The southern press., 1851-09-05
D'sss0sKApHY.~-A correspondent Of Nor
toms Liteyayy Aduertissr. ia chapter upon this


DssIsosKApHY.--A correspondent Of Nor
TONS Literary Adcertissr, ia chapter upon this
topic, furnishes the following interesting facts
Manuscripts preserved from ancient times,
before the invention Of printing aud books had
superseded their use, are distinguished either a.
Autographs, viz written BY the author himself.
or copies, which of course are Transcribed from
the former. Such OF these as have been ex-
ciuded from the influence Of the air for long
time, and have acquired mineral nature, are
called b'olsotetha- great ma ny Of these have
been discovered by an'iquarics in old disinterred
Greek, Roman, and Egyptian urus and vessels.
fncunabuta or PaLGotApo. is the name for the
Oldest printed books, which were Issued from
the origin Of printing, until the end Of the 18th
or the first quarter of the 10th century. TO
most of these firstIing books there are no title
pages, the text beginning on the very first page.
or sometimes preceded merely by an index. III
te-pages have only been used since 1885. The
place and year Of publication, and the name of
the printer, are frequently omitted and where
such Information is given it is in Latin II the
date Is named, the number is either expressed
| by Arabic figures or Latin characters, and not
| unfrequently differs from the one which may be
found at the end Of the volume. correspond
ing difference is occasionally observable even
between the several volumes of the same work
Quaint and uneven characters, multiplied ab-
brevIatlons, want Of signature Marks and strong
paper resembling parchment, are the peculiar in
dications by which the oldest printing may be
recognized. The characteristics Of the different
eras In the history of the art of printing, show
distinctly the successive stages through which
this noble art had to pass before she could APP
pear in the elegant and highly finished garment
of the present day.
Some photographs consider the work entitled
"A call to all Christendom to take up arms
against the Turks published at Augsburg in
l454, to be the first printed book; according to
others, the Psaterium, issued not before 1857,
Is the Oldest document Of Typography Among
Libraries rich in lncunabula, is the royal library
OF Munich, which possesses about $500, and
among these a German Bible Of l466, is per
haps the most valuable
Under the term Rrre Books are compre
hended those of which only few copies exist,
or which cannot be produced without great diff
fculty.
Books printed before l470 are among the
'raresl,' those of the decennium from l47c-8O
are generally regarded as 'rarer' works, all the
other books issued up to 500 are simply hon
ored with the predicat rare
Besides the Iacunabua Rare Works, that
have gained certain distinction either by their
curious contents, by their permanent value, by
their elegant appearance, or by comments on the
margin, the autographs of celebrated men, in
whose possession they have befn
The first editions Of the Greek and Roman
classes, called 'Editiones Princpes,' are very
valuable and rare. Amony the editions are ia
vorably known the Elzi,ir, the Bipont, and
Leipzig"
The following paragraph, which we find in an
exchange, makes mention of an older printed
work than those mentioned in the above:
"The first edition of the Bible in print, ap-
peared at Mcntz, between the years 1850 and
l455. 1t was beautifully executed, with clear
type, lustrous ink, and on good paper-contain-
ing 1882 pages OF this edition, but eighteen
copies are now known to be in existence. four
of which are printed on vellum Two of these
latter are in England, one in Berlin, and one in
Paris. Ten Of the rest Of these eighteen are
in England. The New York Mirror saws:
James Lcnox, ESQ.,, of this city, has copy in
his library which was purchased by Mr. David
Davidson, (agent for Messrs. Wiley and Put
nam,) at auction, in London l848, for the sum
OF E500 sterling, or about $4,000, including
freight and charges. The custom-house Of
ilcers passed it free of duty in consideration of
its being curiosity. 1t is the only one COM
plete copy on tbis side of the Atlantic"
OLD CANALS OF EGYPT.-At recent meeting
May goth, of the institu ion of civil engineers.
England, paper was read on the Isthmus of
Suez and the ancient canals of Egypt, by Joseph
Glynn, c. E. 1t was very interesting paper
About 500 years before the Christian era, Darius
iystapis made canal from the Nile to the Red
Sea. 1t was in some places $50 feet wide and
80 feet deep. 1t passed through the valley TO
the Bitter Lakes, and was navgabIe for vessels
of considerable size when the Nile was high II
llso served for the supply of the cities with wate-
The ancients assumed that there was difference
,f level between the Red Sea and the Medtera-
mean, and precautions were taken to prevent the
salt water of the Red Sea from mixing with the
Nile. This canal fell to decay, but was restored
Ibout GA A. ID, by the Turkish Caliph Omar,
Who introduced many improvements,and brought
he canal to join the Nile near to Cairo.
The general decay of Egypt brought about
iecay of this canal again, and it became choked
Up, 100 years afterwards, and for a thousand
ears IT remained so, and was almost forgotten
until Napoleon, that wonderful man, went to
egypt He directed the eminent engineer Lee
ERE to survey 1t and report. The length was
bout ninety three miles, through low, barren.
N1 P'"ihf anu da'tioinp many laDOOH8 ana
axes, offering bat few difficulties to engineering.
"a Pere reported that the rise Of high water in
he Red Sea was feet, in the Mediterranean !
DOT; and the surface Of the former was stated
o be very high at high water, above low water
n the latter Mr.. Robert Stephenson was pre-
ent at the meeting and as he had but recently
eturned from Egypt, he stated that the low
gater in the Red Sea and the Mediterranean were
IDENTICAL, and that La Pere made great mis-
AXE, which he attributed to a hasty survey made
0 time Of war
The possibility of restoring this ancient cannl
Tas discussed There is ridge at the present
loment at the end of the Red Sea, towards the
Utter Lakes, consisting of fossils identical with
hose of the London basin, caused by peologi-
al upheaval which had changed the features of
he district. 1t has been considered that the
litter Lakes were once al the headwaters of the
led Sea, and the ruins of cities and towns around
i've evidence Of the region being at one time
cry fertile IL was the land Of Goshen red
nth a fresh stream from the canal of Sesostris,
nd from it Like Temsah was supplied with
txfat. <~,o, e. A