The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1882-10-14
ABOUT PRINTING.

ABOUT PRINTING.
Different styles of Type and Their ORR
gin Type Founding and the Wood
Press-When Printing was First Intro
duced into Various Countries.
Movable types were not used till the fif-
teenth century. Books We're printed by
the Chinese and other Eastern nations from
engraved blocks long before the invention
,ssJf type The first types were OF wood.
The same material is still much used for
the larger varieties of letters. johannes
Gutenberg is generally believed to have
been the first to manufacture movable types.
The finest letters were characters initiating
handwriting Roman type was first made
in 1865. Italic about the year 1000.
Type founding was part Of the business
of a printer, and was declared distinct
art by decree of the Star chamber in 1857.
The largest size of type used for books Is
great primer; the smaller sizes are English,
plea, small plea, long primer, bourgeois,
minion, nonpareil, agate, pearl, diamond
and brilliant. Pearl is the smallest type
found in ordinary printing Offices Agate
is the smallest type used for setting adver-
tisements in any American newspaper. 1t
is in favor with those papers which, from
their large editions and the great demand
for their columns, are necessltated to econ
omize space. In America printers are paid
by the 900 ems (M, an EN- being equiv
alent to about two letters; in England the
matter is measured by ems (N,) 1000 of
which are equal to 1000 ems.
In type-founding the formation OF the
punches constitutes the initial step. A
punch is an exact prototype OF the cast let
ter. so far as the face Of it is concerned
After this original has been formed by the
means of cutting, punching and filing, it is
hardened, and its face being struck into a
piece of copper matrix is formed. This
matrix is fitted with the greatest nicely
into carefully adjusted piece of mechan-
ism called mold. An alloy, consisting of
lead, tin, antimony and sometimes copper,
is poured, in molten state, into this mold,
and when the metal sets the type is dex-
trously and quickly removed Although
these operations are sufficiently complicated
an expert workman will cast in an hour
500 types. When the letters leave the
mold several operations have to be per-
formed upon them in order to render them
fit for the printers purpose.
Originally all impressions from types
were taken by means of the hand press, the
inventor of which is unknown. The earli-
est form of it bore a very close likeness to
the common wine or cider press, with the
addition of a contrivance for running in the
forms when linked under the pressure, and
out again when the impression had been
taken. This rude piece of mechanism was
improved upon by William Jansen Blaew;
an assistant to the illustrious astronomer
Tycho Brahe. The hand press is still used,
without any improvement, in the majority
of the country newspaper offices. Hand
presses are also used in large Offices where
very fine and perfect work is required.
Ink rollers are made Of mixture Of glue
and molasses, and were invented by one
Gannal, a glue manufacturer of Paris.
Printing ink consists essentially of mix
ture of lamp-black, fnely-divided carbon
and clarified linseed oil-the lamp-black to
be obtained from the smoke of naptha.
The first introduction of printing into
| various countries was as follows: Subbiaco,
Italy, in 1865; in Barcelona, Spain, 1475;
in England, (Westminster,) l474; in Paris,
1869; in Abyssinia, 1921; in Mexico, 1850;
in the East Indies, (Goa,) J 1877, in Peru,
Lima 1886; in North America, (Cam-
bridge, Boston and Philadelphia, 1910
The pioneer presses of America were estab-
lished as follows: At Cambridge, Mass
1929; at Philadelphia, Pa, 1886; at New
York, N. Y, 1892; at New London, Conn.
1909: at Annapolis, Md, 1926; at Will
liamsburg, Va, 1920; at Charleston, S. c..
1870; at Newport, R. l., 1872; at Wood
bridge, N. j., 1852; at Newburn, N. c..
1855; at Savannah, Ga, 1862. In the
wear 1913 Ant Ruber at Nuremberg, Ger
many, had twenty-four presses and one hun
dred printers in his employ, and kept book
stores at Frankfort, Liepsic, Amsterdam
and Venice. The type then used was in
tended to initiate writing, and partook ot
the character of gothic and script Ii
punctuating they employed no marks a
first other than the period and colon; al
oblioue stroke was afterward introduced
and fulfilled the purpose of the comma
Pages had neither running title nor mum
Der. The division of words and sentence
was very imperfect, and the language wa
not divided into paragraphs. Capital let
ters were not used to commence sentence
nor in proper names No rules seem t,
have regulated their photography, whicl
was entirely without method, and their ab
breyiations were so numerous as to caus
the necessity in time of publishing bool
of directions by which they could be read
But one kind of letter was used through
out. Dates were often omitted, and tn
name of the printer when given was places
at the end of the book. To Aldus Manu-
thus, an eminent printer in 1870, we ar
indebted for the semi-colon, and also TO
present form of the comma. He also lai'
down rules now observed in regard to thei
use. The notes of interrogation and eZ
clamation were not added till some year
later, and it is not known by whom.
| u law WdS 1IdlucQ StO dIlc III 1Of1 CO1n
pelling all public booksellers to keep book
to lend out on hire The readers of tn
Times will be surprised at the idea of a Gil
culating library in the middle ages l-bu
there can be no doubt of the fact; they wer
established at Paris, Toulouse, Vienna an
Boulogne. These public Librarians, to'
!, were obliged to write out regular catalogue
of their books and hang them up in the
: shops, with the prices affixed, 50 that th
| student might know beforehand what /
had to pay for reading them.
> What powerful engine for creating
3 taste for literature among the people of IL
i United States is the newspaper, and almo
! every village has its ewspaper-and the
$ are offered at SO small price as to pla'
8 them within the reach of all-and In
: country where every one reads the infuen'
s of such power as public educator ca