The New Orleans bulletin. [volume] (New Orleans [La.]) 1874-1876, 1875-04-17
OUR GERMAN LETTER.
A Visit to tho Largest Music Publishing House
in the World-ObservatiOns Of New Or
lcanian Abroad.

European Correspondence Of the Bulletin.l
LEIPZIG, March %, 1875.
Among all classes of musicians, ladies or
gentlemen, amateurs or professionals, there is
not, perhaps, one in q thousand who has the
faintest idea of how their music is printed.
They admire the elegant design Of toned
and colored title-page, and the precise and
admirable manner in which the notes and
lines are printed, but few ever give thought
to the subject of how such neat work is done,
and fewer still could form any conception of
the pr ocess ifthey should chance to think oft
at all. but it is fair to presume that any intel
Egent musician, even among the fashionable
lady pianis.s Of society, will be interested in
learning something of the mechanical details
of an art to which all are indebted for the
possession Of quantities of cheap and elegantly
printed sheet music.
Such music is published all over the civil
lied world, and nowhere in better style than
in America, but our largest Boston and New
business very limited as compared with q
mammoth institution of q similar nature
which I have just visited in Leipsig. This
prodigious establishment o YES its existence
to the enterprise of Mr.. C. G. r eder, who l
suppose must be sole proprietor, as there is
no mention of any company in the style of
the firm. Wishing to make tour Of inspec-
ton through the building with double view
of acquiring information aud gratifying my
curiosity, obtained q card of introduction
from a leading American manufacturer in
Leipsig, and in presenting myself at the
Office was very politely received by the gentle
men in charge, who readily granted permits
sion to see the establishment, and sent one of
the under managers with me to show and
explain.
Accompanying this obliging and intellig ant
guide was firss ushered into he ground foor
department, in which the rougher operations
Of the process are conducted. Here l saw a
number Of ponderous machines. all hard at
work grinding the stones for lithographing.
This work is done by hand in many places,
the plan being to lay one stone on top of
ployee, with low wages, rubs the upper block
back and forth over the face of the lower one
keeping sand and water between them, by
which the two opposing surfaces are at length
brought to a proper degree of smoothness,
but in Mr.. Roeder's house the stone is fast
ened upon bed plate and revolving disc of
iron is made to pass repeatedly over its sur
face, being supplied with the requisite sand
and water, BY an attendant, SO that by
means of these labor-saving machines
the work is done with much
greater economy and rapidity than would be
possible by the slow hand process just de-
scribed. Passing little further along we en-
tered small room where the metallic plates
used for engraving music are cast. The man.
ner in which this casting is done is very sim
pie and ingenious. OF course it is desirable to
have the plates smooth on the surface and OF a
uniform thickness in order to print from them,
and the plan by which they are produced is
IS follows:
The metal, which is a soft composition like
pewter, is melted in large basin in the cor
ner, and the mould is simply long, smooth
board, covered with linen, and having little
ledge running along on each side to prevent
The liquid mt tai from running of.
There is q wooden box that just fits over !
these lodges, and when the operative is ready
TO cast sheet. he places this box at one end
81 the mould, fills it with the molten compo- |
,ition, and then with one sweeping motion,
carries it to the other end. by which a bril- |
liant and perfectly nooth plate of some ten
inches breadth and six feet in length is spread
upon the board. This is next cut in smaller |
plates, which after being drawn beneath a
kuife to give plain surface and to obtain the |
proper thickness. are ready Tor the engraver
Thus on the first floor the plates and stones
are prepared. On the same door my guide |
also showed me number Of large cylinder
presses quite similar to tnose used for news
papers, except til t they print from stones |
instead III from forms Of tyDa