Year: 1885

page_text: "
I, JOHN ANDREW TAYLOR of No 91 Alderminster Road, Bermondsey in the
County of Surrey, Printer do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be
as follows:-
"
Besides the ordinary single letters, numerals &°, compound types for words in
common use, such as "and" or "the" and for prefixes and terminations such as
con or "ing," have been used so as to economise time and labour of compositors.
The use of these compound types is however necessarily limited because if the
compositor's case were so much extended as to afford separate compartments for
these as well as for the ordinary types, many of the compartments would be beyond
convenient range of his eye and hand. Again the ordinary type compartments
are necessarily shallow because their contents must be within easy reach of the
compositor's fingers, and consequently the stock of each type is very limited; in
these compartments, moreover, the types lie in a confused manner, so that the
compositor has to feel for the right side and end of each as he transfers it to the
composing stick. It has been proposed to avoid some of the difficulties attending
the ordinary appliances used by compositors by arranging the types in rows along
parallel grooves of trays inclined so that when a type is removed from the lower
end of a row the rest of the types slide down presenting always a fresh type ready
for removal when required. My invention relates to a construction and arrangement
of grooved type trays and of cases for accommodating them in such a manner as to
bring within easy range of the compositor's eye and hand a very large number of.
different types, simple and compound, each set and each row of a set being
distinctively marked so that the compositor can at once put his finger on the
required type which is presented to him in its proper position for composing.
For this purpose, on a table at which the compositor stands or sits, I place three
cases, a middle one directly in front of him and one standing obliquely on each
side of it, each of these cases having in it a number of tiers of trays inclined
downwards towards the front. Each of these trays is divided by partitions into a
number of parallel grooves, each of which holds a row of types, all the types of
each row being of the same character, and the lowest type of the row being
presented at the front in a convenient attitude for being taken hold of by the
PD 77

page_text: compositor's fingers. The bottom of each tray is preferably made of glass or some
smooth material so that the types can readily slide downwards on removing the
lowest type of any row. The front face of each tray is marked with letters or
symbols indicating the type in each of its rows, and I prefer to paint the trays or
groups of the trays with distinctive colours to guide the compositor's eye to the
class of character which he has to select. In the space of the table immediately in
front of the compositor I provide hollows or cases to hold spaces or other pieces for
the compositor's use. By this arrangement of cases and trays, I can bring within
convenient range of the compositor's eye and hand, besides all the ordinary types
of a fount, as great a number of compound types; and, as the length of each tray
from front to back is considerable, each row can contain a large stock of types, the
front one of which is always presented conveniently for removal when required by
the compositor.

page_text: Appliances for Facilitating Composition of Type Formes.
I, JOHN ANDREW TAYLOR of N° 91 Alderminster Road, Bermondsey in the
County of Surrey, Printer do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in
what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and
ascertained in and by the following statement:-
**
con
"
"
Besides the ordinary single letters, numerals &c, compound types for words in
common use, such as "and ог "the" and for prefixes and terminations such as
or "ing," have been used so as to economise time and labour of compositors.
The use of these compound types is however necessarily limited because, if the
compositor's case were so much extended as to afford separate compartments for
these as well as for the ordinary types, many of the compartments would be beyond
convenient range of his eye and hand. Again, the ordinary type compartments
are necessarily shallow because their contents must be within easy reach of the
compositor's fingers, and consequently the stock of each type is very limited; in
these compartments moreover the types lie in a confused manner so that the
compositor has to feel for the right side and end of each as he transfers it to the
composing stick. It has been proposed to avoid some of the difficulties attending
the ordinary appliances used by compositors, by arranging the types in rows along
parallel grooves of trays inclined so that, when a type is removed from the lower
end of a row, the rest of the types slide down presenting always a fresh type
ready for removal when required. My invention relates to a construction and
arrangement of grooved type trays and of cases for accommodating them in such a
manner as to bring within easy range of the compositor's eye and hand a very
large number of different types, simple and compound, each set and each row of a
set being distinctly marked so that the compositor can at once put his finger on
the required type which is presented to him in its proper position for composing.
For this purpose, on a table at which the compositor stands or sits, I place three
cases, a middle one directly in front of him and one standing obliquely on each
side of it, each of these cases having in it a number of tiers of trays inclined
downwards towards the front. Each of these trays is divided by partitions into a
number of parallel grooves, each of which bolds a row of types, all of the types of
each row being of the same character and the lowest type of the row being
presented at the front in a convenient attitude for being taken hold of by the
compositor's fingers. The bottom of each tray is preferably made of glass or some
smooth material so that the types can readily slide downwards on removing the
lowest type of any row.
The front face of each tray is marked with letters or
symbols indicating the type in each of its rows, and I prefer to paint the trays or
groups of the trays with distinctive colours, to guide the compositor's eye to the
class of character which he has to select. In the space of the table immediately
in front of the compositor I provide hollows or cases to hold spaces or other pieces
for the compositor's use. By this arrangement of cases and trays, I can bring
within convenient range of the compositor's eye and hand, besides all the ordinary
types of a fount, as great a number of compound types, and, as the length of each
tray from front to back is considerable, each row can contain a large stock of types,

page_text: the front one of which is always presented conveniently for removal when required
by the compositor.
Fig. 1 is a front view, Fig. 2 a sectional plan and Fig. 3 a longitudinal section
of a set of type trays and their cases arranged according to my invention for
facilitating composition of type formes. There are three cases, a middle case C
which is widest, and two narrower cases C' C³, one on each side of O, placed in
somewhat divergent attitudes towards it so as to present their fronts more suitably
to the eye and hands of the compositor. The cases are all placed in an attitude.
which may be more or less inclined. downwards towards the front by setting
catches in racks R. Each case contains a number of superposed trays T T' T' of
one of which Fig. 4 is a transverse section. Each tray is divided by partitions into
a number of longitudinal channels or grooves in which types stand on end, their
character ends uppermost. When a type is removed from the front end of one of
these channels, the rest of the types behind it slide down. Each tray is held in
its place by turnbuckles B or equivalent fastenings, so that it can be readily drawn
out to have its channels refilled with types. The front F of each tray has by
preference legibly marked on it the types contained in its channels, and it is of
advantage to paint these fronts in various colours, each colour indicating a set
of types belonging to a particular class or group, the eye of the compositor being
thus guided towards the particular channel from which he desires to take a type.
It is convenient to have in the table in front of the cases receptacles O for leads,
odd types or other articles that have occasionally to be introduced into the forme.
Instead of employing three separate cases, a single case may be employed as
shewn in part plan at Fig. 5 and front view at Fig. 6, the front being curved so as
to suit better the eye and hand of the compositor.
:
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is:
The construction and arrangement of cases and grooved trays for facilitating
composition of type formes, substantially as herein described with reference to the
accompanying drawings.