Invention Of Printing By ...
The Times, 1824-12-03T00:00:00

Ten years elapsed on the 2ith of last month, since this journal appeared for the first time printed by a mechanical apparatuet *n it has contisnulel be;printcd'bjAht samet met,hoatleat day.. Itisiiiii2eessary todw dllhejie" on the advantages.resalting firom carly publication, and thie better peress work of this paper. These adlvantages are too' .obvious to the public, and too sensibly felt by ourselves. ,The inventioir exeited much intekeest and. curiosity at* the timc of its 24rst tntroduction, and the originality of it was not disputed,' is no'pVo6f of a,h earlier application 'of the |same principles could be adduced. This journal' is uns- doubtedly the flrstiwork ever prinited by a mechanical ap- par2tus: we attempted, on its introduction, -to do justice to the claims of the inventor,' Mr. Kcenig, who son-e years afterwards returined to his native country, Genrmany, niot benefitted, we fear, up 'to the full' extent 6f his merits, by ~his wonderful-invention anti bis exertions in England. We have perceived since, that several persons not only seized Mr. Ko?nig's invention, and profited by its adoption, but attempts have even been made io rob him of the repu- tation due to him as the inventor. Several' patent; have been taken out, claiming as new and original what had been in daily use in our house for years. lVe have before -us the Ldndohi I,iterary Gazette of October 26, 182-2, with a drawing of aprinting inachiine, etntitied " Bensley's Print- inlg Maehine." In an explanatory article in the same nuin- ber of the Gazette, professing to give the history of this great improvement in the art of printing, the credit of the inventiolw is given to the late Mr. Nicholson, a well-l;nowni author and unsuccessful projector, who, in 1790, took out a patent for some crude ideas relating to improvements in the art of psinting:. but it was not till many years after- wards that time scheme was accomplished by Mr. Keenig. An insidious accouct is given in the said article of Mr. K.e- nig's share in the invention: he is represenited as having only participated in the first attempts and unsuccessful trials-as active only in theinrfancy of the invention. Some other names are introduced, tut it is not said by whom the cssential principles of the machine have been discovered and first used: it may be, however, inferred from the iiscrip- tion of the plate-" Bensley'sPriuting Machine,"-that this gentlemani wishes to be conside'rcd as the personi who brought it to perfection. We have scen lately, also, in the Britisht Enwyclopawdia, under the artide " Printing," an account of the sereral printing machines 'ately brouglht out, with the names of their authors, describing even some attempts`that are already forgotten,and never tame into nse. The list seems to be complete, onoly the name of the real inventor of the printing machine is omitted. Now, it is a rare occurrence that a foreigner brings an invention to bear in this country. There is here so much native talent in the mechanical arts-England stands so biglh in this particular, that she cani afford to do justice to foreign merit, and as we happen to be acquainted with all the'circumstances of the ease in qulestion, we shall take that office upon us. First, as to our own machines, they were certainly exe- cuted from beginning to end on the plans of Mr. Kcenig; we were at the time in daily intereeurse with him, we saw the work growing under our eyes, and never heard then of any claims of Mr.Bensley,or of the inventive powers of that gentlemian. On th e ontrary, when the negotiations between us and the patentees were going on, and the re- sponsibilily for the success of the plan was argued, Mr. Bensley. leclared, "that he knew notlhing at all about it, and that he relied entirely upon Mr. Koenig." Messrs. Taylor and Woodfall, who were then partners in the enter- p)rise, can attest the truth of our account. As to Mr. Nicholson's claims, we shall state only one circumstance:-Mr. Nicholson' was still alive wheni this journal was first printed by the machine; Mr. Kcenig had already been publicly named as the inventor, and Mr. Nicholson-himself did not bringforward any claim. We happen to know that Mr. Nicholson, who gave professional advice to the patentees, offered his services to Mr. Kcenig, who had just then a patent in progress. Those who have 'wrongfully seized what was not their own, want to shelter themselves under an old and long-forgotten patent. Before Mr. Kcenig left thi4 country, he accomplished the last great improvement-namely, the printing of the sheet on both sides; and the drawing in the I.iterary Gazette is a representation of what is substantially his inventioni. The removing of some wheels, or the different arrangemnent of some parts of the apparatus, cannot entitle others to appro- priate to themselves the whole work; and theie is it that account the same bad faith as to their simplifications6: tlley pretend to have removed many more wheels thani there were ever in it. Simplicity is the last stage of an invention: it resuflts from long observation of a work in actual use, and is hardly ever attainable in the first of the kind. The infe- rior merit of those whso have added something to an exist- ing invention in such a way, is proverbial : facile est inventis addere. In this case it. still remains to be ascertained, wlhether the alleged improvements have advanced the invention, ard whether the inventor has not himself simpli- fied and inmprovedhis work since that time to a higher degree of perfection than the piratical imuprovers. We are informed, that he has lately constructed machines abroad, priniting 1,200 .n both sides,and 2,400 on one side, witlhin the hour. The ar- ticle in the Literary Gazette states, that Messrs. Bensley's improvetd machines throw off only from 800 to 1,000 sheets per hour on both sides, and from 1,500 to 1,600 on one side. Our own machines at first did ndt print above 1,100 in the hour. In consequente of successive hnproveinents, suggested and planned by Mr. Kcenig, the inventor, they now print 2,000 with more ease lhan 1,100 in their original state. Tlhus our machines, complicated as they are said to be, are one quarter more powerful than those of Messrs. Bensley: and the improvements have been added without any of the imprevers having interfered. 'W canniot close thls account without giving our testi- mony, not only to the enlightened inind and ardent spirit of Mr. Kif 119, but aisq to hirstrict hbnouf and ptte'inte- grity. Our intercourse with hiim was constant, during the very critical and trying period when he was bringing hlis invention into practice at our office; so that we lhad no slight knowledge of his manners ant character; and the consequence has been, sincere friendship, andl high regard for iim ever since. INVBNTZON OF PRINTING BY STEBAAt