Baton-Rouge gazette. [volume] (Baton-Rouge, La.) 1819-1856, 1850-12-07
The in1snt0r of Printing.

tie art Of printing. II vii bp esn by it
that not only IS the ttusrai Y fscpivett
| opinion. as IL WHO Is thp rtai tent II ol
this art. called in question but , 40 tie
ttms wien the invention occurred.
Under the heal Of "nisrorerias md T.,
tentions.' | fenl in lis Family thtist,rn
Atn1ttaa, hr 1880, page Sc, rs nil Iisiuti
ea iaet, printing Invented Ivy Fans'.
III niade pub ie by t,nrtenbnrg. 458
brought to England hy VIM Caxtcn.
iH1" This is not corlert the invpnlint
o' printing datlnl hs far bacs rs The yeal
1923
Nv Holland. Tor more correctly the Meth
er ands.) about niue miles from the me
tFoto is, isa city called laarlapn A benn
,llu forest or purE borIarcd with rotntr;
| seats, is rs it wpr". the eJtilrnt,i garden o
aII the citizens of lInnr'eTn. md seems. IL
the warm se;tsp,i. to invite one tn n wall
nuier The shaAy f. IL te yf onk trees the
| H. 70 uf which uust he counted by cent?
| rrs.
On n beautiful afternoon. in thr summer
Of the year liI3, citizen oi llaar EN-.
nnned Laurens Jnuszpon Roster. uiat
little over Gfiy years old, accompanied IL
iWp or three Of his grand children, went
70 The above mentioned park !!ayn
come to n cerfHiu srot--whl4'l ID called
to this day ''the eight point because it l.
tie central point Of eight latyus, which
cross tie park ii Nil directions. grandfather
| Roster tpyk possession Of QUE ot tbs iench-
es painted on His beautiful spot 70 PAS
| the time, he cut viii, n penknifa. from
| piece ot green wood, the first tbree ur fou,
| letters OF the alphabet. for the use Of hi
| grand children, as the first elnmeuts of tenl
| int. These letters we're So well finished
| that he thought it worth wlije to preserve
them, Ivy wrapping them Carefuily III
piece ol paper aud then putting them il
| lis pocket. IL tI,a evening. while slttln1
IL Tie mitlst of the faniy Gree, Eoatei
| Ind entirely for gotten his wood engfa ginM
nor did he dream of the cons seqnenora q
his sitting upon them. BIT going to f,ad
and undressing himself, be took tItH irtie
package out pt his coat pocket tnd OH,
,oH great was his u@to',i +hneut.. when
t.p n, opening it, lie bslieid his lett@rz pain
y printed on HE piper Whetgiu he had
wrapped then up
THIS simple event created in Roster
ingenious mind that Sublime idea. thfote,,
which tie art of printing originated. and
since light and Blessing have spread owe
the who earth.
Laufens Roster, practising the unite
anI e., tM+,IY rt,rt.
tnents that, after soine time, lls was abe
to prjnt with won1eh types and INK on pa
per, Not 'slnr, hiid wiser bY er ptrieuc
very day, lie bron fi't it IL n fev years So
lar tHai he cynd pf1nt book Wtrl, move
,b.e metallic types, tl,a first o,te printed h
llIn whs II school IS,k, IN Ief ttc tt,e Il
~piEabb cSztn DEuotbgats-4 -4 iIlTfor Of
snr Salvation
Roster not enpaIs Of nr al t71
work a'ons. got SONS hn,,ls tp assist him.
ind one OF them left llis honss olt Il eerthtt
ni-sl't and sst off Tor Menu. fahlut witt
afn great mHny oE the instruments,
types. &c, hnl brought, by this dlshons
at, the ar ot printing over to Germany
where Faust alh :Gntfpnbufg made -
uany further improvements, that every one
who behod3 the blessed results oF itc ar
If printing, III dtIt-lnI knowledge aud
wisdom over ai ths ehrth. wifi honor thetr
memory with praise aud gratitude, uncoll-
sctou5 HAT the honor Of the invention il
not theirs, but be 0uIs to Laurens Jan
szoou Roster.
Roster was born IN the year 80. md
died III Tie yepr 1f3J, Il il said that hc
was the Roster (.e. @extotl) Of the Cathe
lral OF lIaarIetn, his nI1ne h lng IAutcuz. |
tl'e son Of John, (IapszoonJ adding 70 tl,js |
the name Of his employment, wIn&h Vo
a very customary thing in tbat coHDtry. |
liz house WIS standing near the Catna.
dral. "hi on an oprn pau or mhrkef = ace
lost botween the clorGls aud bis Iouse. hi
grateful fellow citizens eIected some ii ne
ttter his death, his @tatne, which is stand
ing there til tins dny
But now some say, This y nll a fne
story, but where l4Jihe proof Of IT, tf0ta :
Piease read few lines more. y
More than two centuries passed away,
md not single soul in iinnrem. or III the
wIoe country doubted that l.. Jz. Roster
was the inventor Of printing. But in ioi.
owing tiYes Germany, aided hy TIE
French, attempted to undermine the
foundation on which the invention. "a ol,y
b songing to Roster, was grounded Uo.
aud saw this. aud, anxious TO bring the
truth to light. the iIaarIem Society d
<cl.uce, in 1903, offered premium Of
double golden medal (tvorth about five
hundred glli.ders) for the best written dis
serat,on on the question, "Whethef there
was any ground TO deny ilaarem the ~
gcntIon Of printing with moyeaI,e types,
Dy Lanrnz JaliszOou kostef, before the
y"ar lii0 -
The autweys were received, bnt none
ol them We're con 'dffcd {, merit the Of.
tered pdze aud three wears after the same
ane ton was published for competition
a very nnoisst man, who, for more than
twenty years had gathered and searched
for tlfese matters, yctt biz answer IN volume
about two inches thick) in 1914, to the
Iaar!cm Society Of Science. His work /,
pn IerWeut a most critical examination | I
bat "pralse and glory" was the ut'erance 4
Of the said Society in 1916, to the author, /
whore name proved to be jacobua konnty. j
lie was the man who had eloronsly de- 3
tended the honor Of Ilaarlem aud Roster i
who had called host OF witnesses from Z
the crave, by old books, old manuscripts, !
paper marks. escntcheona, &c, AMI all / i
l,nbt concerning the invention Of Roster +,
Iad vanished for ever. ID
II r
rights. celebrated, i'll the summer Of 1923.