The Weekly Perrysburg journal. [volume] (Perrysburg, O. [Ohio]) 1861-1???, 1863-11-04
Srlrtt a}(istrllaup,
An Egyptian Printing Omce.

correspondent writing from Cairo To
the Boston IdrcriSer, gives the following
description OF government printing Office
in that city:
After this, VIC next visited the govern
mcnt printing -ol)icc, which is situated in n
large building near the banks of the Nile.
In the spacious court yard about which the
various apartments arc placed, we found at
the door of the room which we first entered
a picturesque group of two Arabs seated
upon Il carpet i'll the open air engaged in
proofrcading. One held the copy and the
other the proof.shcct, making queer little
Arabic characters on the margin rs the pro
ceedcd. Ptusing but a moment here. we
| entered tho apartment, where we found
! Arab worlmcn engaged in all the processes
of the composing of any printing Of
flee. The Arabic alphabet naturally con-
! tainS but twcnty-elgh letters, but the printed
alphabet rcquiI cs many more types ON ac.
count OF the double letters and COmbina
tons necessary hy reason of the peculiar
shape of the characters, in the same way
that tho English printed alphabet requires
a distinct type for the combinations, because
the separate + and can not stand together.
| The composing stick is made to hold sin
gle line only. As the Arabic reads from
]
left to right, was puzzled at first by OBJ
serving that the compOsitor proceeded TO
set lettcrs in the same way as we do, from
right to left--but the mystery was explained
on closer observation when noticed that
he reversed or inverted each typo as he
put it in pacc-so that his line was always
upside down; this is the reason why they
can have but one line ut n time III the stick.
II this were otherwise, all tho work would
need to be done left handed. After finish
! ing line, and justifying it with the space,
as with us. the compOsitor cmpties it into a
galley which he keeps by his side. A suf-
| iiCcut number of lines is made up into a
page, always surrounded hy q double brass
| rule and then tied about with string, as
with us. | saw man taking a proof,
using the palm of his hand to impress the
damp paper on the types, just as | used to
effect my earliest juvenile printing indeed
it is very good way. From the compos-
| ing-room | went into the press-room, which
is another large apartment opening from the
central court or quadrangle. Hero are no
less than fifteen hand.prcsses of the COM
mon form, of which four or five were in OPP
Grafton, pulled by brawny Arab prcssmen,
with bright Arab boys to manage the ink
rollers. One of the presses was working
! off sheets of the Koran in handsome oc-
tavo edition. noticed that it was printed
from movable type and not from stereotype
/ plates, as should have thought would be
! apt to be the case with such standard
work. Another press was working of
sheets of a manual of tactics for soldiers in
! the army "Scott or " IlardCe" of the
| PaCha's service. ! subsequently found the
| photographic press printing the self-same
sort of illustrations or diagrams Of the move
ments as those to which we have lately be-
come so much accustomed in our studies
| for the drill club at home. The work is
neatly done, and the register carefully pre-
served by points, as upon our best presses.
! From the prcssrOom | went 10 the type
! foundry, another large apartment, on the
principal court. We found here Arabs en-
gagged in the familiar processes of casting
type, with implements Of the European and
! American fashion, but they said their ma.
triccs were made in Egypt. They cast a
very clean, nice type. ! next went to the
photographic room, another large apartment
on the ground floor, where are at least six
or eight photographic presses, several OF
them at work. About the room were large
numbers of photographic stones. The bind
cry completed the circuit Of apartments on
the ground floor here the ordinary pro.
ccsses of book.binding wcrc performed
with such changes III tho manipulation only
as result from the fact that Arabic books
have the titlc-page at the end. Among the
books which they were binding was a
Treatise on Algebra. | next went up stairs
into one or two lofts, where printed sheets
as yet unbound, are stored; here were
masses of the Koran. and of Commentaries
ON the Koran and other works.