A RO YAL C RAFT ; Not e s o n t he H i stm y a n d P ro g r e s s o f ROYAL C R AFT : B EI NG NOTE S . ON T he H i s t o r y P r o gr e s s o f P r i n t i n g F. H . S E . LLIS V ‘ ‘ V II H P R E FACE B Y M R . E . R ALE XANDE R LO N DO N R IT H BY L WR E N C E C o A , A LTD . , T H AN E T H U E O S , 2 1 AN D 2 2 ST R AN D 3 3 , , W . C . PRINT E D AT TH E A45 £79 7gb E PREFAC . H AT is a nation witho ut a hi story i Wha t i s an art without a h story , an d what is that history without progres s ? In our public elementary schools we teach the history of o ur own and other countries . so ha of the world . We te a ch also, but mew t e th r r h imp rfectly, of e rise, p og es s , and istory of l e hi but that art which has not on y mad story , has m ade also for liberty of thought and the elevation of huma ni ty . With the adven t of the r has e i z p ess dawned a high r civil ation , and a. finer senti m ent wi th more artistic ai ms . The rude and crude productions of Gutenberg an d Caxton have gone ever onward fr om their i i ncept on . until they have developed into a mighty crea tive and e duca tive for ce . The e i s r - a i t e print r no longer an a tist l bourer, ne h r i s he a live m a chine putting me cha nica lly into operation ide as and m ethods whi ch obtained generations ago . Synchronously with the moul d ing of the national characte r and hi s pioneership of civili za ti on the printe r ha s im proved hi mse lf ; 872891 P REFAC E the introduction of the Monotype and Linotype m hi s ethods of production are not ultima thule . From methods of crudity to some meas ure of “ perfection he h a s atta ined in the art pre ” “ se r va ti ve ha s , but the ideally simple not a n d yet been reached . Long valuable experience in certain orthodox method s make for pr o fi ci e n c y , but not progress , but the problem n perplexed pri ter works out his own salvation , and leaves behind hi m some improvement on hi m the page of time , his works live after — and s o do hi s errors and imperfections his successors profit by a knowledge of thes e blemishes , they appreciate his aims and improve t he his methods of working . So wheel of pro gress moves forward , sometimes rapidly , some times very slowly , but always forward . It is not the outstanding genius of one man , or of one generation , that has contributed more than an other to the progress of the Royal Craft , but rather the collective genius of the many , homo ge n eo usly combined and collectively superior to r any individual e fi o t . In consenting to pen a brief preface for this litt le volume I confess to the hope that a perusal of its contents wi l l imbue the lay reader i t s an d with the enthusias m of author , that his succinct survey of the marvellous rise an d pro gress of printing may secure not only an a dmi ar t ration for the pioneers of the , but that it m a o y als , in the hands of the craftsman , be the V I P REFAC E c to ne essary incentive perfect his knowledge , for himself and for those who follow . To one who has spent more than a quarter of a cen . t I ury in the education of young printers , can sa y , with perfect knowledge of the fact , that the readin g of interesting works on the subject of their handicraft has led more than one fr om an easy -going life of hum - drum to one of active research and improvement ; and to all I com o f i mend the pages th s work , in the earnest ' hope that t he author s eff orts may have a like effect , and his work will be well rewarded . LE XANDE R . E . R . A P ri n ci pa l of Lo n d o n P o lyte chn i c P i on ee r Techn o logy Classe s . CONTENTS. n on e : I TE ODUOTm N —E T T ODS or P R T . I N ARLIE S ME H IN I NvE NTTON o r MOV AB LE TYP E AND TH E PRINT — OH AN N TE NBE R O T N I N O P RE ss J GU , HE I — - vE NTOR H r s CAREER E NTERS INTO PAR T T F T LAW UI NE R s H I p WI H AUS A S T , — FOLLOWE D BY Lo ss o r OFFICE A FRE SH — STAR T H r s DEATH III P o r TYP P Y D FAusT AND . ROGRE SS OGRA H (UN ER — SCH OE P FER) TH R OUGH OUT E URO PE OP POSI TION FROM MANY QuAR TER s NOTAB LE CRAFTSMEN T R TYP — XT AND T IV . GO HIC AND OMAN ES CA ON HE INTRODUCTION OF TYPOGRAPHY INTO E N O — — LAND N OTAB LE E N GLI sH PRINTERS FIT — TE E N TH CEN TURY PUNCTUATION P R OOR E s s OF THE AR T IN THE UNITE D KINGDOM TH E E AR LIE sT F D V . ORM OF WOO EN PRESSE S I NvE NTI ON o r IRON P R E s s B Y E ARL STANH Op E — I N TR ODUOTI ON T Y D OF HE C LIN ER , F T BE D R T Y — T LA , AND O AR MACHINE S MUL I — COLOUR MACHINES E TC l x C O NTENTS S E CTION W - V I . PROGRE S S OF THE N E SPAPER PRES S DAYS o r PERSE C UTION—R EMARK AB LE STATISTIC S — ’ SOME CURIOUS PRINTERS AND TRANS ’ LATOR s E RRORS T YPEFOUNDING : PAST AND PRESENT THE — DUTCH MODEL R EV I V AL OF E NGLISH TYPES — - MACHINE - MADE LETTERS T YPE COMPOS T — ING AND CAS ING MACHINES E TC . , COGNATE BRANCHES OF PRINTING : WOOD . E V P B K ST TYP . NGRA ING , ROCESS LOC S , EREO I NG E T TYP E T AND LEC RO ING , LEC RICAL ' ‘ P T E T — l R I H R M Y - L T Y C . C O P RIN ING , I HOGRA H — — — ALGRAPHY T YP E WR I TE R s CON CLUSION A ROYAL C RAFT NOTE S ON TH E H f P n i sto ry an d Progre ss o ri ti ng. ~ l n t r o d u ct o r y E a r l i o s t M e th o d s o f Pri n ti n g a n d a e M a ki n P p r g . HE invention of Printing has always been recognized by students as a subject of considerable importance . There is no mechanical art , nor are there any of the fine arts of whose early history so much has been written , as of the origin and evolution of i s Printing . Such a subject as mysterious a s r it is inviting , being ensh ouded in an unusual u degree of obsc rity, and manifesting a marked divergence of Opinion amongst its many varied chroniclers . Printing, or more correctly termed Typography, ” o is sometimes spoken of as a R yal Craft , the “ ” “ a ll art preservative of arts , and as a handmaid ” to every form of modern education . Such ex s pre sion s are , without doubt , justly employed when it is considered how important is its position in modern affairs . The most sanguine typographic craftsman in the Fifteenth Century, probably never dreamed that his art would play such a significant part or grow to such colossal proportions as we are - familiar with to day . Hi st o r y a n d Pr og r es s of Pr i n t i n g . u s a Printi ng comes down to , in truth , from i c very early age , too remote for any authent ui record . In the r ns of the cities of Babylon , s i i n As yr a , and other places the East , we have abundant evidence of a crude method of writi ng or i mpressing symbolical signs and figures on C i lay , and mak ng them permanent by means of k s o i n ba ing, and using them in the build g of their temples and dwelli ngs . i i i i be S m larly the Ch nese , in early t mes , long Of i fore the Christian Era , had a system print ng i by means of engraved wooden blocks , by wh ch method they duplicated upon sli ps of bamboo and a fibrous ki nd of bark by mean s of ha nd pressur e .