The river press. [volume] (Fort Benton, Mont.) 1880-current, 1909-07-28
A Museum Of Printing
An Exhibit Which Recalls
How the Arctic Eagle, the
Earthest North Newspaper.
Was Printed. -

Was Printed. -
bert Durer served his apprenticeship
and 1t is almost useless to add that
he became the leading engraver, etch'
er, designer, painter and architect OF
his time and, in truth, a master artist
Of the world.
The Chronicle shows all the historical
personages from the time Of the crea'
ton to about the date Of fts pubfica.
ton. Adam, for instance, e given con
siderable free advertising, as there ID
no record that his heirs OF estate evel
paid for the space allotted him, and
perhaps that IL the reason we do moi
find his caree described in many Of
the more modern works Of a historical
or biographical nature. Adam IL shown
in all his pristine glory In the garden
Of Eden, and he . later shown to q
scoflng woe3d after Punishment there.
from. The imaginative Durer hat
sketched him afar of alone IN a bar
en- field, working q never ending fnr
row with a crudely fashioned garden
implement. He Is the original man
with the hoe. This illustration IL both
symbolic and ~portentous in that II
shows that the worlds f0st husband
for his misdeeds was compelled to &C
to work.
Strange as It may seem, the type.
founders museum evidences that the
best printing OF all time was done in
the early st1ges of the art. 1.-The
golden age Of printing was that first
half century that marked the growth
Of the typographical child into an &C.
tual, potential something-145O to 1900.
Those dates do not mean much to the
average citizen Of today-days Of in.
QUESTION, Of eye gouging, Of a clip
ping, Of burning alive, Of superstition
and %intolerablc bigotry and ignorance.
Yet between those dates the newly
fledged art Of printing rose to and
flourished at a height, at a degree Of
excellence, from an artistic viewpoint,
that Is ~unattained today. The libra
rian at the museum himself admits
that the finest specimen Of typograph-
ical work in the entire collection is a
book done by Nicholas Jensen at Ven.
Ice. published in 1879. Jensen, in spite
Of his Scandinavian name, was q ma
tive Of France, a pupil Of Schoener,
who was a partner Of Gutenberg.
The book Is a work on the subject Of
divinity. Done In black and red, with
red and blue initials, which were put
in by hand, its original selling price
was an amount that would equal be-
tween 500 and $500 in American cur
rency today. One Of the best selling
types throughout this country and
abroad during recent years has beer
a reproduction OF types cut by Jensen
in 147O, and today the best selling
types are those that are notifications
of the best letters designed by the
printers during the first half century
of printing and during which time, 1t
should be remembered, printers were
compelled to cut and cast their own
types. Today all this is done by the
typefounders. In addition to making
their own types. the printers of Jen.
sens day had to make their own ink
and their own presses. The only thing
they could buy was paper. Moreover,
they Invariably created their own
styles Of type.
The reason that the printers of the
golden age" excelled in the making
Of type, ETC., as shown by study of the
collection now under consideration,
was that they initiated or copied in
their type the lettering az the original
manuscripts they received, and these
manuscripts were written at the period
when writing or manuscript pEepara-
ton had vesched what is conceded to
be perfection.
The collection shows, as already par
TALLY indicated, the close association
Of the Germans with the development
of printing and includes copies Of the
first German newspaper issued in
America. the Philadelphische Zeitung,
published by Benjamin Franklin in
1892.
A copy Of the farthest north newspa.
per. the Arctic Eagle, published by
Anthony Fiala Of the Zeigler expedi.
ton when near the north pole, presents
ar advertisement Of "Dr. Vaughn's
Vegetable Vim vigor, Bark Restorer
For Dumb Dogs"
The cen Of the printing Of the
Christmas number Of the Arctic Eagle
was the interior Of one Of the little
bunk rooms Of the Zeigler expedition
quarters at Camp Abruzzi (Rudolph is
land. Franz Josef Land. latitude 81
degrees Al minutes north. after the
loss Of the yacht America. The issu-
ing Of this newspaper is prophetic Of
the time when barefooted Eskimo
news butchers will leap from glacier
to foe, foe to berg, crying: "Wuxtry.
wuxtry! Whale blubber trust defes
Sherman law! Price two fshhooks
a copy"
This narrative has necessarily omit
ted cOnSidorat iOu ~ hnr.1eoAo - a.