The Washington herald., 1910-11-06

contained in the record of his death.
James Blake. Ga his Annals OF the
Town of Dorchester" Boston, 1870, I'M
der the 1881 records:
This year died Mr. John Foster, son
Of Capt Hopestill Foster. schoOlmaster
OF Dorchester. and he that made the
then seal or arms Of ye Colony. namely,
an Indian with a Bow & Arrow, &c"
THE allusioa to the colonial seal" says
DR.. Green. ''is TO the engraver and not
the designer. as the seal dates back 10
the earliest colonial daps. The device
itself is sscribed to John Huh, the mint
master by the Rev. John Pierce, In his
address at the opening of the town hall
IN BrOokline, October Il. 1875
Early official documents Of the colony,
| printed in Cambridge, carried on their
/ hy-leaves wood-cut engravings Of the
seal credited TO Foster In The General
! Laws and Liberties Of the Massachusetts,
/ Colony" Cambridge, 1879. as in various
| supplements thereto, this evidence Of
/ Fosters growing skin in thinning is
/ found
| His combined craftsmanship in printing
and engraving Is shown in Increase
Mathers Brief History of the War; with
| the Indians in New England" a book
| printed by Foster and bearing his en-
craving OF the seal His quaint map OF
| New England. with the west at the top
and the north at the right. appeared in
| the Rev. William Hubbard's Narrative
! of the Troubles with the Indians (Bos-
ton, 1910, and is supposed TO have been
prepared from a draft by the author of
the narrative. The map passed through
| two editions.
First Press In 1888.
OF the early printing in the colony and
Fosters Inauguration Of the first press in
Boston, DIR. Green writes entertainingly.
The first printing press in the country. he
says. was set up in Cambridge. late in
less, by stephen Day. though no speci-
mems OF his early work have come down
| 20 the present time. He or his son Math-
| ew continued 70 print until 1919. but not
more than six or eight different issues
from their press are known 10 be eXtant-
Following Day and his son came Sam
ueI Green and Marmaduke Johnson,
sometimes associated in their work and
at other times printing independently of
each other. johnson removed 10 Boston
in 1874. but died before he could resume
his work
In May. 1914. the General Court Of the
Colony of Massachusetts, Bay granted
that there might be a printing press else
where than at Cambridge, and for its
better regulation ordered that Increase
Mather be one Of two additional licensers
Of the press.
A copy of the diary of the latter. made
more than 100 years ago by DIR. Jeremy
Belknap. and printed in the proceedings
OF the Massachusetts Historical Society
for January. 1909, shows that Johnson
died December %, 1914. after he had just
ntted his press to go 10 work. He was to
have printed the Indian Bible
John Foster bought the press and began
his career as printer in Boston. There
was little time in colonial days 10 eulti-
vate the fine arts. and but slender means
in the community to encourage the
taste" says Dr. Green. Much of the
earlier work of the press. like most Of the
: publications of the period, consisted OF
pamphlet copies OF sermons.
Early Work stands Test.
Notwithstanding ne fact that Foster
! was not bred to the calling and knew lit
tie OF the art except what he had gath
cred from observation of the Cambridge
printers. his early work was the equal il
taste and workmanship to the imprints
: from the Cambridge Office. "The ink snC
paper have stood the test of time muel
better than those OF a century later.
says Mr.. Sibley, In hts Harvard Gradu
afes" eli, Z23).
In certain lines OF learning John Fostel
was a man of some special attachments
Dr. Green tells of the annual Almanac
. issued for half dozen years by Foster
and for which he made his own astro
nomical calculations.
e Comets. Their Motion. Distance. AM
: Magnitude was one of his learned pro
$ auctions appearing in the almanac in 1851