The Express.
London, England, 1851-06-28 00:00:00

THE EXPRESS, SATURDAY, EVENING JUNE, 28, 1851.

While speaking of cheapens, we must not omit s,
leek whief4,4bpielknot ensfilliket,i, Asint of the
*lion.- Official C.enfaiie; for ten-
RellOii with itsWrenty Ayes of closely prise matter, is
the .egnised Islracle of lanionritsokicsl economy.
...Mee, cost, viefity and hniiityl of production are claimed
:lay the printers of- the present day as the elements of their
superiority over their predeceners. In essential qualities,
such as the beauty and accuracy of workmanship, the Crys-
tal Palace, as we have said, affords no specimens which
were not, or might not have been, rivalled by the articles
sold at the first I,eipsic fair, nearly two centuries' ago. But
if we enlarge our definition of the term " printed paper,"
we eater upon a domain where the modern producer has it
aL his own way. A totally new genus of this article has
grown np of late years, in regard to which execution and
art are still in the infancy of development. The
beginnings of this novel invention were very mo..
dest. Its first idea was derived from the Lan-
cashire mills and the cheap printed calicoes therein
produced. While the patterns were transferred to the
woven tissues only through the primitive medium of wooden
blocks, a rough imitation of the process was contrived with
respect to paper by rubbing a coloured paste through the
apertures of a perforated plate. This was called stencilling,
and in the more expensive qualities several platei were sue
cessively used, and a more elaborate pattern produced by
the superposition of different colours, in the same manner
as the figured calicoes were variegated by a multiplicity of
wood-blocks, but of course partaking of the same faults in
'tie unavoidable inaccuracies of junction and coincidence
and the general coarseness of execution, which no care of
die workmen could entirely remove. Presently the great
improvement was accomplished by the Lancashire manufac-
turcrs of printing by rollers. A wide range was thus
opened to the application of taste and design in the patterns
to be transferred to the bleached cloth:, and at the same
time the cost dwindled by rapid degrees, until it has become,
even for the most beautiful and intricate figures, a mere
fraction of that charged for the simplest check or spot of a
single colour, not many years ago. Following, as before, in''
the wake of the calico printer, and adopting his in-
ventions, the manufacturer of printed paper is now able to
produce articles of singular beauty for ornamental pur-
poses, with many capabilities to fulfil more utilitarian ends,
and bordering, if they do net reach, the domain of high art.
But, whether art or manufacture, it presents a branch of
production of which we see as yet only the beginning. I
Most of the processes arc still novel and imperfect. What
has been done serves but to hold forth a promise for future
attainments. And the result will be, to give further de-
velopment to one of the best prerogatives of modern
science. Through another region of industry will be ex-
tended the power to multiply, cheapen, and popularise the cre-
ations of artistic genius ; to place before the eyes of the poorest
classes graceful forms, picturesque groupings, and colours
harmoniously Went, in.ensibly tesching them that refine-
ment of taste from which a refinement of manners and an
elevation of character are safe to follow at uo distant
interval.

The English ,specimens of this description of printed ,
paper are scanty and somewhat mediocre in character. In
many respects they fall short of what we have seen outside
the walls of the Industrial Exhibition. There are a few
coloured maps showing the useful purposes for which chro-
motypy may be employed, some tolerable specimens of Mu.
minattl printing, and a large collection of fancy paper bor-
. eler.al with flowers, arabesques, &c., in gold anti colours, of
which the Messrs. De la Itue and Co. are the chief exhibi-
tors. In France we find a large and varied selection, sup-
plied mostly by Parisian manufacturers. Drawing-room
and dining paper, printed in panels, exhibiting land-capes, ,
bouquets of flowers, allegorical figures, or intricate tra-
eerier, arc shown to suit the idiosyncrasy of every
apartment or the caprice of every decorator. Some are
gaudy rainbow-tinted designs, manifesting a fantastic, not to
say vulgar, taste. Others, again, are sober and sad-coloured
mien gh—fit for the admirers of Racine and legitimate t agedy.
Other, again, arc prepared for the study or school-room,
Easing ornament subserve to education, by lining the walls
iwith the representatian.s of historical incidents, heroic, or
mythological personages. Among these are two companion
panels exhibited by I'aul Mabrun of Paris, containing a
series of medallion portraits of the French and English
sovereigns, distinguished characters, from the earliest
period of authentic history. But for the highest example
of the excellence attainable in this branch of art we
must go to Austria. In the contribution from the
Imperial printing establishment at Vienna, already re-
ferred to, there hang ride by side a series of what
look at that sight like duplicate paintings, represent-
ing heads, flowers, fruit, a family group, &e. Further in-
spection shows that one individual of each pair is really is
painting very beautifully executed, and rich in colouring i
while its counterfeit resemblance is a copy of the same de-
sign, colour and all, identically reproduced by a process of
steam-printing. If we look closely, no doubt the inferio-
rity of the mechanical to the human artist becomes visible.
The down of the peach is not quite so filmy ; the tints of
the bouquet do not melt into one another by such delicate
shades. Still the fac-similes appear wonderful, especially
when we learn that while the paintings were executed at a
cost of 2:10 florins (25/.) for a single copy, the printed pic-
tures can be obtained by as many thousands as may please
to want them at the price of one shilling a piece !

although inferior to the use of the galvanic battery men-
tinted in our last notice, is a great improvement upon the
pmetice of using a rush filled with gunpowder.
By the side of this fusee are several blasting cartridges,
the object of which is to prevent the accidents Which occur
in tamping" or ramming the powder down with sand or
day, as well as to save the time which is taken up In dry-
ing blast holes that are wet. These cartridges are made of
all sizes, and by boring a piece of the above-mentioned
fusee down into the middle of the powder, it is fared in the
centre, and the greatest effect produced. They may also
be used under water. The fusee is invented by Mr. Brun•
ton, and the cartridge by Mr. Copeland, of Pendennis.
The mining tools used by the Cornish miners are ex-
hibited by Mr. Taylor.
An apparatus for ventilating coal mines is exhibited, to-
gether with a sectional model of a coal pit shaft, to Blue-
strate its working, by the inventor, Mr. Cawley, of Soho,
near Birmingham. The means by which he proposes to
remove the foul gases from the mine are the following : A
rerolfing fan is fitted into a close case, which is connected
with a series of sheet iron pipes fitting into each other ;
these are carried along the roof of the workings as far as
they extend, and into the cavities called " goofs," filled
with foul air. When a rotary motion is given to the fan
it acts as a pump, and draws up through the pipes all the
air which is contained in the gallery and passages of the
mine; this tends to create a vacuum, which is immediately
counteracted by the pure air which rushes in at the top of
the shaft, and replaces that which is removed by the
fan. The fan may be either an ordinary blade one, or
in the form of a screw, according to the circumstances of
the case. This apparatus is capable of displacing 7,000
cubic feet of air in one minute, when driven at a compara-
t;sely slow rate, and in about 30 minutes would so com-
pletely clear out the largest mine as to render it perfectly
safe. The expense attending its use is very small ; it can
be worked by the winding engine for about half-an-hour
before the miners go down. Another advantage is, that it
only requires one shaft, instead of making the expense of an
upcast and downcast shaft necessary.
Messrs. White and Grant, of Glasgow, exhibit a safety
cage for drawing up the materials or men from the
mines. Mr. Fourdriuier, of Sunderland, and Mr. Begg, of
Glasgow, also send similar inventions; they are essentially
the same in principle, although there arc some slight differ-
ences in their construction. The first has, in addition to
the contrivance for preventing its fall, a self-acting memo
of detachment from the drawing rope, the object of
which is to stop the cage from being dragged over
the wheel at the top ; an accident which not unfre-
quently happens when steam power is used for drawing.
A bolt fitting into a socket is fastened to it by means of a
pin to which a projecting arm is attached; when this comes
in contact with the drawing wheel the pin is immediately
withdrawn, and the bucket left suspended by its safety
springs. The two others have no provision of this kind.
They are to be found among the machinery in the north
west side.