Saturday press. [volume] (Honolulu, H.I.) 1880-1885, 1884-10-04

which II uenrly 4 900 years old and
which contains. rs claimed by Mr..
George Smith. n record Of the food
The ancients frequently cut inscriptions
aud records Of important events into
stones which formed thcir monuments
aud temples. Tho brickmakcrs Of As
syria, Persia and Egypt hal their own
marks ind utcd into the clay with the
corner of q burnt brick A stylus, sharp
A. one end aud blunt at the other, made
and erased letters in tablets Of soft wax.
The Roman male Kind Of book 10y
binding together few WAX covered slips
Of wood.
We are much indebted for our knowl-
edge Of the past To- ink. Black ink was
sold like ludia ink, and made from
ampblack and glue. The letters on the
rnpyrus or parchment stood ont in re.
lief Occasionally, red and green inks
were employed. Emperors sometimes
signed in purple ink. This was 90.
tanned from the beautiful morox, tho
secretion at first being yellow, the light
changing it TO u variable violet Cicero
says that an ink was made from the
liquid which the cutie fish discharges
to dnrken To- water that il may escape
when pursued. Silver aud gold ink
beautifcd violet parchment It ia re-
ported that in Algiers the iron and galIic
acids Of two FLYERS flow together, the
mixture forming veriinble ink.
Nearly 5000 years ago block-books
were printed from engravings on wood,
by the Chinese and other Eastern ma
tons The Chinese have no sign for
mere sound, but use a symbol for each
word, and thus several thousand words
cut in wood were necessary. The Ger.
mans claim the credit Of introducing
printing, paper and newspapers into
Europe. They early printed playcards
aud legends Of the saints with wooden
bloaks and plates, perforated with novel
designs. In the early part Of the fif-
teenth century the block page was sep
nrated into letters, which permitted any
arrangement similar to the l8, 10, IA
puzzle. This was very valuable in
veution, and is claimed for both John
Gutenberg, of Strasburg, and Laurens
Roster, OF HARLEM. 1t is claimed in
1923, when Roster amused his children
one day in the woods by cutting their
names on the bark of trees, the idea
came Of making separate block letters,
and thus the invention OF movable type.
Guttenbug, his apprentice, assisted by
John Faust, used n wine press in stort.
ing printing Office at Mentz in 1925.
Peter Schoffer, one of Guttenberg's
workmen, first cast metallic type. which
so cheapened books that the masses
began to buy them. Manuscript books,
which were often the work of lifetime,
could be owned only by the rich.
A punch and matrix or mold is re-
quired for every kind of metallic letter
or character employed in printing. Few
people have sufficient skill 10 cut in on
the end of little pieces of soft steel the
finely proportional letter. When the
die is finished and hardened single
stroke stamps an impression in small
piece of copper, which is made to fit
into the bottom of little box or frame,
Into the top of this mold is poured
melted type metal. This is lead mixel
with anthony which hardens, and tin
and a little copper which tougher.
When the alloy has cooled, the mold,
made in two parts, opens on hinge,
and out drops new type. The grooves
in the bottom make them stand up erect,
and the nick in the side helps the com.
positor to tell when the type is right
side mp. The type wrapped in papers,
each letter by itself, is now ready for
sale. A font of type, or enough for
printing, includes large and small CAPT
tails small tters (more OF the letter q
than any other, italics, figures and
punctuation marks, nearly 200 different
characters in all.
The sizes mostly used are plea, small
plea, long primer bourgeois and BREWER
Great primer was formerly used in
largest old Bibles. Type smaller than
the BREWER is called minion, nonpareil,
agate, pearl, diamond and brilliant. Last
summer purchased in London an OK.
ford Bible, the smallest printed, contain
ing 1866, 4S0 letters. II is q diamond
type; and is only four and half inches
long, three inches wide, and about halt
an inch thick the usual size of sIqpll
Testament.
The smallest book ever printed With
type is microscopic edition called
Little Dante which was exhibited as
the Paris Exhibition. Its 500 tissue pages
contained the IA, 1913 verses of the " ni-
VIVA Commcdia," and the whole volume
is only two inches long. one aud three
eighth inches wide, and iiye-eighths OF an
inch thick. The best magnifying-glass
was used by the type setter and proof
reader. The tedious work occupied five
years in its completion, and ruined the
eyesight OF the compositor, Raised type
for the blind was invented by Able Valen.
tine Haus, Frenchman. Leeds Mer.
curry.
fDfStN AND fHE GooSE'S EG6s
have spoken about Edison's patience
aud perseverance. A funny story. the
truth of which several OF his friends at
lest, has been told me by one of his en-,
thnsiastic admirers To throw into reIie
these quaiitiet Gaudors, as rural f1lh
we'll know, hog with their wings chill
dren who Al pw themselves disposed /,
Interfere with Matching eggs whor