Dodgeville chronicle. [volume] (Dodgeville, Wis.) 1862-current, 1868-10-23
Seleftea alisselIaay.
The Alden Type-Setter.

IHIS was UrSL QeVlSeu ny lluOtuy al
den, an immigrant from Massachusetts, in
1910. He had a little workshop
in this city-we think in the old
Harlem depot-where he planned
and worked till 1857, when the Alden ma
chine was patented. He had SO devoted
himself to his idea, that it finally got the
two years after his success, killed him. A
nephew Of his, however, Mr.. Henry W.
Alden, took up the matter and formed
company, which still exists. Mr.. Charies
+. Livermore, is the President; Mr. Jc,s;,sr.
Low, the Vice President Andr' ~ v
Stout, Secretary; and Mr.. Alder Iron e.
urer. Since Mr.. Timothy Aldo No death
many mechanical and most ir anorta nj i'm ,
provements have been mad !, hv Mr. 7 n
Slingerland, who has br' night If to If.
present state.
The present mach mo one of which ia
on exhibition at .he manufactorv of the
company on IF >mpkins Square, is entirely
horizontalin olar and presents m the he appear. ]
ance OF a cable about three feet high. The
compc,attor sits at a cylinder key board,
on which four rows of keys are arranged
vertically. These communicate directly
with eight rods, and by means of "per-
by different combination of some of
these rods. Thus one letter-Key pushes
the seventh and eighth, another only the
fifth, another the first, third, fourth, and
seventh, and so on. These rods act on
the revolving wheel at the back of the
machine, which is armed with one hun
dred (verticaD rows of eight movable pins
each. One row of the pins is pushed out
to correspond with the communication OF
the rods at each touch on the key board
around this wheel, in a three quarter Cir
Gle OF SIX feet diameter, are rows of type
arranged in radii of the circle, under each
OF which is key corresponding to the
Formulation of the pins for that letter
When certain letter is called for on the
pins, they strike this key and the letter is
pushed out from its channel and taken up
In its proper order by little fingers on the
revolving Wheel, and with long row OF
its fellows is pushed out just behind the
key-cylinder at the front.
In the old machine the type had to be
maize of thirteen different thicknesses and
especially for the machine. By this ma
chine the ordinary type are used, after
having been nicked on one side to cores
pond with the respective combinations on
the pins. The old machine contained
merely in its key board over thirteen hum
dred pieces; this key-cylinder contains
one hundred and thirty, while the whole
apparatus at present contains only twelve
hundred pieces, all told. The machine,
with one person at the keys and one to
justify-that is arrange the words in lines
Of the proper length and put the necessa-
ry space between-Tuns off four thousand
ems an hour, meanwhile distributing as
Y,,tJnI This 10 4 ha xxy0rlx Of
compositors. 1L-L4~l IA o44J
The distributing process is almost ex-
actly the reverse of composing, but is alto
gether automatic. The "dead" matter is
placed on bed to the right of the key
cylinder, and is taken UP line by line as
each is exhausted. The types are taken
up by distributing transits in the revolv-
, ing wheel, and by means of the hicks,
registered as before, transferred to the
channel whence each started. Extra
spaces, ETC., placed in during justification,
are tipped out at the end of the channels.
All unnicked type are thrown out into a
( separate box, italics into another.
A full font OF type, accents, italics, small
caps and all, contains $50 pieces. Of these
Jhe machine sets up only the ordinary
small letters, and full capitals, the figures
and signs. 1t is, therefore, scarcely avail
able for newspaper work, but will prob
ably some day be generally used for books,
where there is plenty of time and good
deal of uniformity. Several books have
indeed, been printed thus for the Messrs
Appleton. The machines at present cost
$4,000 each. The great objections are
first, their expense; secondly, their com,
plication thirdly, the difficulty of supply
ing fresh type when one letter is especially
called for. Mr., Slingerland, who keeps
up a wonderful thinking about these
things all the time, proposes to obviate
these difficulties by building two machines
one for composing and one for distribut
ing which viii be much simpler and will
cost but 81 200 for the pair.
A STEREOTYPE MACHINE.
A crude machine, which, however, con.
tains the germ of a process by which most
of our printing will some day be done
was exhibited a year or two ago in Grand
street by a man named Nelson. IN appa
ratus on the same principle was also ex
hibited by some one at the Paris Exposi
tion. In this but one type of each sort j;
used, which is arranged at the end of &
key lever, and imprints itself in the proper
place on bed of clay moving automati
cally. This, when completed, is served a
the ordinary plaster casts for stereotypins
the liquid metal is poured in, and in
few moments we have complete stereotype
plates The work turned out was not yery
/ good, but as the idea has not yet beer
worked up, and the machine will be cheap
simple and quick, we think there is con
! siderable ground tor our prophecy above
: --lNsso York Nal 81
Spain at this moment possesses no les