
[Illustration: ALBION STICK.]
The boxwood quoin will probably continue to hold its place, though not a
few printers favour the use of the newly-invented iron articles offered
by various manufacturers, such as Webb’s Mechanical Quoin, Ames’s, Hoe’s,
Allen’s, and Hempel’s Patent Quoins. The latter quoin has, from its
durability and easy application, crowded out all competitors.
[Illustration: HEMPEL’S QUOINS IN POSITION.]
[Illustration: HEMPEL’S QUOIN.]
Among the very handy things to have about an office, we may enumerate
the circular and hollow quadrates, shown on pages 77 and 78; corner
quadrates, cast in type-metal; and also the brass line-formers, shown on
page 79, that enable the workman to curve lines expeditiously.
[Illustration: CORNER QUADRATES.]
Even so simple a thing as a shooting-stick, commonly made of hickory or
ash, is now to be had in brass or iron. These latter are certainly more
durable, but dangerous in careless hands.
[Illustration: WOODEN SHOOTING-STICK.]
[Illustration: BRASS SHOOTING-STICK.]
[Illustration: IRON SHOOTING-STICK.]
[Illustration: ARMSTRONG’S COMBINED MALLET AND SHOOTING-STICK.]
A novel invention is Armstrong’s Patent Combined Mallet and
Shooting-Stick. This is desirable for general use, and for locking-up
forms on the press, or of service where room for the use of the ordinary
mallet and shooting-stick is limited to a confined space.
[Illustration: MITERING MACHINE.]
[Illustration: LEAD CUTTER.]
A mitering machine and lead-cutter are among the necessary adjuncts of a
printing-office.
Perforating Rule is slightly higher than type, and is used in printing
coupons and tickets which require to be partially severed while going
through the press. It is made of brass or steel. A more convenient (as
well as more expensive) article is Ames’s Patent Perforator: its knife,
or perforator, lies below the surface of the type while the rollers pass
over the form, and rises and makes a clean cut when the impression is on,
without injuring the rollers.
[Illustration: PERFORATING RULE.]
Machines for perforating round holes are manufactured of several sizes.
The lowest-priced machine may be worked on a counter, and will perforate
every kind of card-board or paper. We give a cut of this style.
[Illustration: ROUND HOLE PERFORATING MACHINE.]
Imposing Stones may be had with drawers and cases underneath; but these
we do not deem advisable, unless the printer be cramped in room, as the
cases may be wanted when the stone is in use while imposing or correcting
forms. For common use, the plain stone with a single drawer, and without
a rim, will be found the nicest. When made otherwise, the rim should be
fitted snugly to the stone, or the interstices will become filled with
types, dropped in while correcting.
[Illustration: IMPOSING STONE.]
A very convenient device for the compositor is the Copy-Holder. This,
however, is for the book compositor rather than for the jobber. Its
utility consists in bringing the copy nearer to the eye of the workman,
and in leaving all the boxes at command and uncovered by the manuscript
or printed page. There is also a Lamp-Holder which will be found handy
where gas is not accessible.
[Illustration: COPY-HOLDER.]
[Illustration: RUGGLES CARD CUTTER.]
Card Cutters are made of several styles, and at prices from fourteen
dollars to forty-five; and Paper Cutters are yet more numerous, some of
them simple and low-priced, and others massive and costing twelve hundred
dollars. We give an engraving of one of moderate price. An extensive run
of business only would require the employment of a large paper cutter.
[Illustration: MINERVA CUTTING MACHINE.]
[Illustration: MEGILL’S PATENT GAUGE PIN.]
[Illustration: EXTENSION FEED-GUIDE.]
Several contrivances for facilitating press operations have been
invented. We may mention Megill’s Patent Gauge Pin, of sizes suitable
for various margins. Two small teeth, projecting from the lower side of
the head of the pin, press into the tympan sheet and prevent the gauge
from moving. There is also the Extension Feed-Guide, which furnishes a
gauge below the edge of the platen, and is held firmly in place by the
tympan-clamp.
[Illustration: HART’S COUNTER.]
When long numbers are printed, the Automatic Counter may be attached to
the press. It counts only when the form is being printed, and shows the
exact number in plain figures up to 100,000. Several styles of counting
machines are made.
[Illustration: PATENT INK FOUNTAIN.]
An ink fountain has been contrived for attachment to the Gordon job
press, or any other press with similar plate distribution. It is quite a
cosey little thing, and is operated by the impression arm of the press.
Iron furniture is made in sets containing twenty-one pieces, adapted for
use on the eighth, quarter, and half medium job presses.
[Illustration]
USEFUL RECEIPTS.[22]
_Printers’ rollers._—10 lbs. French or Irish heavy glue, 12 lbs. sugar
or good quality molasses, and 3 lbs. glycerine. This will be sufficient
to make two rollers twenty-nine by three and one-half inches, and can be
readily recast by following the directions given for recasting rollers.
DIRECTIONS.—Soak the glue the necessary length of time that will enable
it to melt with ease. After being melted, add the glycerine, and boil
fifteen minutes or until thoroughly mixed, when the sugar or molasses may
be added. Cook and stir continuously for fifteen minutes, the composition
will then be ready for pouring. Strict attention should be given that the
moulds be thoroughly cleansed and evenly oiled previous to pouring.
* * * * *
_German Preservative for Rollers._—Corrosive sublimate 2 drachms, fine
table salt 2 oz.; put together in half a gallon of soft water—let it
stand twenty-four hours. When rollers are clean washed with ley, sponge
them with the above mixture twice a week.
* * * * *
_Directions for Recasting Rollers._—Sponge the face of the roller
with hot water; scrape off the face thoroughly with a knife; take
the composition off the stock and cut it up small. If the roller has
been used only a short time, it may be melted about as readily as new
composition; if it is older, put it in a sieve or basket and soak it
in cold water for about fifteen or twenty minutes; take it out of the
water, cover with a damp cloth, and leave over-night; then melt as usual.
If composition is too hard, wait till it is melted, and stir in a
sufficient quantity of common molasses; avoid heavy, clarified syrups.
* * * * *
_Printers’ Ley._—No. 1.—Dissolve 28 lbs. of soda in 52 gallons of water,
to which add 7 lbs. of soft-soap, boiled. Stir well together.
_Printers’ Ley._—No. 2.—Boil 3 gallons of water in a copper; throw in
while boiling ½ lb. of unslacked lime and 2 lbs. of common soda; stir
well for fifteen minutes. Let it settle till cold, when it must be taken
out without disturbing the sediment, and the liquid is then fit for use.
_Printers’ Ley._—No. 3.—Table salt 2 oz., unslacked lime 2 lb., Scotch
washing soda (bruised) 2 lb. Put together in 3 gallons of water, stir
well; when settled, ready for use.
NOTE.—This ley, if prepared carefully, is very strong, and will
wash off almost any colour.
* * * * *
_A Strong White Paste._—Dissolve 2½ oz. of gum-arabic in 2 quarts of
water, and stir it into 1 pound of wheat flour until the whole becomes of
a pasty consistency. It is then to be heated, and 1½ oz. each of sugar
of lead and alum dissolved in a little water added thereto, and the
composition well stirred until it shows signs of boiling, when it must be
removed from the fire. Add while hot 6 drops of carbolic acid. This is a
very tenacious and durable paste, and may be used on almost any substance.
* * * * *
_Pastes for Fixing Labels on Glass._—No. 1.—Take of gum-arabic 1 oz.,
boiling water and glycerine 2 fluid ounces each. Make a solution.
No. 2.—Take of gum-arabic and powdered gum tragacanth ½ oz. each, water
1½ oz., acetic acid 20 drops. Mix. The acid is used to prevent chemical
change, although a stiff paste made of tragacanth alone is not inclined
to spoil by fermentation.
* * * * *
_To Make a good Mucilage._—The best quality of mucilage is made by
dissolving clear glue in equal volumes of water and strong vinegar, and
adding one-fourth of an equal volume of alcohol, and a small quantity
of a solution of alum in water. The action of the vinegar is due to
the acetic acid which it contains. This prevents the composition from
gelatinizing by cooling; but the same result may be accomplished by
adding a small quantity of nitric acid. Some of the preparations offered
for sale are merely boiled starch, or flour, mixed with nitric acid to
prevent the gelatinizing.
* * * * *
_Liquid Glue._—Take some good strong glue and mix it with full proof
whisky. Let it digest for three or four days, and it will be ready for
use.
* * * * *
_Strong Mucilage._—The _Journal de Pharmacie_ states that if, to a strong
solution of gum-arabic measuring 8⅓ fluid oz., a solution of 30 grains of
sulphate of aluminium dissolved in ⅔ of an oz. of water be added, a very
strong mucilage is formed, capable of fastening wood together, or mending
porcelain or glass.
* * * * *
_Gum for Backing Labels._—Take any quantity of clear, pure dextrine and
mix it with boiling water until it assumes the consistency of ordinary
mucilage. Apply thinly with a full-bodied, evenly made, and wide
camel’s-hair brush. The paper should not be too thin or unsized. The
preparation will dry quickly, and adhere when slightly wet.
NOTE.—No more of the dextrine should be mixed at one time than
can be used at once, as it cannot be remelted easily.
* * * * *
_Mucilage for Postage Stamps, Envelopes, etc._, is composed of dextrine 2
parts, acetic acid 1 part, alcohol 1 part, water 5 parts.
* * * * *
_Common Prepared Glue._—Dissolve 2 lbs. good common glue in 3 pints warm
water, and add 1 quart of strong vinegar. Ready to use after twenty-four
hours.
* * * * *
_For making Magenta Surface Paper._—1½ oz. of Magenta, (aniline,) ½ oz.
Bismarck brown, (aniline,) 1 cake of glue; put these into 4 gallons of
boiling water. Coat the paper with this, using an 8-inch double-filled
camel’s-hair brush. Quantity given will coat two reams of double-crown. A
hard-sized paper must be used.
* * * * *
_Coloured Writing Inks._—The following receipts have been well tested,
and are commended by good authorities as preferable to the solutions of
aniline dyes, which are now so extensively used as coloured inks:—
GREEN.—Two parts acetate of copper, one part carbonate of potash, and
eight parts of water. Boil until half evaporated, and filter.
BLUE.—Three parts Prussian blue, one part oxalic acid, and thirty parts
of water. When dissolved, add one part of gum-arabic.
YELLOW.—One part fine orpiment, well rubbed up with four parts thick gum
water.
RED.—With the aid of a gentle heat, dissolve four grains of carmine in 1
oz. of aqua ammoniæ, and add 6 grains of gum-arabic.
GOLD.—Rub gold leaf, such as is used by bookbinders, with honey, till it
forms a uniform mixture. When the honey has been washed out with water,
the gold powder will settle at the bottom, and must be mixed with gum
water in sufficient quantity.
SILVER.—Silver leaf treated in precisely the same manner gives a silver
ink. Both these inks may be polished with ivory when dry.
BLACK.—Three ounces crushed gall-nuts, two ounces crystallized sulphate
of iron, two ounces gum-arabic, and twenty-four ounces water.
WHITE.—Fine French zinc-white, or white lead, rubbed up with gum water to
the proper consistency.
* * * * *
_Fireproof Ink._—Fireproof ink, which can be used either for writing
or printing:—Copal 12 grains, graphite 22 drachms, sulphate of iron
2 drachms, tincture of nut-galls 2 drachms, and sulphate of indigo 8
drachms; these are thoroughly mixed and boiled in water, and the ink so
obtained is said to be both fireproof and insoluble in water. When any
other colour than black is desired, the graphite is replaced by any other
mineral pigment of the required colour.
* * * * *
_Printing Ink Varnish._—Printing ink varnish is made by adding 4 oz. of
boiled linseed or neat’s-foot oil to 6 oz. of yellow rosin.
* * * * *
_Lithographic Transfer Ink._—Three parts gum copal, 5 parts wax, 5
purified tallow, 4 soap, 5 shellac, 5 mastic, and one-half part sulphur.
The copal is to be melted in a copper vessel, mixing in a little sweet
oil, add the wax and tallow, and when these are well melted, light the
mass and throw in the soap, well dried and cut in small pieces, then the
shellac and mastic. The flame is to be increased by the addition of the
flowers of sulphur, and so a perfect mixture of the copal with the other
substances will be attained. The flame is to be alternately kindled and
extinguished till the whole mass is reduced to one-fourth of its former
bulk.
* * * * *
_To give dark Printing Inks a Bronze or Changeable Hue._—Take 1½ lb.
gum shellac and dissolve it in 1 gallon 95 per cent. alcohol spirits
of cologne for 24 hours; then add 14 oz. aniline red; let it stand a
few hours longer, when it will be ready for use. Add this to good blue,
black, or other dark inks, as needed, in quantities to suit, when, if
carefully done, they will be found to have a rich bronze or changeable
hue.
* * * * *
_An Ink for Marking Tin or Zinc._—An ink composed of copper one part,
dissolved in ten parts nitric acid, ten parts water being afterward
added, is useful for marking on tin or zinc.
* * * * *
_Quick-drying Preparations for Printers’ Inks to be used on Bookbinders’
Cases._—1 oz. beeswax, ¼ oz. gum-arabic dissolved in sufficient acetic
acid to make a thin mucilage, ¼ oz. Brown’s Japan, ½ oz. asphaltum
varnish. Incorporate with 1 lb. of wood-cut ink.
* * * * *
_A Dryer._—No. 1, for fine job work. Damar varnish 6 oz., bergamot 2
drachms, balsam copaiba 2 drachms, balsam of fir 3 oz., creosote 1
drachm, copal varnish 1 drachm. To enough ink for 1000 ordinary business
cards, add from 8 to 12 drops of the “Indispensable,” and to larger
quantities in proportion. When used for bronze, dry colours, diamond
printing, etc., take twice the quantity; and where an extra quick dryer
is desired, add a few drops of dissolved gum-arabic to the ink, after it
has been mixed with No. 1. In all cases, mix well with the ink before
applying to the rollers.
_Dryer._—No. 2.—For news and poster ink. Spirits of turpentine 1 qt.,
balsam copaiba 6 oz. Add a sufficient quantity to the ink to thin it to a
proper consistency for working.
* * * * *
_Silvering Solution for Electrotype Plates._—Nitrate of silver 2 drachms,
distilled water 37 drachms. Dissolve and add sal ammoniac 1 drachm,
hypophosphate of soda 4 drachms, precipitated chalk 4 drachms. Agitate
the preparation occasionally for twelve hours, when it will be ready for
use. Apply with a piece of fine sponge.
* * * * *
_How to coat Electrotypes with Silver._—Electrotypes can be coated with
silver (for working with red ink) in the following manner: One part
copper, 5 parts pure tin; this alloy to be granulated, not too fine, and
mixed with water and cream of tartar into a paste. To each 200 parts of
the granulated alloy add 1 part oxide silver, the electro is then laid in
it, and boiled for a short time, when it will be found to be beautifully
plated. Fresh oxide must be added from time to time. This coating is
quite equal in durability to silver or tin.
* * * * *
_To soften Leather Belting._—Castor oil is a good article for keeping
leather belting soft and pliable.
* * * * *
_How to open a Ball of Twine._—A ball of twine, if opened from the
inside, will run off easily enough and give no trouble in the untwining;
but if begun from the outside, it will speedily get tangled and knotted.
* * * * *
_To prevent Adhesion._—M. GARDE, in _l’Imprimerie_, tells paper-makers
how to obviate the inconvenience of the adhesion together of sized
papers, on damping, by the coagulation of the size. This is effected
in the mills, by dipping the sheets in a solution of alum or tannin. A
secondary advantage obtained is that the paper becomes tougher.
* * * * *
_To detect ground Wood in Paper._—Mix three parts of strong nitric acid
with one part of sulphuric acid: a drop of this solution will immediately
turn paper containing an admixture of ground wood a brown colour.
* * * * *
_French Gold Printing._—French copal varnish 1 oz., mastic varnish ¼ of
an oz.; mix together and add twenty drops to the black ink table, and
distribute; take an impression and apply, with wool, gold leaf, Dutch
metal, or bronze. Apply the bronze with cotton wool and rub _hard_ over
the black ink. After each fifty printed, wipe off the superfluous gold
from the type with a silk handkerchief.
* * * * *
_Transfer Varnish._—Take equal quantities of fir balsam and spirits
turpentine. Mix, shake well, and set in a warm place until clear. Used
in decalcomania, and for maps, prints, drawings, and other articles of
paper; and also to prepare tracing papers, and to transfer engravings.
* * * * *
_To make Paper Waterproof._—Dissolve 8 oz. of alum and 3⅓ oz. of white
soap in 4 pints of water. In another vessel dissolve 2 oz. of gum-arabic
and 4 oz. of glue in 4 pints of water. Mix the two solutions and heat
them over the fire. Then immerse the paper, sheet by sheet, in the hot
liquid, then hang them up edgewise to dry, or pass them between heated
cylinders.
* * * * *
_Books Preserved._—The bindings may be preserved from mildew by brushing
them over with the spirits of wine. A few drops of any perfumed oil
will secure libraries from the consuming effects of mould and damp.
Russia leather, which is perfumed with the tar of the birch tree, never
moulds or sustains injury from damp. The Romans used oil of cedar to
preserve valuable manuscripts. Russia leather covered books placed in a
stationer’s window will destroy flies and other insects.
* * * * *
_To restore Engravings, etc._—Old engravings, wood-cuts, or printed
matter, that have turned yellow, may be rendered white by first washing
carefully in water containing a little hyposulphite of soda, and then
dipping for a minute in Javelle water. To prepare the latter, put 4 lbs.
bicarbonate of soda in a kettle over a fire; add 1 gallon of boiling
water, and let it boil for fifteen minutes. Then stir in 1 lb. of
pulverized chloride of lime. When cold, the liquid can be kept in a jug
ready for use.
[Illustration]
ORTHOGRAPHICAL.
A thorough reformation of the orthography of the English language,
desirable as it is, can scarcely be hoped for in this century; though
doubtless the time will come when an international convention will settle
authoritatively the spelling of every word, as acceptably as has been
done by the Academies of France and Spain in regard to the orthography of
the languages of those countries.
_A or AN before a Vowel or silent H._
In regard to the use of the indefinite article, Walker’s Dictionary very
judiciously says,—
“This indefinite, and, as it may be called, the _euphonic_ article, is
said by all our grammarians to be used before a vowel or _h_ mute; but
no notice is taken of using _a_ instead of _an_ before what is called a
vowel, as, _a useful book_, _a useful ceremony_, _a usurer_, &c.; nor is
any mention made of its constant usage before _h_ when it is not mute,
if the accent of the word be on the second syllable, as, _an heroic
action_, _an historical account_, &c. This want of accuracy arises from
a want of analyzing the vowels, and not attending sufficiently to the
influence of accent on pronunciation. A proper investigation of the power
of the vowels would have informed our grammarians that the letter _u_,
when long, is not so properly a vowel as a semi-consonant, and perfectly
equivalent to commencing _y_, and that a feeling of this has insensibly
influenced the best speakers to prefix _a_ to it in their conversation,
while a confused idea of the general rule, arising from an ignorance of
the nature of the letters, has generally induced them to prefix _an_ to
it in writing. The same observations are applicable to the _h_. The ear
alone tells us that, before _heroic_, _historical_, &c., the _an_ ought
invariably to be used; but, by not discovering that it is the absence of
accent on the _h_ that makes _an_ admissible in these words, we are apt
to prefix _an_ to words where the _h_ is sounded, as, _an horse_, _an
house_, &c., and thus set our spoken and written language at variance.
The article _a_ must be used before all words beginning with a consonant,
and before the vowel _u_ when long; and the article _an_ must be used
before all words beginning with a vowel, except long _u_; before words
beginning with _h_ mute, as, _an hour_, _an heir_, &c.; or before words
where the _h_ is not mute, if the accent be on the second syllable, as,
_an heroic action_, _an historical account_, &c.” The few words in our
language in which the _h_ is mute are _heir_, _herb_, _honest_, _honour_,
_hospital_, _hostler_, _hour_, _humble_, _humour_, and their derivatives.
_O, or OH._
_Oh_ should be used to express surprise, pain, sorrow, or anxiety. When
the interjection is followed by a proper name, or as an exclamation
of wishing the _O_ should be employed singly, thus: _O mother dear,
Jerusalem!_ _O Lord!_ _O that I might find him._
_ABLE and IBLE._
All English words, without regard to the source from which they have
been derived, and those which come from Latin words ending in _abilis_
or French ones in _able_, take the termination _able_ in English,
as, _procurable_, _amendable_, _desirable_, _allowable_, _voidable_,
_available_, _fordable_, _incontestable_, &c.; but in words from Latin
and French words terminating in _ibilis_ or _ible_, then the ending
will be _ible_ in English. For instance: _accessible_, _sensible_,
_defensible_, _convertible_, &c.
In words ending in _ce_ or _ge_, the final _e_ is preserved before
the termination _able_, for the purpose of indicating the soft sound
of the consonant, as in _marriageable_, _chargeable_, _traceable_,
_serviceable_, &c.; but before the ending _ible_ the final _e_ of the
primitive disappears, and there is no _e_ before the termination.
Examples: _deducible_, _reducible_, _frangible_, &c.
The following list of words in _ible_ is here added; all others end in
_able_:—
accessible
admissible
adustible
appetible
apprehensible
audible
cessible
coercible
collectible
comminuible
compatible
competible
comprehensible
compressible
conceptible
conclusible
congestible
contemptible
contractible
controvertible
convertible
convincible
corrigible
corrosible
corruptible
credible
deceptible
decerptible
decoctible
deducible
defeasible
defectible
defensible
depectible
deprehensible
descendible
destructible
digestible
discernible
discerptible
dispraisible
dissolvible
distensible
divisible
docible
edible
effectible
eligible
eludible
enforcible
evincible
expansible
expressible
extendible
extensible
fallible
feasible
fencible
flexible
forcible
frangible
fusible
horrible
ignoscible
illegible
immarcessible
immiscible[23]
impassible[24]
intelligible
irascible
legible
miscible
partible
passible[25]
perceptible
permiscible
permissible
persuasible
pervertible
plausible
possible
producible
quadrible
reducible
referrible
reflexible
refrangible
regible
remissible
reprehensible
resistible
responsible
reversible
revertible
risible
seducible
sensible
solvible
tangible
terrible
transmissible
visible
_IM or IN, and EM or EN._
The prefix _in_ is from the Latin, and that of _en_ from the French and
Greek. _In_ generally signifies _situation_, and _en_ mostly expresses
_action_. Hence, perhaps, in strictness, _inclose_ will signify “to close
in,” and _enclose_, “to make close.” So, to _inquire_ will be “to seek
_in_, or to search in,” and _enquire_, to “make search.” _Immigrate_,
“to pass into;” _emigrate_, “to go out of.” But this distinction is not
attended to by writers, and is, indeed, too refined for general practice.
Before the letters _b_ and _p_, _en_ becomes _em_, as in _embattle_,
_empower_; and _in_ before some letters becomes _ig_, _il_, _im_, or
_ir_, as in _ignoble_, _illegal_, _improper_, _irresolute_.
We give a list of those generally spelt with _im_ or _in_; leaving it to
be inferred that the rest are more usual with _em_ or _en_.
imbarn
imbibe
imboil
imbound
imbrue
imbrute
imbue
imburse
immanacle
immense
immerge
immerse
immigrate
immingle
immit
immix
immure
impact
impale
imparadise
impassioned
impawn
impeach
impearl
impel
impen
imperil
impinge
implant
implead
import
impose
impound
impregnate
impress
imprint
imprison
inarch
incase
inclasp
inclip
incloud
include
incrassate
increase
incur
indart
indent
indict
indite
indoctrinate
indrench
induce
induct
ineye
infer
infest
inflix
inflame
inflate
inflect
inflict
infringe
infuscate
infuse
ingrane
ingest
inhabit
inhale
inhere
inhold
inhume
initiate
inject
inlapidate
inlay
inlet
inoculate
inosculate
inquire
inrail
inscribe
insculp
inseam
insert
inset
inshell
inship
insinew
insphere
inspire
inspirit
install
instate
insteep
instil
instop
insure
inter
intertwine
intort
intreasure
intrench
intrude
intrust
inumbrate
inure
inurn
invade
inveigh
invert
invest
invigorate
invite
invocate
invoice
invoke
inwall
inweave
_IN and UN._
_In_, as a prefix, also marks _negation_: it is probable that it came
from the Romans. _Un_, as a prefix, is synonymous with _in_: it is of
Saxon origin, and generally joined to words from a northern source; while
_in_ is oftener applied to those of Latin derivation.
_ISE and IZE._
The variation in the terminations _ise_ and _ize_ is due to the different
derivations of words,—_ize_ characterizing words from the Greek and
Latin, and _ise_ from the French. The rule, however, is not inflexible.
The following words are commonly spelled with the _s_.
advertise
advise
affranchise
aggrandise
amortise
catechise
chastise
circumcise
comprise
compromise
criticise
demise
despise
devise
disfranchise
disguise
divertise
emprise
enfranchise
enterprise
exercise
exorcise
galliardise
manumise
merchandise
misprise (mistake)
premise
recognise
reprise (take again)
supervise
surmise
surprise
_OR and OUR._
The ending _our_ was in general use until the appearance of Webster’s
Dictionary, in which the _u_ was dropped in words terminating with _our_.
This innovation has steadily gained ground. We do not approve of partial
tinkerings with English orthography; and, until a general convention
of British and American scholars settle the method of spelling English
words, we shall adhere to the established usage. We append a list of
words terminating in _our_.
arbour
ardour
armour
behaviour
candour
clamour
clangour
colour
contour
demeanour
dishonour
dolour
endeavour
favour
fervour
flavour
harbour
honour
humour
labour
neighbour
odour
parlour
rancour
rigour
rumour
savour
saviour
splendour
succour
tambour
tumour
valour
vapour
vigour
The _u_ is dropped when the termination _ous_ is added to any of these
words; as, _clamorous_, _dolorous_, _humorous_, _laborious_, _odorous_,
_rancorous_, _rigorous_, _valorous_, _vigorous_. And also in derivative
words; such as _armory_, _honorary_, &c.
_SION and TION._
_Primitive words_ which end in _d_, _de_, _ge_, _mit_, _rt_, _se_, or
_ss_, take _sion_ in their derivatives; but all other words have _tion_.
EXAMPLES.
abscin_d_, abscission
condescen_d_, condescension
eva_de_, evasion
intru_de_, intrusion
abster_ge_, abstersion
emer_ge_, emersion
ad_mit_, admission
re_mit_, remission
reve_rt_, reversion
conve_rt_, conversion
confu_se_, confusion
revi_se_, revision
impre_ss_, impression
confe_ss_, confession
admi_x_, admixtion
promo_te_, promotion
IRREGULARS.
adhesion
cohesion
compulsion
declension
decursion
depulsion
dissension
divulsion
evulsion
exesion
expulsion
impulsion
incursion
propulsion
recension
recursion
revulsion
scansion
tension
transcursion
version
attention
causation
distention
distortion
coercion
suspicion
crucifixion
_FARTHER and FURTHER._
_Farther_ is nowadays only employed when speaking of _distance_; in all
other acceptations of the word, _further_ is generally adopted.
_PEAS and PEASE._
There are scarcely any words in which a mistake is more frequently made
than in _peas_ and _pease_. Yet the distinction between them is simple
and well defined. _Peas_ is the plural of _pea_, and, consequently, only
follows _numeral_ adjectives; as, “_ten_ peas,” “a _hundred_ peas,” “a
_few_ peas,” “_many_ peas;” but _pease_ is used when speaking of the
legumen in the aggregate, or generally. Thus, we correctly say, “_Pease_
are dear this year,” “_Pease_ were plentifully supplied to the horses,”
&c.
_Pease_ is also employed adjectively; as, “_pease_-pudding,”
“_pease_-soup,” or “_pea_-soup,” &c.
_The Omission of S in the Possessive Case._
It is not uncommon with some persons to omit the _s_ after the apostrophe
in the possessive case of nouns, if the name itself ends in _s_; as,
“_James’_ book,” “_Barnes’_ Notes.” But this is incorrect; for if we ask,
Whose book? we should directly answer, _James’s_. The only case when the
_s_ can be judiciously omitted, and this solely to avoid the too hissing
sound of so many _s_’s in succession, is when the first word ends with
the sound of _s_ in its last two syllables, and the next word begins with
_s_; as in _Misses’_ spectacles, _righteousness’_ sake, _conscience’_
sake.
_Formation of the Plurals of Words compounded of a Noun and an Adjective._
Adjectives have no plural number. Therefore, in a word compounded of a
noun and an adjective, the _s_ denoting the plural number is attached to
the end of the noun, as follows:—
Governor-general Governors-general.
Attorney-general Attorneys-general.
Court-martial Courts-martial.
But where the adjective is taken substantively, the mark of the
plural will properly follow it. For example: _Brigadier-generals_,
_major-generals_, _lieutenant-generals_.
Words compounded of a noun and the adjective _full_ form their plurals
thus: _spoonfuls_, _cupfuls_, _bucketfuls_, _handfuls_, _mouthfuls_.
_Pointing of Numbers, Weights, Measures, &c._
No comma should be placed between the constituent parts of the same
number, however long it may be. Thus, we say, “One million one hundred
thousand five hundred and twenty-one,” without any interpunction. The
reason is, that there is no more than _one_ numerical aggregate intended,
or but _one_ complex notion; and, consequently, no separation of parts
or members can take place. The same reasoning holds good as respects
_values_, _weights_, &c. For instance, when we say, “Six dollars and
ten cents,” we merely mean that aggregate amount, but not necessarily
any one of the coins indicated. If we did so intend, then two commas
should be introduced,—one after “dollars,” and the other after “cents.”
In like manner we should act with such sentences as, “Five tons three
hundredweight two quarters and fifteen pounds;” or, “Ten acres four roods
and twenty-seven perches;” and for the same reason: no division of parts
is intended, but merely one aggregate amount.
When figures are used to express amounts, a comma should not be inserted
to cut off the tens unless the sum requires five figures: _e.g._ $10,600,
20,000 men, &c. In column matter this rule will not apply.
_Derivation of English Words._
Of course the Saxon forms the basis of our language in its essential
parts, and is the source whence we derive the greater part of our
ordinary and most emphatic words. Nevertheless, various other languages
have been put under contribution, especially the French, Latin, and
Greek. This will be evident from the following statement of derivations,
which will show the unlearned reader how important it is to him that he
should acquire some knowledge of those languages, if he desires to attain
to a thorough proficiency in his business as an educated printer.
I. From the Greek are derived—
1. Words ending in _gram_, _graph_, and _graphy_; as, _telegram_,
_telegraph_, _geography_, &c.; from the word γράφω, (_grapho_,) I write,
and some other Greek word.
2. Those in _gon_; from γωνια, (_gonia_,) an angle; as, _octagon_.
3. All words in _logue_ or _logy_; as, _epilogue_, _astrology_; from
λόγος, (_logos_,) a discourse.
4. _Ic_, _ick_, _ics_ are also Greek terminations, generally of
adjectives.
5. Words in _meter_ are all of Greek origin, coming from the verb μετρῶ,
(_metro_,) I measure, in combination with some other word.
6. Most words into which the terminations _agogue_, _asis_, _esis_, or
_ysis_ enter are also of Greek origin; such as _demagogue_, _emphasis_,
_parenthesis_, _analysis_, &c.
II. But the main source whence we have derived words, with the exception
of the Saxon, is the Latin, as will appear from an inspection of the
following list:—
1. Words ending in _ance_, _ancy_, or _ant_, and _ence_, _ency_, or
_ent_, come from Latin words ending respectively in _ans_, _antia_, or
_ens_, _entia_; as, _abundance_, from _abundantia_; _infancy_, from
_infantia_; _abundant_, from _abundans_; _absence_, from _absentia_;
_excellency_, from _excellentia_; and _excellent_, from _excellens_.
2. Words in _al_ have their Latin representatives in _alis_; as,
_corporal_, from _corporalis_.
3. Verbs in _ate_ mostly come from Latin verbs of the first conjugation;
as, _moderate_, from _modero_.
4. Words in _ator_ are generally the same in both languages; as,
_orator_, _senator_, _moderator_.
5. The termination _id_ comes mostly from Latin words ending in _idus_;
as, _acid_, from _acidus_; but sometimes words of this ending are of
Greek origin; as, _oxide_, (more correctly, _oxyd_,) from ὀξὺς, (_oxys_;)
and, indeed, most scientific words of this ending; as, _carotid_, from
καρώτιδες, &c.; _rhomboid_, from ῥομβοειδής.
6. _Il_ or _ile_ is likewise from the Latin termination of adjectives in
_ilis_; as, _docile_, from _docilis_; _civil_, from _civilis_.
7. The Latin termination _osus_ has its English representative in _ious_
or _ous_; as, _copious_, from _copiosus_; _numerous_, from _numerosus_.
But sometimes the English ending _ous_ comes from a Latin word in _ax_;
as, _capacious_, from _capax_.
8. The Latin ending _io_ has its English corresponding word in _ion_; as,
_nation_, from _natio_; _oration_, from _oratio_.
9. The endings _ne_, _re_, and _te_ after a vowel are also for the
greater part of Latin origin; as, _fortune_, from _fortuna_; _aquiline_,
from _aquilinus_; _culture_, from _cultura_; _pure_, from _purus_;
_complete_, from _completus_, &c.
10. Words in _ty_ come from Latin words in _tas_; as, _equality_, from
_æqualitas_; _bounty_, from _bonitas_; _rarity_, from _raritas_, &c.
11. The termination _ude_ is also of Latin origin, coming from words in
_udo_; as, _fortitude_, from _fortitudo_; _elude_, from _eludo_.
12. So also is _uous_, by inserting the letter _o_; as, _ambiguous_, from
_ambiguus_; _continuous_, from _continuus_, &c.
III. From the French have come—
1. Most of our words in _age_; as, _page_, _rage_, _usage_.
2. All those in _eau_; as, _beau_, _flambeau_, &c.
3. The French _esse_ is represented by the English _ess_: as, _princess_,
from _princesse_.
4. Words in _que_ mostly come to us from the French directly; some from
the Latin directly or indirectly; as, _antique_, (L. _antiquus_, F.
_antique_,) _oblique_, _opaque_.
5. Words ending in _ment_ are nearly the same in both languages; as,
_commencement_, _advancement_, (F. _avancement_,) &c.
* * * * *
We subjoin some rules for spelling, adapted from Laidlaw’s _American
Pronouncing Dictionary_.[26]
RULE I.
Words ending in silent _e_ after _u_ or a consonant generally drop the
_e_ on taking an additional termination beginning with a vowel; as, sale,
_salable_; plague, _plaguy_; sue, _suing_; eye, _eying_.
EXCEPTION I.—Words ending in _ce_ and _ge_ retain _e_
before _able_ and _ous_; as, service, _serviceable_; trace,
_traceable_; courage, _courageous_; advantage, _advantageous_.
EXCEPTION II.—Compounds and prefixes retain _e_; as,
_firearms_, _foreordain_, _pole-axe_, _vice-admiral_,
_fire-engine_.
_Remark._—From singe, springe, swinge, tinge, we write
_singeing_, _springeing_, _swingeing_, _tingeing_, to
distinguish from _singing_, _springing_, _swinging_, and
_tinging_. _Dyeing_, from dye, retains _e_, to distinguish it
from _dying_, the present participle of die. Mile retains _e_
in _mileage_. Derivatives from proper names of persons retain
_e_; as, _daguerreotype_, _morseograph_.
RULE II.
Words ending in silent _e_ generally retain the _e_ on taking an
additional termination beginning with a consonant; as, bereave,
_bereavement_; issue, _issueless_.
_Remark._—_Awful_, _awfully_, _awfulness_, _argument_,
_argumentation_, _argumentative_, _woful_, _wofully_,
_wofulness_, _duly_, _truly_, and _wholly_, are undisputed
exceptions; and _abridgment_, _acknowledgment_, _judgment_,
_misjudgment_, _prejudgment_, _lodgment_, _wobegone_, and
_rhymster_, are disputed exceptions. Some write _abridgement_,
_acknowledgement_, _judgement_, _misjudgement_, _prejudgement_,
_lodgement_, _woebegone_, and _rhymester_.
RULE III.
Words ending in _ie_ change them into _y_ before _ing_; as, lie, _lying_.
The following words conform to this rule:—
lie
belie
outlie
lie
overlie
underlie
die
hie
tie
untie
vie
outvie
RULE IV.
Words ending in _y_ preceded by a consonant generally change _y_ into _i_
on taking an additional syllable; as, mercy, _merciful_, _merciless_;
defy, _defied_, _defies_, _defieth_, _defiant_; busy, _busier_,
_busiest_, _business_; ply, _pliers_; porphyry, _porphyritic_.
EXCEPTION I.—_Y_ after a consonant is not changed into _i_
before _ing_ or _ish_; as, _dry_, _drying_, _dryish_.
EXCEPTION II.—Compounds usually retain _y_; as, _mercy-seat_,
_county-town_, _dairy-maid_, _skylight_.
_Remark._—_Dryer_, _dryest_, _dryly_, _dryness_, _shyer_,
_shyest_, _shyly_, _shyness_, are undisputed exceptions to the
rule; and _slyer_, _slyest_, _slyly_, _slyness_, are disputed
exceptions.
RULE V.
Words ending in _y_ preceded by a vowel retain the _y_; as, gay, _gayly_,
_gayness_, _gayety_; pray, _prayer_, _praying_, _prayed_, _prays_.
_Remark._—From day, lay, pay, say, stay, are formed _daily_,
_laid_, _paid_, _said_, _saith_, _staid_. The regular words
_dayly_, _layed_, _payed_, _sayeth_, and _stayed_, are
sometimes used.
RULE VI.
Monosyllables and words having the primary accent on the last syllable,
when they end with a single consonant preceded by a single vowel,
double their final consonant before an additional syllable that begins
with a vowel; as, wet, _wetter_, _wettest_, _wetting_, _wetted_; drum,
_drumming_, _drummed_; dispel, _dispelling_, _dispelled_.
EXCEPTION.—A final _x_, or the _s_ in gas, should not
be doubled; as, fix, _fixes_, _fixed_, _fixing_; annex,
_annexing_; _gases_, _gasefy_.
_Remark I._—_U_ after _q_ is never reckoned a part of a
diphthong or triphthong; so that from quit are formed
_quitting_, _quitted_; and from quag, _quaggy_.
_Remark II._—This rule applies only to derivatives which
retain the accent of their primitives, and not to such as
_in´ferable_, _in´ference_, _pref´erable_, _pref´erence_,
_ref´erable_, and _ref´erence_, from infer, prefer, and refer.
To the forms _infer´rible_, _refer´rible_, which are sometimes
met with, the general rule applies. _Transfer´able_, from
transfer, is an exception to the general rule; the regular form
_transfer´rible_ is not often used. Although _parallel´ogram_,
from par´allel, and _modal´ity_ from mo´dal, remove the primary
accent to the point of duplication, they do not double the
final _l_. See Remark II. under Rule VII.
RULE VII.
A final consonant is not doubled when it is preceded by a diphthong,
when the primary accent is either not on, or not retained upon, the
last syllable, or when the additional syllable begins with a consonant;
as, beat, _beating_, _beaten_; dif´fer, _dif´fering_, _dif´fered_,
_dif´ference_, _dif´ferent_; prefer´, _pref´erence_; refer´,
_ref´erence_; fit, _fitful_, _fitly_, _fitness_; ben´efit, _ben´efited_,
_ben´efiting_.
EXCEPTION I.—Compounds that remove the primary accent from
the point of duplication retain the double letter; as,
_broad´-brimmed_, _heel´-tapping_.
_Remark I._—When _ly_ is affixed to words ending in _l_, the
l is not considered doubled; as in _cool-ly_, _real-ly_,
_gravel-ly_, _royal-ly_.
_Remark II._—_Nutmegged_, _kidnapping_, _kidnapped_,
_kidnapper_, _zigzagging_, _zigzagged_, _excellence_, and
some others, are undisputed exceptions to the rule. There are
nearly one hundred words, from which more than four hundred
derivatives are formed, that are usually made exceptions to
this rule. Webster is distinguished for making nearly all the
derivatives conform to the rule. Webster and Smart accent the
verb _curv´et_, on the first syllable, with which accentuation
_curveting_ and _curveted_ are correct spellings; other
orthoepists accent upon the last syllable, then _curvet´ting_
and _curvet´ted_ are correct.
RULE VIII.
Words ending in _c_ accept of _k_ before a termination beginning with
_e_, _i_, or _y_; as, frolic, _frolicked_, _frolicking_; colic, _colicky_.
ILLUSTRATIONS.
colic
colicky
frolic
frolicking
frolicked
havoc
havocking
havocked
mimic
mimicking
mimicked
mimicker
physic
physicking
physicked
rollic
rollicking
rollicked
traffic
trafficking
trafficked
trafficker
talc
talcky
zinc
zinckiferous
(zinciferous)
zincky
RULE IX.
Words ending in a double letter preserve it double after a prefix or
before a termination beginning with a different letter; as, _op-press_,
_mis-spell_, _in-thrall_, _oversee_; _see-ing_, _op-pressive_,
_stiff-ness_, _woo-ed_, _still-ness_, _assess-ment_.
_Remark I._—_Annul_, _until_, _twibil_, and the conservative
_fulfil_, or the Websterian _fulfill_, are the only exceptions
to the first part of this rule extensively recognized by
present usage. The conservative _distil_ and _instil_ are at
variance; but the Websterian _distill_ and _instill_, and also
_twibill_, as written by Reid, are in harmony with the rule.
_Remark II._—_Pontific_, and all other derivatives of pontiff,
are exceptions to the latter part of this rule, unless an _f_
is discarded in the primitive word, as Webster suggests and the
derivation warrants. The derivatives of dull, full, skill, and
will, are disputed exceptions: if spelled as Webster writes
them, _dullness_, _fullness_, _skillful_, _willful_, they
conform to the rule.
RULE X.
The plural is usually formed from the singular by adding _s_; as, brave,
_braves_; night, _nights_; hymn, _hymns_.
RULE XI.
Nouns ending in _o_ preceded by a vowel accept of _s_ in the plural; as,
cameo, _cameos_; studio, _studios_.
ILLUSTRATIONS.
agios
bagnios
bamboos
braggadocios
cameos
cuckoos
curculios
embryos
folios
imbroglios
intaglios
internuncios
koodoos
nuncios
olios
oratorios
pistachios
port-folios
punctilios
ratios
seraglios
solfeggios
studios
trios
RULE XII.
Nouns ending in _y_ preceded by a vowel accept of _s_ in the plural; as,
money, _moneys_; attorney, _attorneys_; valley, _valleys_.
RULE XIII.
Nouns ending in _o_ preceded by a consonant usually accept of _es_ in the
plural; as, echo, _echoes_; embargo, _embargoes_.
_Remark._—There are more than fifty words that conform to this
rule, and about thirty that accept of _s_ only.
ILLUSTRATIONS.
archipelagoes
armadilloes
bilboes
bravadoes
bravoes
buffaloes
buffoes
calicoes
cargoes
desperadoes
echoes
embargoes
farragoes
frescoes
grottoes
gustoes
heroes
innuendoes
juntoes
lazarettoes
lingoes
lumbagoes
mangoes
manifestoes
mottoes
mulattoes
negroes
palmettoes
passadoes
peccadilloes
potatoes
prunelloes
punchinelloes
punctoes
ranchoes
recitativoes
relievoes
renegadoes
ritornelloes
rotundoes
stilettoes
supercargoes
testudoes
tomatoes
tornadoes
torpedoes
umboes
vetoes
violoncelloes
viragoes
volcanoes
zeroes
EXCEPTIONS.
albinos
cantos
centos
dominos
duodecimos
halos
hidalgos
inamoratos
lassos
limbos
major-domos
mementos
merinos
mosquitos
octavos
pianos
porticos
provisos
quartos
rancheros
ridottos
rondos
salvos
set-tos
sirocos
solos
torsos
tyros
It would be well if all words ending in _o_ were made to
conform to Rules XI. and XIII.
RULE XIV.
Nouns ending in _ss_, _z_, _x_, _ch_ soft, and _sh_, accept of _es_ in
the plural; as, dress, _dresses_; buzz, _buzzes_; box, _boxes_; peach,
_peaches_; dish, _dishes_.
RULE XV.
Nouns ending in _y_ after a consonant change _y_ into _ies_ in the
plural; as, city, _cities_; daisy, _daisies_.
RULE XVI.
Compound nouns whose parts are connected by a hyphen accept of the sign
of the plural after that part which essentially constitutes the noun; as,
knight-errant, _knights-errant_; son-in-law, _sons-in-law_; man-of-war,
_men-of-war_; step-child, _step-children_; ember-day, _ember-days_;
man-singer, _men-singers_.
ILLUSTRATIONS.
aides-de-camp
beaus-ideal or
beaux-ideal
cartes-blanche
charges-d’affaires
chevaux-de-frise
coups-de-main
courts-martial
cousins-german
daughters-in-law
fathers-in-law
gendarmes or
gens d’armes
jets d’eau
knights-errant
mesdames
men-of-war
messieurs
mothers-in-law
poets-laureate
porte-monnaies
prices-current
sergeants-at-arms
sisters-in-law
sons-in-law
step-children
step-fathers
valets-de-chambre
_Remark I._—If no hyphen is used, the sign of the plural is
always placed at the end; as, spoonful, _spoonfuls_.
_Remark II._—The sign of the possessive case is always placed
at the end of compound nouns; as, _son-in-law’s_ house.
RULE XVII.
The compounds of man form their plural in the same manner as the simple
word; as, fisherman, _fishermen_; man-of-war, _men-of-war_.
EXCEPTIONS.—The only exceptions to this rule are _dragoman_,
_Mussulman_, _Ottoman_, _talisman_, _Turcoman_, _German_,
_Norman_, and _landamman_, which accept of _s_.
RULE XVIII.
Of the terminations _eive_ and _ieve_, and of the derivatives of each,
the former are found after _c_, and the latter after other letters;
as, _conceive_, _conceit_, _receive_, _receipt_; _relieve_, _relief_,
_relieving_, _thieve_, _thievish_.
ILLUSTRATIONS.
achieve
aggrieve
bas-relief
belief
believe
conceit
conceivable
conceive
deceit
deceitful
deceive
disbelief
disbelieve
grief
grieve
inconceivable
lief
lieve
misbelief
misconceive
perceive
preconceive
receipt
receive
relief
relieve
relievo
reprieve
retrieve
sieve
thief
thieve
unbelief
unbeliever
undeceive
* * * * *
_Plurals of Nouns which change F or FE into VES._
beeves
calves
elves
halves
knives
leaves
lives
loaves
selves
sheaves
shelves
thieves
tipstaves
wharves
wives
wolves
All other nouns ending in _ff_ conform to Rule X. Wharfs prevails in
Great Britain, wharves in America.
_Plurals of Nouns ending in F or FE which accept of S only in the Plural._
briefs
chiefs
fiefs
griefs
mischiefs
kerchiefs
neckerchiefs
handkerchiefs
caliphs
caufs
clefs
coifs
delfs
dwarfs
turfs
kerfs
surfs
fifes
strifes
safes
scarfs
waifs
woofs
hoofs
roofs
proofs
reproofs
disproofs
waterproofs
beliefs
reliefs
gulfs
_Plurals of Nouns ending in EAU, IEU, and OU._
beaux
bureaux
chapeaux
chateaux
flambeaux
plateaux
rondeaux
jets d’eau
portmanteaus
purlieus
adieux
batteaux
bijoux
morceaux
rouleaux
tableaux
A number of these nouns admits of two forms in the plural.
HOW TO SECURE COPYRIGHTS.
1. A _printed_ copy of the title (besides the two copies to be deposited
after publication) of the book, map, chart, dramatic or musical
composition, engraving, cut, print, photograph, or a _description_ of
the painting, drawing, chromo, statue, statuary, or model or design for
a work of the fine arts, for which copyright is desired, must be sent by
mail or otherwise, _prepaid_, addressed:
_Librarian of Congress,
Washington, D. C._
This must be done before publication of the book or other article.
The _printed title_ required may be a copy of the title page of such
publications as have title pages. In other cases, the title must
be printed expressly for copyright entry, with name of claimant
of copyright. The style of type is immaterial, and the print of a
type-writer will be accepted. But a separate title is required for each
entry, and _each_ title must be printed on paper as large as commercial
note. The title of a _periodical_ must include the date and number.
2. A fee of 50 cents, for recording the title of each book or other
article, must be enclosed with the title as above, and 50 cents in
addition (or one dollar in all) for each certificate of copyright under
seal of the Librarian of Congress, which will be transmitted by early
mail.
3. Within ten days after publication of each book or other article, two
complete copies of the best edition issued must be sent, to perfect the
copyright, with the address:
_Librarian of Congress,
Washington, D. C._
The postage must be prepaid, or else the publications inclosed in parcels
covered by printed Penalty Labels, furnished by the Librarian, in which
case they will come FREE by mail, according to rulings of the Post Office
Department. Without the deposit of copies above required the copyright
is void, and a penalty of $25 is incurred. No copy is required to be
deposited elsewhere.
4. No copyright is valid unless notice is given by inserting in every
copy published, on the title-page or the page following, if it be a
book; or, if a map, chart, musical composition, print, cut, engraving,
photograph, painting, drawing, chromo, statue, statuary, or model
or design intended to be perfected as a work of the fine arts, by
inscribing upon some portion thereof, or on the substance on which the
same is mounted, the following words, viz.: “_Entered according to act
of Congress, in the year ⸺, by ⸺ ⸺, in the office of the Librarian of
Congress, at Washington_,” or, at the option of the person entering the
copyright, the words: “_Copyright, 18—, by ⸺_.”
The law imposes a penalty of $100 upon any person who has not obtained
copyright who shall insert the notice “_Entered according to act of
Congress_,” or “_Copyright_,” etc., or words of the same import, in or
upon any book or other article.
5. Any author may reserve the right to translate or to dramatize his own
work. In this case, notice should be given by printing the words “_Right
of translation reserved_,” or “_All rights reserved_,” below the notice
of copyright entry, and notifying the Librarian of Congress of such
reservation, to be entered upon the record.
Since the phrase, _all rights reserved_, refers exclusively to the
author’s right to dramatize or to translate, it has no bearing upon any
publications except original works, and will not be entered upon the
record in other cases.
6. The original term of copyright runs for twenty-eight years. _Within
six months before_ the end of that time, the author or designer, or
his widow or children, may secure a renewal for the further term of
fourteen years, making forty-two years in all. Applications for renewal
must be accompanied by explicit statement of ownership, in the case
of the author, or of relationship, in the case of his heirs, and must
state definitely the date and place of entry of the original copyright.
Advertisement of renewal is to be made within two months of date of
renewal certificate, in some newspaper, for four weeks.
7. The time within which any work entered for copyright may be issued
from the press is not limited by any law or regulation, but depends
upon the discretion of the proprietor. A copyright may be secured for a
projected work as well as for a completed one.
8. A copyright is assignable in law by any instrument of writing, but
such assignment must be recorded in the office of the Librarian of
Congress within sixty days from its date. The fee for this record and
certificate is one dollar, and for a certified copy of any record of
assignment one dollar.
9. A copy of the record (or duplicate certificate) of any copyright entry
will be furnished, under seal, at the rate of fifty cents each.
10. In the case of books published in more than one volume, or of
periodicals published in numbers, or of engravings, photographs, or other
articles published with variations, a copyright is to be entered for each
volume or part of a book, or number of a periodical, or variety, as to
style, title, or inscription, of any other article. But a book published
serially in a periodical, under the same general title, requires only one
entry. To _complete_ the copyright on such a work, two copies of each
serial part, as well as of the complete work (if published separately),
must be deposited.
11. To secure a copyright for a painting, statue, or model or design
intended to be perfected as a work of the fine arts, so as to prevent
infringement by copying, engraving, or vending such design, a definite
description must accompany the application for copyright, and a
photograph of the same, at least as large as “cabinet size,” should be
mailed to the Librarian of Congress within ten days from the completion
of the work or design.
12. Copyrights cannot be granted upon trade-marks, nor upon mere names
of companies or articles, nor upon prints or labels intended to be used
with any article of manufacture. If protection for such names or labels
is desired, application must be made to the Patent Office, where they are
registered, at a fee of $6 for labels and $25 for trade-marks.
13. Citizens or residents of the United States only are entitled to
copyright.
14. Every applicant for a copyright should state distinctly the full
name and residence of the claimant, and whether the right is claimed as
author, designer, or proprietor. No affidavit or formal application is
required.
OFFICE OF THE LIBRARIAN OF CONGRESS,
_Washington, 1885_.
[Illustration]
THE METRIC SYSTEM.
The Metric System is a decimal system of measures and weights, based on
the meter as its unit, which originated in France during the last decade
of the eighteenth century, and has since been adopted by the greater
number of States in Europe and America. In the United States its use was
authorized in 1866 by Act of Congress. The length of the _meter_ was
intended to be one ten-millionth part of the distance from the equator
to either pole, measured at the level of the sea, but it is in reality a
trifle less. All other units for measuring and weighing are derived from
it, and the higher or lower denominations of the same kind of measure
are obtained by multiplying or dividing its unit by tens, and prefixing
to its name the Greek numerals, _deka_ 10, _hekto_ 100, _kilo_ 1000, or
_myria_ 10000, for the higher denominations, and the Latin numerals,
_deci_ 1/10, _centi_ 1/100, or _milli_ 1/1000, for the lower. The unit
of weight, called the _gram_, is theoretically the weight in vacuo of a
cubic centimeter of distilled water at the temperature of maximum density
assumed to be 4° C. or 39° 1 Fe.
Including the meter and gram, five units have been adopted in the metric
system, viz.:—
1. The Meter, the unit of length, = 3.280899 feet = 39.37079
inches.
2. The Are, the unit of surface, = 1 square dekameter =
119.60332 square yards.
3. The Liter, the unit of capacity, = 1 cubic decimeter =
0.26418635 gallon = 1.0567454 quarts.
4. The Stere, the unit of solidity, = 1 cubic meter = 35.336636
cubic feet = 1.308764 cubic yards.
5. The Gram, the unit of weight, = 15.43234874 grains troy.
For practical purposes the following are commonly used as units, viz.:—
For itinerary measure, the kilometer = 0.62138 mile. For land
measure, the hektare = 2.47114 acres. For commercial weight,
the kilogram = 2.20462125 pounds. The nickel five-cent piece,
coined since 1866, weighs exactly 5 grams.
METRIC EQUIVALENTS OF ENGLISH MEASURES AND WEIGHTS.
LONG MEASURE.
1 inch = 2.540 centimeters.
1 foot = 3.048 decimeters.
1 yard = 9.144 decimeters.
1 rod = 5.0291 meters.
1 mile = 1.6093 kilometers.
SQUARE MEASURE.
1 acre = 40.467 ares.
LIQUID MEASURE.
1 gill = 1.1831 deciliters.
1 pint = 4.7325 deciliters.
1 quart = 9.4650 deciliters.
1 gallon = 3.786 liters.
DRY MEASURE.
1 pint = 5.5067 deciliters.
1 quart = 1.1013 liters.
1 peck = 8.8108 liters.
1 bushel = 3.524 dekaliters.
AVOIRDUPOIS WEIGHT.
1 ounce = 2.835 dekagrams.
1 pound = 4.5359 hektograms.
TROY WEIGHT.
1 grain = 6.480 centigrams.
1 ounce = 3.1103 dekagrams.
1 pound = 3.7324 hektograms.
TABLE FOR REDUCING POUNDS AND OUNCES TO KILOGRAMS.
++----+------++----+------++----+------++----+------++-------+--------++
||Oz. | Kilo.||Lbs.| Kilo.||Lbs.| Kilo.||Lbs.| Kilo.|| Lbs. | Kilo.||
++----+------++----+------++----+------++----+------++-------+--------++
|| _1_| 0.028|| _1_| 0.454||_31_|14.062||_61_|27.669|| _91_| 41.277||
|| _2_| 0.057|| _2_| 0.907||_32_|14.515||_62_|28.123|| _92_| 41.731||
|| _3_| 0.085|| _3_| 1.361||_33_|14.969||_63_|28.577|| _93_| 42.184||
|| _4_| 0.113|| _4_| 1.814||_34_|15.422||_64_|29.030|| _94_| 42.638||
|| _5_| 0.142|| _5_| 2.268||_35_|15.876||_65_|29.484|| _95_| 43.092||
|| _6_| 0.170|| _6_| 2.722||_36_|16.330||_66_|29.937|| _96_| 43.545||
|| _7_| 0.198|| _7_| 3.175||_37_|16.783||_67_|30.391|| _97_| 43.999||
|| _8_| 0.227|| _8_| 3.629||_38_|17.237||_68_|30.845|| _98_| 44.452||
|| _9_| 0.255|| _9_| 4.082||_39_|17.690||_69_|31.298|| _99_| 44.906||
||_10_| 0.283||_10_| 4.536||_40_|18.144||_70_|31.752|| _100_| 45.360||
||_11_| 0.312||_11_| 4.990||_41_|18.597||_71_|32.205|| _200_| 90.720||
||_12_| 0.340||_12_| 5.443||_42_|19.051||_72_|32.659|| _300_| 136.079||
||_13_| 0.369||_13_| 5.897||_43_|19.505||_73_|33.113|| _400_| 181.439||
||_14_| 0.397||_14_| 6.350||_44_|19.958||_74_|33.566|| _500_| 226.799||
||_15_| 0.425||_15_| 6.804||_45_|20.412||_75_|34.020|| _600_| 272.159||
|| | ||_16_| 7.258||_46_|20.865||_76_|34.473|| _700_| 317.518||
|| | ||_17_| 7.711||_47_|21.319||_77_|34.927|| _800_| 362.878||
|| | ||_18_| 8.165||_48_|21.773||_78_|35.380|| _900_| 408.238||
|| | ||_19_| 8.618||_49_|22.226||_79_|35.834|| _1000_| 453.598||
|| | ||_20_| 9.072||_50_|22.680||_80_|36.288|| _2000_| 907.195||
|| | ||_21_| 9.526||_51_|23.133||_81_|36.741|| _3000_|1360.793||
|| | ||_22_| 9.979||_52_|23.587||_82_|37.195|| _4000_|1814.390||
|| | ||_23_|10.433||_53_|24.041||_83_|37.649|| _5000_|2267.988||
|| | ||_24_|10.886||_54_|24.494||_84_|38.102|| _6000_|2721.586||
|| | ||_25_|11.340||_55_|24.948||_85_|38.556|| _7000_|3175.183||
|| | ||_26_|11.793||_56_|25.401||_86_|39.009|| _8000_|3628.781||
|| | ||_27_|12.247||_57_|25.855||_87_|39.463|| _9000_|4082.378||
|| | ||_28_|12.701||_58_|26.309||_88_|39.917||_10000_|4535.976||
|| | ||_29_|13.154||_59_|26.762||_89_|40.370|| | ||
|| | ||_30_|13.608||_60_|27.216||_90_|40.824|| | ||
++----+------++----+------++----+------++----+------++-------+--------++
[Illustration]
TECHNICAL TERMS OF THE CRAFT.
_Alley._—The space between two stands.
_Ascending letters._—Letters that ascend into the upper
shoulder; as, b, d, l, &c. and all the capitals.
_Author’s proof._—The clean proof sent to an author after the
compositors’ errors have been corrected.
_Bank._—A table about four feet high, to lay sheets on at press.
_Bastard title._—A short title preceding the general title of a
work.
_Bastard type._—Type with a face larger or smaller than its
regular body: as Nonpareil on Minion body, or Minion on
Nonpareil body.
_Batter._—Types accidentally injured in a form.
_Beard of a letter._—The outer angles supporting the face of a
type and extending to the shoulder.
_Bearer._—A strip of reglet to bear off the impression from
a blank page. A long piece of furniture, type-high, used in
working jobs. A solid-faced type interspersed among the blank
parts of a page composed for stereotyping, to resist the
pressure of the knife when the plate is shaved.
_Bearer-lines._—The top line and bottom line in a page prepared
for stereotyping.
_Bed._—The flat part of the press on which the form is laid.
_Bevels._—Slugs cast nearly type-high, with a beveled edge,
used by stereotypers to form the flange on the side of the
plates.
_Bite._—An irregular white spot on the edge or corner of a
printed page, caused by the frisket not being sufficiently cut
out.
_Blanket._—A woollen cloth used in the tympan.
_Blank-line._—A line of quadrates.
_Blocks._—The mahogany forms on which stereotype plates are
placed for printing.
_Blocked up._—When the fount of type is all set, and none is
available for present use.
_Bodkin._—A delicate awl-like tool used for correcting errors
in type.
_Body._—The shank of the letter.
_Botch._—A bungling, incompetent workman.
_Bottled._—Type wider at the bottom than at the top.
_Boxes._—The compartments of a case in which the types are
placed.
_Brayer._—A wooden or glass rubber, flat at the bottom, used to
bray or spread out ink on the ink-block.
_Break-line._—A short line.
_Broad-side._—A form of one page, printed on one side of a
whole sheet of paper.
_Broken matter._—Pages of type disrupted and somewhat
intermingled.
_Bundle._—Two reams of paper.
_Bur._—Rough edge of a type which the founder neglected to take
off in dressing.
_Cabinet._—A receptacle for cases, chases leads, &c.
_Cancelled figures._—Figures cast with a line across the face.
_Caret._—A character [^] used in proofreading to denote the
place where omitted words should be inserted.
_Case._—The receptacle for type, divided into numerous
compartments.
_Cassie paper._—Formerly, the two outside quires of a ream,
consisting of defective sheets.
_Casting off._—Estimating how many pages a certain quantity of
copy will make in type.
_Cattie._—Imperfect or smutty look of a printed sheet caused by
an oily or unclean roller.
_Ceriphs._—The lines or cross-strokes at the ends of the stem
of a letter.
_Chapel._—A printing-office.
_Chapel laws._—Rules of a printing-office.
_Chase._—A rectangular iron frame in which pages of type are
imposed.
_Circular quadrates._—Blank types curved on one side.
_Clean proof._—A proof containing few faults.
_Clearing away._—Properly disposing of materials after a work
has been completed.
_Clicker._—The chief of a companionship.
_Close matter._—Solid matter with few break-lines.
_Companionship._—All the hands employed on a work.
_Composing._—Setting type.
_Composing-rule._—A steel or brass rule, with a beak at one
end, used in typesetting.
_Composing-stick._—An instrument in which types are arranged in
words and lines.
_Corner quadrates._—A quarter section of a hollow square or
rectangle.
_Correct._—A compositor is said to correct when he amends the
faults marked in a proof.
_Corrections._—The alterations or errors marked in a proof.
_Cut-in letter._—A type of large size adjusted at the beginning
of the first paragraph of a chapter.
_Cut-in note._—A note justified into the side of a page.
_Dead horse._—Matter charged and paid for before it is set.
_Dele, ₰._—A proof-reader’s mark, signifying to take out.
_Descending letters._—Letters that go down into the lower
shoulder of the body; as, g, j, p, q, y.
_Devil._—The errand-boy of a printing-office.
_Dished._—A defect in electrotyped plates, the centre of a
letter being lower than its edges.
_Distributing._—Returning types to their various boxes after
having been printed from. Spreading ink evenly over the surface
of a roller.
_Double._—Among compositors, repetition of words; among
pressmen, a sheet that is twice pulled and mackled.
_Dressing a chase or form._—Fitting the pages and chase with
furniture and quoins.
_Drive out._—To space widely.
_Duck’s-bill._—A tongue cut in a piece of stout paper and
pasted on the tympan at the bottom of the tympan-sheet, to
support the paper when laid on the tympan.
_Duodecimo_, or _12mo._—Twelve pages to a form.
_Em._—The square of the body of a type.
_En._—Half the dimensions of the preceding.
_Even page._—The 2d, 4th, 6th, or any even-numbered page of a
book.
_Fat._—Poetry and leaded matter.
_Fat face_, or _Fat letter_.—Broad stemmed letter.
_Father of the chapel._—President or chairman of a
composing-room or press-room chosen by the hands.
_Feed guide._—An implement attached to a press to aid in
correct feeding.
_Feeding._—Supplying the press with sheets.
_First form._—The form first printed, which generally contains
the first page of a sheet.
_Fly._—The person or apparatus that takes off the sheets from
the press.
_Folio._—Two pages to a form.
_Foot-sticks._—Sloping pieces of furniture placed at the bottom
of pages, between which and the chase the quoins are driven to
fasten the pages.
_Form._—The pages when imposed in a chase.
_Foul proof._—A proof with many faults marked in it.
_Fount._—A complete assortment of type, of the same nick,
body, and face, put up by type-founders in accordance with an
ascertained ratio.
_Fountain._—Reservoir for ink, attached to printing-presses.
_Friar._—A light patch in a printed sheet, caused by defective
rolling.
_Frisket._—An iron frame fastened by a hinge to the upper part
of the tympan, to hold the sheet of paper fast as it goes in
and comes from the press.
_Fudge._—To contrive without proper materials.
_Full press._—When two men work at the press with hand rollers.
_Furniture._—Strips of wood or metal placed around and between
pages to make the proper margin.
_Galley._—A wooden or brass flat oblong tray, with side and
head ledges, for holding type when composed.
_Galley-slaves._—An ancient term of derision applied by
pressmen to compositors.
_Gauge._—A strip of reglet with a notch in it, passed with the
make-up, to denote the length of the pages.
_Gauge-pin._—An instrument to aid in feeding job presses
correctly.
_Get in._—To set close.
_Good colour._—Sheets printed neither too black nor too light.
_Guide._—A strip of metal frequently used to denote the last
line of copy set.
_Gutter-sticks._—Furniture used in imposition to separate the
pages.
_Half press._—When but one person works at the press.
_Half-title._—The title of a book inserted in the upper portion
of the first page of matter.
_Hanging indention._—Where successive lines are set-in an em or
more beyond the first line.
_Head-sticks._—Furniture put at the head of pages in
imposition, to make margin.
_Hell._—The receptacle for broken or battered letters; the
old-metal box; the shoe.
_High-line._—Term applied to a type that ranges above the rest
in a line.
_High (or low) to paper._—Applied to a type cast higher or
lower than the rest of the fount.
_Hollow quadrates._—Metal quadrates mortised for the insertion
of types, &c.
_Horse._—The stage on the bank on which pressmen set the heap
of paper.
_Horsing._—Charging for work before it is executed.
_Imposing._—Arranging and locking up a form of type in a chase.
_Imposing-stone._—The stone on which compositors impose and
correct forms.
_Imprint._—The name of the printer or of the publisher appended
to jobs or title-pages.
_Inferior letters._—Small letters cast near the bottom of the
line.
_Inset._—Same as offcut.
_Jeff._—To throw for the first choice with em quadrates instead
of dice.
_Justifying._—Spacing out lines accurately.
_Keep in._—To crowd in by thin spacing.
_Keep out._—To drive out or expand matter by wide spacing.
_Kerned letter._—Type of which a part of the face hangs over
the body.
_Laying cases._—Filling cases with a fount of new type.
_Laying pages._—Placing pages of type on the stone in a proper
order for imposition.
_Leaders._—Dots or hyphens placed at intervals of one or more
ems in length, to guide the eye across the line to the folio in
tables of contents, &c.
_Leads._—Thin strips of metal cast of various thicknesses,
quadrate-high, to separate lines of type.
_Lean._—Close and solid matter.
_Lean face._—Light, thin type.
_Letter hangs._—When the page is out of square.
_Letter-press printing._—Printing from types.
_Ligatures._—Two or more letters cast on the same shank, as ff,
fi, fl, ffi, ffl, æ, œ.
_Line formers._—Brass rule bent in various shapes to aid in
making curved lines of type.
_Locking up._—Tightening up a form by means of quoins.
_Logotypes._—The same as ligatures.
_Long cross._—The bar that divides a chase the longest way.
_Long pull._—When the bar is brought close to the cheek of a
press.
_Low case._—When the compositor has set almost all the letters
out of his case.
_Lower case._—The case containing the small letters of the
alphabet, figures, points, &c.
_Low-line._—Applied to a type that ranges lower than the rest
in a line.
_Mackle._—When part of the impression appears double.
_Make-up._—To arrange the lines of matter into pages.
_Make-up rule._—A steel rule with a projection on the top, for
making up matter.
_Making margin._—In imposition, arranging the space between
the pages of a form so that the margin will be properly
proportioned.
_Making ready._—Preparing a form on the press for printing.
_Mallet._—A wooden hammer.
_Matter._—Composed type.
_Measure._—The width of a page.
_Monk._—A black spot in a printed sheet, owing to the ink not
being properly distributed.
_Naked form._—A form without furniture.
_Nicks._—Hollows cast in the front of the lower part of the
shank of a type, to show the compositor how to place it in his
stick.
_Octavo_, or _8vo._—Eight pages to a form.
_Octodecimo_, or _18mo._—Eighteen pages to a form.
_Odd page_ or _folio_.—The 1st, 3d, and all uneven-numbered
pages.
_Off._—Signifies that the pressman has worked off the form.
_Offcut._—A portion of a sheet that is cut off before folding.
_Off its feet._—When matter does not stand upright.
_Open matter._—Matter widely leaded or containing numerous
break-lines.
_Out._—An omission marked in a proof by the reader.
_Out of register._—When the pages do not back each other.
_Overlay._—A scrap of paper pasted on the tympan-sheet to bring
up the impression.
_Overrunning._—Carrying words backward or forward in correcting.
_Page-cord._—Twine used for tying up pages.
_Passing the make-up._—Passing to the next hand in order the
lines remaining (if any) after a compositor has made up his
matter, together with the gauge and proper folio.
_Peel._—A broad, thin board with a long handle.
_Perfecting._—Printing the second form of a sheet.
_Perforating rule._—Brass or steel rule, somewhat higher than
type.
_Pi._—Type promiscuously intermingled.
_Pick._—A particle of ink or paper imbedded in the hollow of a
letter, filling up its face and occasioning a spot.
_Pigs._—An ancient nickname given in derision by compositors to
pressmen. The press-room was called a pigsty.
_Planer._—A smooth block of wood used for levelling the surface
of pages of type when imposed.
_Planing down._—To bring down types evenly on their feet, by
laying a planer on the page and striking it firmly with a
mallet.
_Platen._—The part of a printing-press which, acted upon by the
lever, gives the impression to a sheet.
_Point-holes._—Fine holes made by the points to register the
second impression by
_Points._—Two thin pieces of steel with a point at one end,
adjusted to the tympan with screws, to make register.
_Quadrate._—A low square blank type, used to indent the first
line of a paragraph, and to fill up blank spaces.
_Quarters._—Octavos and twelves are said to be imposed in
quarters, not from their equal divisions, but because they are
imposed and locked up in four parts.
_Quarto_, or _4to._—Four pages to a form.
_Quire._—Twenty-four sheets of paper.
_Quoins._—Small wedges for locking up a form.
_Quotation furniture._—Quotations cast of various sizes in
length and width, used for blanking and as furniture.
_Quotations._—Large hollowed quadrates.
_Rack._—Receptacle for cases.
_Ratchet._—An instrument for turning the screws of stereotype
blocks.
_Ratting._—Working at less than the established prices.
_Ream._—Twenty quires of paper.
_Recto._—Right-hand page.
_References._—Letters or characters serving to direct the
reader’s attention to notes at the foot of a page.
_Register._—To cause the pages in a sheet to print precisely
back to back.
_Register sheet._—The sheet used to make register.
_Reglet._—Thin furniture, of an equal thickness all its length.
It is made to match the depth of type.
_Reiteration._—The form printed on the second side.
_Revise._—The last proof of a form before working it off.
_Riding._—One colour falling on another. Type at the end of a
line catching against a lead.
_Rise._—A form is said to rise when, in raising it from the
correcting stone, no letters drop out.
_Roller._—A wooden cylinder covered with composition, which,
set in an iron frame, revolves upon a rod, and is used for
inking type.
_Rounce._—The handle for running in and out the carriage of a
hand-press.
_Round pick._—A dot in a letter in a stereotype plate caused by
an air-bubble.
_Running title._—The title of the book or subject placed at the
top of the pages.
_Runs on sorts._— Requiring an inordinate proportion of
particular letters.
_Saw-block._—A box similar to a carpenter’s mitre-block, to
guide in cutting furniture, &c.
_Schedule._—A sheet of paper passed with the make-up,
containing folios, on which the compositor marks his name
opposite to the pages set by him.
_Set off._—When sheets that are newly worked off soil those
that come in contact with them, they are said to set off.
_Shank._—The metal body upon which the face of a letter stands.
_Sheep’s-foot._—An iron hammer with a claw-end.
_Sheetwise._—When the pages of a sheet are imposed in two
forms, which are backed in printing.
_Shooting-stick._—A wedge-shaped instrument for locking up a
form.
_Short cross._—The short bar which, crossing the long bar,
divides the chase into quarters.
_Shoulder._—The surface of the shank of a type not covered by
the letter.
_Side sorts._—Types in the side and upper boxes of a case,
consisting of letters not frequently used.
_Side-sticks._—Sloping furniture on the outside of the pages
next to the chase, where the quoins are inserted.
_Signature._—A letter or a figure used at the bottom of the
first page of a sheet, to direct the binder in placing the
sheets in a volume.
_Slice galley._—A galley with an upper movable bottom, called
a slice, used for pages and jobs too large to be lifted by the
fingers.
_Slug._—A thick lead. Sometimes with a word or figure on top,
used to denote the ownership of matter on galleys.
_Slur._—A blurred impression in a printed sheet.
_Solid pick._—A letter in a stereotype plate filled up with
metal, resulting from an imperfect mould.
_Sorts._—The letters in the several case-boxes are separately
called sorts, in printers’ and founders’ language.
_Space-rules._—Fine lines, cast type-high, and of even ems in
length, for table and algebraical work.
_Spaces._—Low blank types used to separate words.
_Squabble._—A page or form is squabbled when the letters are
twisted out of a square position.
_Stand._—The frame on which the cases are placed.
_Stem._—The vertical strokes of a type.
_Stereotype printing._—Printing from stereotyped plates.
_Stet._—Written opposite to a word in a proof, to signify that
the word erroneously struck out shall remain.
_Sub._—A compositor occasionally employed on a daily paper, to
fill the place of an absentee.
_Superior letters._—Letters of a small face, cast by the
founder near the top of the line.
_Table-work._—Matter consisting partly of rules and figures.
_Take_, or _Taking._—A given portion of copy.
_Token._—Two hundred and fifty sheets.
_Turn for a letter._—When a sort runs short, a letter of the
same thickness is substituted, placed bottom upward.
_Tympan._—A frame covered with parchment or muslin and attached
to the press-bed to lay the sheet on before printing.
_Underlay._—A piece of paper or card placed under types or cuts
to improve the impression.
_Uppercase._—The case containing capital and small capital
letters, fractions, &c.
_Verso._—Left-hand page.
_Wayz-goose._—A term given in England to the annual dinner
customary among printers there during the summer months.
_White line._—A line of quadrates.
_White page._—A blank page.
_White paper._—Until the second side of a sheet is printed,
pressmen call the heap white paper.
_Work and turn._—When a sheet is printed half-sheetwise, the
paper must be turned and worked on the second side.
_Working in pocket._—When the hands share equally their
earnings on a work.
[Illustration: PROOF PRESS.]
[Illustration]
ABBREVIATIONS.
A.—Acting.
a.—are, (of the French metric system.)
A. or Ans.—Answer.
A. A. G.—Assistant Adjutant-General.
A. A. P. S.—American Association for the Promotion of Science.
A. A. S.—_Academiæ Americanæ Socius_, Fellow of the American
Academy (of Arts and Sciences).
A. A. S. S.—_Americanæ Antiquarianæ Societatis Socius_, Member
of the American Antiquarian Society.
A. B.—_Artium Baccalaureus_, Bachelor of Arts.
A. B. C. F. M.—American Board of Commissioners for Foreign
Missions.
Abp.—Archbishop.
Abr.—Abridgment.
A. C.—_Ante Christum_, before the birth of Christ.
A. C.—Archchancellor.
Acct.—Account.
A. C. S.—American Colonization Society.
A. D.—_Anno Domini_, in the year of the Lord.
A. D. C.—Aide-de-camp.
Adj.—Adjective.
Adjt.—Adjutant.
Adjt. Gen.—Adjutant-General.
Ad lib.—_Ad libitum_, at pleasure.
Adm.—Admiral; Admiralty.
Adm. Co.—Admiralty Court.
Admr.—Administrator.
Admx.—Administratrix.
Ad v.—_Ad valorem_, at (or on) the value.
Adv.—Adverb.
Æt.—_Ætatis_, of age; aged.
A. F. B. S.—American and Foreign Bible Society.
A. F. & A. M.—Ancient Free and Accepted Masons.
A. G.—Adjutant-General.
Ag.—_Argentum_, silver.
Agr.—Agriculture.
A. G. S. S.—American Geographical and Statistical Society.
Agt.—Agent.
A. H.—_Anno Hegiræ_, in the year of the Hegira.
A. H. M. S.—American Home Missionary Society.
Ala.—Alabama.
Ald.—Alderman.
Alex.—Alexander.
Alg.—Algebra.
Alt.—Altitude.
A. M.—_Anno mundi_, in the year of the world.
A. M.—_Ante meridiem_, before noon; morning.
A. M.—_Artium Magister_, Master of Arts.
Amb.—Ambassador.
Amer.—American.
AMM.—_Amalgama_, amalgamation.
Amt.—Amount.
An.—_Anno_, in the year.
An. A. C.—_Anno ante Christum_, in the year before Christ.
Anat.—Anatomy.
Anc.—Ancient; anciently.
And.—Andrew.
Ang.-Sax.—Anglo-Saxon.
Anon.—Anonymous.
Anth.—Anthony.
Aor. or aor.—Aorist.
A. O. S. S.—_Americanæ Orientalis Societatis Socius_, Member of
the American Oriental Society.
Ap.—Apostle; Appius.
Ap.—_Apud_, in the writings of; as quoted by.
A. P. G. or Ast. P. G.—Professor of Astronomy in Gresham
College.
Apo.—Apogee.
Apoc.—Apocalypse.
App.—Appendix.
Apr.—April.
A. Q. M. G.—Assistant Quartermaster-General.
A. R.—_Anna Regina_, Queen Anne.
A. R.—_Anno regni_, year of the reign.
A. R. A.—Associate of the Royal Academy.
Arch.—Archibald.
Arg.—_Argumento_, by an argument drawn from such a law.
Arith.—Arithmetic.
Ark.—Arkansas.
A. R. R.—_Anno regni regis_, in the year of the reign of the
king.
A. R. S. S.—_Antiquariorum Regiæ Societatis Socius_, Fellow of
the Royal Society of Antiquaries.
Art.—Article.
A. S. or Assist. Sec.—Assistant Secretary.
A. S. A.—American Statistical Association.
A. S. S. U.—American Sunday-School Union.
Astrol.—Astrology.
Astron.—Astronomy.
A. T.—Archtreasurer.
A. T. S.—American Tract Society.
Ats.—At suit of.
Atty.—Attorney.
Atty.-Gen.—Attorney-General.
A. U. A.—American Unitarian Association.
Aub. Theol. Sem.—Auburn Theological Seminary.
A. U. C.—_Anno urbis conditæ_, or, _ab urbe conditâ_, in the
year from the building of the city (Rome).
Aug.—August.
Aur.—_Aurum_, gold.
Auth. Ver.—Authorized Version, (of the Bible.)
Av.—Average; Avenue.
Avoir.—Avoirdupois.
A. Y. M.—Ancient York Masons.
b.—born; book.
B. A.—Bachelor of Arts.
Bal.—Balance.
Balt.—Baltimore.
Bar.—Baruch.
Bart. or Bt.—Baronet.
bbl.—Barrel.
B. C.—Before Christ.
B. C. L.—Bachelor of Civil Law.
B. D.—_Baccalaureus Divinitatis_, Bachelor of Divinity.
Bds. or bds.—Boards (bound in).
Benj.—Benjamin.
Bk.—Book.
B. LL.—_Baccalaureus Legum_, Bachelor of Laws.
B. M.—_Baccalaureus Medicinæ_, Bachelor of Medicine.
Bost.—Boston.
Bot.—Botany.
Bp.—Bishop.
B. R.—_Banco Regis_ or _Reginæ_, the King’s or Queen’s Bench.
Br.—Brig.
Brig.—Brigade; Brigadier.
Brig.-Gen.—Brigadier-General.
Brit. Mus.—British Museum.
Bro.—Brother.
Br. Univ.—Brown University.
B. S.—Bachelor in the Sciences.
bu.—bushel.
B. V.—_Beata Virgo_, Blessed Virgin.
B. V.—_Bene vale_, farewell.
ca.—centiare, (metric system.)
C., ch. or chap.—Chapter.
C. or cent.—_Centum_, a hundred.
Cæt. par.—_Cæteris paribus_, other things being equal.
Cal.—California; Calends.
Can.—Canon.
Cant.—Canticles.
Cap. or c.—_Caput_, _capitulum_, chapter.
Caps.—Capitals.
Capt.—Captain.
Capt.-Gen.—Captain-General.
Cash.—Cashier.
Ca. resp.—_Capias ad respondendum_, a legal writ.
Ca. sa.—_Capias ad satisfaciendum_, a legal writ.
Cath.—Catherine.
C. B.—_Communis Bancus_, Common Bench.
C. B.—Companion of the Bath.
C. C.—Caius College; Account Current.
C. C. C.—Corpus Christi College.
C. C. P.—Court of Common Pleas.
C. E.—Canada East.
C. E.—Civil Engineer.
Cel. or Celt.—Celtic.
Cf. or cf.—_Confer_, compare.
cg.—centigram, (metric system.)
C. G.—Commissary-General; Consul-General.
C. H.—Court-House.
Ch.—Church; Chapter; Charles.
Chanc.—Chancellor.
Chap.—Chapter.
Chas.—Charles.
Chem.—Chemistry.
Chr.—Christopher.
Chron.—Chronicles.
Cin.—Cincinnati.
C. J.—Chief-Justice.
cl.—centiliter, (metric system.)
Clk.—Clerk.
cm.—centimeter, (metric system.)
C. M.—Common Metre.
C. M. G.—Companion of the Order of St. Michael and St. George.
Co.—Company; County.
C. O. D.—Cash (or collect) on delivery.
Col.—Colorado; Colonel; Colossians.
Coll.—Collector; Colloquial; College; Collection.
Com.—Commerce; Committee; Commentary; Commissioner; Commodore.
Com. Arr.—Committee of Arrangements.
Comdg.—Commanding.
Comm.—Commentary.
Comp.—Compare; Compound.
Com. Ver.—Common Version (of the Bible.)
Con.—_Contra_, against; in opposition.
Con. Cr.—Contra credit.
Conch.—Conchology.
Cong.—Congress; _Congius_, a gallon.
Conj. or conj.—Conjunction.
Conn. or Ct.—Connecticut.
Const.—Constable; Constitution.
Cont.—Contra.
Cor.—Corinthians.
Corol.—Corollary.
Cor. Sec.—Corresponding Secretary.
C. P.—Common Pleas.
C. P.—Court of Probate.
C. P. S.—_Custos Privati Sigilli_, Keeper of the Privy Seal.
C. R.—_Custos Rotulorum_, Keeper of the Rolls.
Cr.—Creditor; credit.
Crim. con.—Criminal conversation; adultery.
C. S.—Court of Sessions.
C. S.—_Custos Sigilli_, Keeper of the Seal.
Ct., cts.—Cent; cents.
C. Theod.—_Codice Theodosiano_, in the Theodosian Code.
C. W.—Canada West.
Cwt.—Hundredweight.
Cyc.—Cyclopedia.
d.—_Denarius_ or _denarii_, penny or pence.
d.—died.
D.—Five hundred.
Dan.—Daniel; Danish.
D. B. or Domesd. B.—Domesday-Book.
D. C.—_Da Capo_, again.
D. C.—District of Columbia.
D. C. L.—Doctor of Civil Law.
D. D.—_Divinitatis Doctor_, Doctor of Divinity.
D. D. D.—_Dat_, _dicat_, _dedicat_, he gives, he devotes, he
dedicates.
Dea.—Deacon.
Dec.—December; Declination.
Deg.—Degree or degrees.
Del.—Delaware; Delegate.
Del. or del.—_Delineavit_, he drew it.
Dem.—Democrat.
Dep.—Deputy.
Dept.—Department.
Deut.—Deuteronomy.
D.F.—Dean of the Faculty.
Dft. or deft.—Defendant.
D.G.—_Dei gratiâ_, by the grace of God.
D.G.—_Deo gratias_, thanks to God.
dg.—decigram, (metric system.)
Dg.—Dekagram, (metric system.)
D. H.—Dead-head.
Diam.—Diameter.
Dict.—Dictator; Dictionary.
Dim.—Diminutive.
Disc.—Discount.
Diss.—Dissertation.
Dist.—District.
Dist.-Atty.—District-Attorney.
dl.—deciliter, (metric system.)
Dl.—Dekaliter, (metric system.)
dm.—decimetre, (metric system.)
Dm.—Dekametre, (metric system.)
D. M.—Doctor of Music.
Do.—_Ditto_, the same.
Dols.—Dollars.
Dom. Ca.—Dominion of Canada.
D.O.M.—_Deo optimo maximo_, to God, the best, the greatest.
Doz.—Dozen.
D. P.—Doctor of Philosophy.
Dr.—Debtor; Doctor.
D. S.—_Dal segno_, from the sign.
ds.—Decistere, (metric system.)
Ds.—Dekastere, (metric system.)
d. s. b.—_Debit sans breve_, charge without abatement.
D. T.—_Doctor Theologiæ_, Doctor of Divinity.
D. V.—_Deo volente_, God willing.
Dwt.—Pennyweight.
E.—East.
ea.—Each.
E. by S.—East by South.
Eben.—Ebenezer.
Eccl.—Ecclesiastes.
Ecclus.—Ecclesiasticus.
Ed.—Editor; Edition.
Edm.—Edmund.
Edw.—Edward.
E. E.—Errors excepted.
e. g.—_Exempli gratiâ_, for example.
e. g.—_Ex grege_, among the rest.
E. I.—East Indies or East India.
Eliz.—Elizabeth.
E. lon.—East longitude.
Encyc.—Encyclopedia.
E. N. E.—East-Northeast.
Eng.—England; English.
Ent.—Entomology.
Env. Ext.—Envoy Extraordinary.
Ep.—Epistle.
Eph.—Ephesians; Ephraim.
Esd.—Esdras.
E. S. E.—East-Southeast.
Esq.—Esquire.
Esth.—Esther.
et al.—_Et alii_, and others.
et seq.—_Et sequentia_, and what follows.
etc. or &c.—_Et cæteri_, _et cæteræ_, _et cætera_, and others;
and so forth.
Ex.—Example.
Ex.—Exodus.
Exc.—Excellency; exception.
Exch.—Exchequer.
Exec. Com.—Executive Committee.
Execx.—Executrix.
Exr. or Exec.—Executor.
Ez.—Ezra.
Ezek.—Ezekiel.
E. & O. E.—Errors and omissions excepted.
Fahr.—Fahrenheit.
F. A. M.—Free and Accepted Masons.
Far.—Farthing.
F. A. S.—Fellow of the Antiquarian Society.
fcap. or fcp.—Foolscap.
F. D.—_Fidei Defensor_ or _Defensatrix_, Defender of the Faith.
Fe.—_Ferrum_, iron.
Feb.—February.
Fec.—_Fecit_, he did it.
Fem.—Feminine.
F. E. S.—Fellow of the Entomological Society; of the
Ethnological Society.
Ff.—The Pandects.
F. G. S.—Fellow of the Geological Society.
F. H. S.—Fellow of the Horticultural Society.
Fi. fa.—_Fieri facias_, cause it to be done.
Fid. Def.—Defender of the Faith.
Fig.—Figure.
Fin. Sec.—Financial Secretary.
Fir.—Firkin.
Fla.—Florida.
F. L. S.—Fellow of the Linnæan Society.
f. o. b.—Free on board.
Fol.—Folio.
For.—Foreign.
F. P. S.—Fellow of the Philological Society.
Fr.—_Fragmentum_, fragment.
Fr.—Franc; Frau, (lady.)
Fr.—Francis.
F. R. A. S.—Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society.
F. R. C. S. L.—Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons, London.
Fred.—Frederick.
F. R. G. S.—Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society.
Fri.—Friday.
F. R. S.—Fellow of the Royal Society.
Frs.—Frisian.
F. R. S. E.—Fellow of the Royal Society, Edinburgh.
F. R. S. L.—Fellow of the Royal Society, London.
F. R. S. L.—Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature.
F. S. A.—Fellow of the Society of Arts.
F. S. A. E.—Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries, Edinburgh.
Ft.—Foot; feet; Fort.
Fur.—Furlong.
F. Z. S.—Fellow of the Zoological Society.
g.—gram, (metric system.)
G. or g.—Guineas.
G. A.—General Assembly.
Ga.—Georgia.
Gal.—Galatians; Gallon.
G. A. R.—Grand Army of the Republic.
G. B.—Great Britain.
G. C.—Grand Chapter.
G. C. B.—Grand Cross of the Bath.
G. C. H.—Grand Cross of Hanover.
G. C. L. H.—Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour.
G. E.—Grand Encampment.
Gen.—Genesis; General; Genitive case.
Gent.—Gentleman.
Geo.—George.
Geog.—Geography.
Geol.—Geology.
Geom.—Geometry.
Ger.—Germany; German.
G. L.—Grand Lodge.
Gl.—_Glossa_, a gloss.
G. M.—Grand Master.
G. O.—General Order.
Goth.—Gothic.
Gov.—Governor.
Gov.-Gen.—Governor-General.
G. R.—_Georgius Rex_, King George.
Gr.—Greek; grain; gramme; groschen.
Gram.—Grammar.
Gro.—Gross.
Grot.—Grotius.
Ha.—Hektare, (metric system.)
h. a.—_Hoc anno_, this year.
Hab.—Habakkuk.
Hab. Corp.—_Habeas corpus_, you may have the body.
Hab. fa. poss.—_Habere facias possessionem_, a writ to put the
plaintiff in possession.
Hab. fa. seis.—_Habere facias seisinam_, a writ now superseded
by the preceding.
Hag.—Haggai.
Ham. Coll.—Hamilton College.
H. B. C.—Hudson’s Bay Company.
H. B. M.—His or Her Britannic Majesty.
H. C.—House of Commons.
hdkf.—Handkerchief.
h. e.—_Hoc est_, that is, or this is.
Hectol.—Hectolitre, (metric system.)
Heb.—Hebrews.
Her.—Heraldry.
Hf.-bd.—Half-bound.
Hf.-cf.—Half-calf.
Hg.—Hektogram, (metric system.)
Hg.—_Hydrargyrum_, mercury.
hhd.—Hogshead.
Hist.—History.
H. J. S.—_Hic jacet sepultus_, Here lies buried.
Hl.—Hectoliter, (metric system.)
H. L.—House of Lords.
Hm.—Hectometer, (metric system.)
H. M.—His Majesty.
H. M. P.—_Hoc monumentum posuit_, erected this monument.
Hon.—Honourable.
Hort.—Horticulture.
Hos.—Hosea.
H. R.—House of Representatives.
H. R. E.—Holy Roman Emperor.
H. R. H.—His Royal Highness.
Hr. hrn.—Herr, Herrn—gentleman, gentlemen.
H. R. I. P.—_Hic requiescit in pace_, Here rests in peace.
H. S.—_Hic situs_, Here lies.
H. S. H.—His Serene Highness.
h. t.—_Hoc titulum_, this title; _hoc tituli_, in or under this
title.
h. v.—_Hoc verbum_, this word; _hic verbis_, in these words.
hund.—Hundred.
I. II. III.—One, two, three, or first, second, third.
Ia.—Iowa.
Ib. or ibid.—_Ibidem_, in the same place.
Ich.—Ichthyology.
Ictus.—_Jurisconsultus._
Id.—_Idem_, the same.
Id. T.—Idaho Territory.
i.e.—_Id est_, that is.
I. H. S.—_Jesus hominum Salvator_, Jesus the Saviour of men.
ij.—Two, (_med._)
Ill.—Illinois.
In.—Inch; inches.
incog.—_Incognito_, unknown.
Incor.—Incorporated.
Ind.—Indiana; Index.
I. N. D.—_In nomine Dei_, in the name of God.
Ind. Ter.—Indian Territory.
Indef.—Indefinite.
In f.—_In fine_, at the end of the title, law, or paragraph
quoted.
Inf.—_Infra_, beneath or below.
in lim.—_In limine_, at the outset.
in loc.—_In loco_, in the place; on the passage.
in pr.—_In principio_, in the beginning and before the first
paragraph of a law.
I. N. R. I.—_Jesus Nazarenus, Rex Judæorum_, Jesus of Nazareth,
King of the Jews.
Inst.—Instant, of this month; Institutes.
In sum.—_In summa_, in the summary.
Int.—Interest.
Interj.—Interjection.
in trans.—_In transitu_, on the passage.
Intro.—Introduction.
I. O. O. F.—Independent Order of Odd-Fellows.
I. O. U.—I owe you.
I. q.—_Idem quod_, the same as.
Isa.—Isaiah.
Isl.—Island.
Ital.—Italic; Italian.
IV.—Four or fourth.
IX.—Nine or ninth.
J.—Justice or Judge. JJ.—Justices.
j.—One (_med._)
J. A.—Judge-Advocate.
Jac.—Jacob.
Jan.—January.
Jas.—James.
J. C. D.—_Juris Civilis Doctor_, Doctor of Civil Law.
J. D.—_Jurum Doctor_, Doctor of Laws.
Jer.—Jeremiah.
Jno.—John.
Jona.—Jonathan.
Jos.—Joseph.
Josh.—Joshua.
J. P.—Justice of the Peace.
J. Prob.—Judge of Probate.
J. R.—_Jacobus Rex_, King James.
Jr. or Jun.—Junior.
J. U. D. or J. V. D.—_Juris utriusque Doctor_, Doctor of both
Laws (of the Canon and the Civil Law).
Jud.—Judith.
Judg.—Judges.
Judge-Adv.—Judge-Advocate.
Jul. Per.—Julian Period.
Jus. P.—Justice of the Peace.
Just.—Justinian.
J. W.—Junior Warden.
K.—King.
K. A.—Knight of St. Andrew, in Russia.
K. A. N.—Knight of Alexander Nevskoi, in Russia.
Kan.—Kansas.
K. B.—King’s Bench.
K. B.—Knight of the Bath.
K. B. A.—Knight of St. Bento d’Avis, in Portugal.
K. B. E.—Knight of the Black Eagle, in Russia.
K. C.—King’s Council.
K. C.—Knight of the Crescent, in Turkey.
K. C. B.—Knight Commander of the Bath.
K. C. H.—Knight Commander of Hanover.
K. C. S.—Knight of Charles III. of Spain.
K. E.—Knight of the Elephant, in Denmark.
K. F.—Knight of Ferdinand of Spain.
K. F. M.—Knight of St. Ferdinand and Merit, in Sicily.
Kg.—Kilogram, (metric system.)
K. G.—Knight of the Garter.
K. G. C.—Knight of the Grand Cross.
K. G. C. B.—Knight of the Grand Cross of the Bath.
K. G. F.—Knight of the Golden Fleece, in Spain.
K. G. H.—Knight of the Guelphs of Hanover.
K. G. V.—Knight of Gustavus Vasa of Sweden.
K. H.—Knight of Hanover.
Ki.—Kings.
Kingd.—Kingdom.
K. J.—Knight of St. Joachim.
Kl.—Kiloliter, (metric system.)
K. L. or K. L. A.—Knight of Leopold of Austria.
K. L. H.—Knight of the Legion of Honour.
Km.—Kilometer, (metric system.)
K. M.—Knight of Malta.
K. Mess.—King’s Messenger.
K. M. H.—Knight of Merit, in Holstein.
K. M. J.—Knight of Maximilian Joseph of Bavaria.
K. M. T.—Knight of Maria Theresa (of Austria.)
Knick.—Knickerbocker.
K. N. S.—Knight of the Royal North Star, (in Sweden.)
Knt. or Kt.—Knight.
K. P.—Knight of St. Patrick; Knight of Pythias.
Kr.—Kreuzer, (German coin.)
K. R. C.—Knight of the Red Cross.
K. R. E.—Knight of the Red Eagle, (in Prussia.)
Ks.—Kansas.
K. S. A.—Knight of St. Anne (of Russia.)
K. S. E.—Knight of St. Esprit, (in France.)
K. S. F.—Knight of St. Fernando (of Spain.)
K. S. F. M.—Knight of St. Ferdinand and Merit, (in Naples.)
K. S. G.—Knight of St. George (of Russia.)
K. S. H.—Knight of St. Hubert (of Bavaria.)
K. S. I.—Knight of the Star of India.
K. S. J.—Knight of St. Januarius (of Naples.)
K. S. L.—Knight of the Sun and Lion, (in Persia.)
K. S. M. & S. G.—Knight of St. Michael and St. George (of the
Ionian Islands.)
K. S. P.—Knight of St. Stanislaus of Poland.
K. S. S.—Knight of the Southern Star (of the Brazils.)
K. S. S.—Knight of the Sword, in Sweden.
K. S. W.—Knight of St. Wladimir (of Russia.)
K. T.—Knight of the Thistle; Knight Templar.
Kt.—Knight.
K. T. S.—Knight of the Tower and Sword (in Portugal.)
K. W.—Knight of William (of the Netherlands.)
K. W. E.—Knight of the White Eagle, (in Poland.)
Ky.—Kentucky.
L.—Fifty or fiftieth; _Liber_, book.
l.—liter, (metric system.)
L., £ or l.—_Libra_, or _libræ_, pound or pounds sterling.
L. or £, s. d.—Pounds, shillings, pence.
La.—Louisiana.
Lam.—Lamentations.
Lat.—Latitude; Latin.
Lb. or ℔.—_Libra_ or _libræ_, pound or pounds in weight.
L. C.—Lord Chancellor; Lord Chamberlain.
L. C.—Lower Canada.
l. c.—Lower-case.
L. C. J.—Lord Chief-Justice.
L. D.—_Lepide dictum_, finely said; Lady-Day.
Ld.—Lord.
Ldp.—Lordship.
Leg.—Legate.
Legis.—Legislature.
Lev.—Leviticus.
Lex.—Lexicon.
L. I.—Long Island.
Lib.—_Liber_, book.
Lieut.—Lieutenant.
Lieut.-Col.—Lieutenant-Colonel.
Lieut.-Gen.—Lieutenant-General.
Lieut.-Gov.—Lieutenant-Governor.
Linn.—Linnæan.
Lit.—Literally; Literature.
Liv.—_Livre_, book.
LL. B.—_Legum Baccalaureus_, Bachelor of Laws.
LL. D.—_Legum Doctor_, Doctor of Laws.
l. l.—_Loco laudato_, in the place quoted.
loc. cit.—_Loco citato_, in the place cited.
Lon.—Longitude.
L. S.—_Locus sigilli_, place of the seal.
Lt.—Lieutenant.
LX.—Sixty or sixtieth.
LXX.—Seventy or seventieth.
LXX.—The Septuagint (Version of the Old Testament.)
LXXX.—Eighty or eightieth.
m.—Meter, (metric system.)
M.—_Mille_, a thousand; _Meridies_, noon.
M. or Mons.—Monsieur.
M. A.—Master of Arts.
Macc.—Maccabees.
Mad.—Madam.
Mad. Univ.—Madison University.
Mag.—Magazine.
Maj.—Major.
Maj.-Gen.—Major-General.
Mal.—Malachi.
Man.—Manasses.
Mar.—March; Maritime.
M. A. N. S.—Member of the Academy of Natural Sciences.
March.—Marchioness.
Marg.—Margin.
Marg. Tran.—Marginal Translation.
Marq.—Marquis.
Masc.—Masculine.
Mass.—Massachusetts.
Math.—Mathematics; Mathematician.
Matt.—Matthew.
Max.—Maxim.
M. B.—_Medicinæ Baccalaureus_, Bachelor of Medicine.
M. B.—_Musicæ Baccalaureus_, Bachelor of Music.
M. B. F. et H.—Great Britain, France, and Ireland.
M. C.—Member of Congress.
Mch.—March.
Md.—Maryland.
M. D.—_Medicinæ Doctor_, Doctor of Medicine.
M. E.—Methodist Episcopal; Military or Mechanical Engineer;
Most excellent.
Me.—Maine.
Med.—Medicine.
Mem.—Memorandum.
Mem.—_Memento_, remember.
Merc.—Mercury.
Messrs. or MM.—Messieurs, Gentlemen.
Met.—Metaphysics.
Metal.—Metallurgy.
Meteor.—Meteorology.
Meth.—Methodist.
Mex.—Mexico or Mexican.
m. ft.—_Mistura fiat_, Let a mixture be made.
mg.—milligram, (metric system.)
Mg.—Myriagram, (metric system.)
M.-Goth.—Mœso-Gothic.
Mgr.—Monseigneur.
M. H. S.—Member of the Historical Society; Massachusetts
Historical Society.
Mic.—Micah.
Mich.—Michigan.
Mil.—Military.
Min.—Mineralogy; Minute.
Minn.—Minnesota.
Min. Plen.—Minister Plenipotentiary.
Miss.—Mississippi.
ml.—milliliter, (metric system.)
Ml.—Myrialiter, (metric system.)
M. L. A.—Mercantile Library Association.
Mlle.—Mademoiselle.
mm.—millimeter, (metric system.)
Mm.—Myriameter, (metric system.)
MM.—Their Majesties; Messieurs, Gentlemen; Two thousand.
Mme.—Madame.
M. M. S.—Moravian Missionary Society.
M. M. S. S.—_Massachusettensis Medicinæ Societatis Socius_,
Fellow of the Massachusetts Medical Society.
Mo.—Missouri; Month.
Mod.—Modern.
Mon.—Monday.
Mons.—Monsieur, Sir.
Mos.—Months.
M. P.—Member of Parliament; Member of Police.
M. P. P.—Member of Provincial Parliament.
M. R.—Master of the Rolls.
Mr.—Mister.
M. R. A. S.—Member of the Royal Asiatic Society; Member of the
Royal Academy of Science.
M. R. C. C.—Member of the Royal College of Chemistry.
M. R. C. S.—Member of the Royal College of Surgeons.
M. R. G. S.—Member of the Royal Geographical Society.
M. R. I.—Member of the Royal Institution.
M. R. I. A.—Member of the Royal Irish Academy.
Mrs.—Mistress.
M. R. S. L.—Member of the Royal Society of Literature.
M. S.—_Memoriæ sacrum_, Sacred to the memory; Master of the
Sciences.
MS.—_Manuscriptum_, manuscript.
MSS.—_Manuscripta_, manuscripts.
Mt.—Mount or mountain.
Mus. B.—Bachelor of Music.
Mus. D.—Doctor of Music.
M. W.—Most Worthy; Most Worshipful.
Myth.—Mythology.
N.—North; Number; Noun; Neuter.
n.—Note.
N. A.—North America.
Nah.—Nahum.
Nat. Hist.—Natural History.
Nath.—Nathanael or Nathaniel.
N. B.—New Brunswick; North Britain; _Nota bene_, mark well;
take notice.
N. C.—North Carolina.
n. d.—No date.
N. E.—New England; Northeast.
Neb.—Nebraska.
Neh.—Nehemiah.
n. e. i.—_Non est inventus_, he is not found.
nem. con., or nem. diss.—_Nemine contradicente_, or _nemine
dissentiente_, no one opposing; unanimously.
Neut.—Neuter (gender.)
Nev.—Nevada.
New M.—New Mexico.
New Test. or N. T.—New Testament.
N. F.—Newfoundland.
N. G.—New Granada; Noble Grand.
N. H.—New Hampshire; New Haven.
N. H. H. S.—New Hampshire Historical Society.
Ni. pri.—Nisi prius.
N. J.—New Jersey.
n. l.—_Non liquet_, it does not appear.
N. lat.—North latitude.
N. M.—New Mexico.
N. N. E.—North-northeast.
N. N. W.—North-northwest.
N. O.—New Orleans.
No.—_Numero_, number.
Nol pros.—_Nolle prosequi_, unwilling to proceed.
Nom. or nom.—Nominative.
Non con.—Not content; dissenting, (House of Lords.)
Non. cul.—_Non culpabilis_, not guilty.
Non obst.—_Non obstante_, notwithstanding.
Non pros.—_Non prosequitur_, he does not prosecute.
Non seq.—_Non sequitur_, it does not follow.
Nos.—Numbers.
Nov.—November.
N. P.—Notary Public.
N. S.—New Style, (after 1752;) Nova Scotia.
n. u.—Name or names unknown.
Num.—Numbers; Numeral.
N. V. M.—Nativity of the Virgin Mary.
N. W.—Northwest.
N. Y.—New York.
N. Y. H. S.—New York Historical Society.
O.—Ohio; _Octarius_, a pint.
Ob.—_Obiit_, he or she died.
Obad.—Obadiah.
Obs.—Obsolete; Observatory; Observation.
Obt. or obdt.—Obedient.
Oct.—October.
O. F.—Odd-Fellow or Odd-Fellows.
O. K.—All correct, (slang.)
Old Test. or O. T.—Old Testament.
Olym.—Olympiad.
Opt.—Optics.
Or.—Oregon.
Orig.—Originally.
Ornith.—Ornithology.
O. S.—Old Style, (before 1752.)
O. U. A.—Order of United Americans.
Oxf.—Oxford.
Oxon.—_Oxonia_, _Oxonii_, Oxford.
oz.—Ounce.
P.—_Particula_, a little part, as much as can be taken between
the ends of two fingers; _pondere_, by weight.
P. or p.—Page; Part; Participle.
Pa. or Penna.—Pennsylvania.
Pal.—Palæontology.
Par.—Paragraph.
Par. pas.—Parallel passage.
Parl.—Parliament.
Pathol.—Pathology.
Payt.—Payment.
Pb.—_Plumbum_, lead.
P. C.—_Patres Conscripti_, Conscript Fathers; Senators.
P. C.—Privy Council; Privy Councillor.
Pd.—Paid.
P. E.—Protestant Episcopal.
P. E. I.—Prince Edward Island.
Pent.—Pentecost.
Per, or pr.—By the, or per lb.
Per an.—_Per annum_, by the year.
Per cent.—_Per centum_, by the hundred.
Peri.—Perigee.
Pet.—Peter.
P. G.—Past Grand.
Phar.—Pharmacy.
Ph. B.—_Philosophiæ Baccalaureus_, Bachelor of Philosophy.
Ph. D.—_Philosophiæ Doctor_, Doctor of Philosophy.
Ph. G.—_Pharmaciæ Graduatus_, Graduate in Pharmacy.
Phil.—Philip; Philippians; Philosophy; Philemon.
Phila. or Phil.—Philadelphia.
Philem.—Philemon.
Philom.—_Philomathes_, a lover of learning.
Philomath.—_Philomathematicus_, a lover of the mathematics.
Phil. Trans.—Philosophical Transactions.
Phren.—Phrenology.
P. H. S.—Pennsylvania Historical Society.
Pinx. or pxt.—_Pinxit_, he painted it.
P. J.—President Judge; Police Justice.
Pl. or Plur.—Plural.
Plff.—Plaintiff.
P. M.—_Post meridiem_, afternoon; Post-master; Passed
Midshipman.
P. M. G.—Postmaster-General.
P. O.—Post-Office.
Pop.—Population.
Port.—Portugal or Portuguese.
P. P.—_Pater patria_, the father of his country; _Propositum
publice_, public notification.
P. P. C.—_Pour prendre congé_, to take leave.
Pp. or pp.—Pages.
Pph.—Pamphlet.
P. R.—_Populus Romanus_, the Roman people.
P. R. A.—President of Royal Academy.
P. R. C.—_Post Romanum conditum_, from the building of Rome.
Pref.—Preface.
Prep.—Preposition.
Pres.—President.
Prin.—Principally.
Prob.—Problem.
Prof.—Professor.
Pron.—Pronoun; Pronunciation.
Prop.—Proposition.
Prot.—Protestant.
Pro tem.—_Pro tempore_, for the time being.
Prov.—Proverbs; Provost.
prox.—_Proximo_, next (month.)
P. R. S.—President of the Royal Society.
P. S.—_Post scriptum_, Postscript; Privy Seal.
Ps.—Psalm or Psalms.
Pt.—Part; Pint; Payment; Point; Port.
p. t.—Post-town.
P. T. O.—Please turn over.
Pub.—Publisher; Publication; Published; Public.
Pub. Doc.—Public Documents.
p. v.—Post-village.
pwt.—Pennyweight; pennyweights.
Q.—Queen; Question.
q.—quintal; _Quasi_, as it were; almost.
Q. B.—Queen’s Bench.
Q. C.—Queen’s College; Queen’s Counsel.
q. d.—_Quasi dicat_, as if he should say; _quasi dictum_, as if
said; _quasi dixisset_, as if he had said.
q. e.—_Quod est_, which is.
q. e. d.—_Quod erat demonstrandum_, which was to be proved.
q. e. f.—_Quod erat faciendum_, which was to be done.
q. e. i.—_Quod erat inveniendum_, which was to be found out.
q. l.—_Quantum libet_, as much as you please.
Q. M.—Quartermaster.
qm.—_Quomodo_, how; by what means.
Q. M. G.—Quartermaster-General.
q. p. or q. pl.—_Quantum placet_, as much as you please.
Qr.—Quarter.
Q. S.—Quarter Sessions.
q. s.—_Quantum sufficit_, a sufficient quantity.
qt.—Quart.
qu. or qy. (?).—_Quære_, inquire; query.
Quar.—Quarterly.
Ques.—Question.
q. v.—_Quod vide_, which see; _Quantum vis_, as much as you
will.
℞.—_Recipe_, take; Response, in church books.
R.—_Regina_, Queen; _Rex_, King; River; Rood; Rod.
R. A.—Royal Academy; Royal Academician; Royal Artillery.
R. A.—Royal Arch; Royal Association.
R. E.—Royal Engineers.
Rec.—Recipe; Recorder.
Recd.—Received.
Rec. Sec.—Recording Secretary.
Rect.—Rector; Receipt.
Ref.—Reference.
Ref. Ch.—Reformed Church.
Reg.—Register; Regular.
Reg. Prof.—Regius Professor.
Regr.—Registrar.
Regt.—Regiment.
Rel.—Religion.
Rep.—Representative; Republican; Report.
Rev.—Reverend; Revelation (Book of;) Review; Revenue; Revise.
Rhet.—Rhetoric.
R. I.—Rhode Island.
Richd.—Richard.
R. M.—Royal Marines; Royal Mail.
R. M. S.—Royal Mail Steamer.
R. N.—Royal Navy.
Ro.—_Recto_, right—hand page.
Robt.—Robert.
Rom.—Romans (Book of.)
Rom. Cath.—Roman Catholic.
R. P.—_Regius Professor_, the King’s Professor.
R. P. E.—Reformed Protestant Episcopal.
R. R.—Railroad.
R. S.—Recording Secretary.
Rs.—_Responsus_, to answer.
R. S. A.—Royal Society of Antiquaries; Royal Scottish Academy.
R. S. D.—Royal Society of Dublin.
R. S. E.—Royal Society of Edinburgh.
R. S. L.—Royal Society of London.
R. S. S.—_Regiæ Societatis Socius_, Fellow of the Royal Society.
R. S. V. P.—_Répondez, s’il vous plaît_, answer, if you please.
Rt. Hon.—Right Honourable.
Rt. Rev.—Right Reverend.
Rt. Wpful.—Right Worshipful.
R. W.—Right Worthy.
S.—South; Saint; Scribe; Sulphur; Sunday; Sun; Series;
_Solidus_, a shilling; Stere, (metric system.)
S. A.—South America; South Africa; South Australia.
s. a.—_Secundum artem_, according to art.
Sam.—Samuel.
S. A. S.—_Societatis Antiquariorum Socius_, Fellow of the
Society of Antiquaries.
Sat.—Saturday.
Sax.—Saxon.
Sax. Chron.—Saxon Chronicle.
S. C.—_Senatûs Consultum_, a decree of the Senate; South
Carolina.
Sc.—_Sculpsit_, he engraved it.
sc. or scil.—_Scilicet_, namely.
Scan. Mag.—_Scandalum magnatum_, scandal of the great.
Schol.—_Scholium_, a note.
Schr.—Schooner.
Sci. fa.—_Scire facias_, to show cause.
Sclav.—Sclavonic.
Sculp. or sculp.—_Sculpsit_, he engraved it.
S. D.—_Salutem dicit_, sends health.
S. E.—Southeast.
Sec.—Secretary; Second.
Sec. Leg.—Secretary of Legation.
Sec. leg.—_Secundum legem_, according to law.
Sec. reg.—_Secundum regulam_, according to rule.
Sect.—Section.
Sem.—_Semble_, it seems.
Sen.—Senate; Senator; Senior.
Sept.—September; Septuagint.
Seq.—_Sequentia_, following; _sequitur_, it follows.
Ser.—Series.
Serg.—Sergeant.
Serg. Maj.—Sergeant-Major.
Servt.—Servant.
S. G.—South Georgia; Solicitor General.
Shak.—Shakspeare.
S. H. S.—_Societatis Historiæ Socius_, Fellow of the Historical
Society.
Sing.—Singular.
S. Isl.—Sandwich Islands.
S. J.—Society of Jesus.
S. J. C.—Supreme Judicial Court.
Skr.—Sanskrit.
S. L.—Solicitor at Law.
S. lat.—South latitude.
S. M.—State Militia; Short Metre; Sergeant-Major; Sons of Malta.
sm. c.—Small capitals.
S. M. Lond. Soc. Cor.—_Societatis Medicæ Londonensis Socius
Cor._, Corresponding Member of the London Medical Society.
s. n.—_Secundum naturam_, according to nature.
Soc. Isl.—Society Islands.
Sol.—Solomon; Solution.
Sol.-Gen.—Solicitor-General.
S. of Sol.—Song of Solomon.
S. P.—_Sine prole_, without issue; _salutem precatur_, he prays
for his prosperity.
S. P. A. S.—_Societatis Philosophicæ Americanæ Socius_, Member
of the American Philosophical Society.
S. P. C. A.—Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
S. P. D.—_Salutem plurimam dicit_, he wishes much health, or
sends his best respects.
S. P. G.—Society for the Propagation of the Gospel.
Sp. gr.—Specific gravity.
S. P. Q. R.—_Senatus Populusque Romani_, the Senate and people
of Rome.
S. P. R. S.—Sublime Prince of the Royal Secret.
Sq. ft.—Square foot or square feet.
Sq. in.—Square inch or inches.
Sq. m.—Square mile or miles.
Sq. r.—Square rood or roods.
Sq. yd.—Square yard.
Sr.—Sir; Senior.
S. R. I.—_Sacrum Romanum Imperium_, Holy Roman Empire.
S. R. S.—_Societatis Regiæ Socius_, Fellow of the Royal Society.
S. S.—Sunday-school.
SS.—Saints.
SS. or ss.—_Scilicet_, to wit.
ss.—_Semis_, half.
S. S. C.—Solicitor of the Supreme Court.
S. S. E.—South-southeast.
S. S. W.—South-southwest.
St.—Saint; Street; Strait.
Stat.—Statute.
S. T. D.—_Sacra Theologiæ Doctor_, Doctor of Divinity.
Ster. or Stg.—Sterling.
S. T. P.—_Sacræ Theologiæ Professor_, Professor of Divinity.
Subj.—Subjunctive.
Subst.—Substantive.
Suff—Suffix.
Su.-Goth.—Suio-Gothic.
Su., Sun. or Sund.—Sunday.
Sup.—Supplement; Superfine.
Supt.—Superintendent.
Surg.—Surgeon; Surgery.
Surg.-Gen.—Surgeon-General.
Surv.—Surveyor.
Surv.-Gen.—Surveyor-General.
Sus.—Susannah.
s. v.—_Sub verbo_, under the word or title.
S. W.—Senior Warden; Southwest.
Syn.—Synonym; Synonymous.
T.—Territory.
t.—tonneau, (metric system.)
T.—_Tutti_, all together.
T. or tom.—Tome, volume.
Ta.—Tantalum (Columbium.)
T. E.—Topographical Engineers.
Tenn.—Tennessee.
Ter.—Territory.
Tex.—Texas.
Text. Rec.—_Textus Receptus_, the Received Text.
Thlr.—Thaler, (German coin.)
Th. or Thurs.—Thursday.
Theo.—Theodore.
Theol.—Theology; Theological.
Theoph.—Theophilus.
Thess.—Thessalonians.
Tho’.—Though.
Thos.—Thomas.
Thro’.—Through.
Tim.—Timothy.
Tit.—Titus.
T. O.—Turn over.
Tob.—Tobit.
Tom.—Volume.
Topog.—Topography; Topographical.
Tr.—Transpose; Translator; Translation.
Tr.—Trustee. Trs.—Trustees.
tr.—_Trillo_, a shake.
Trans.—Translator; Translation; Transactions.
Treas.—Treasurer.
Trin.—Trinity.
Tues. or Tu.—Tuesday.
Typ.—Typographer.
U. C.—Upper Canada.
U. C.—_Urbe conditâ_, year of Rome.
U. E. I. C.—United East India Company.
U. G. R. R.—Underground Railway.
U. J. D.—_Utriusque Juris Doctor_, Doctor of both Laws, (Civil
and Canon.)
U. K.—United Kingdom.
ult.—_Ultimo_, last; of the last month.
Unit.—Unitarian.
Univ.—University.
U. P. C.—United Presbyterian Church.
U. S.—United States.
u. s.—_Ut supra_ or _uti supra_, as above.
U. S. A.—United States of America; United States Army.
U. S. M.—United States Mail; United States Marines.
U. S. M. A.—United States Military Academy.
U. S. N.—United States Navy.
U. S. N. A.—United States Naval Academy.
U. S. S.—United States Senate.
U. S. V.—United States Volunteers.
U. T.—Utah Territory.
V.—Five or fifth.
V.—Violin; VV.—Violins.
v. or vid.—_Vide_, see.
v. or vs.—_Versus_, against; _Versiculo_, in such a verse.
Va.—Virginia.
Vat.—Vatican.
V. C.—Vice-Chancellor.
V. D. M.—_Verbi Dei Minister_, Minister of God’s Word.
Ven.—Venerable.
Ven. or Ven. Fa.—_Venire facias_, a writ to a sheriff to summon
a jury.
Ven. Ex.—_Venditione exponas_, a writ of execution directed to
a sheriff to sell goods, etc.
Ver.—Verse.
V. G.—Vicar-General.
v. g.—_Verbi gratiâ_, as for example.
VI.—Six or sixth.
VII.—Seven or seventh.
VIII.—Eight or eighth.
Vice. Pres. or V. P.—Vice-President.
Visc.—Viscount.
viz. or vl.—_Videlicit_, to wit; namely; that is to say.
Vo.—_Verso_, left-hand page.
Vol.—Volume.
V. R.—_Victoria Regina_, Queen Victoria.
Vt.—Vermont.
Vul.—Vulgate (Version.)
vv. ll.—_Variæ lectiones_, different readings.
v. y.—Various years.
W.—West.
Wash.—Washington.
Wed.—Wednesday.
w. f.—Wrong fount.
Whf.—Wharf.
W. I.—West India.
Wisc.—Wisconsin.
Wisd.—Wisdom, (Book of.)
Wk.—Week.
W. lon.—West longitude.
W. M.—Worshipful Master.
Wm.—William.
W. N. W.—West-northwest.
Wpful.—Worshipful.
W. S.—Writer to the Signet.
W. S. W.—West-southwest.
W. T.—Washington Territory.
Wt.—Weight.
W. Va.—West Virginia.
X.—Ten or tenth.
XI.—Eleven.
XII.—Twelve.
XIII.—Thirteen.
XIV.—Fourteen.
XV.—Fifteen.
XVI.—Sixteen.
XVII.—Seventeen.
XVIII.—Eighteen.
XIX.—Nineteen.
XX.—Twenty.
XXX.—Thirty.
XL.—Forty.
XC.—Ninety.
X. or Xt.—Christ.
Xmas or Xm.—Christmas.
Xn. or Xtian.—Christian.
Xnty. or Xty.—Christianity.
Xper. or Xr.—Christopher.
Yd.—Yard.
y. or yᵉ.—The.
yᵐ.—Them.
yⁿ.—Then.
yʳ.—Their; Your.
yˢ.—This.
yᵗ.—That.
Y. M. C. A.—Young Men’s Christian Association.
Yrs.—Years; Yours.
Zach.—Zachary.
Zech.—Zechariah.
Zeph.—Zephaniah.
Zool.—Zoology.
&.—And.
&c.—And so forth.
[Illustration]
FOREIGN WORDS AND PHRASES, WITH TRANSLATIONS.
_A bas._—Down with.
_A capite ad calcem._—From head to foot.
_A fin._—To the end.
_A fortiori._—With stronger reason.
_A l’abandon._—At random.
_A la bonne heure._—Opportunely; in good time.
_A la dérobée._—By stealth.
_A la mode._—According to the fashion.
_A main armée._—With force of arms.
_A mensa et thoro._—From bed and board.
_A posteriori._—From effect to cause; from the latter.
_A priori._—From cause to effect; from the former.
_A tempo giusto._—To sing or play in true time. (_Music._)
_A tempo rimo._—To restore the original movement. (_Music._)
_A vinculo matrimonii._—From the tie of marriage.
_A votre santé._—To your health.
_Ab extra._—From without.
_Ab initio._—From the beginning.
_Ab origine._—From the beginning.
_Ab ova._—From the beginning.
_Ab urbe conditâ._—From the building of the city (Rome);
abridged A. U. C.
_Abit invidia._—All offence apart; let there be no malice.
_Absit omen._—May it not prove ominous.
_Absque hoc._—Without this or that.
_Ac etiam._—And also.
_Actum est de republica._—It is all over with the commonwealth.
_Ad absurdum._—To show the absurdity.
_Ad arbitrium._—At pleasure.
_Ad astra per aspera._—To the stars through difficulties.
_Ad captandum vulgus._—To catch the mob or the vulgar.
_Ad eundem._—To the same point or degree.
_Ad finem._—To the end.
_Ad Græcas Calendas._—An indefinite postponement. (The Greeks
had no calends.)
_Ad hominem._—To the man (that is, to the interests or the
passions of the man.)
_Ad infinitum._—Without end.
_Ad inquirendum._—For inquiry.
_Ad interim._—In the mean while.
_Ad libitum._—At pleasure.
_Ad litem._—For the action (at law.)
_Ad nauseam._—To a disgusting degree.
_Ad referendum._—For further consideration.
_Ad rem._—To the purpose.
_Ad unguem._—To the nail; exactly; nicely.
_Ad valorem._—According to the value.
_Addendum._—An addition or appendix.
_Adhuc sub judice lis est._—The affair is not yet decided.
_Ægrescit medendo._—The remedy is worse than the disease.
_Æquam servare mentem._—To preserve an equable mind.
_Æquo animo._—With an equable mind.
_Ære perennius._—More lasting than brass; enduring ever.
_Affaire du cœur._—A love affair; an amour.
_Afflatus._—Inspiration.
_Agenda._—Things to be done.
_Agitato._—A broken style of performance, to awaken surprise.
(_Music._)
_Agnus Dei._—Lamb of God.
_Aide-de-camp._—Assistant to a general.
_Aide-toi, et le ciel t’aidera._—Help thyself, and Heaven will
help thee.
_Alere flammam._—To feed the flame.
_Al fresco._—In the open air.
_Alga._—A kind of sea-weed.
_Alguazil._—A Spanish constable.
_Alias._—Otherwise; elsewhere.
_Alibi._—Elsewhere; not present.
_Alis volat propriis._—She flies with her own wings.
_Aliunde._—From some other quarter or person.
_Allegretto._—A movement quicker than _andante_, but not so
quick as _allegro_. (_Music._)
_Allemande._—A kind of German dance.
_Alma mater._—Benign mother (applied to a university.)
_Alter ego._—A second self.
_Alto octavo._—An octave higher.
_Alto relievo._—High relief. (_Sculpture._)
_Alto ripieno._—The tenor of a great chorus.
_Alto violino._—A small tenor violin.
_Amende._—Compensation; apology.
_Ami du peuple._—Friend of the people.
_Amicus curiæ._—A friend of the court.
_Amor patriæ._—Love of country.
_Amour propre._—Self-love; vanity.
_Ancien régime._—Former administration; ancient order of things.
_Andante._—Moderately slow movement, between _largo_ and
_allegro_. (_Music._)
_Anglicè._—In English.
_Anguis in herbâ._—A snake in the grass.
_Animis opibusque parati._—Ever ready with our lives and
property.
_Animo et fide._—By (or with) courage and faith.
_Animo facto._—Really and truly.
_Animus furandi._—Felonious intent.
_Anno Domini._—In the year of our Lord.
_Anno lucis._—In the year of light.
_Anno mundi._—In the year of the world.
_Annus mirabilis._—Year of wonders.
_Ante bellum._—Before the war.
_Ante lucem._—Before light.
_Ante meridiem._—Before noon.
_Aperçu._—A brief sketch of any subject.
_Appogiatura._—A note in a smaller character than the regular
notes of the piece. (_Music._)
_Apropos_ (Fr. _à propos_.)—To the purpose.
_Aqua vitæ._—Water of life; brandy.
_Arbiter elegantiarum._—Master of ceremonies; an umpire in
matters of taste.
_Arcana imperii._—State secrets.
_Arcanum._—A secret.
_Argumentum ad crumenam._—An argument to the purse.
_Argumentum ad fidem._—An appeal to faith.
_Argumentum ad hominem._—An argument to the person.
_Argumentum ad ignorantiam._—An argument founded on an
adversary’s ignorance of facts.
_Argumentum ad judicium._—An appeal to the common sense of
mankind.
_Argumentum ad populum._—An appeal to the people.
_Argumentum ad verecundiam._—An argument to modesty.
_Argumentum baculinum._—Club law.
_Arioso._—Light, airy.
_Armiger._—One bearing arms; an esquire.
_Arpeggio._—The notes of a chord played in rapid succession,
and not simultaneously. (_Music._)
_Arrière-pensée._—Mental reservation.
_Ars est celare artem._—True art is to conceal art.
_Assumpsit._—It is assumed or taken for granted.
_Astra castra, Numen lumen._—The stars my camp, the Deity my
light.
_At spes non fracta._—But hope is not broken.
_Au fait._—Well instructed; master of it.
_Au fond._—To the bottom, or main point.
_Au pied de la lettre._—Literally.
_Au pis aller._—At the worst.
_Au revoir._—Farewell.
_Audi alteram partem._—Hear the other side.
_Aura popularis._—The gale of popular favour.
_Auri sacra fames._—The accursed thirst for gold.
_Auter droit._—Another’s right
_Auter foit._—Another time.
_Auter vie._—Another’s life.
_Aut vincere aut mori._—Victory or death.
_Auto-da-fé_, _Auto-de-fe_.—An act of faith; burning of
heretics.
_Auxilium ab alto._—Help from on high.
_Avant-coureur._—A forerunner.
_Ave, Maria._—Hail, Mary.
_Badinage._—Light or playful discourse.
_Bagatelle._—A trifle.
_Bas bleu._—A blue-stocking; a literary woman.
_Basso-continuo._—Thorough bass.
_Basso-relievo._—Figures in low relief.
_Bateau._—A long light boat.
_Beau-idéal._—A model of ideal perfection.
_Beau monde._—The fashionable world.
_Bel esprit._—A brilliant mind.
_Bella-donna._—The deadly nightshade; fair lady.
_Belles-lettres._—Polite literature.
_Bellum internecinum._—A war of extermination.
_Bellum lethale._—A deadly war.
_Bene placito._—At pleasure. (_Music._)
_Benigno numine._—-By the favour of Providence.
_Ben trovato._—Well found; an ingenious solution.
_Billet-doux._—A love-letter.
_Bis dat qui citò dat._—He gives twice who gives promptly.
_Bis peccare in bello non licet._—To blunder twice is not
allowed in war.
_Bis vincit, qui se vincit in victoriâ._—He conquers a second
time, who controls himself in victory.
_Bizarre._—Odd; fantastic.
_Blasé._—Surfeited.
_Bon gré mal gré._—Willing or unwilling.
_Bon jour._—Good-day; good-morning.
_Bon mot._—A witty saying; a jest; a quibble.
_Bon soir._—Good-evening.
_Bon ton._—High fashion; first-class society.
_Bon vivant._—A high liver.
_Bona fide._—In good faith.
_Bon-bon._—A sweetmeat; confectionery.
_Bonhomie._—Good-natured simplicity.
_Bonis nocet quisquis pepercerit malis._—He hurts the good who
spares the bad.
_Bonne bouche._—A delicious morsel.
_Bonus._—An extra payment for a service rendered or a thing
received.
_Boreas._—The north wind.
_Boudoir._—A small private apartment.
_Bourgeois._—A citizen of the trading class; a printing type.
_Bourgeoisie._—The body of citizens.
_Bravura._—A song of difficult execution.
_Breveté._—Patented.
_Brutum fulmen._—A harmless thunderbolt; unreasoning bluster.
_Burletta._—A musical farce.
_Cachet._—A seal.
_Cacoethes._—A bad habit or custom.
_Cacoethes carpendi._—A rage for finding fault.
_Cacoethes loquendi._—An itch for speaking.
_Cacoethes scribendi._—A passion for writing.
_Cadenza._—The fall or modulation of the voice, in music.
_Cæca est invidia._—Envy is blind.
_Cætera desunt._—The remainder is wanting.
_Cæteris paribus._—Other things being equal.
_Calibre._—Capacity or compass; mental power; a term in gunnery.
_Camera obscura._—A dark chamber used by artists.
_Campus Martius._—The field of Mars; a place of military
exercise.
_Canaille._—The rabble.
_Candida Pax._—White-robed Peace.
_Cantata._—A poem set to music.
_Cantate Domino._—Sing to the Lord.
_Cap-à-pie._—From head to foot.
_Capias ad satisfaciendum._—You may take to satisfy.
_Capriccio._—A fanciful irregular kind of musical composition.
_Capriole._—A leap without advancing; capers.
_Caput mortuum._—Dead head; the worthless remains.
_Caret._—Is wanting or omitted.
_Caret initio et fine._—It wants beginning and end.
_Carpe diem._—Enjoy the present day.
_Carte blanche._—Unconditional terms.
_Casus belli._—An occasion for war.
_Casus fæderis._—A case of conspiracy; the end of the league.
_Catalogue raisonné._—A catalogue of books arranged according
to their subjects.
_Cause célèbre._—A remarkable trial in a court of justice.
_Caveat actor._—Let the doer beware.
_Caveat emptor._—Let the purchaser take heed or beware.
_Cavendo tutus._—Safe through caution.
_Ce n’est que le premier pas qui coûte._—It is only the first
step which is difficult.
_Cedant arma togæ._—Let military power yield to the civil.
_Cede Deo._—Submit to Providence.
_Certiorari._—To be made more certain.
_Cessio bonorum._—Yielding up of goods.
_C’est une autre chose._—That is quite a different thing.
_Chacun à son goût._—Every one to his taste.
_Chanson._—A song.
_Chansonnette._—A little song.
_Chapeau._—A hat.
_Chapelle ardente._—The place where a dead person lies in state.
_Chaperon._—An attendant on a lady, as a guide and protector.
_Chargé d’affaires._—An ambassador of second rank.
_Château._—A castle; a country mansion.
_Chef-d’œuvre._—A masterpiece.
_Chevalier d’industrie._—A knight of industry; one who lives by
persevering fraud.
_Chi tace confessa._—Silence is confession.
_Chiaro-oscuro_ or _Chiaroscuro_.—Light and shadow in painting.
_Chose qui plaît est à demi vendue._—A thing which pleases is
already half sold.
_Cicerone._—A guide or conductor.
_Cicisbeo._—A dangler after a lady.
_Ci-devant._—Formerly; former.
_Circa._—About.
_Citò maturum citò putridum._—Soon ripe, soon rotten.
_Clarior e tenebris._—More bright from obscurity.
_Clique._—A party; a gang.
_Cognomen._—A surname.
_Comme il faut._—As it should be.
_Commune bonum._—A common good.
_Communia propriè dicere._—To express common things with
propriety.
_Communibus annis._—One year with another.
_Compos mentis._—Of sound mind.
_Con amore._—With love or hearty inclination.
_Concio ad clerum._—A discourse to the clergy.
_Congé d’élire._—Permission to elect.
_Connoisseur._—-A skilful judge.
_Consensus facet legem._—Consent makes the law.
_Contour._—The outline of a figure.
_Contra._—Against.
_Contra bonos mores._—Against good manners.
_Contretemps._—A mischance; disappointment.
_Coram nobis._—Before us.
_Coram non judice._—Before one who is not the proper judge.
_Cornucopia._—The horn of plenty.
_Corpus delicti._—The whole nature of the offence.
_Corrigenda._—Corrections to be made.
_Coryphæus._—A leader, or chief.
_Cotillon._—A lively dance.
_Couleur de rose._—Rose-colour; an aspect of beauty and
attractiveness.
_Coup de grâce._—The finishing stroke.
_Coup de main._—A bold and rapid enterprise.
_Coup de pied._—A kick.
_Coup de soleil._—A stroke of the sun.
_Coup d’état._—A master-stroke of state policy.
_Coup d’œil._—Rapid view or glance.
_Coûte qu’il coûte._—Cost what it may.
_Credat Judæus._—A Jew may believe it.
_Crescit amor nummi quantum ipsa pecunia crescit._—The love of
money increases as rapidly as the money itself increases.
_Crescit eundo._—It increases by going.
_Crescite et multiplicamini._—Increase and multiply.
_Crimen falsi._—Falsehood; perjury.
_Crux criticorum._—The cross or puzzle of critics.
_Cui bono?_—To whose good?
_Cui malo?_—To whose harm?
_Cul de sac._—The bottom of the bag; a difficulty; a street or
lane that has no outlet.
_Cum grano salis._—With a grain of salt; with some allowance.
_Cum multis aliis._—With many others.
_Cum privilegio._—With privilege.
_Curia advisari vult._—The court wishes to be advised.
_Curiosa felicitas._—A felicitous tact.
_Currente calamo._—With a running pen; written off-hand.
_Custos rotulorum._—Keeper of the rolls.
_Da capo._—Over again.
_Damnant quod non intelligunt._—They condemn what they do not
comprehend.
_Data._—Things granted, (sing. _datum_.)
_De bonis non._—Of the goods not yet administered on.
_De die in diem._—From day to day.
_De facto._—In fact; in reality.
_De gustibus non est disputandum._—There is no disputing about
tastes.
_De jure._—By law or right.
_De mortuis nil nisi bonum._—Say nothing but what is good of
the dead.
_De novo._—Anew.
_De profundis._—Out of the depths.
_De trop._—Out of place; not wanted.
_Debito justitiæ._—By debt of justice.
_Début._—Beginning of an enterprise; first appearance.
_Deceptio visûs._—An illusion of the sight.
_Dedimus potestatem._—We have given power.
_Deficit._—A want of deficiency.
_Dei gratiâ._—By the grace of God.
_Déjeûner à la fourchette._—A breakfast or luncheon with meats.
_Dele._—Blot out or erase.
_Delenda est Carthago._—Carthage must be blotted out.
_Delta_ (the Greek letter Δ,) a triangular tract of land toward
the mouth of a river.
_Dénouement._—An unravelling or winding up.
_Deo adjuvante, non timendum._—God helping, nothing need be
feared.
_Deo favente._—With God’s favour.
_Deo gratias._—Thanks to God.
_Deo juvante._—With God’s help.
_Deo non fortunâ._—From God, not fortune.
_Deo volente_, or _D. V._—God willing.
_Dépôt._—A store; the recruiting reserve of regiments.
_Dernier ressort._—The last resort.
_Desideratum._—Something desired or wanted.
_Desunt cætera._—The other things are wanting.
_Detinet._—He detains; he keeps.
_Détour._—A circuitous march.
_Detur digniori._—Let it be given to the more worthy.
_Deus ex machinâ._—A god from the clouds; unexpected aid in an
emergency.
_Devastavit._—He wasted.
_Devoir._—Duty.
_Dexter._—The right hand.
_Dictum._—A positive assertion (pl. _dicta_.)
_Dictum de dicto._—Report upon hearsay.
_Dies faustus._—A lucky day.
_Dies iræ._—Day of wrath.
_Dies non._—A day on which judges do not sit.
_Dieu et mon droit._—God and my right.
_Dieu vous garde._—God protect you.
_Dii majorum gentium._—The gods of the superior class; the
twelve superior gods.
_Dii penates._—Household gods.
_Dilettanti._—Persons who devote themselves to science merely
for amusement or relaxation. (Sing. _Dilettante_.)
_Diluvium._—A deposit of superficial loam, sand, &c. caused by
a deluge.
_Dirigo._—I direct or guide.
_Disjecta membra._—Scattered parts, limbs, or writings.
_Distrait._—Absent in thought; absent-minded.
_Distringas._—A writ for distraining.
_Divide et impera._—Divide and govern.
_Doce ut discas._—Teach, that you may learn.
_Docendo dicimus._—We learn by teaching.
_Dolce._—Soft and agreeable. (_Music._)
_Dolce far niente._—Sweet idleness.
_Doli incapax._—Incapable of mischief.
_Doloroso._—Soft and pathetic. (_Music._)
_Domicile_ (L. _domicilium_.)—An abode.
_Domine dirige nos._—O Lord, direct us.
_Dominus vobiscum._—The Lord be with you.
_Double entendre._—Double meaning (correctly written _double
entente_.)
_Douceur._—A present or bribe; sweetness.
_Draco._—A dragon; a constellation.
_Dramatis personæ._—The characters in a play.
_Duet_ (Ital. _duetto_.)—A song for two performers.
_Dulce est desipere in loco._—It is pleasant to jest, or revel,
at the proper time.
_Dulce et decorum est pro patriâ mori._—It is sweet and
pleasant to die for one’s country.
_Dulia._—An inferior kind of worship.
_Dum spiro, spero._—Whilst I breathe, I hope.
_Dum vivimus, vivamus._—While we live, let us live.
_Duo._—Two; a two-part song.
_Duodecimo._—A book having twelve leaves to a sheet.
_Durante placito_, or _durante beneplacito_.—During pleasure.
_Durante vitâ._—During life.
_Dux fœmina facti._—A woman was the leader to the deed.
_E pluribus unum._—One out of many; one composed of many: the
motto of the United States.
_Eau de vie._—Brandy; water of life.
_Ecce homo._—Behold the man.
_Ecce signum._—Behold the sign.
_Eclaircissement._—The clearing-up of an affair.
_Eclat._—Splendour; applause.
_Editio princeps._—The first edition.
_Eheu!_—Ah, alas!
_Elan._—Buoyancy; dash.
_Elegit._—He hath elected; a writ of execution.
_Elève._—A pupil.
_Elite._—The best part.
_Embonpoint._—Roundness; good condition.
_Emeritus._—One retired from active official duties.
_Emeute._—Insurrection; uproar.
_Empressement._—Eagerness; ardour.
_En ami._—As a friend.
_En avant!_—Forward!
_En flûte._—Carrying guns on the upper deck only.
_En grande tenue._—In full dress.
_En masse._—In a mass; in a body.
_En passant._—By the way; in passing.
_En rapport._—In communication.
_En revanche._—In return.
_En route._—On the way.
_Enceinte._—Pregnant.
_Enfans perdus._—Lost children; the forlorn hope.
_Ennui._—Weariness; lassitude.
_Ense petit placidam sub libertate quietem._—By his sword he
seeks the calm repose of liberty.
_Ensemble._—The whole taken together.
_Entente cordiale._—The cordial understanding between two
countries.
_Entre nous._—Between ourselves.
_Entrée._—Entrance.
_Entremets._—Small and dainty dishes set between the principal
ones at table.
_Eo nomine._—By that name.
_Equilibrium._—Equality of weight; even balance.
_Ergo._—Therefore.
_Eripuit cælo fulmen, sceptrumque tyrannis._—He snatched the
thunderbolt from heaven, and the sceptre from tyrants.
_Erratum._—A mistake or error (pl. _errata_.)
_Escrow._—A deed or writing left with another, to be delivered
on the performance of something specified.
_Espièglerie._—Waggish tricks.
_Esprit de corps._—The animating spirit of a collective body.
_Est modus in rebus._—There is a medium in all things.
_Estoppel._—A stop, a preventive plea.
_Esto perpetua._—May it last forever.
_Et cætera._—And the rest.
_Eureka._—I have found it.
_Ex._—Out of; late (as, ex-consul.)
_Ex animo._—Heartily.
_Ex cathedrâ._—From the chair; with high authority.
_Ex concesso._—From what has been granted.
_Ex curiâ._—Out of court.
_Ex fumo dare lucem._—Out of smoke to bring light.
_Ex nihilo nihil fit._—Nothing can come of nothing.
_Ex officio._—By virtue of his office.
_Ex parte._—On one side only (before a noun, _exparte_.)
_Ex pede Herculem._—We recognize a Hercules from the size of
the foot: that is, we judge of the whole from the specimen.
_Ex post facto._—After the deed is done.
_Ex tempore._—Without premeditation.
_Ex uno disce omnes._—From one learn all; from one judge of the
whole.
_Excelsior._—More elevated; onward.
_Excerpta._—Extracts.
_Exempli gratiâ._—As for example.
_Exeunt omnes._—All retire.
_Experimentum crucis._—A decisive experiment.
_Experto credo._—Believe one who has experience.
_Exposé._—An exposition; recital.
_Faber suæ fortunæ._—The architect of his own fortune.
_Facile primus, facile princeps._—By far the first or chiefest.
_Facilis est descensus._—Descent is easy.
_Fac simile._—Make it like; hence, an exact copy.
_Fac totum._—Do all; a man of all work.
_Facta est lux._—There was light.
_Fas est ab hoste doceri._—It is allowable to learn even from
an enemy.
_Fata obstant._—The fates oppose it.
_Fauteuil._—An easy-chair.
_Faux pas._—A false step.
_Felo de se._—A self-murderer.
_Feme couverte._—A married woman.
_Feme sole._—A woman unmarried.
_Festina lente._—Hasten slowly; advance steadily rather than
hurriedly.
_Fête._—A feast or celebration.
_Fête champêtre._—A rural feast.
_Feu de joie._—A bonfire; a discharge of musketry on days of
rejoicing.
_Feuilleton._—A small leaf; a supplement to a newspaper; a
pamphlet.
_Fiat._—Let it be done.
_Fiat justitia, ruat cœlum._—Let justice be done, though the
heavens should fall.
_Fiat lux._—Let there be light.
_Fide, non armis._—By faith, not by arms.
_Fide, sed cui vide._—Trust, but see whom.
_Fides et justitia._—-Fidelity and justice.
_Fidus Achates._—Faithful Achates (that is, a true friend.)
_Fieri facias._—Cause it to be done (a kind of writ.)
_Filius nullius._—A son of nobody.
_Fille-de-chambre._—A chambermaid.
_Finale._—To close or end.
_Finem respice._—Look to the end.
_Finis._—The end.
_Finis coronat opus._—The end crowns the work.
_Flagrante bello._—While the war is raging.
_Flagrante delicto._—In the commission of the crime.
_Flâneur._—A lounger.
_Flecti, non frangi._—To be bent, not to be broken.
_Fleur-de-lis._—The flower of the lily (pl. _fleurs-de-lis_.)
_Forte._—In music, a direction to sing or play with force or
spirit.
_Fortes fortuna juvat._—Fortune assists the brave.
_Fortissimo._—Very loud.
_Fortiter in re._—Resolute in deed.
_Fracas._—Bustle; a slight quarrel; more ado about the thing
than it is worth.
_Fruges consumere nati._—Born merely to consume the fruits of
the earth.
_Fugam fecit._—He has taken to flight.
_Fuit Ilium._—Troy _has_ been.
_Functus officio._—Out of office.
_Furore._—Excitement.
_Gaieté de cœur._—Gayety of heart.
_Gallicè._—In French.
_Gardez bien._—Take good care.
_Gardez la foi._—Keep the faith.
_Gaucherie._—Awkwardness.
_Gaudeamus igitur._—So let us be joyful.
_Gendarme._—A military policeman.
_Gendarmerie._—The body of the _gendarmes_.
_Genius loci._—The genius of the place.
_Genus irritabile vatum._—Irritable tribe of poets.
_Gloria in excelsis._—Glory to God in the highest.
_Gratis._—Free of cost.
_Gratis dictum._—Mere assertion.
_Gravamen._—The thing complained of.
_Grisette._—Dressed in gray (a term applied to French
shop-girls, &c.)
_Gusto._—Great relish.
_Habeas corpus._—You are to have the body; a writ of right, by
virtue of which every citizen can, when imprisoned, demand to
be put on his trial.
_Habitué._—A frequenter.
_Hæc olim meminisse juvabit._—It will be pleasant hereafter to
remember these things.
_Haricot._—A kind of ragout; a kidney-bean.
_Haud passibus æquis._—Not with equal steps. [Wrongly quoted:
see _Non_, &c.]
_Haut gout._—High flavour.
_Hauteur._—Haughtiness.
_Helluo librorum._—A book-worm.
_Hic et ubique._—Here, there, and everywhere.
_Hic jacet._—Here lies.
_Hinc illæ lacrymæ._—Hence proceed these tears.
_Hoc age._—Do this; attend to what you are doing.
_Homme d’esprit._—A man of talent, or of wit.
_Homo multarum literarum._—A man of much learning.
_Honi soit qui mal y pense._—Evil be to him that evil thinks.
_Honores mutant mores._—Honours change men’s manners.
_Hora fugit._—The hour or time flies.
_Horresco referens._—I shudder to relate.
_Hors de combat._—Disabled for fighting; vanquished.
_Hortus siccus._—A collection of dried plants.
_Hostis humani generis._—An enemy of the human race.
_Hotel de ville._—A town-hall.
_Hôtel-Dieu._—The chief hospital in French cities.
_Humanum est errare._—It is human to err.
_Hunc tu caveto._—Beware of him.
_Ibidem_, contracted _ibid._ or _id._—In the same place.
_Ich dien._—I serve.
_Id est._—That is; abridged _i. e._
_Id genus omne._—All of that sort.
_Idem_, contracted _id._—The same. (_Id. ib._, the same author;
in the same place.)
_Idoneus homo._—A fit man.
_Ignoramus._—We are ignorant.
_Ignorantia legis neminem excusat._—Ignorance of the law
excuses no one.
_Il a le diable au corps._—The devil is in him.
_Imitatores, servum pecus._—Imitators, a servile herd.
_Imperium in imperio._—One government existing within another.
_Impransus._—One who has not dined.
_Imprimatur._—Let it be printed.
_Imprimis._—In the first place.
_Impromptu._—A prompt remark without study.
_In articulo mortis._—At the point of death.
_In capite._—In the head.
_In cœlo quies._—There is rest in heaven.
_In commendam._—In trust.
_In conspectu fori._—In the eye of the law; in the sight of the
court.
_In curiâ._—In the court.
_In duplo._—Twice as much.
_In equilíbrio._—Equally balanced.
_In esse._—In being.
_In extenso._—At full length.
_In extremis._—At the point of death.
_In formâ pauperis._—As a pauper.
_In foro conscientiæ._—Before the tribunal of conscience.
_In hoc signo vinces._—In this sign thou shalt conquer.
_In limine._—At the threshold.
_In loco._—In the place.
_In medias res._—Into the midst of things.
_In memoriam._—To the memory of.
_In perpetuum._—Forever.
_In petto._—In reserve; in one’s breast.
_In posse._—In possible existence.
_In posterum._—For the time to come.
_In propriâ personâ._—In his own person.
_In puris naturalibus._—Quite naked.
_In re._—In the matter of.
_In situ._—In its original situation.
_In statu quo._—In the former state.
_In te, Domine, speravi._—In thee, Lord, have I put my trust.
_In terrorem._—By way of warning.
_In totidem verbis._—In so many words.
_In toto._—Altogether.
_In transitu._—On the passage.
_In utrumque paratus._—Prepared for either event.
_In vacuo._—In empty space, or in a vacuum.
_In vino veritas._—There is truth in wine.
_Incognito._—Disguised; unknown.
_Index expurgatorius._—A list of prohibited books.
_Infra dignitatem._—Beneath one’s dignity.
_Innuendo._—Covert meaning; indirect hint.
_Inops consilii._—Without counsel.
_Insouciance._—Carelessness; indifference.
_Instar omnium._—One will suffice for all; an example to others.
_Inter alia._—Among other things.
_Inter arma leges silent._—In the midst of arms the laws are
silent.
_Inter nos._—Between ourselves.
_Inter se._—Among themselves.
_Ipse dixit._—He himself said it; dogmatic assertion.
_Ipsissima verba._—The very words.
_Ipso facto._—By the fact itself; actually.
_Ipso jure._—By the law itself.
_Ira furor brevis est._—Anger is brief madness.
_Ita lex scripta est._—Thus the law is written.
_Item._—Also.
_Jacta est alea._—The die is cast.
_Jamais arrière._—Never behind.
_Je ne sais quoi._—I know not what.
_Jet d’eau._—A jet of water.
_Jeu de mots._—Play upon words; a pun.
_Jeu d’esprit._—A witticism.
_Judicium Dei._—The judgment of God.
_Juniores ad labores._—Young men for labours.
_Jure divino._—By divine law.
_Jure gentium._—By the law of nations.
_Jure humano._—By human law.
_Jus civile._—Civil law.
_Jus gladii._—Right of the sword.
_Juste milieu._—The golden mean; a just medium.
_Justitiæ soror fides._—Faith is the sister of justice.
_La critique est aisée, et l’art est difficile._—Criticism is
easy, but art is difficult.
_Labor ipse voluptas._—Labour itself is pleasure.
_Labor omnia vincit._—Labour conquers all things.
_Laissez-nous faire._—Let us alone.
_Lapsus calami._—A slip of the pen; an error in writing.
_Lapsus linguæ._—A slip of the tongue.
_Lapsus memoriæ._—A slip of memory.
_Lares et penâtes._—Household gods.
_L’argent._—Money, or silver.
_Laudator temporis acti._—A praiser of time past.
_Laus Deo._—Praise to God.
_Laus propria sordet._—Praise of one’s own self defiles.
_Le beau monde._—The fashionable world.
_Le bon temps viendra._—The good time will come.
_Le grand œuvre._—The great work; the philosopher’s stone.
_Le pas._—Precedence in place or rank.
_Le savoir-faire._—The knowledge how to act; address.
_Le tout ensemble._—All together.
_Lege._—Read.
_Leges legum._—The law of laws.
_Lèse majesté._—High treason.
_L’étoile du nord._—The north star.
_Lettre de cachet._—A sealed letter; a royal warrant.
_Levari facias._—That you cause to be levied; a writ of
execution.
_Levée._—A morning visit or reception.
_Lex loci._—The law of the place.
_Lex magna est, et prævalebit._—The law is great, and will
prevail.
_Lex non scripta._—The unwritten or common law.
_Lex scripta._—Statute law.
_Lex talionis._—The law of retaliation.
_Lex terræ, lex patriæ._—The law of the land.
_L’homme propose, et Dieu dispose._—Man proposes, and God
disposes.
_Libretto._—A little book or pamphlet.
_Licentia vatûm._—A poetical license.
_Lingua Franca._—The mixed language spoken by Europeans in the
East.
_Liqueur._—A cordial.
_Lis litem generat._—Strife begets strife.
_Lis sub judice._—A case not yet decided.
_Lite pendente._—During the trial.
_Litera scripta manet._—The written letter remains.
_Literati._—Men of letters or learning.
_Loco citato._—In the place cited.
_Loco parentis._—In the place of the parent.
_Locum tenens._—One who holds a place for another.
_Locus sigilli_ (L. S.).—The place of the seal.
_Longo intervallo._—At a great distance.
_Ludere cum sacris._—To trifle with sacred things.
_Lusus naturæ._—A sport or freak of nature.
_Macte virtute._—Proceed in virtue.
_Mademoiselle._—A young unmarried lady.
_Magna Charta._—The great charter of England.
_Magna civitas, magna solitudo._—A great city is a great desert.
_Magna est veritas, et prævalebit._—The truth is great, and
will prevail.
_Magni nominis umbra._—The shadow of a great name.
_Magnum opus._—A great work.
_Magnus Apollo._—Great Apollo; one of high authority.
_Maison de ville._—The town-house.
_Maître d’hôtel._—An hotel-keeper; a house-steward.
_Majordomo_ (Ital. _maiordomo_.)—One who has the management of
a household.
_Malâ fide._—In bad faith; treacherously.
_Mal à propos._—Out of time; unbecoming.
_Malaria._—Noxious exhalations.
_Malgré._—In spite of.
_Malum in se._—Bad in itself.
_Mandamus._—We command: a peremptory writ to compel obedience.
_Manège._—A riding-school.
_Mania a potu._—Madness caused by drunkenness.
_Manu forti._—With a strong hand.
_Mardi gras._—Shrove-Tuesday.
_Mare clausum._—A closed sea; a bay.
_Materfamilias._—The mother of a family.
_Materia medica._—Substances used in the healing art.
_Matinée._—A morning party.
_Mauvais goût._—Bad taste.
_Mauvais sujet._—A worthless fellow.
_Mauvaise honte._—False modesty; bashfulness.
_Maximum._—The greatest.
_Maximus in minimis._—Very great in trifling things.
_Me judice._—I being judge; in my own opinion.
_Medio tutissimus ibis._—A medium course will be safest.
_Meditatione fugæ._—In contemplation of flight.
_Memento mori._—Remember death.
_Memorabilia._—Things to be remembered.
_Memoriter._—By rote.
_Ménage._—Household.
_Mens sana in corpore sano._—A sound mind in a sound body.
_Metis sibi conscia recti._—A mind conscious of rectitude.
_Mensa et thoro._—From bed and board.
_Merum sal._—Pure salt; genuine Attic wit.
_Meum et tuum._—Mine and thine.
_Minimum._—The least.
_Minutiæ._—Minute concerns; trifles.
_Mirabile dictu._—Wonderful to be told.
_Mirabilia._—Wonders.
_Mittimus._—We send: a warrant for the commitment of an
offender.
_Modus operandi._—Manner of operation.
_Montani semper liberi._—Mountaineers are always freemen.
_Morceau._—A morsel.
_More suo._—In his own way.
_Mot du guet._—A watchword.
_Multum in parvo._—Much in a small space.
_Mutanda._—Things to be altered.
_Mutatis mutandis._—The necessary changes being made.
_Mutato nomine._—The name being changed.
_Naïveté._—Ingenuousness; simplicity.
_Ne cede malis._—Yield not to misfortune.
_Ne exeat._—Let him not depart.
_Ne plus ultra._—Nothing further; the uttermost point.
_Ne quid nimis._—Not too much of any thing; do nothing to
excess.
_Ne sutor ultra crepidam._—Let not the shoemaker go beyond his
last.
_Ne tentes, aut perfice._—Attempt not, or accomplish thoroughly.
_Nec pluribus impar._—Not an unequal match for numbers.
_Nec scire fas est omnia._—It is not permitted to know all
things.
_Necessitatis non habet legem._—Necessity has no law.
_Née._—Born.
_Nefasti dies._—Days upon which no public business was
transacted; also, unlucky days.
_Nemine contradicente._—No one contradicting.
_Nemine dissentiente._—Without opposition or dissent.
_Nemo me impune lacessit._—No one wounds me with impunity.
_Nemo mortalium omnibus horis sapit._—No one is wise at all
times.
_Nemo repentè fuit turpissimus._—No man ever became a villain
at once.
_Nemo solus sapit._—No one is wise alone.
_Niaiserie._—Silliness.
_Nihil debet._—He owes nothing; a plea denying a debt.
_Nihil quod tetigit, non ornavit._—Whatever he touched he
embellished.
_Nil admirari._—To wonder at nothing.
_Nil desperandum._—Never despair.
_Nimium ne crede colori._—Trust not too much to looks.
_N’importe._—It matters not.
_Nisi Dominus frustra._—Unless the Lord be with us, all efforts
are in vain.
_Noblesse oblige._—Rank imposes obligation.
_Nolens volens._—Willing or unwilling.
_Noli me tangere._—Don’t touch me.
_Nolle prosequi._—Unwilling to proceed.
_Nolo episcopari._—I am not willing to be made a bishop (an old
formal way of declining a bishopric.)
_Nom de guerre._—An assumed name.
_Nom de plume._—A literary title.
_Nomen et omen._—Name and omen; a name that is ominous.
_Non compos mentis._—Not of sound mind.
_Non deficiente crumenâ._—If the money does not fail.
_Non est disputandum._—It is not to be disputed.
_Non est inventus._—Not found.
_Non libet._—It does not please me.
_Non mi ricordo._—I don’t remember.
_Non nobis solum._—Not merely for ourselves.
_Non obstante._—Notwithstanding.
_Non omnis moriar._—I shall not wholly die.
_Non passibus æquis._—Not with equal steps.
_Non sequitur._—It does not follow: an unwarranted conclusion.
_Non sibi, sed omnibus._—Not for itself, but for all.
_Nonchalance._—Coolness; easy indifference.
_Nonpareil._—Peerless; a small printing type.
_Nosce teipsum._—Know thyself.
_Noscitur ex sociis._—He is known by his companions.
_Nota bene._—Mark well.
_Nous verrons._—We shall see.
_Novus homo._—A new man.
_Nudum pactum._—An invalid agreement.
_Nulla crux, nulla corona._—No cross, no crown.
_Nulla nuova, bona nuova._—The best news is no news.
_Nullius filius._—The son of nobody.
_Nunc aut nunquam._—Now or never.
_O tempora! o mores!_—Oh, the times! oh, the manners!
_Obiit._—He (or she) died.
_Obiter dictum._—A thing said by the way, or in passing.
_Obsta principiis._—Resist the first beginnings.
_Odi profanum._—I loathe the profane.
_Odium theologicum._—The hatred of theologians.
_Ohe! jam satis._—Oh, there is now enough.
_Olla podrida._—An incongruous mixture.
_Omne ignotum pro magnifico._—Whatever is unknown is thought to
be magnificent.
_Omnes._—All.
_Omnia bona bonis._—All things are good with the good.
_Omnia vincit amor._—Love conquers all things.
_On-dit._—A rumour; a flying report.
_Onus._—Burden.
_Onus probandi._—The responsibility of producing proof.
_Ope et consilio._—With assistance and counsel.
_Ora et labora._—Pray and work.
_Orator fit, poeta nascitur._—The orator is made by education,
but a poet must be born.
_Ore rotundo._—With full-sounding voice.
_Otium cum dignitate._—Dignified leisure.
_Outré._—Preposterous; eccentric.
_Oyer and Terminer._—A criminal court.
_Pallida mors._—Pale death.
_Par excellence._—By way of eminence.
_Par nobile fratrum._—A noble pair of brothers; two just alike.
_Pari passu._—With equal step; in the same degree.
_Parole d’honneur._—Word of honour.
_Pars pro toto._—Part for the whole.
_Particeps criminis._—An accomplice.
_Parturiunt montes, nascetur ridiculus mus._—The mountains are
in labour; a ridiculous mouse will be brought forth.
_Parva componere magnis._—To compare small things with great.
_Parvenu._—A new comer; an upstart.
_Pas._—A step; precedence.
_Passe-partout._—A master-key.
_Passim._—In many places; everywhere.
_Paterfamilias._—The father of a family.
_Pater noster._—Our Father; the Lord’s prayer.
_Pater patriæ._—Father of his country.
_Patois._—A provincial dialect.
_Pax in bello._—Peace in war.
_Peccavi._—I have sinned.
_Penchant._—An inclination; a leaning toward.
_Pendente lite._—While the suit is pending.
_Penetralia._—Secret recesses.
_Per aspera ad astra._—Through trials to glory.
_Per capita._—By the head; equal division.
_Per cent._ or _per centum_.—By the hundred.
_Per contra._—Contrariwise.
_Per curiam._—By the court.
_Per diem._—By the day.
_Per fas et nefas._—Through right and wrong.
_Per saltum._—With a leap; at once.
_Per se._—By itself; alone.
_Perdu._—Lost.
_Père de famille._—The father of a family.
_Petit._—Small; little.
_Petitio principii._—A begging of the question.
_Petit-maître._—A fop.
_Peu à peu._—Gradually; a little by little.
_Pinxit._—Painted it: placed after the artist’s name on a
picture.
_Più._—More.
_Plateau._—A plain; a flat surface.
_Plebs._—Common people.
_Pluries._—Very often; a third writ, after two writs have
issued.
_Poco._—A little.
_Poeta nascitur, non fit._—A poet is born, not made.
_Point d’appui._—Point of support; prop.
_Poisson d’Avril._—April fool.
_Populus vult decipi._—People like to be deceived.
_Posse comitatûs._—The power of the county.
_Postea._—Afterward; endorsement of the verdict upon the record.
_Post mortem._—After death.
_Postulata._—Things assumed.
_Præcognita._—Things previously known.
_Præmonitus, præmunitus._—Forewarned, forearmed.
_Preux chevalier._—A brave knight.
_Primâ facie._—On the first view.
_Primum mobile._—The primary motive, or moving power.
_Primus inter pares._—Chief among equals.
_Principia, non homines._—Principles, not men.
_Principiis obsta._—Resist the first innovations.
_Pro aris et focis._—For our altars and our hearths.
_Pro bono publico._—For the public good.
_Pro et con_ (for _contra_).—For and against.
_Pro formâ._—For form’s sake; according to form.
_Pro hâc vice._—For this turn or occasion.
_Pro loco et tempore._—For the place and time.
_Pro patriâ._—For our country.
_Pro ratâ._—In proportion.
_Pro re natâ._—For a special emergency.
_Pro tanto._—For so much.
_Pro tempore._—For the time-being.
_Probatum est._—It has been tried and proved.
_Procès-verbal._—A written statement.
_Prochein ami._—The next friend.
_Procul, O procul este, profani!_—Far, far hence, O ye profane!
_Pronunciamento._—A public declaration.
_Propagandâ fide._—For extending the faith.
_Protégé._—A person taken charge of, or patronized; a ward, &c.
_Prudens futuri._—Thoughtful of the future.
_Pugnis et calcibus._—With fists and heels; with all the might.
_Punica fides._—Punic faith; treachery.
_Quære._—Query; inquiry.
_Quamdiu se bene gesserit._—So long as he shall conduct himself
properly.
_Quantum._—The due proportion.
_Quantum libet._—As much as you please.
_Quantum meruit._—As much as he deserved.
_Quantum sufficit._—A sufficient quantity; enough.
_Quare clausum fregit._—An action for damages to real estate.
_Quare impedit._—Why he hinders.
_Quasi dicas._—As if you should say.
_Quelque chose._—A trifle.
_Qui capit, ille facit._—He who takes it makes it.
_Qui pense?_—Who thinks?
_Qui tam?_—Who as well? the title given to a certain action at
law.
_Qui transtulit sustinet._—He who brought us hither still
preserves us.
_Qui va là?_—Who goes there?
_Qui vive?_—Who goes there? hence, on the _qui-vive_, on the
alert.
_Quid-nunc?_—What now? a newsmonger.
_Quid pro quo._—One thing for another; “tit for tat.”
_Quid rides?_—Why do you laugh?
_Quis separabit?_—Who shall separate us?
_Quo animo?_—With what intention.
_Quo jure?_—By what right?
_Quo warranto._—By what warrant or authority.
_Quoad hoc._—To this extent.
_Quod avertat Deus?_—Which may God avert!
_Quod vide._—Which see.
_Quodlibet._—A nice point; a subtlety.
_Quondam._—Former.
_Quorum._—Of whom: a term signifying a sufficient number for a
certain business.
_Quos Deus vult perdere, prius dementat._—Those whom God wishes
to destroy, he first deprives of understanding.
_Ragout._—A highly-seasoned dish.
_Rara avis._—A rare bird; a prodigy.
_Re infectà._—The business being unfinished.
_Recte et suaviter._—Justly and mildly.
_Rectus in curiâ._—Upright in the court; with clean hands.
_Redolet lucernâ._—It smells of the lamp; it is a laboured
production.
_Reductio ad absurdum._—A reducing a position to an absurdity.
_Regina._—Queen.
_Regium donum._—A royal donation (a grant from the British
crown to the Irish Presbyterian clergy.)
_Regnant populi._—The people rule.
_Rencontre._—An encounter.
_Renaissance._—New birth: applied to the revival of the classic
arts in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries.
_Requiescant in pace._—May they rest in peace.
_Requiescat in pace._—May he rest in peace.
_Rerum primordia._—The first elements of things.
_Res angusta domi._—Narrow circumstances at home; poverty.
_Res integra._—An entire matter.
_Respice finem._—Look to the end.
_Respublica._—The commonwealth.
_Restaurateur._—A tavern-keeper who provides dinners, &c.
_Résumé._—An abstract or summary.
_Resurgam._—I shall rise again.
_Revenons à nos moutons._—Let us return to our subject.
_Rex._—King.
_Rouge._—Red colouring for the skin.
_Rouge et noir._—Red and black (a kind of game.)
_Rus in urbe._—The country in town.
_Ruse contre ruse._—Diamond cut diamond: trick for trick.
_Ruse de guerre._—A stratagem of war.
_Salle._—Hall.
_Salus populi suprema lex est._—The welfare of the people is in
the supreme law.
_Salvo pudore._—Without offence to modesty.
_Sanctum sanctorum._—Holy of Holies.
_Sang-froid._—Coolness; self-possession.
_Sans._—Without.
_Sans cérémonie._—Without ceremony.
_Sans peur et sans reproche._—Without fear and without reproach.
_Sans souci._—Without care; free and easy.
_Sans tâche._—Stainless.
_Sans-culottes._—Without breeches: a term applied to the rabble
of the French Revolution.
_Sartor resartus._—The cobbler mended.
_Satis, superque._—Enough, and more than enough.
_Satis verborum._—Enough of words; you need say no more.
_Sauve qui peut._—Save himself who can.
_Savant._—A learned man.
_Savoir-faire._—Ability; skill.
_Scandalum magnatum._—Scandal of the great.
_Scienter._—Knowingly.
_Scilicet._—That is to say; to wit.
_Scire facias._—Cause it to be known.
_Scripsit._—Wrote it.
_Sculpsit._—Engraved it: placed after the engraver’s name in
prints.
_Secundum artem._—According to rule.
_Selon les règles._—According to rule.
_Semper fidelis._—Always faithful.
_Semper idem._—Always the same.
_Semper paratus._—Always ready.
_Senatûs consultum._—A decree of the senate.
_Seriatim._—In order; successively.
_Si quæris peninsulam amœnam, circumspice._—If thou seekest a
beautiful peninsula, behold it here.
_Sic in originali._—So it stands in the original.
_Sic itur ad astra._—Such is the way to immortality.
_Sic passim._—So everywhere.
_Sic semper tyrannis._—So be it ever to tyrants.
_Sic transit gloria mundi._—Thus passes away the glory of the
world.
_Sicut ante._—As before.
_Similia similibus curantur._—Like things are cured by like.
_Simplex munditiis._—Of simple elegance.
_Sine die._—Without naming a day.
_Sine invidiâ._—Without envy.
_Sine qua non._—An indispensable requisite.
_Siste, viator._—Stop, traveller.
_Sobriquet._—A nickname.
_Soi-disant._—Self-styled; pretended.
_Soirée._—An evening party.
_Souvenir._—Remembrance; a keepsake.
_Spartam nactus es, hanc exorna._—You have got something good;
make the most of it you can.
_Spectas et spectaberis._—You will see and be seen.
_Spes mea Christus._—Christ is my hope.
_Spolia opima._—The richest booty.
_Stans pede in uno._—Standing on one foot.
_Statu quo_, or _in statu quo_.—In the same state.
_Stet._—Let it stand.
_Suaviter in modo, fortiter in re._—Gentle in manner, resolute
in deed.
_Sub judice._—Under consideration.
_Sub rosâ._—Under the rose; privately.
_Sub silentio._—In silence.
_Subpœna._—Under a penalty: a summons to attend a court as a
witness.
_Succedaneum._—A substitute.
_Sui generis._—Of its own kind; peculiar.
_Summum bonum._—The chief good.
_Supersedeas._—A writ to stay proceedings.
_Super visum corporis._—Upon a view of the body.
_Suppressio veri, suggestio falsi._—A suppression of the truth
is the suggestion of a falsehood.
_Supra._—Above.
_Suum cuique._—Let every one have his own.
_Table d’hôte._—An ordinary at which the master of the hotel
presides.
_Tabula rasa._—A smooth or blank tablet.
_Tædium vitæ._—Weariness of life.
_Tale quale._—Such as it is.
_Tant mieux._—So much the better.
_Tant pis._—So much the worse.
_Tapis._—The carpet.
_Tartuffe._—A nickname for a hypocritical devotee, derived
from the principal character in Molière’s comedy so called.
_Te judice._—You may judge.
_Tempora mutantur, et nos mutamur in illis._—The times are
changed, and we are changed with them.
_Tempus edax rerum._—Time the devourer of all things.
_Tempus fugit._—Time flies.
_Tempus omnia revelat._—Time reveals all things.
_Teres atque rotundus._—Smooth and round; polished and complete.
_Terra firma._—Solid earth; a safe footing.
_Terra incognita._—An unknown country.
_Terre tenant._—A person in actual possession of the land.
_Tertium quid._—A third something; a nondescript.
_Tête-à-tête._—A conversation between two parties.
_Tirade._—A tedious and bitter harangue.
_Ton._—The fashion.
_Torso._—The fragmentary trunk of a statue.
_Tort._—A wrong; an injury.
_Tot homines, quot sententiæ._—So many men, so many minds.
_Totidem verbis._—In just so many words.
_Toties quoties._—As often as.
_Toto cœlo._—By the whole heavens; diametrically opposite.
_Toto corde._—With the whole heart.
_Toujours prêt._—Always ready.
_Tour à tour._—By turns.
_Tout bien ou rien._—The whole or nothing.
_Tout ensemble._—The whole.
_Tria juncta in uno._—Three united in one.
_Tu quoque, Brute!_—And thou too, Brutus!
_Tuebor._—I will defend.
_Tutto è buono che vien da Dio._—All is good which comes from
God.
_Tuum est._—It is your own.
_Ubi jus incertum, ibi jus nullum._—Where the law is uncertain,
there is no law.
_Ubi libertas, ibi patria._—Where liberty dwells, there is my
country.
_Ubi supra._—Where above mentioned.
_Ultima ratio regum._—The last argument of kings; military
weapons; war.
_Ultima Thule._—The utmost boundary or limit.
_Ultimatum._—A final answer or decision.
_Un bel esprit._—A wit; a virtuoso.
_Un sot à triple étage._—An egregious blockhead.
_Unâ voce._—With one voice; unanimously.
_Unique._—Singular; the only one of its kind.
_Usque ad nauseam._—To disgust.
_Usus loquendi._—Usage in speaking.
_Ut infra._—As below.
_Uti possidetis._—As you possess; state of present possession.
_Utile dulci._—Utility with pleasure.
_Vade-mecum._—Go with me; a constant companion.
_Væ victis._—Woe to the vanquished!
_Vale._—Farewell.
_Valet-de-chambre._—A servant who assists his master in
dressing.
_Variæ lectiones._—Various readings.
_Veluti in speculum._—As in a mirror.
_Venditioni exponas._—That you expose to sale; writ of
execution.
_Veni, vidi, vici._—I came, I saw, I conquered.
_Venire._—To come; a writ to a sheriff directing him to summon
jurors.
_Venue._—The place from which the jury are drawn.
_Verbatim et literatim._—Word for word and letter for letter.
_Verbum sat sapienti._—A word is enough for a wise man.
_Verdad es verde._—Truth is green.
_Veritas vincit._—Truth conquers.
_Versus._—Against; toward.
_Vertu_, _Virtù_.—Virtue; taste; art; skill.
_Veto._—I forbid.
_Vi et armis._—By force and arms.
_Viâ._—By the way of.
_Via media._—A middle course.
_Vice._—In the room of.
_Vice versâ._—The terms being exchanged; reversely.
_Vide._—See.
_Vide et crede._—See and believe.
_Vide ut supra._—See as above.
_Videlicet._—To wit, namely.
_Videttes._—Sentinels on horseback.
_Vignette._—A name given to slight engravings with which books,
bank-notes, &c. are ornamented.
_Vincit amor patriæ._—Love of country prevails.
_Vinculum matrimonii._—The bond of marriage.
_Virtuoso._—One skilled in matters of taste or art.
_Virtute officii._—By virtue of office.
_Vis inertiæ._—Inert power; the tendency of every body to
remain at rest.
_Vis medicatrix naturæ._—The healing tendency of nature.
_Vis poetica._—Poetic genius.
_Vis vitæ._—The vigour of life.
_Vis-à-vis._—Face to face.
_Vita brevis, ars longa._—Life is short, and art is long.
_Vivâ voce._—By word of mouth; by the living voice.
_Vivant rex et regina._—Long live the king and queen.
_Vivat regina._—Long live the queen.
_Vivat respublica._—Live the republic.
_Vive la bagatelle._—Success to trifling.
_Vive la reine._—Long live the queen.
_Vive l’empereur._—Long live the emperor.
_Vive le roi._—Long live the king.
_Vive l’impératrice._—Long live the empress.
_Vive, vale._—Farewell, and be happy.
_Voilà tout._—That’s all.
_Voilà une autre chose._—That’s quite a different matter.
_Voir dire._—A preliminary examination to determine the
competency of a witness.
_Volens et potens._—Willing and able.
_Volgo gran bestia._—The mob is a great beast.
_Volere è potere._—To will is to do.
_Volti subito._—Turn over quickly.
_Vox, et præterea nihil._—A voice, and nothing more.
_Vox populi, vox Dei._—The people’s voice is God’s voice.
_Vox stellarum._—The voice of the stars: applied to almanacs.
_Vulgò._—Vulgarly; commonly.
_Vuelta._—Over, to next page or (o.)
_Vulnus immedicabile._—An irreparable injury.
_Vultus est index animi._—The countenance is the index of the
mind.
_Zonam solvere._—To loose the virgin zone.
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
INDEX.
Abbreviated syllables, 15.
Abbreviations, list of, 344-356.
_Abecedarium_, probably the earliest attempt at printing, 11.
Accents and aspirates, Greek, 99-101.
Hebrew, 106-108.
Russian, 112, 113.
Accented letters, 67.
Acids used in making paper spoil the effect of ink, 276, 277.
Adams, Isaac, inventor of the bed-and-platen power-press, 237, 238.
Adhesion of paper, how to prevent, 316.
Admiration, sign of, 63.
Agate type, specimen of, 54.
Alcfrid, Runic memorial of, 89.
_Alexandri Galli Doctrinale_, one of the first printed books, 10.
Almanac, first printed book in the Middle Colonies, 16, 17.
Alphabet, Anglo-Saxon, 91.
English, 58.
German, 94.
Greek, 98.
Hebrew, 104.
Hieroglyphic, 84.
Runes, 86-90.
Russian, 112, 113.
Alterations in a proof justly chargeable, 204, 205, 211.
not allowable in reprints of old and standard authors, 202.
Amber ink, how to produce, 288.
Ambiguous and compound words to be set uniformly, 202.
American type, superior quality of, 23.
_American Weekly Mercury_, third newspaper in America, 17.
Ancient ornaments, exquisite and curious, 15, 16.
press, clumsy, 235.
typographical peculiarities, 15.
Anglo-Saxon characters, how originated, 51.
alphabetical table of, 91.
cases for, 92, 93.
Lord’s Prayer in, 51.
runes, table of, 88.
Apostrophe, how used, 63, 64.
_Appeal against the Turks_, of 1454, 11.
Applegath and Cowper, improvers of the cylinder press, 238, 239.
Apprentice, how to instruct an, 122.
must be punctual, obedient, and courteous, 123.
qualifications required in an, 121.
ridiculous practices to be avoided by, 122.
Apprentices, advice to, 137, 138.
Arithmetical figures, when introduced, 70.
Article, the indefinite, rule for using, 318.
Ascending letters, 59.
Asterisk, use of, 66.
Astronomical signs, 73, 74.
Authors, detention of proofs by, 205.
hints to, 211.
impatience of, 205.
whims of, 61.
Automatic counter, illustrated, 310.
machine, for casting and finishing type, 23.
Backing long or short pages, 133.
Baine, John, sets up a type-foundry in Philadelphia, 19.
_Bay Psalm-Book_, first book printed at Cambridge, 16.
Bearers on hand-presses, how prepared, 259, 277, 278, 281.
Beaumont, Victor, inventor of serrated cutting blade, 242.
Beginners, ironical rules for, 139, 140.
Bewcastle cross, Runic inscription on, 89.
Bible, first, printed at Mentz, by Gutenberg, Fust and Schœffer, in
1455, of which there are four copies in Europe and two in the United
States, 11.
Brinley’s, 11.
German, printed in Germantown, by Saur, 19.
Lenox’s, 11.
Mazarin, 11.
printed in Iceland in 1584, 14.
quarto, in standing type, in Philadelphia, 26.
_Biblia Pauperum_, attributed to Koster, 10.
Bill of type, 57.
Binny, Archibald, first successful founder in Philadelphia, 19, 20.
improver of the type-mould, 19, 42.
Black letter, when used, 51.
Blades, William, 14.
Blaeu, Willem Jansen, early inventor of a press, 235.
Blankets for wood-cut printing, 282.
India-rubber, 266.
thick paper, 266.
Welsh flannel, 266.
when to be used, 257, 266.
Blanking, remarks concerning, 259.
Bleaching powders deleterious, 276.
Block books, 10.
Blue ink, how to make, 287, 288.
Bodkin, how to use the, 208, 209.
illustrated, 209, 210.
Books, cheapening of, due to steam-presses, 240.
early, printed in Gothic character, 16.
first, printed on one side of the leaf only, 10.
how to preserve, 317.
Book-folding machine, illustrated, 249.
Borders, 80, 120.
_Boston Gazette_, second newspaper published in America, 17.
_News-Letter_, first newspaper published in America, 17.
Bourgeois, specimen of, 54.
Boxwood, description of good, 36.
liable to warp, 282, 283.
quoin, 306.
Braces, use of, 75.
Bracket, how used, 65.
Bradford, William, first printer in the Middle Colonies, 16, 17.
Brass rules, remarks concerning, 80.
slotted corners, description of, 44.
Break-lines improperly driven over, 133.
should never begin a page, 133.
Brevier, specimen of, 54.
Brilliant, smallest type in America, 52.
specimen of, 54.
Brinley’s collection of Bibles, 11.
British founders reject American casting-machines, 23.
Bronze printing, how executed, 284, 285.
Brown ink, how to produce, 288.
Bruce, David and George, type-founders in New York, 21, 22.
David, Jr., type-casting machine invented by, 22.
Bullock, William, inventor of the first perfecting press, 242-244.
chain-running press, 244.
self-feeding perfecting press, illustrated, 243.
Bundle of paper described, 294.
Cabinet for chases, illustrated, 231.
with galley-top, illustrated, 304.
Cabinets, job cases should be kept in, 304.
of cases, for sorts, quads, etc., illustrated, 219-221.
should be kept in perfect order, 221.
Cambridge, first press in North America at, 16.
Campbell’s cylinder presses, 239, 246.
self-feeding perfecting press, 246.
Cancelled figures, 70.
Capital, good character is, 138.
letters, 58-60.
letters, how to use, 59, 60.
Card-cutters, 309.
printing, directions for, 283, 284.
sheets, chart for cutting, (Le Blond,) 302.
Carey, Mathew, 26.
Cases, American plan of Roman, 124, 125.
blank, 303.
German, 96, 97.
Greek, 102, 103.
Hebrew, 109, 111.
how to label job, 304.
job, 302.
labour-saving lead, 303.
labour-saving rule, 82, 302.
labour-saving slug, 303.
music, 117-119.
number of, to a fount, 128.
proposed improvement in, 126.
quotation furniture, 303.
Saxon, 92, 93.
triple job, 302.
Caslon, William, 18.
Cassie quires, why so called, 294.
Casting off copy, methods of, 223-226.
Catch-words, first used at Venice, 16.
in titles, how to be set, 134.
Caxton, William, introduces printing into England, 14.
his first types not cast or founded, 13.
Centennial Exhibition, 1876, presses exhibited at, 244-246.
fast printing at, 245.
Chalcography, inventor of, 34.
Chromo-lithography, 29.
Chromos, printed on cylinder presses, 31.
_Chronicle of Cologne_, 9.
Cicero, French and German name for Pica, 53.
Circular quadrates, 78.
Clicker, or maker-up, duties of, 226-228.
Clymer, George, inventor of the Columbian press, 236, 237.
Colon, use of, 62.
Colorito, Abraham, printer at Soncino, 1488, 14.
Colour, uniformity in, 263, 278, 279.
Coloured inks, how to make, 286-288.
printing, instructions for, 285-287.
Colours, contrast of, 289-292.
how to multiply, 288.
how to use dry, 287, 288.
Columbian press, illustrated, 236.
introduced into England, 237.
Combination borders, 80, 120.
Comma, use of, 62.
Commercial post paper, size of, 298.
signs, 71.
Companionships, how managed, 228-232.
misunderstandings in, 228.
Composing, directions for, 129-136.
how to avoid errors in, 130.
position in, 127.
rule, steel, illustrated, 228.
sticks, illustrated, 305.
screw, the best for fixed measures, 305.
Composition rollers, how to make, 252-254, 311, 312.
how to wash, 253.
melting-kettle for, illustrated, 252.
Compositors, differences in 218.
rules to be observed by, 233, 234.
Compound words, 64, 65, 331.
Contents, rules for, 135.
Continuous sheet, printing from a, 242.
Contrast of colours, 289-292.
Conversation in a printing office to be avoided, 234.
Copy, casting off, 223-226.
takes of, should be small, 221.
to be carefully prepared, 204.
Copyholder, illustrated, 309.
Copyrights, how to secure, 333-335.
application to be made to Librarian of Congress, 333.
cannot be granted upon trade-marks or labels, 335.
duration of, 334.
form of notice, 334.
penalty for false notice, 334.
renewal of, 334.
Cork bearers, 259.
Corner quadrates, illustrated, 307.
Corpus, German name for Long Primer, 54.
Correcting in the metal, 207-211.
directions for, 208-210.
rules for, in a companionship, 231, 232.
Coster, (see Koster,) 9-11.
Cottrell & Babcock’s cylinder presses, 239.
Counting out sheets, 297.
Courtesy, importance of, 123.
Creases and wrinkles in paper, how to remove, 263.
Cross-bar, how to avoid springing, 148.
Crown paper, size of, 298.
Cut-in notes, how adjusted, 131, 132.
Cuts, how to make ready, 280-283.
Cylinder press, invention of the, 238.
presses, making ready on, 265-275.
Dagger or obelisk, use of, 66.
Dash, use of, 63.
Dates, method of, during the French Republic, 69.
Daye, John, Anglo-Saxon types first cut by, 51.
Daye, Stephen, first printer in North America, 16.
Dedications, how displayed, 135.
position of, 135.
Degener & Weiler’s Liberty press, illustrated, 246, 247.
Delicate impression, how to produce, 281, 282.
Demy paper, size of, 298.
Derivation of English words, 324-326.
Descending letters, 59.
De Vinne’s history of the invention of printing, 12.
Diamond type, specimen of, 54.
Diphthongs, Greek, 99.
Distributing, directions for, 128, 129.
how to wash matter for, 128, 129.
pernicious effects from heating
type for, 129.
proper times for, 129.
Dividing words, rules for, 64, 65.
_Donatus_ of 1451, 11.
Double imperial paper, size of, 298.
letters, 59.
medium paper, size of, 298.
super-royal paper, size of, 298.
Drawing paper, how to be wet, 256.
Dry colours, how to use, 287, 288.
Duck’s bill, to prevent paper from slipping on the tympan, 278.
Duodecimo, or twelves, scheme for imposing sheet of, 165.
the same, without cutting, 166.
the same, two signatures, 167.
half-sheet, 168.
the same, without cutting, 168.
the same, from the centre, 169.
sheet of, from the centre, 170.
the same, long way, 171, 172.
one-third of a sheet, 171, 172.
two half-sheets, together, 173.
half-sheet, two signatures, 174.
Earl Stanhope’s printing-press, 236.
Earliest printing-press, 235.
written sounds, 83-85.
Egyptian hieroglyphics, specimens of type for printing, 83-85.
Eighteens, scheme for imposing half-sheet of, 176.
the same, with two blanks, 176.
sheet of, folded together, 177, 178.
the same, with one signature, 177, 178.
the same, with two signatures, 179, 180.
the same, with three signatures, 179, 180.
half-sheet of, without transposition, 181.
Electro-stereotyping, 27, 43.
Electrotyping, method of, 27.
Emerald green, 288.
Enamelled cards, to be printed dry, 283, 284.
English type, specimen of, 53.
Engraver’s proof useful to pressmen, 283.
Engravings, copper-plate, 34.
how to print, 280-283.
how to restore, 317.
tools for, 34.
wood, 31-34.
Epitaph, printer’s, 208.
Errata, list of, where placed, 136.
Errors inevitable, 136.
made in correcting a proof, 203, 204.
_Escala espiritual de San Juan Climaco_, the first book printed in
America, 16.
Even impressions on a hand-press, how to obtain, 277-279.
Exclamation, sign of, 63.
Feed-guides, Megill’s, illustrated, 310.
Figgins’s, Vincent, opinion of Caxton’s type, 13.
Figures, arithmetical, 70.
old style, 70.
scratched or cancelled, 70.
Filling the standing press, 296, 297.
Fine hand-presswork, remarks concerning, 275-279.
printing, character of ink required for, 275, 276.
paper suitable for, 257.
why difficult in the United States, 276, 277.
Finiguerra, Thomas, discoverer of chalcography, 34.
Firefly press, Gordon’s, 247.
Fireproof ink, 314.
Flat cap paper, size of, 298.
Flowers and borders, remarks on, 80.
Fly on cylinder presses, how to be set, 274.
Folding machines, 249.
Folio, imposing single sheet of, 150.
paper, size of, 298.
two sheets quired, 151, 152.
Follow copy, the compositor’s rule, 204.
Foolscap paper, dimensions of, 298.
Foreign words and phrases, translated, 357-372.
Foreman, duties and qualifications of, 218-232.
Form, how to make ready for hand-press, 257-260.
of warehouse book, 293.
Forms, directions for locking up, 147, 148.
how to impose, 141, 142.
how to wash, 264, 265.
precautions in unlocking, 208.
Forties, scheme for imposing half-sheet of, 191.
Forty-eights, scheme for imposing quarter sheet of, with two
signatures, 192.
the same, without cutting, 193.
half-sheet of, 192.
the same, three signatures, 193.
quarter sheet of, 194.
Foul proof, a grievous fault, 207.
Founders, English, ancient regulations concerning, 18.
Fount of letter, complete, described, 58.
Founts, irregularities of, 58.
Fractions, 70.
Franklin, Benjamin, attempts type-founding, 19.
James, establishes the _New England Courant_, 17.
Franklin presses, Gordon’s, 247.
illustrated, 246.
Friars, how to obviate, 263.
Frisket, directions for preparing, 258.
catch of, how to place, 259.
Full point, use of, 62, 63.
Furniture, how to make up, 144, 145.
Fust, John, connection with Gutenberg and Schœffer, 11, 12.
Gaillarde, French term for Bourgeois type, 54.
Gallows, how to be placed, 259.
_Game of Chess_, first book printed in England by Caxton, 14.
Gauge pins, Megill’s, illustrated, 310.
Ged, William, inventor of stereotyping, 24.
Geometrical signs, 71, 72.
German alphabet, 94.
plan of cases for, 96, 97.
similar letters elucidated, 94, 95.
Germantown, first paper mill in America, near, 17.
first quarto Bible in America, printed at, 19.
type cast at, by Saur, 19.
Giving out book paper to wet, 294.
paper for jobs, 294, 295.
Globe press, 248.
Glover, Jesse, introduces printing into Cambridge, Mass., 16.
Glue, common prepared, 313.
liquid, how to make, 313.
Gold preparation, how to use, 288.
printing, how practised, 284, 317.
size for gold printing, 284.
Good habits inculcated, 121-123, 137, 138.
presswork, conditions for securing, 279.
Gordon’s Franklin press, illustrated, 246.
job-presses, 246, 247.
Gothic characters, early books printed in, 16.
Gradation of type bodies, 56.
Grant Thorburn, benevolence of, 239.
Great Primer, specimen of, 53.
Greek accents and aspirates, 98-101.
alphabetical table of, 98.
letters, numerical value of, 67, 98.
ligatures now discarded, 98.
numeral letters, table of, 67.
plan of cases for, 102, 103.
rules for composing, 101.
Green ink, how to make, 288.
Gros Romain, French title for Great Primer, 53.
Guillemet’s quotation marks, 62.
Gutenberg, account of, 9-14.
Gutter-sticks, directions for cutting, 148.
Gypsum in paper, effects of, 276, 277.
Haarlem, the birthplace of printing, 9.
Hand-mould improved by Binny, 20.
Hand-press, how to prepare impression on, 275-279.
how to overlay on, 277.
bearers used on, 277, 278.
Hand-presswork, fine, how to produce, 275-279.
Handwriting, erroneous notion concerning, 226.
Hanging pages, how to rectify, 208.
up paper to dry, 295.
Hansard’s receipt for making rollers, 253, 254.
Hard roller, best for fine work, 267.
Head-lines, how displayed, 131.
Heap of paper, how to treat, 259.
Heated type, pernicious effects from distributing it, 129.
Hebrew accents, 106-108.
alphabet, identical with Phœnician, 83.
alphabetical table of, 104.
Bible, first printed, 14.
letters, numeral value of, 104.
letters of similar appearance, 105.
lower case, without points, 109.
Masoretic points or vowels, 106.
method of composing, 105.
plan of cases with points, 110, 111.
scheme for imposing 8vo sheet of, 161, 162.
spacing letters, 105.
Height of type, standard for, 57, 58.
Hieroglyphic alphabet, 84.
Hinderances to fine printing in America, 276, 277.
Hints honoured in the breach, 136, 137.
Hoe & Co.’s cylinder presses, 239-242.
Hoe, Richard M., inventor of type-revolving printing machine, 241.
Robert, account of, 239, 240.
Hoe’s web perfecting press, illustrated, 245.
Hollow quadrates, use of, 77.
Horn-book, illustration of, xi.
Humphreys’s History of the Art of Printing, 12.
Hurried work, how to expedite, 226-228.
Hyphen, how employed, 64, 65.
not used by the earliest printers, 15.
Iceland, early printing office in, 14.
Imperial and half paper, size of, 298.
paper, dimensions of, 298.
Imposing forms, directions for, 141, 142.
in companionships, rules for, 230, 231.
Imposing, memoranda concerning, 148, 149.
abstract title-deeds, 150.
FOLIO, single sheet, 150.
two sheets, quired, 151, 152.
QUARTO, common sheet of, 153, 154.
scheme for, music books, 153, 154.
two half-sheets, together, 155, 156.
half-sheet, broad way, 155, 156.
OCTAVO, sheet of, 157, 158.
the broad way, 157, 158.
half-sheet, 159.
two half-sheets, together, 159, 160.
two quarters, together, 160.
sheet, mixed, 161, 162.
sheet of Hebrew, 161, 162.
sheet, from the centre, 163, 164.
half-sheet, from the centre, 163.
two quarters, from the centre, 164.
DUODECIMO, or 12mo, sheet, 165.
the same, without cutting, 166.
the same, two signatures, 167.
half-sheet, 168.
the same, without cutting, 168.
the same, from the centre, 169.
sheet of, from the centre, 170.
the same, long way, 171, 172.
one-third of a sheet, 171, 172.
two half-sheets, together, 173.
half-sheet, two signatures, 174.
SIXTEENS, half-sheet of, 174.
sheet of, 175.
EIGHTEENS, half-sheet of, 176.
the same, with two blanks, 176.
sheet of, folded together, 177, 178.
sheet of, one signature, 177, 178.
the same, two signatures, 179, 180.
sheet of, three signatures, 179, 180.
half-sheet of, without transposition, 181.
TWENTIES, half-sheet of, with two signatures, 181.
sheet of, 182.
TWENTY-FOURS, half-sheet of, 183.
sheet of, two signatures, 183, 184.
half-sheet of, sixteen-way, 184.
half-sheet of, long, 185.
half-sheet, two signatures, 185.
half-sheet, without cutting, 186.
THIRTY-TWOS, half-sheet of, 186.
sheet of, 187, 188.
the same, four signatures, 187, 188.
half-sheet, two signatures, 189.
half-sheet of, mixed, 189.
THIRTY-SIXES, half-sheet of, 190.
the same, without cutting, 190.
the same, two signatures, 191.
FORTIES, half-sheet of, 191.
FORTY-EIGHTS, quarter sheet of, with two signatures, 192.
the same, without cutting, 193.
common quarter-sheet of, 194.
half-sheet of, two signatures, 192.
the same, three signatures, 193.
SIXTY-FOURS, quarter sheet, 195.
the same, two signatures, 194.
sixty-fours, mixed, 195.
half-sheet of, 196.
SEVENTY-TWOS, half-sheet of, 197.
NINETY-SIXES, half-sheet of, 198.
ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-EIGHTS, half-sheet of, 199.
Imposing stone, illustrated, 308.
Impression on cylinder presses, how to regulate, 269-275.
Indenting paragraphs, rule for, 132.
Index, directions for preparing copy of, 133.
rule for setting, 133.
where placed, 133.
India paper suitable for overlays, 280.
India-rubber cloth, good qualities of, 266.
Ink-block, how to be placed, 251.
Ink, black, how to intensify, 284.
coloured, 286, 287.
requires a hard roller, 267.
for cylinder presses, 267, 268.
for fine work, indispensable qualities of, 275, 276.
how to prevent setting off, 279.
how to remove surplus from the roller, 262.
how to produce amber, 288.
blue, 287, 288.
brown, 288.
fire-proof, 314.
green, 288.
lilac, 288.
pink, 288.
purple, 288.
red, 286-288.
scarlet, 288.
vermilion, 288.
to mark tin or zinc, 315.
driers, how to make, 315, 316.
Ink-fountain, how to manage, 268.
patent, illustrated, 310.
Ink-stone and muller, illustrated, 285.
Interleaving necessary in fine presswork, 279.
Interrogation, sign of, 63.
Iron furniture, how made, 310.
Ironical rules for compositors, 136, 137.
for beginners in business, 139, 140.
Italic letter, invention of, 50.
abuse of, 51.
Job department, 300-310.
capitals and lower-case should not be laid together, 304.
cases should be labelled with the type which is in case, 304.
how to conduct the business, 300.
memorandum slip for record, 301.
requisites for, 301-310.
selection of material, 300.
Job presses, American, unsurpassed, 246.
varieties of, 246-248.
Jobbing facilities, 300-310.
Jobs, making margin for, 147.
Johnson, Lawrence, type-founder in Philadelphia, 20.
William M., invents a type-casting machine, 22.
Journeymen, idle, 18.
Junius, Hadrianus, 10.
Justification, accurate, absolutely essential, 131.
Kerned letters, 59.
Kinsley, Dr., invents a cylinder press, 238.
Knowledge, progress of, accelerated by steam-presses, 240.
König, Frederick, inventor of the cylinder press, 238.
Koster, (or Coster,) Laurentius, inventor of printing, 9-14.
printer of block books, 10.
used wooden and tin type, 10.
Labour-saving brass rule, 81.
plan of case for, 82.
curvatures, 79.
quotation furniture, 77.
rule, 43, 81.
Lamp-holder, 309.
Laying a fount of type, directions for, 127.
pages, 143, 144.
Lead cutter, illustrated, 307.
Leads, described, 80.
Leather belting, how to soften, 316.
Lenox, James, of New York, collection of Bibles, 11.
Lepsius, R., hieroglyphic types of, 83.
Letter paper, size of, 298.
_Letters of Indulgence_, of 1454-5, 11.
Letters, accented, 67.
ascending, 59.
descending, 59.
double, 59.
kerned, 59.
long, 59.
numeral, 67.
short, 59.
two-line, 76.
Ley, directions for making, 312.
not to be used on wood-cuts, 283.
Ley-brush, how to be made, 265.
Ley-trough, described, 264, 265.
Liberty press, illustrated, 247.
Lifting pages, 143.
Lightning press, Hoe’s, 239-242.
illustrated, 240.
Lilac ink, how to make, 288.
Lithographic chalk and ink, 28.
stone, 27.
transfer ink, how to make, 315.
Lithography, discovery of, 27.
practice of, 27-31.
Locking up forms, 147, 148.
Long letters, 59.
Long Primer, specimen of, 54.
Lord’s Prayer in Anglo-Saxon, 51.
Lower-case sorts, 59.
Machine-casting, 22.
Machine-made paper, sizes of, 298.
Machine-press of Isaac Adams, 237, 238.
Frederick, König, 238.
Applegath and Cowper, 238.
Richard M. Hoe, 239-242.
William Bullock, 242-244.
Campbell, 239, 246.
Cottrell & Babcock, 239.
Walter, 244.
Mackling, how to remedy, 263.
Make-up rule, steel, illustrated, 229.
Making margin, 145-147.
for jobs, 147.
ready a form, directions for, 257-260.
on cylinder presses, 265-275.
wood-cuts, directions for, 280-283.
register, directions for, 260.
Making up furniture, 144, 145.
in companionship, 229.
letter and furniture in companionships, 230.
_Manual de Adultos_, one of the first books printed in America, 16.
Manuccio, Aldo, 61.
Mappa, Adam G., one of the early American type-founders, 19.
Margin, how to make, 145-147.
on cylinder presses, 268.
Masoretic points, 106.
Mathematical signs, 71, 72.
Matrices, copper, 40.
electrotyped, 23.
Matrix, illustrated, 40.
Mazarin Bibles, 11.
Measure of stick, how to make by ems, 129.
Mecom, Benjamin, 24.
Medium paper, size of, 298.
Melting-kettle, description of, 252.
Metal rules, 75.
Metric system, 336, 337.
Minerva cutting machine, illustrated, 309.
Minion type, specimen of, 54.
Mitering machine, illustrated, 307.
Mittel, German name for English type, 53.
Modern conveniences, 120.
Mucilage, directions for making, 312, 313.
Mud process in stereotyping, 26.
Music, comparative table of bodies, 115.
directions for composing, 116.
plan of cases for, 117-119.
specimens of, 114.
_New Hampshire Gazette_, oldest living paper of the United States, 17.
Newspapers, number of, printed in the United States in 1801 and 1810, 20.
New types, how to prevent them from adhering together, 127.
_New York Gazette_, first newspaper published there, 17.
Nicks, position of, 58.
Nicholson, William, suggester of the cylinder press, 238.
Ninety-sixes, to impose half-sheet, 198.
Nonpareil press, illustrated, 247.
type, specimen of, 54.
Norse-Runic alphabet, 87, 88.
_North American and United States Gazette_, of Philadelphia, oldest
daily newspaper in the United States, 17.
Note paper, size of, 298.
Notes, proper size of type for, 131.
cut in, how arranged, 132.
Numeral letters, Gothic, 68, 69.
Greek, 67.
Roman, 68, 69.
Numerical value of Greek letters, 67, 98.
Hebrew letters, 104.
Octavo, scheme for imposing sheet of, 157, 158.
sheet of, the broad way, 157, 158.
two half-sheets, together, 159, 160.
sheet mixed, 161, 162.
half-sheet, 159.
two quarters, together, 160.
sheet of Hebrew, 161, 162.
sheet of, from the centre, 163, 164.
half-sheet of, do., 163.
two quarter-sheets, do., 164.
Oiling a press, 292.
Old English letter used by the early printers, 49.
Old-style figures, advantages of, 70.
Old works, no license of alteration allowable in reprinting, 202.
One hundred and twenty-eights, scheme for imposing half-sheet of, 199.
Ornaments, ancient, exquisite and curious, 15, 16.
Orthography, hints on, 318-332.
uniformity in, 202.
Overlaying on cylinder presses, 272, 273.
on hand-presses, 277.
Overrunning, proper method of, 210.
Overseer, duties of, 218-232.
Over-sheets, rules for giving out, 294.
Packet note paper, size of, 298.
post paper, size of, 298.
Pages, how to tie up, 142, 143.
how to lift, 143.
how to lay, 143.
Palmaert, Lambert, printed at Valencia, 1479, 14.
Paper-bank, how to be placed, 259.
Paper for jobs, rule for giving out, 294.
cutters, 309.
instructions for wetting, 255-257.
qualities of good, 276.
quantity required for a book, 299.
sizes of, 298.
suitable for fine printing, 257.
Papier-maché moulds, 242.
Paragon type, so called by printers in all countries, 52.
Paragraph mark, how used, 66.
Paragraphs, authors’ irregularities in making, 132, 133.
rule for indenting, 132.
Parchment tympans, 254.
Parenthesis, use of, 65, 66.
Pasteboard tympan for a cylinder press, advantages of, 265.
Paste, directions for making, 312.
Pearl type, specimen of, 54.
Peerless press, illustrated, 248.
Penn, William, promotes printing in Pennsylvania, 17.
Perforating machine for round holes, illustrated, 308.
rule, illustrated, 308.
Perforator, Ames’s Patent, 308.
Period, use of, 62.
Petit and Jungfer, German names of Brevier, 54.
Petit Romain, French name of Long Primer, 54.
_Petri Hispani Tractatibus Logicis_, one of the first printed books, 10.
Phœnician alphabetic system, 83.
Photo-engraving, 35-38.
Phrases, foreign, translated, 357-372.
Pica, specimen of, 53.
the standard type, 52.
Picks in types, how to remove, 262.
in wood-cuts, how to take out, 281.
Pietrison, Thomas, the inventor of printers’ ink, 10.
Pink ink, how to produce, 288.
Planetary signs, 73, 74.
Plate paper, directions for wetting, 256.
Plumbago, used in electrotyping, 27, 45.
Point system of type bodies, 55, 56.
Points, how to arrange, 258.
Polyglot founders, 18.
Position of nicks, 58.
in composing, 127.
Prefaces, rules concerning, 135.
Press-book, form of, 222.
Press arbitrarily restricted, 235.
history of invention of, 235-248.
old common, 235.
to print and number railroad tickets and coupons, 246.
Presses—see machine-presses.
how to oil, 292.
Pressing sheets, mode of, 296, 297.
Pressmen should examine every sheet as printed, 263.
rules and remedies for, 262-264.
should study fine specimens of printing, 277.
Presswork, requisites for producing fine, 275-279.
Prima, 203.
Printed sheets, how treated, 295-297.
Printers, how not to succeed in business, 139, 140.
ironical rules for, 136, 137.
Printer’s knife, illustrated, 210, 211.
Printing, discovery of, 9-14.
extension of, 13.
in bronzes, 284, 285.
in colours, 285-288.
in gold, directions for, 284.
introduced into America, 16.
manner of discovery, 9-12.
Printing-machine, type-revolving, 240-242.
Printing-offices, rules to be observed in, 233, 234.
Printing-press, amateur, 248.
Bullock, 242-244.
Campbell, 239, 246.
Cottrell & Babcock, 239.
Degener, 246, 247.
Earl Stanhope’s, 236.
earliest, 235.
first set up in North America, 16.
Frederick König’s, 238.
Gally, 246.
George Clymer’s, 236.
George P. Gordon’s, 246, 247.
invention of the, 235-248.
Isaac Adams’s, 237.
Job, 246-248.
Peter Smith’s, 237.
Railroad-ticket, 246.
Ramage’s, 236.
Richard M. Hoe’s, 239-242.
Ruggles, 246.
Samuel Rust’s, 237.
Walter, 244.
Wells, 246.
Willem Jansen Blaeu’s, 235.
Proof-marks, explanation of, 214, 215.
illustration of, 212, 213.
Proof-press, illustrated, 343.
Proof-reader, author’s obligations to, 201.
duties of a, 202, 207.
friendly offices of, 201.
qualifications of, 200-206.
should be a compositor, 200.
Proof-readers, caprices of, 207.
Proof-sheets, alterations in, justly chargeable, 204, 205, 211.
detained by authors, 205.
errors in correcting, 203, 204.
method of reading, 202, 203.
plan for keeping account of, 203.
remarks concerning, 202.
should be read by two readers, 204.
Proofs of engravings, how to take, 283.
Proper names should be plainly written, 211.
Prussian blue ink, 287.
Publishers’ interference with the printers’ province, 134.
Pulling, directions for, 260-262, 279.
Punch, illustrated, 40.
Punctuality indispensable in an apprentice, 123.
Punctuation, amending of, should be confined to one reader, 204.
and orthography to be uniform throughout a book, 202.
points of later invention than printing, 61.
variations in use of, 61.
whims of authors, 61.
Wilson’s Treatise on, 62, 65.
Quadrates, circular, illustrated, and described, 78, 79.
corner, illustrated, 306.
directions for composing, 78, 79.
hollow, illustrated, 77.
Quantity of paper required to print a book of one thousand copies, 299.
Quarto, scheme for imposing, 153, 154.
the broad way for music, 153, 154.
two half-sheets, together, 155, 156.
half-sheet, the broad way, 155, 156.
Quires, cassie, of what made up, 294.
Quitting work, precautions to be used by the pressmen in, 264.
Quoins, proper form of, 147, 148.
how to unlock, 148.
various patents, 306.
Quotation furniture, illustrated, 77.
marks, 62.
Quotations, broad and narrow, 76.
Railroad-ticket printing-machine, 246.
Ramage, Adam, 236.
Reading-boy, 202.
Receipts, various, 311-317.
Red ink, how to make, 286, 288.
References, use of, 66, 67.
Register, how to make, 260.
Regulations for a printing-office, 233, 234.
Reprints from standard authors not to vary from the original, 202.
Revise, 206.
Revise sheet necessary, 260.
Riding, how to prevent, 286.
Rittenhouse, William, the first paper-maker in America, 17.
Roller-boy, 262.
Roller-handle, how to lie when used, 251.
how to check, 251.
Roller, hard, best for fine work, 267.
soft, required for posters and old type, 267.
Roller-mould, directions for using, 252.
Roller-stand, how to set up, 250, 251.
illustrated, 251.
Rollers, composition, how made, 252-254, 311, 312.
for hand-presses, how to keep, 278.
hand-press, 252.
precautions in using, 252.
to be adapted to style of work, 267.
when in working order, 253.
Roman letter, invention of, 49.
deserving general adoption, 50.
Ronaldson, James, type-founder in Philadelphia, 19.
Richard, type-founder in Philadelphia, 20.
Rosetta stone, discovery of, 83.
Royal and half paper, size of, 298.
Royal paper, size of, 298.
Ruggles’s job presses, 246.
card cutter, illustrated, 309.
Rule, brass, 80.
labour-saving, illustrated, 81.
plan of case for, 82.
Rules and remedies for pressmen, 262-264.
for beginners in business, ironical, 139, 140.
for compositors, ironical, 136, 137.
for perforating, illustrated, 308.
Runes, earliest alphabets of the Teutons and Goths, 86.
Runic alphabets, 86-90.
inscription on Bewcastle cross, 89.
Russian alphabet, 112, 113.
Rust, Samuel, inventor of the Washington press, 237.
Saur (or Sower), Christopher, first American type-founder, 19.
issues the _Germantown Chronicle_ in 1739, 19.
prints the first quarto Bible, 19.
Scarlet ink, how to make, 288.
Schœffer, Peter, inventor of type-founding, 13, 14.
Semicolon, invented by Aldo Manuccio, 61.
use of, 62.
Senefelder, Alois, discoverer of lithography, 27.
Setting fly on a cylinder press, 274.
off, how to prevent ink from, 279.
tapes, process of, 274.
up a Washington press, 250.
up a roller-stand, 250, 251.
Seventy-twos, scheme for imposing half-sheet of, 197.
Shades of ink, how to produce, 288.
Sheets, counting out and putting away, 294.
filling in and pressing, 296.
how to take down from the poles, 296.
names of, 149.
Shooting-sticks, illustrated, 307.
Short letters, 59.
numbers of sheets, allowance for, 294.
pages, how to back, 133.
Side notes, how arranged, 131, 132.
Signatures, table of, 216, 217.
inventor of, 16.
Signaturing, remarks concerning, 135.
Signs, astronomical, 73, 74.
Signs, commercial, 71.
mathematical, 71, 73.
medical, 74, 75.
Silk tympan-covers, 254.
Silvering solution, how to make, 316.
Sitting at work improper, 127.
Sixteens, scheme for imposing half-sheet of, 174.
sheet of, 175.
Sixty-fours, scheme for imposing quarter-sheet of, 195.
scheme for imposing quarter-sheet of, with two signatures, 194.
quarter sheet of, mixed, 195.
half-sheet of, 196.
Slotted brass corners, illustrated, 44.
Slovenly copy, censurable, 223.
Slurring, how to prevent, 263, 278.
Small capital letters, 58, 60, 61.
Pica, specimen of, 54.
Smith, George Frederick, founder in Philadelphia, 20.
Matthew, press-maker, 239.
Peter, inventor of a hand-press, 237.
Sorts, upper and lower case, 59.
Sounds of German letters, 94.
Greek letters, 98.
Hebrew letters, 104.
Sower—see Saur.
Samuel & Co., early American type-founders, 20.
Space-rules, metal, 81.
Spaces, described, 75.
various sizes of, should be kept separate, 128.
Spacing, remarks on, 130, 131.
_Speculum Humanæ Salvationis_, the first printed book, 11.
Spelling, rules for, 318-332.
_Spiegal enser Behoudenisse_, one of the first printed books, 10.
Spring bearers, 259.
Springing, to prevent wood-cuts from, 280.
Square cross, where used, 66.
Standard for height of type, 57, 58.
metal furniture, 77.
Standing press, how to fill, 296, 297.
improved, illustrated, 297.
Stanhope, Earl, press invented by, 236.
Star chamber, regulations of, concerning English founders, 18.
St. Augustin, French and Dutch name for English type, 53.
Stereotype plates, English imperfections of, 18.
how to underlay, 272.
block, illustrated, 44.
Stereotyping, invention of, 24.
mode of, 24-26, 46.
mud process, 26.
Stop cylinder press, illustrated, 238.
well adapted for fine printing, 239.
Stower, extract from, 205, 206.
Superiors, 67.
Super-royal paper, size of, 298.
Syllables, abbreviated, 15.
how to divide, 64, 65.
Symbols, absurd, 74.
Table of paper required for a book, 299.
proof-marks, 212.
signatures, 216, 217.
Takes of copy should be small, 221.
Taking copy in companionships, 228, 229.
Taking down sheets when dry, 296.
Tapes, how to set, 274.
Technical terms explained, 338-343.
names should be legibly written, 211.
Tertia, German name of Great Primer, 53.
Theinhardt, Ferdinand, Prussian type-founder, 84.
Thirty-sixes, scheme for imposing half-sheet of, 190.
half-sheet of, without cutting, 190.
the same, with two signatures, 191.
Thirty-twos, scheme for imposing half-sheet of, 186.
sheet of, 187, 188.
sheet of, with four signatures, 187, 188.
half-sheet, two signatures, 189.
half-sheet of, mixed, 189.
Thomas, Isaiah, 14.
Tilloch, Dr. Alexander, 24.
Tinted paper, coloured ink on, 291.
Tints, neutral, 291.
Title-deeds, scheme for imposing, 150.
Title-pages, hints for setting, 134.
remarks on, 134.
Token-sheet, purpose of, 256.
Tokens explained, 294.
Tools for wood engraving, 34.
Trade-marks, how to secure patents, 335.
Transposing pages, directions for, 207.
pages in companionships, 232.
Turkey boxwood, best for engraving, 34.
Turning a heap, directions for, 261, 262.
Turpentine, spirits of, best for cleansing wood-cuts, 283.
Tweezers, illustrated, 210.
Twenties, scheme for imposing half-sheet of, with two signatures, 181.
sheet of, 182.
Twenty-fours, scheme for imposing half-sheet of, 183.
sheet of, 183, 184.
half-sheet, the sixteens way, 184.
half-sheet of, long, 185.
half-sheet of, without cutting, 186.
Two-line letters, how used, 76.
Tying up pages, 142, 143.
Tympan suitable for cylinder press, 265.
Tympans, how to cover, 254.
Type bodies, point system of, 55, 56.
Type-casting machine, description of, 42.
illustrated, 41.
origin of, 22.
Type-casting machine, perfected by David Bruce, Jr., 22, 23.
Type-founding a distinct calling in the seventeenth century, 18.
early, in New York, 19.
early, in Philadelphia, 19.
in America, 19.
in Europe, 18.
Type-foundries in the United States, 23.
Type-foundry, first American, at Germantown, Pennsylvania, 19.
walk over a, 39-48.
Type, how to lay a fount of, 127.
Type-measure, 227.
Type-metal, 40.
Type-revolving printing machine, Hoe’s, illustrated, 240.
Types, bill of, 57.
Black or Old English letter, 49, 51.
directions for choosing, 50.
fount of, 58.
gradation of, 55.
how to prevent them from adhering, 127.
Italic, invention of, 50.
names and sizes of, 52-54.
prices of, since 1801, 25.
process of manufacturing, 39-43.
Roman, invention of, 49.
specimens of, 53, 54.
_Typographic Advertiser_, 20.
Typographical errors, a blemish, 200.
peculiarities, ancient, 17, 18.
Underlaying old stereotype plates, 282.
Underlays, when proper on cylinder presses, 270-272.
Uniformity in colors, how to secure, 263.
in spacing essential, 130.
Universal press, illustrated, 248.
Unlocking forms, precautions in, 208.
Upper-case sorts, 59.
Van der Mey’s method of stereotyping, 24.
Variations from copy chargeable, 211.
Varnish for printing ink, how to make, 314.
the common menstruum for colours, 286.
Varnish, prevents enamel from peeling, 284.
Vignettes, how to prepare on the press, 281.
Walter perfecting press, 244.
Warehouse book, form of, 293.
department, 293-298.
Warehouseman, duties of, 293.
Warping of a cut, how to cure, 282.
how to prevent, 282.
Washing forms, directions for, 264, 265.
Washington press, how to set up, 250.
invented by Samuel Rust, illustrated, 237.
Waterproof paper, how to make, 317.
Watts, John, 21.
Web perfecting presses, 242-246.
Wells’s job presses, 246.
Wet paper, how to be protected overnight, 264.
Wetting paper, directions for, 255-257.
drawing and plate paper, 256.
rules for giving out paper for, 294, 295.
Wetting-trough, how to be made, 255.
White, Elihu, type-founder in New York, 21, 22.
White pages, how to be treated, 259.
Wood-cuts, how to prepare on the press, 280-283.
how to wash, 283.
how to take proof of, 283.
Wood engraving, tools for, 34.
type, how to be cared for, 292.
Woollen blankets, needless when new type is used, 257, 266.
Words and phrases, foreign, 357-372.
Working in pocket unsatisfactory, 227.
Works, how to manage hurried, 226.
Wrinkles in paper, how to remove, 263.
Writing inks, coloured, how to make, 314.
Yellow ink, how to produce, 287, 288.
Zarotti, Antonio, the inventor of signatures, 16.
Zell, Ulrich, printer of the _Chronicle of Cologne_, 9.
Zodiacal signs, 73.
[Illustration]
FOOTNOTES
[1] The earliest testimony in favour of Koster is contained in a
German volume published at Cologne in 1499, known as the _Chronicle of
Cologne_, which was printed by Ulrich Zell, originally of Mayence, and a
well-known follower of Gutenberg and his system. Under the heading “Of
the art of printing books, when and where, and by whom, was invented the
inexpressibly useful art of printing books,” the author says, “Although
the art, as now practised, was discovered at Mayence, nevertheless the
first idea came from Holland, and the Donati, which had been previously
printed there. Those books are therefore the origin of the art.”—See
_Humphreys_, ch. iii. and iv.
We cite further the following well-known account:—
“About one hundred and twenty-eight years ago, Laurens Zanssen Coster
inhabited a decent and fashionable house in the city of Haarlem, situated
on the market-place, opposite the royal palace. The name of Coster was
assumed, and inherited from his ancestors, who had long enjoyed the
honourable and lucrative office of coster or sexton to the church. This
man deserves to be restored to the honour of being the first inventor
of printing, of which he has been unjustly deprived by others, who have
enjoyed the praises due to him alone. As he was walking in the wood
contiguous to the city, which was the general custom of the richer
citizens and men of leisure, in the afternoon and on holidays, he began
to cut letters on the bark of the beech; with these letters he enstamped
marks upon paper in a contrary direction, in the manner of a seal, until
at length he formed a few lines for his own amusement and for the use of
the children of his brother-in-law. This succeeding so well, he attempted
greater things; and, being a man of genius and reflection, he invented,
with the aid of his brother- or son-in-law, Thomas Pietrison, a thicker
and more adhesive ink, as the common ink was too thin and made blotted
marks. With this ink he was able to print blocks and figures, to which
he added letters. I have seen specimens of his printing in this manner.
In the beginning he printed on one side only. This was a Dutch book,
entitled _Spiegal enser Behoudenisse_. That it was one of the first books
printed after the invention of the art, appears from the leaves, which
are pasted together, that the naked sides might not be offensive to the
eyes; and none at first were printed in a more perfect manner. As this
new species of traffic attracted numerous customers, thus did the profits
arising from it increase his love for the art and his diligence in the
exercise of it.
“He engaged workmen, which was the source of the mischief. Among these
workmen was one Jan ⸺: whether his surname be that of Faust, or any
other, is of no great importance to me, as I will not disturb the dead,
whose consciences must have smote them sufficiently while living. This
Jan, who assisted at the printing press under oath, after he had learned
the art of casting the types, setting them, and other articles belonging
to the art, and thought himself sufficiently instructed, having watched
the opportunity, as he could not find a better, he packed up the types
and the other articles on Christmas eve, while the family was engaged
in celebrating the festival, and stole away with them. He first fled to
Amsterdam, thence to Cologne, until he could establish himself at Mentz,
as a secure place, where he might open shop and reap the fruits of his
knavery. It is a known fact that within the twelve months (that is, in
the year 1440) he published the _Alexandri Galli Doctrinale_, (a grammar
at that time in high repute,) with _Petri Hispani Tractatibus Logicis_,
with the same letters which Laurens had used. These were undoubtedly the
first products of his press. These are the principal circumstances that I
have collected from creditable persons far advanced in years, which they
have transmitted like a flaming torch from hand to hand: I have also met
with others who have confirmed the same.”—_Hadrianus Junius_, 1568.
[2] The first copies of the Bible are not dated, and do not contain the
printer’s name. Only a few impressions have been preserved to the present
time; indeed, they were entirely lost to the world until the latter
half of the last century, when a copy was discovered in the library of
Cardinal Mazarin in Paris; hence, the few existing copies are generally
spoken of as Mazarin Bibles. Some of these were printed on vellum, but
the earliest copies were on paper. There are only six copies now extant;
two of which are in the United States, one belonging to the collection
of the late Mr. George Brinley of Connecticut, and the other owned by
the late Mr. James Lenox of New York. These two copies are on paper. The
Brinley copy is said to have a leaf or two in fac-simile, while the Lenox
copy is perfect in every respect. This copy, together with his unequalled
collection of rare Bibles, now enriches the magnificent Lenox Library,
founded in New York, in 1870, by this excellent and wisely beneficent
man. The four remaining copies are in Europe, two of which were sold in
London at auction; one on vellum selling for $20,000, and the other, on
paper, bringing $14,000.
[3] “The names of Koster and Gutenberg will ever remain associated with
its positive invention; and to Koster, if we are to be guided by a vast
mass of unanswerable evidence in his favour, must be assigned the glory
of achieving the first actual steps in that art, of which Gutenberg was
soon destined, not only to extend and solidify the basis, but to raise at
once upon that basis a most noble superstructure.”—_Humphreys_, p. 50.
[4] For detailed and conflicting accounts, see Humphreys’s _History of
the Art of Printing_, (London,) and De Vinne’s _Invention of Printing_,
(New York.)
Humphreys dispassionately goes over the ground, and while giving due
credit to Gutenberg, awards to Koster the honour of the invention of
the art of printing. A perusal of De Vinne, on the other hand, leaves
the impression of an effort to prove a preconceived opinion, every
probability in favour of Koster being curtly set aside, and every
perchance on the side of Gutenberg being regarded as incontrovertible
fact. De Vinne derides the idea that types were at first cut, and not
cast or founded; and this in the face of the fact that in the earliest
printed books, there are not two letters of one kind that are precisely
alike in a page; that is, every letter a varies somewhat from all other
a’s, and so with b and all other letters. This could not be the case if
the types were cast or founded. To support his view, De Vinne copies from
De la Borde a wood engraving representing letters cut and sawn apart;
and from the imperfection of this experiment argues that the first types
could not have been cut. This proves nothing except the incapacity of the
experimenter. A dozen years ago an ingenious man in Philadelphia produced
copper-headed types in a mass on type-metal bodies, which had to be cut
apart singly. The specimen of these types here given proves conclusively
that the thing can be done far better than was done by Koster on wood or
metal, though his types were ten times larger than these:—
[Illustration: abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyzABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ
New York New Jersey Mississippi Georgia Virginia Louisiana Tennessee
Arkansas Kentucky New Hampshire Maine Massachusetts Kansas]
We have repeated the experiment in our own foundry with Long Primer type,
and with a similar result. These experiments are sufficient to show the
ungroundedness of Mr. De Vinne’s argument. He further states that in some
of the specimens given by him, the letters have been so worn that they
have run into one another; but the fact is, such letters were logotypes,
and cut on the same block. Any accurate type-founder can verify this
fact almost at a glance. In a lecture by Mr. Josiah Marples, an accurate
English printer, before the Liverpool Literary and Philosophical Society
on _Type-founders and Type-founding_, the speaker alluded to Caxton
and his types, and to Mr. Vincent Figgins’s reproduction of the “Game
of Chesse,” whose nephew had enabled him to exhibit a copy of the
same to the meeting. “Mr. Vincent Figgins, whose skill as a practical
type-founder,” it was remarked, “entitled his opinion to great weight,
believed that the book was not printed from types such as were cast by
Schœffer, but from types which were cast with solid faces, upon which
were cut with the graver each letter separately. To this Mr. Figgins
attributed the fact that in the original book no pure style of letters
was used, but a mixture between the old black and that called Secretary;
that no two letters were exactly alike, and that frequent use was made of
logotypes.”
Mr. De Vinne finds some difficulty in demolishing the Koster “legend” (as
he and Van der Linde call it) in the fact that the existence of numerous
volumes and fragments of ancient printing have to be somehow accounted
for; and he thereupon adopts the hypothesis of an unknown printer, to
whom he attributes these early productions. The admittedly ancient
water-marks in the paper he rules out, simply because such water-marks
were used long afterward. He gives fac-simile specimens of the types
used in these books; but, in violation of all the laws of probability,
he gives the inferior specimens last. The necessities of his theory
compelled him to this course, the natural order being the reverse of
the one adopted by him. The inferior specimens show clearly the first
attempts of an inventor, an inventor too who had before been a block
printer. The succeeding books show as clearly the successive stages of
improvement, the last stage of which was equal or even superior to any
thing executed by Gutenberg before the appearance of the great Bible.
This “unknown printer” was doubtless Koster.
It is by no means a wild question whether the credit of even the
first Bible belongs to Gutenberg or to Peter Schœffer; for, after the
dissolution of the partnership between Gutenberg and Fust, the former
produced nothing worthy of note, while Schœffer printed the Bible again,
as well as other works, notably the Psalter, a most wonderful specimen of
ancient typography. Schœffer appears to be as undoubtedly the inventor of
type-founding as Koster was of printing,—Gutenberg was neither, though
we must award him high credit for his skill in availing himself of the
knowledge derived from Koster, and his perseverance through a series of
years. But the almost impenetrable cloud of mystery that surrounds the
discovery of printing should induce a spirit of hesitancy that is not at
all characteristic of Van der Linde and others. Neither ifs, buts, nor
perhapses, nor strained inferences, prove anything except the weakness of
the argument that rests upon them.
We are satisfied that the types used by the first printers were not cast
or founded in a mode at all approximating to the modern method. The
question is, not who was the first type-founder in the modern style, but
who was the first printer with movable types, no matter whether of wood,
pewter, or tin; and we agree with the judicious Isaiah Thomas in the
opinion that Koster was that man.
See _Haarlem the Birthplace of Printing, not Mentz_, by J. H. Hessels,
Cambridge, England, 1887: an emphatic confutation of the Gutenberg legend.
[5] Two copies of Bradford’s Almanac are known to be in existence. We
give the Address of
THE PRINTER TO THE READERS.
Hereby understand that after great charge & Trouble, I have brought that
GREAT ART & MYSTERY OF PRINTING into this part of America; believing
it may be of great service to you in several respects; hoping to find
encouragement, not only in this Almanack, but what else I shall enter
upon for the use & service of the Inhabitants of these Parts. Some
irregularities there be in this Diary, which I desire you to pass by
this year; for being lately come hither, my materials were misplaced &
out of order, whereupon I was forced to use Figures & Letters of various
Sizes: but understanding the want of something of this nature, & being
importuned thereto, I ventured to make public this; desiring you to
accept thereof; & by the next (as I find encouragement) shall endeavour
to have things compleat. And for the ease of Clarks, Scriveniers, &c.,
I propose to print blank Bills, Bonds, Letters of Attorney, Indentures,
Warrants, etc., & what else presents itself, wherein I shall be ready to
serve you; and remain your friend.
W. BRADFORD.
Philadelphia, the
10th month, 1685.
[6] Mr. Horatio Gates Jones, of Philadelphia, in his introduction to
Frame’s Short Description of Pennsilvania, gives further interesting
particulars. See, also, Munsell’s Chronology, &c. of Paper and Paper
Making, Albany, N. Y., 1876.
[7] The remainder of this article was mostly furnished by the late Mr.
George Bruce, of New York.
[8] After the retirement of Binny & Ronaldson, Richard Ronaldson carried
on the business of this foundry until 1833, when he in turn was succeeded
by Lawrence Johnson and George F. Smith. Mr. Johnson, a man of great
energy and enterprise, had (contemporaneously with Jedediah Howe)
introduced stereotyping into Philadelphia, and now both callings were
incorporated. Ten years afterward, Mr. Smith retired; and in the year
1845 Mr. Johnson associated with him Thomas MacKellar, John F. Smith
and Richard Smith, who had, as it were, grown up with the business. The
foundry now quickly grew in importance, and won a wide reputation. Mr.
Johnson died April 26, 1860, and was succeeded by his three partners,
who, with Peter A. Jordan, constituted the firm known as MacKellar,
Smiths & Jordan, under whose management the establishment was brought to
rank equal with and excel most of the type foundries in the world. Mr.
Jordan died March 25, 1884. In 1885 Wm. B. MacKellar, G. Fredk Jordan and
C. F. Huch were associated with the remaining partners, and a corporation
was formed under the name of The MacKellar, Smiths & Jordan Company.
Their “Typographic Advertiser” (begun in 1855) and Specimen Books are
regarded as unique mechanical and literary productions. The height and
body of the Pica of this Company have been universally adopted in the
United States as the standard of size for the American Point System of
type.
[9] Chambers’s Encyclopædia.
[10] Wilson’s _Treatise on English Punctuation_ is a full and explicit
work on this subject, and should be studied by every printer and author.
It is worthy of adoption as the standard authority.
[11] Wilson, in his _Treatise on English Punctuation_, says, very
judiciously,—
The hyphen is employed in words in such a manner as is best calculated to
show their origin, composition, or import, and to exhibit the syllables
in their neatest form. Agreeably to this rule,—
1. Compound and derivative words are resolved into their primitives;
as, _school-master_, _hand-writing_, _pen-knife_, _snuff-box_,
_looking-glass_; _arch-angel_, _geo-logy_, _theo-cracy_, _ortho-graphy_.
2. Prefixes, affixes, and grammatical terminations are separated;
as, _dis-continue_, _en-able_, _trans-port_; _shear-er_, _load-ed_,
_print-ing_; _king-dom_, _false-hood_, _differ-ence_, _command-ment_.
3. One consonant between two vowels is to be joined to the latter
syllable; as, _ta-lent_, _fa-tal_; _me-lon_, _le-ver_; _spi-rit_,
_si-lence_; _cy-nic_, _ty-ro_; _le-ga-cy_, _mo-no-po-ly_. Except _x_,
and single consonants when they belong to the former portion of a
derivative word; as, _ex-ile_, _ex-ist_, _ex-amine_; _up-on_, _dis-ease_,
_circum-ambient_.
4. Two or more consonants belong to the latter syllable, when they are
capable of beginning a word; as, _ta-ble_, _sti-fle_, _lu-cre_, _o-gle_,
_mau-gre_, _stro-phe_, _de-stroy_.
5. But when the consonants cannot begin a word, or when the vowel
preceding them is short, the first should be separated; as, _ab-bey_,
_ac-cent_, _vel-lum_, _ab-ject_, _gar-den_, _laun-dry_, _pam-phlet_;
_blas-pheme_, _dis-tress_, _min-strel_.
It is desirable that compound and derivative words should, at the end of
lines, be divided in such a manner as to indicate their principal parts.
Thus, _school-master_ is preferable to _schoolmas-ter_, _dis-approve_
to _disap-prove_, _resent-ment_ to _re-sentment_, _ortho-doxy_ to
_or-thodoxy_; though, as regards the analysis of words into syllables,
the latter mode is unobjectionable. From the narrowness of the printed
line, however, in some books, the principle recommended cannot always be
adhered to.
The terminations _tion_, _sion_, _cial_, _tial_, and many others,
formerly pronounced as two syllables, but now only as one, must not be
divided either in spelling or at the end of a line.
A syllable consisting of only one letter, as the _a_ in _cre-ation_,
should not commence a line. This word would be better divided
_crea-tion_; and so all others of a similar kind.
A line of print must not end with the first syllable of a word when it
consists of a single letter; as, _a-bide_, _e-normous_; nor begin with
the last syllable when it is formed of only two letters; as, _nation-al_,
_teach-er_, _similar-ly_. For regard should be had to the principles of
taste and beauty as well as to the laws of syllabication.
[12] The Hebrew alphabet is almost identical with the Phœnician.
[13] Chambers’s Encyclopædia, published by J. B. Lippincott & Co.,
Philadelphia.
[14] Bell’s Greek Grammar.
[15] See pages 318-332.
[16] The following epitaph was no doubt written by a printer after
performing the most disagreeable task attendant on his profession:—
No more shall copy bad perplex my brain,
No more shall type’s small face my eyeballs strain;
No more the proof’s foul page create me troubles,
By errors, transpositions, outs, and doubles:
No more my head shall ache from author’s whims,
As overrunnings, driving-outs, and ins;
The sturdy pressman’s frown I now may scoff,
Revised, corrected, finally wrought off.
[17] We are indebted to a friend for the following sketch of the origin,
progress, and present condition of the world-famous house of R. Hoe & Co.
Robert Hoe, the founder of the present house of R. Hoe & Co. of New York,
was born at Hose, in Leicestershire, England, in 1784. His father was a
well-to-do farmer in that pleasant, sequestered district; but, as the
family was large, Robert was apprenticed to a carpenter in a neighbouring
town. His attention was early attracted and his mind impressed by the
prosperity of the people of the United States; and, being a republican at
heart, and conscious that the institutions of his own country presented
almost insurmountable obstacles to the advancement of the working
classes, he purchased his indentures from his employer, and in 1803
emigrated to New York.
On his arrival he made the acquaintance of Grant Thorburn, who, becoming
interested in him, received him into his family, and with great kindness
nursed him with his own hands through an attack of the yellow fever,
which was then raging in the city. He soon established himself in
his trade, and, by his industry, integrity, and enterprise, became
advantageously known to the public. At the age of twenty he married the
daughter of Matthew Smith, of Westchester Co., New York, by whom he had
three sons and six daughters. For a time he was in partnership with his
brother-in-law, Matthew Smith, Jr., a carpenter and printers’ joiner,
who, on their separation, associated with himself his brother, Peter
Smith, who was educated at Yale College, and was the inventor of the
well-known hand-press bearing his name.
On the decease of these two brothers, Robert Hoe, in 1823, succeeded to
the business, which was then in its infancy, giving employment to only a
handful of men, and being conducted in the middle of the block bounded
by Maiden Lane, Pine, William, and Pearl Streets, in some old buildings
to which access was gained by an alley running from Maiden Lane to Pine
Street. Here the business, under the style of Robert Hoe & Co., grew
rapidly; but the extension of Cedar Street made necessary its removal
to the present location in Gold Street. About this time, the flat-bed
cylinder press, for newspaper printing, was introduced into England; and
Mr. Hoe sent an intelligent mechanic there to examine it, and it was
soon brought into use here, with valuable improvements. In 1832, Mr.
Hoe’s failing health obliged him to relinquish the business to his eldest
son, Richard M. Hoe, and Matthew Smith, son of his first partner. In
the following year he died. Shortly after his decease, the firm erected
extensive buildings in Broome Street, in the eastern part of the city,
where the greater part of their manufacturing has since been carried on.
They also commenced making cast-steel saws, which had previously been
exclusively imported from England; and this branch has steadily increased
in importance.
Matthew Smith, a man of uncommon ability and business talents, died in
1842. The business was then continued by Richard M. Hoe, with his two
brothers, Robert Hoe and Peter Smith Hoe,—the eldest, as before, taking
charge of the mechanical department, in which his industry and fertility
of invention are attested by the number and value of his patents. In
1837, he patented here and in England his method of grinding circular
saws, by which the thickness of any part of a saw can be regulated with
accuracy. In 1846, he brought out the so-called “Lightning Press,” or
Type-Revolving Printing Machine, described in the text,—the greatest
innovation on the routine of the printing craft since the days of
Gutenberg. This press entirely superseded all others for fast printing,
and was introduced into the principal offices, not only in this country,
but in England, Scotland, Ireland, and Australia.
In 1858, the firm purchased of Isaac Adams, of Boston, Massachusetts, his
entire patent-rights, together with his establishment for the manufacture
of his bed-and-platen book printing presses, and various machines for
binders’ use, which they continue to conduct there, though with increased
facilities and many improvements. Their works in different places now
cover thirty-five city lots, or about two acres, and give employment
to nearly six hundred hands. The office and warerooms of the house in
England are at 13 Salisbury Square, Fleet Street, London, one of the
partners, being a resident in that city, attending to the business there.
[18] While publisher of a paper in Catskill, he produced within a week,
aided by some village mechanics, a press for his own use. With the
exception of a stone bed, the principal parts were made entirely of
wood. It was a flat-bed press, having a series of impression cylinders
connected by an endless chain, by means of which they passed over and
around the bed continually. He called it the Chain-running Press. It
was employed by Frank Leslie to print an edition of his _Illustrated
Newspaper_.
[19] R. Hoe & Co.’s Catalogue.
[20] Adapted from Savage.
[21] Adapted from Savage.
[22] Mostly from the _Paper and Printing Trades Journal_, London.
[23] For other words beginning with _im_, _in_, _ir_, or _un_ negative,
look for the simple word.
[24] Incapable of suffering.
[25] Capable of suffering.
[26] Published by E. C. Markley & Son, Philadelphia. An excellent book.
[Illustration]
[Illustration: ET FACTA EST LUX.]
[Illustration]
_ESTABLISHED, 1796._
_MacKellar, Smiths & Jordan Foundry,
LETTER FOUNDERS,
Nos. 606-614 Sansom Street, Philadelphia._
_This establishment, the oldest in America, has kept even pace with all
the improvements in type-founding; and its productions at the present
day, in beauty of style, accuracy of standing, and durability of
material, are all that skill, ingenuity, and long experience have been
able to effect. Neither pains nor expense will be withheld to maintain
its reputation._
Book and Newspaper Faces.
Some are of light and dainty face, others of medium, and others again
of broad and massive character. THE LIGHTFACE SERIES; the FRENCH-FACE
SERIES; the celebrated SCOTCH-FACE SERIES, introduced by us many years
ago; the BOOK SERIES; the LARGE-FACE SERIES; the CLASSIC SERIES; the NEWS
SERIES; the BROADFACE SERIES; the MODERN SERIES; the ORIGINAL OLD STYLE
SERIES; the BRADFORD SERIES; the BINNY SERIES; the RONALDSON SERIES; the
MACKELLAR SERIES, and all others introduced by us, are kept constantly on
hand, in large and small founts.
German Book and Newspaper Faces,
Of various styles, also kept on hand or furnished to order.
Elegant Scripts and other Note and Circular Types,
In great variety of styles, for all kinds of Notes, Blanks, and Circular
Printing.
Greek, Hebrew and Music Type.
MUSIC TYPE without an equal in America, or a superior in the world. The
sizes are Excelsior, or half-Nonpareil, Diamond, Agate, and Nonpareil.
GREEK and HEBREW of all practical sizes.
Fancy and Ornamental Type,
Unrivalled for beauty, originality, extent, and variety. In this
department, native and foreign genius and inventive skill are alike laid
under contribution, and no other foundry in the world can furnish so
complete and beautiful an assortment.
Borders, Flourishes, Corners and Ornaments,
For finest artistic and ornamental printing, to meet every requirement of
the printer.
Cuts and Ornaments,
For general use, from more than three thousand subjects, many of them
very fine.
Office Furnishings.
CABINETS of various kinds and prices. STANDS, double or single, or made
in different styles to order, of walnut or poplar. CASES of all kinds.
IMPOSING STONES of regular sizes constantly on hand; special sizes and
styles got up to order. GALLEYS of all kinds, either wood or brass.
STEREOTYPE BLOCKS, with or without rule borders. CHASES of wrought or
cast iron. COMPOSING-STICKS of all kinds, large and small. RACKS for
cases. INK STONES. Card, Paper, Lead and Rule Cutters. Labour-Saving Wood
Rule. Labour-Saving Wood Furniture. Labour-Saving Curvatures. Furniture,
Quoins, Mallets; Shooting-Sticks of brass, iron or dogwood; Planers,
Bodkins, Ley and Washing Brushes, &c.
Eureka Cabinets.
Size to fit in space at left of double stand. Stained in
imitation of cherry.
SORT-CASE CABINET.—Contains eight drawers, each divided into
sixteen compartments. It will be found useful as a receptacle
for quads, leaders or sorts.
HANDY CABINET.—Contains five drawers, arranged to hold twenty
different sizes of spaces and quads, and eight blank drawers,
for cuts or large type.
GALLEY CABINET.—No. 1, for twenty-four single and fourteen
double column galleys. No. 2, for forty-eight single galleys.
No. 3, for thirty-four double galleys.
INK CABINET.—Contains four compartments for ink, &c., and
marble slab 18 × 20 inches on top, for mixing inks.
CHASE CABINET.—Arranged to contain one-eighth, one-quarter, and
one-half medium chases. With or without ink stone.
COMBINATION CABINET.—No. 1, contains four blank drawers, three
sort-case drawers, and four quad drawers. No. 2, contains four
sort-case drawers and six quad drawers.
QUAD CABINET.—Contains twelve drawers, each divided into two
compartments, suitable for quads or leaders.
Labour-Saving Leads and Slugs.
Two and three point (six and four-to-Pica) LEADS, from 48 to 300 points
(4 to 25 ems Pica) in length; put up in any useful quantity. Six and
twelve point (Nonpareil and Pica) SLUGS, cut to same lengths. Cases
arranged specially for Labour-Saving Leads and Slugs.
Labour-Saving Quotation Furniture.
Accurately cast, and equally valuable either as furniture or as
quotations. The pieces range from 48 to 240 points in length, and from 24
to 48 points in width, quadrate height, with suitable spaces.
Reversible Metal Furniture,
For imposition of forms and general blank-work. Cast to our standard 12
point body.
Labour-Saving Rule,
(Matching our standard type bodies,) Single, Double, Parallel, Dotted,
and Triple faces. Cut accurately of various lengths. It will be found of
vast utility in tabular and job work, rendering the use of shears and
file entirely unnecessary. Cases furnished specially adapted to it.
Brass Circles and Ovals,
Of various sizes and faces, for label and stamp borders.
Slotted Brass Corners,
Of beautiful original patterns, matching our brass rules.
Hollow Quadrates,
For the easy formation of Circles, Ellipses, &c., made in sizes to suit
our Brass Circles and Ovals, from Nos. 1 to 13.
Corner Quadrates,
On 12 point and 6 point Metal and 2 point Brass bodies.
Printing Presses and Ink.
Presses of the most celebrated makers in the United States, as well as
all varieties and colours of American and Foreign PRINTING INKS, SIZES,
BRONZES, VARNISHES, &c. at manufacturers’ prices.
Roller Composition.
Glue for Rollers, and the various Patent Compositions, furnished to order
at manufacturers’ prices.
Electrotyping
Of Almanacs, Jobs, Wood-Cuts, Labels, Binders’ Stamps, &c.
Wood Engraving.
Cuts designed and engraved to order in the finest style of art.
Outfits for Printing Offices.
Estimates given in detail (with the cost) of all the materials required
for either Newspaper or Job Offices.
_MACKELLAR, SMITHS & JORDAN FOUNDRY,
Nos. 606-614 Sansom Street,
Philadelphia._
PRINTERS’ TEXT-BOOKS.
A Manual of Typography, containing Practical Directions for Managing all
Departments of a Printing Office, as well as Complete Instructions for
Apprentices. Eighteenth Edition. Revised and Enlarged. Price, $2.00. By
mail, $2.10.
“Most successful of the books of this class known to
me.”—_Correspondent of the Archiv für Buchdruckerkunst_,
Leipzig.
“Any intelligent person will find this work a serviceable
companion.”—_Journal of Commerce_, Chicago.
“A neat volume, beautifully printed.”—_L’Imprimerie_, Paris.
“The most complete work on the subject.”—_Daily Free Press_,
Atchison, Kansas.
“A great amount of curious information, historical and
illustrative.”—_Evening Post_, New York.
“The result of intelligent research and considerable personal
experience.”—_The Nation_, New York.
“This is taken as the standard American treatise on practical
printing, and is eminently worthy the high reputation it has
attained.”—_Springer’s History and Mystery of Printing._
Wilson’s Punctuation.
A Treatise on Punctuation, designed for Printers, Letter-Writers,
Authors, and Correctors of the Press. Price, $1.50. By mail, $1.60.
“It is an excellent work for schools and academies, and for
those who would become self-taught.”—_Christian Freeman._
“We have never before met with any work on Punctuation which
gave us so great satisfaction as this.”—_The Student._
“This is a useful and valuable work on English Punctuation, and
every one can read it with profit and pleasure.”—_Boston Daily
Atlas._
“It contains all the necessary directions for self-taught
writers and editors.”—_American Whig Review._
American Encyclopædia of Printing.
Comprising (with plates) 550 imperial octavo pages, giving more than
sixteen hundred definitions, descriptions, and articles relating to the
History, Implements, Processes, Products, and auxiliary Arts of Printing;
splendidly Illustrated by more than two hundred Chromo-Lithographs,
Lithographs, Wood Engravings, Imitations of Water-Marks, Embossed and
Ruled Pages, etc. Edited by J. Luther Ringwalt. Price, $6.00.
Typographic Advertiser.
Elegantly printed, and furnished free to all Printing Offices. Needful to
those who desire to keep up with the improvements in Typography.
“This grand journal, the oldest in the country, maintains its
place in the van against all comers. Its typographic appearance
is unequalled in the world of printing, and a careful study
of its peerless specimen pages will do more to advance the
beautiful in job composition and presswork than all the tawdry
imitations of lithography, and badly designed and worse
executed rule work that has been thrust upon a suffering art
from Caxton to to-day. Its editorial management is as good as
its typography is handsome and artistic.”—_Springer’s History
and Mystery of Printing._
Money spent for good books is well invested; and in this day of
typographical progress, no active-minded printer can really afford not to
have the above works in his office library. Address all orders to
_MACKELLAR, SMITHS & JORDAN FOUNDRY,
Nos. 606-614 Sansom Street,
Philadelphia._
Transcriber’s Note
List of changes made to the text:
Page 273, “pressman” changed to “pressmen” (Many pressmen take
a dozen proofs)
Page 358, “Felonius” changed to “Felonious” (Felonious intent.)
Letter sounds in the alphabet tables were usually but not
always italicised—italic font has been added where it seemed
needed to standardise.
Inconsistent use of hyphens and old-fashioned spelling are left unchanged.
ന is used to represent a symbol described as “the Gothic M”. ⊏ and ⊐
are used to represent the primitive square-cornered forms of the Roman
numeral Ⅽ and its reverse Ↄ.
₰ is used for the proofreader’s “dele” mark, which inexplicably still
doesn’t have its own Unicode codepoint.
[symb] is used for characters which have no sufficiently close Unicode
equivalent, and these are included as illustrations in the HTML version.
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