DONATIONS

Abstract of the Charitable Donations at the Disposal of the Court of Assistants of the Worshipful Company of Stationers. I have selected those Donations only which relate, directly or indirectly, to Printers.

William Norton, a printer of great note, lived in St. Paul’s Churchyard, who died in 1593. He gave six pounds thirteen shillings and four pence, yearly to his company, to be lent to young men, free of the same Company. The Company in their Abstract of Charitable Donations say “to the Poor of the said Company.”

Mr. Christopher Meredith, in 1655, gave 10l. a year, to be paid in quarterly pensions to the poor of the Company.

Thomas Guy, Esq., M.P., an eminent bookseller, and the munificent founder of the hospital which bears his name, gave to the Company, in 1717, 1,000l. “to enable them to add 50l. a year, by quarterly payments, to the poor members and widows, in augmentation of the quarterly charity.”

Mr. Theophilus Cater, in 1718, gave 1,000l. to the Company, on condition of their paying him an annuity of 50l. for his own life.—After his death, 40l. to be thus disposed of: to the minister of St. Martin’s, Ludgate, for a sermon, 1l. 10s.; to the reader, 5s.; to the clerk and sexton, 2s. 6d. each, 5s.; to fourteen poor freemen of the Company, 14l.; to ten poor men of St. Martin’s, 10l.; to ten poor men of Christchurch, 1l. each. The remainder, (being 4l.) towards a dinner for the master, wardens, and assistants.

Mrs. Beata Wilkins, in 1773, gave the picture of Doctor Hoadly, lord bishop of Winchester, now in the Stock-room; and the interest and produce of all the money arising from her forty-pounds share stock (computed at 320l.) to be distributed, annually, amongst six poor men and six poor widows, not pensioners to the Company, in the month of December, before Christmas.—Note. The produce of the share was laid out in the purchase of 358l. 11s. 4d. five per cent. Navy annuities. The yearly dividend is 17l. 18s. 6d. To which the Court add 1s. 6d. to make the dividend to each annuitant 1l. 10s.

William Bowyer. See Bowyer.

William Strahan, Esq., M. P., in 1784, gave 1,000l., one half of the annual interest to be divided in equal shares or proportions to five poor journeymen printers, natives of England or Wales, freemen of the Company; the other half in equal shares or proportions to five poor journeymen printers, natives of Scotland, without regard to their being freemen or being non-freemen of the Company.—Note. The yearly dividend of this bequest is 39l. 14s. 10d.—to which 5s. 2d. (part of a subsequent donation by Andrew Strahan, Esq.) has since been added, to make the dividend to each annuitant 4l.

Thomas Wright, Esq., late alderman of London, in 1794, gave 2,000l. four per cent. Bank annuities, the dividends to be distributed as follows; upon the first day of January 50l. 8s. amongst twenty-four poor freemen of the said Company, not receiving any other pension from the Company, 2l. 2s. each. To the clerk of the Company 3l. 3s. for his trouble upon this occasion. And 26l. 9s. residue of such dividends, for providing a dinner for the master, wardens, and assistants, of the Company, upon the day of distribution.

Mr. Richard Johnson, in 1795, gave all the remainder of his property whatsoever, to the Company, upon the following conditions: that they allow his sister, Mary Johnson, 50l. per annum, and 10l. per annum to his uncle Lockington Johnson, or to his wife, Elizabeth Johnson, during their natural lives. After the deaths of his sister and uncle, and his wife, the whole property to be divided half-yearly, “among five very poor widows, who have seen better days, above the age of sixty, whose husbands were liverymen, and in a good way of business; were either stationers, printers, booksellers, or binders.”

Charles Dilly, Esq., in November, 1803, (being then a member of the Court of Assistants,) transferred 700l. three per cent. annuities to the Company, the dividends to be “paid equally to two widows of liverymen of the Company, who have lived in better circumstances, and met unexpected misfortunes, but who, through their conduct and manners in life, are deserving of superior help. And if there should be candidates of sixty years of age, or upwards, I should wish them to have the preference.”

Mrs. Elizabeth Baldwin, widow of Mr. Richard Baldwin a liveryman, gave 250l. stock in the three per cents, the dividends to be laid out and expended in the purchase of five great coats, to be annually given to five poor liverymen or freemen of the said Company in the first week of the month of December for ever.—Note. Mrs. Baldwin died 19th August, 1809.

Andrew Strahan, Esq., M. P., (first benefaction,) in January 1815, transferred 1,225l. four per cent. annuities to the Company, the interest, viz. 49l., to be applied as follows, viz.,

“Eight pounds per annum to each of the six pensioners amongst my father’s annuitants who shall have been earliest elected into that list, in lieu of the 4l. which they at present enjoy. And whenever any of the pensions of 8l. each shall become vacant, the pensioner who shall stand first on the list of my father’s annuitants of 4l. to succeed to such vacancy, without troubling the court to make a new election, except for the vacancy occasioned thereby in the annuitants of 4l. And as 5s. 2d. is added by the court to make up the pensions of my late father 4l. to each annuitant, I would have the sum of 5s. 2d. (part of the surplus of 1l.) applied to that purpose. The remaining 14s. 10d. I would have given to the beadle of the Company, who has some trouble in receiving the petitions.

“The pensions above given it is my wish should be paid twice in the year; the one half at the same period as the pensions given by my late father, and the other half at midsummer.

“I observe that my father’s pensioners are to be elected annually, which, I believe, may not always have been strictly complied with; but, by being so bequeathed, it enables the court to displace any individual who may at any time after his being elected appear to the court not to be deserving; and it is my wish that the court should have the same power of displacing any of the pensioners of eight pounds who shall appear to them undeserving.”

John Nichols, Esq., transferred to the Company, in June, 1817, 500l. four per cent. annuities, “as an addition of a small supplement to the works of my late friend and partner, Mr. William Bowyer,” [See Bowyer.] “to pay the dividends to the persons mentioned in the following list; one of whom has worked for me more than fifty years, another much more than forty, and the others nearly thirty years.

“15l. a year to Thomas Bennett, in addition to the annuity he now enjoys.

“5l. a year to William Morlis, in addition to what he now enjoys, or may hereafter enjoy.

“On the death of Bennett, his 15l. to be divided into three annuities, for James Rousseau, John Meeson, and James Robinson, if then living, otherwise to any other compositor or pressman of good character, not less than forty-five years of age, and who shall have been at least twenty-one years free of the Stationers’ Company.

“On the death of Morlis his five pounds to be added to the person who then stands first on the list; so that eventually there will only be one annuitant of ten pounds, and two of five pounds each.

“The annuitants to be paid at the same times as those of Mr. Bowyer.” J. N.

Andrew Strahan, Esq., M. P., (second benefaction,) transferred in March, 1818, the further sum of 1,000l. four per cent. annuities, “to pay the dividends half-yearly in portions of ten pounds to four distressed old printers. No person to be eligible till he be sixty-five years of age: he may be freeman or non-freeman, compositor or pressman, or have been for many years employed regularly as corrector or reader in a printing-office within the Bills of Mortality, and not necessarily one of my late father’s annuitants or of mine.”

Luke Hansard, Esq., (first benefaction,) on the 11th of July, 1818, transferred to the Company 1,000l. four per cent. annuities, the interest to be given, in two annuities of 10l. a year each, to such objects above sixty-five years of age, free of the Company, and letterpress printers, (compositors or pressmen,) as the court shall judge proper.

The other 20l. to be given yearly to four freemen of this Company, printers, booksellers, stationers, warehousemen, or bookbinders, above sixty years of age, at 5l. a year each, as the court shall think proper objects of this donation.

Luke Hansard, Esq., (second benefaction,) in September, 1818, transferred to the Company 1,500l. three per cent. annuities; in trust to give to every youth bound at their hall, a neatly bound Church of England Prayer-book, as printed by his majesty’s printer in London, bound up with the New Version of Psalms.

The number of Prayer-books thus to be disposed of, are taken at 200, which at a presumed price of 2s. 7d. each, will cost yearly 25l. 16s. 8d.

Then to give yearly to two of his warehousemen (named) 6l. 6s. each.

Also to “such warehouseman, or binder, or stationer, or other person in the class to whom the court has been accustomed to give such annuities, above sixty years of age,” 6l. 6s.

The residue of 5s. 4d., and whatever residue may be left from the 200 Prayer-books not being wanted, or from the cost being less, to be applicable for such purposes as the court shall think proper.

Beale Blackwell, Esq., gave, July, 1817, so much Bank stock as at the time of his death would produce the annual sum of 100l., to be every year distributed equally amongst twenty deserving journeymen letterpress printers; the first distribution of which took place in October, 1821.

A more detailed account of these charitable donations and benefactions will be found in a pamphlet of 32 pages, printed by order of the court in 1819, and given to each liveryman.

This account is copied from Hansard’s Typographia.


DOTTED QUADRATS,

or dotted leaders. Quadrats with dots on them, similar to full points, at regular distances. They are cast from an en, with one point, to four ems.

In tables of contents, indices, and other similar matter, dotted quadrats are preferred to metal rules, or hyphens, being thought to have a neater appearance.

Public domain (Project Gutenberg, pre-1930 text)


Doublé

When the inside of the cover is lined with leather, it is termed a doublé.

Bib-li-op-e-gis-tic: Pertaining to the Art of Binding Books


DOUBLE

A sheet that is twice pulled and lifted never so little off the form after it was first pulled, does most commonly (through the play of the joints of the tympan) take a double impression: this sheet is said to double. Or if the pressman run in so, as the foreside of the platen print with the first pull into part of the second pull, or the hind edge of the platen print with his second pull into part of his first pull; either of these twice printing is called <i>Doubling</i>. Doubling also happens through the loose hanging of the platen, and through too much play the tenons of the head may have in the mortises of the cheeks; and indeed through many wearings and crazinesses that often happen in several parts of the press.—M. Moxon’s account of doubling and its causes refer to the two pull wooden presses, but some of them apply equally to iron presses.

In composing, the term is applied when a word, a line, a sentence, or any part of the copy is composed twice; that is, if the compositor’s eye catch a part that he has already composed, and he repeats it.


DOUBLE

Among compositors, repetition of words; among pressmen, a sheet that is twice pulled and mackled.

The American Printer: A Manual of Typography


DOUBLE DAGGER

This is the technical name of a mark used as a reference, ‡; it is generally placed the third in order,—after the obelisk or dagger.


DOUBLE LETTERS

Æ, œ, ſt, ſh, and several others cast on one shank, are called double letters: ſ and f have several ascending letters joined to them, because their beaks hanging over their stems would (were they not cast on one shank) ride upon the tops of the stems of the adjoining ascending letters.—M.

By discarding the ſ, we have lessened the number of our double letters, which are now reduced to the diphthongs æ and œ, and to ﬀ, ﬁ, ﬂ, ﬃ, and ﬄ, which are so termed by printers.


DOUBLE NARROW

A piece of furniture equal in breadth to two narrow quotations. There are different sizes used in making margin, and in imposing, viz., double broad, double broad and narrow, broad and narrow, broad and double narrow.


DOUBLE PICA

The name of a type, one size larger than Paragon, and one smaller than Two-Line Pica. It is equal in depth to two Small Pica bodies. See Types.


doubled

When in working a tool a second time it is inadvertently not placed exactly in the previous impression, it is said to be “doubled.”

The Art of Bookbinding: A Practical Treatise


doublure

the inside face of the boards, especially applied to them when lined with leather and decorated.


doublure

The inside face of the boards, especially applied to them when lined with leather and decorated. When thus lined a cover is said to be “double.”


DRAW

When a form is working at press, and any of the letters are loosely justified, or from any other cause are not tight in the form, and the adhesion of the ink and balls or rollers pulls them out, they are said to draw. This accident too frequently occurs; and as it is not always perceived, errors arise which neither the care nor the skill of the reader can prevent; when it is perceived, after an impression or two have been pulled, the pressmen often put the letters into the wrong place, and thus cause an error. They are occasionally left by the ball on the form, and produce a batter, which is a waste of materials, and of time in repairing it. A good compositor guards against this evil by care in justifying his lines, and also in locking up.


DRAWN SHEETS

In collating books in the warehouse, after they have been gathered, duplicate sheets, and sheets of wrong signatures, are occasionally found; arising, in the one instance, from the carelessness of the gathering boys, in taking up more than one sheet of the same signature; and, in the other, from a lift of another sheet being occasionally taken down and mixed in the heap: in these cases the sheets are drawn out of the book, and laid on one side, and, after some accumulation, are replaced upon their respective heaps, to be gathered again right. These sheets are called <i>Drawn Sheets</i>.


DRESS A CHASE,

or, Dress a Form, is to fit the pages and the chase with furniture and quoins. See Margin.


Dressing a chase or form

Fitting the pages and chase with furniture and quoins.


DRESSING BLOCK

Made of pear tree, because a soft wood, and therefore less subject to injure the face of the letter; it is commonly about three inches square, and an inch high.—M. Used the same as our planer. See Planer.


DRIPPING PAN

Literally so, made of tinned iron, extending the whole length of the press, fixed under the long ribs, to preserve the floor from the droppings of oil.

They are useful articles; for presses to be kept in good working order require to be frequently oiled; and for want of a dripping pan, I have known the oil run through the joints of the floor upon a pile of paper in a room underneath, and spoil a considerable quantity.


DRIVE OUT

When a compositor sets wide, he is said to drive out or run out. In founding, if letter be cast too thick in the shank, it drives out.—M. If copy make more than was calculated on, they say, it drives out; if less, and it is intended that it shall make the precise quantity decided on, they say, you must drive out; that is, it must be branched out in proportion, and not cramped.


DROPPING OUT

After a form is locked up, and, when it is being lifted from the stone, or being laid upon the imposing stone, or the press, any letters, spaces, or quadrats fall out, it is said something drops out, or something has dropped out; this may arise from some of the lines being badly justified—some of the leads riding—or some of the furniture binding—or similar causes—and frequently produces errors at press by other letters drawing out. See Form Dances.

In this case, before the form is put to press, it should be examined to ascertain the cause, and any impediment to its safety should be removed.

Drum. See Wheel.


DUBLIN

Plan of a Lower Case as used at Dublin. The Upper Case is the same as used in London.

Layout of the Dublin case

William Savage, A Dictionary of the Art of Printing, 1841


duck

sometimes called Canvas. This is made by many firms in a wide range of colors and qualities. It is in fact a heavy cotton cloth. Slate-colored duck 28 in. wide, 10 oz. to the yard, costs about 20 cents per yard. This is a firmly woven, smooth material. We have used a light green. It takes printers’ ink for lettering fairly well, though it soon soils if handled. It is a very desirable binding for heavy books not much used. All such books should be stiffened by pasting or gluing cloth on the backs, if loose back, and should be reinforced at head and tail.


DUCK’S BILL

A tongue cut in a piece of stout paper and pasted on the tympan at the bottom of the tympan-sheet, to support the paper when laid on the tympan.


DUCK’S BILL

A tongue cut in a piece of stout paper, which is pasted on the tympan at the bottom of the tympan sheet, to support the white paper when working, instead of pins; the paper to be printed rests in the slit behind the tongue, and takes a good bearing.

It is seldom used except in the best work, where the paper printed is fine, stout, large, and expensive, when extra precautions are taken to prevent waste.

A tool to support paper in the press


DUODECIMO

The size of a book, generally for shortness written 12mo, and hence frequently incorrectly so pronounced. It is formed by folding a sheet of paper into twelve portions or leaves, making twenty-four pages. See Imposing.


duodecimo

or *12mo.*—Twelve pages to a form.


Dutch metal

An imitation of gold leaf, sometimes used on cheap bindings. It soon grows dark or tarnishes.


EAR OF THE FRISKET

A projecting piece of iron on the near side of the frisket, by taking hold of which the pressman turns down the frisket, and at the same time the tympan; and as it projects a little beyond the tympan, he also raises the sheet off the form by grasping it and the tympan, and by a quick motion quits hold of the tympan, and turns up the frisket by means of the ear. It is sometimes called the <i>Thumb Piece</i>.


EASY PULL

When the form feels the force of the spindle by degrees, till the bar comes almost to the hither cheek of the press, it is called a Long, or a Soaking, or Easy Pull, and is also called a Soft Pull; because it comes soft and soakingly and easily down.—M.


EASY WORK

With compositors, printed copy, or a fair written hand, and full of breaks, pleases well, and is called good copy, light, easy work: with pressmen, great letter and a small form is called easy work.—M.

The term is not now generally used: what Moxon describes as relating to compositors would now be termed good copy; and with respect to pressmen it would be called light work, or a light form.


Edge-Rolled

When the edges of the boards are rolled. It may be either in gold or blind.


Edge-Rolled

When the edges of the boards are rolled, either in blind or in gold.


Edges cut

A book or pamphlet cut down sufficiently to make all the edges quite smooth.


Edges gilt

Book edges cut and gilded.


Edges opened

A book or pamphlet opened, the folds of the leaves being cut by hand with a paper knife.


Edges red

Book edges cut and colored red.


Edges rolled

When the edges of the covers are marked with a roll, either in gold or blind.


Edges rounded

Corners rounded to prevent their becoming dog’s-eared.


Edges trimmed

A book or pamphlet with the edges cut enough to make them tidy, but not enough to cut the folds of the leaves.


Edges untouched

A book or pamphlet with edges uncut and unopened.


EDINBURGH

Plan of a pair of Cases as used at Edinburgh.

Layout of the Edinburgh case


Edition de luxe

Applied to large paper editions of books, and to special editions which are in fact, or are claimed to be, unusually well and expensively made.


EIGHTEENMO

Octodecimo, a sheet of paper folded into eighteen leaves; it is usually termed eighteens.

Electrotype. See Galvanism.


Em

The square of the body of a type.


embossed

When a plate is stamped upon the cover so as to present a raised figure or design, it is said to be embossed. Some inappropriately term this kind of work Arabesque.


embossed

When a plate is so stamped upon a sheet or cover as to produce a raised figure or design.


EMERALD

The name of a type one size larger than Nonpareil, and one smaller than Minion. It is a size lately introduced.


EMPTY CASE

When a compositor cannot compose any more out of a case, from many of the sorts being exhausted, it is termed an empty case, or he says, my <i>Case is Empty</i>, although there may be a great number of types in it of other sorts.


EMPTY PRESS

A press that stands by, which no workman works at: most commonly every printing house has one of them for a proof press; viz. to make proofs on.—M. The term is now applied to those presses only that are unemployed; the press set apart to pull proofs at is called the Proof Press. See Proof Press.


En

Half the dimensions of the preceding.


End leaves or Lining papers

Are the sheets which are pasted to the inside of the covers, and are either plain white or colored, according to the style of binding. Marbled papers are largely used on fine leather work. Sometimes in fine bindings the end leaves are made of silk or leather.


End Papers or Lining Papers

The papers, plain or fancy, placed at each end of the volume and pasted down upon the boards.


End-Papers

The paper placed at each end of the volume, a portion of which is removed when the lining-paper is pasted down upon the boards. Also called Waste-Papers.


End-Papers

The papers placed at each end of the volume and pasted down upon the boards.


End-Papers

papers added at the beginning and end of a book by the binder.


End-Papers

The papers placed at each end of the volume and pasted down upon the boards. Also, the paper placed at each end of the volume, a portion of which is usually removed when the lining-paper is pasted down upon the boards.


ENGLISH

The name of a type, one size larger than Pica, and one smaller than Great Primer. See Alphabet. Types.


English linen or Low buckram

A linen cloth, highly polished, well colored, strong, durable, made in England, and costing in this country about 70 cents per square yard. In De Jonge’s list (De Jonge, dealer in leather, book cloths, etc., 69–73 Duane St., New York) it is called Low buckram. We have used it for the backs of books, light and heavy. It promises to stand indefinitely if not much handled. Under handling it grows soft and flabby like other book cloths, though not rapidly, and without losing its strength. We have discarded it for the books on which we first tried it, periodicals subject to much use. It is not easy to letter in gold by hand, and does not hold gold well under wear.


ENGRAVINGS ON WOOD

As the method of printing engravings on wood, here described, applies to what is termed fine printing, it may be as well in the outset to define what is meant by this expression, in its application to this subject.

Fine printing, in this point of view, is the art of obtaining impressions from an engraving on wood, of the surface and the surface only, so as to produce the effect which the artist intended, in the highest state of perfection.

There is a material difference between an engraving on wood and one on copper: the first is engraved in relief, that is, the lines are left standing, and the part which in the impression is to appear white is cut away or, technically, blocked out; the lines of the engraving on copper, on the contrary, are cut in the metal, and the part that is to be white in the impression is left untouched in the metal by the engraver.

There is also a material difference in the manner of obtaining impressions: those from an engraving on wood are produced by coating the surface of the lines with ink by beating it with balls or passing a roller over it, and then, with a piece of paper upon it, submitting it to pressure between two parallel plane surfaces, or by a cylinder rolling over it. An engraving on copper is smeared over the whole face with ink, which is worked into the lines; the surplus ink is then wiped off the surface of the plate, on which a piece of paper is laid to receive the impression, and these are passed between two cylinders, which press the paper into the engraved lines by a violent squeeze.

It will easily be perceived by this slight description that the two processes are completely distinct from each other, although the effect produced is nearly the same.

I will now proceed to describe the process of producing impressions from engravings on wood in a superior manner.

After putting a block on the press, the workman ought to be very gentle in the pull for the first impression, to prevent an accident, which has frequently occurred from thoughtlessness in this particular, by making the pull too hard, and crushing some of the lines; by avoiding this he will be safe, and can proportion his pull to the subject. He should also examine, previous to pulling, that there be nothing on the block—no pins that he may have for his tympan sheet, nor any needle with which he may have been taking out a pick.—Such accidents have happened, and caused great trouble to the engraver, as well as loss of time and disappointment; besides entailing a character of carelessness on the printer.

In imposing a single block, where the press is large at which it is to be worked, it will be in danger of springing out of the chase while beating, from the quantity of furniture about it: it is a good remedy to impose it in a job chase, and to impose this chase again in a larger one; this will cause it to lie flatter on the press, and firmer in the beating, as the small chase can be locked up tight in the large one, without having too much furniture, and the large one can be secured firmly on the press by quoins and the corner irons.

Neither the pressure nor the impression in an engraving on wood should be uniformly equal: if they be, the effect that is intended to be produced by the artist will fail; and instead of light, middle tint, and shade, an impression will be produced that possesses none of them in perfection; some parts will be too hard and black, and other parts have neither pressure nor colour enough, with obscurity and roughness, and without any of the mildness of the middle tint, which ought to pervade great part of an engraving, and on which the eye reposes after viewing the strong lights and the deep shades.

To produce the desired effect, great nicety and patience are required in the pressman; a single thickness of thin India paper, which is the paper I would always recommend to be used as overlays for engravings, is frequently required over very small parts, with the edges of it scraped down, for it is advisable that the overlay should never be cut at the edges, but, even where great delicacy of shape is not required, that it should be torn into the form wanted, which reduces the thickness of the edges, and causes the additional pressure to blend with the surrounding parts.

Particular parts of the impression will frequently come up much too strong, and other parts too weak, it will then be necessary to take out from between the tympans a thickness of paper, and add an additional tympan sheet, cutting away those parts that come off too hard, and scraping down the edges; scraping away half the thickness of a tympan sheet in small parts that require to be a little lightened will improve the impression.

The light parts require little pressure, but the depths should be brought up so as to produce a full and firm impression.

If a block be hollow on the surface, underlaying the hollow part will bring it up better than overlaying it, at least so much that it shall only require a thickness or two of paper as overlays. If a block be too low, it is advisable to underlay it, for the purpose of raising it to the proper height, in preference to making use of overlays, for they act in some measure as blankets, being pressed into the interstices, and rendering the lines thicker than in the engraving.

It will be necessary sometimes, when the surface of the block is very uneven, to tear away parts of the paper in the tympan, to equalise the impression where it is too hard.

The pressman will find it convenient to pull a few impressions while he is making ready, on soiled or damaged India paper, for out of these he can cut overlays to the precise shape and size that is wanted, as he will constantly find it necessary to do so in instances where great accuracy is required in overlaying particular portions; and in these instances he cannot well do without a sharp penknife and a pair of good small scissars. A fine sharp bodkin and a needle or two, to take out picks, are also needful; but he should be particularly careful in so using them as that he do no injury. The best way to avoid this is to draw the bodkin or needle point cautiously in the direction of the lines.

Engravings that are in the vignette form require great attention to keep the edges light and clear, and in general it is necessary to scrape away one or two thicknesses of paper, in order to lighten the impression and keep it clean; for the edges being irregular, and parts, such as small branches of trees, leaves, &c. straggling, for the purpose of giving freedom to the design, they are subject to come off too hard, and are liable to picks, which give great trouble, and are difficult to be kept clear of. Bearers letter-high placed round the block, if they can be applied without the balls touching them, will be found advantageous; if they cannot, pieces of reglet, pasted on the frisket in the usual way, and taking a bearing on the furniture, must be substituted, but the high bearer is to be preferred where it can be adopted; these bearers equalise the pressure on the surface of the engraving, and protect the edges from the severity of the pull, which is always injurious to the delicacy of the external lines. They also render the subject more manageable, by enabling the pressman to add to, or diminish, the pressure on particular parts, so as to produce the desired effect.

When great delicacy of impression is demanded in a vignette, it will be found beneficial, after the engraving is beat with ink, to take a small ball without ink, and beat the extremities: this will not only take away any superfluity of ink, but will be a means of preventing picks, and give to the edges lightness and softness, particularly where distances are represented.

If the extremities are engraved much lighter than the central parts, underlays should be pasted on the middle of the block, which will give a firmer impression to those central parts of the subject: it would save trouble to cause the block to be a little rounded on the face, as it would give facility in obtaining a good impression.

When highly finished engravings on wood are worked separately, woollen cloth, however fine, should never be used for blankets, as it causes too much impression; two thicknesses of stoutish hard smooth paper, in lieu of it, between the tympans is better: sometimes even a piece of glazed pasteboard is used inside the outer tympan. The parchments ought to be in good condition, stretched tight, of a smooth surface, thin, and of regular thickness, so as to enable the pressman to obtain an impression as nearly as possible from the surface only of the engraved lines.

It is indispensably necessary that the balls should be in the best order, the same as for the finest work; and the pressman should be very particular in taking ink, distributing his balls, and beating the block well, otherwise he will not obtain clear, uniform, good impressions. If the block be small, and it is worked by itself, he will find that he can take ink more uniformly in small quantities, by first taking ink with a pair of regular sized balls, and distributing, and then taking ink from them to work his cut with; and this more particularly if he be using a pair of small balls. For this work he ought always to have the best ink that can be procured.

A large wood cut left on the press stone all night is very apt to warp; when this happens, a good method to restore it to its original flatness is to lay it on its face upon the imposing stone, with a few thicknesses of damp paper underneath it, and to place the flat side of a planer upon it, and four or five octavo pages of tied up letter; in the course of a few hours the block will be restored to its original flatness. This method is preferable to steeping the block in water, which has been frequently practised; for the steeping swells the lines of the engraving, and consequently affects the impression to a much greater extent than this operation. For retaining the original effect, as it came from the hands of the artist, I would carefully prevent the block ever being wet with water, and, when it had been worked in a form with types, would take it out before the form was washed.

To prevent this warping during the dinner hour or the night, turn the tympan down upon the form, run the carriage in, and pulling the bar handle home, fasten it to the near cheek by the catch, where there is one, or else by a chain or rope, or by a stay to the bar from the offcheek; in iron presses this way is efficacious.

However long a time boxwood may be kept in the log, it will always twist and warp when cut into slices for engraving, on account of fresh surfaces being exposed to the air: large blocks may be restored to their flatness by laying them on a plane surface, with the hollow side downward, without any weight on them, in the course of a night.

When only a few proofs are wanted from an engraving, good impressions may be obtained with little trouble on dry India paper, with about six thicknesses of the same sort of paper laid over it, and pulled without the tympan. This observation applies to small cuts, and those of a moderate size; if proofs are wanted from large ones, it will be found advantageous to put the India paper for a few minutes into a heap of damp paper.

A fine engraving on wood should never be brushed over with lye: the best method that I have found in practice, is to wipe the ink off with a piece of fine woollen cloth damped with spirits of turpentine; and if it should get foul in working, to clean it with a softish brush and spirits of turpentine. It will be found in practice that spirits of turpentine take off the ink quicker, and affect the wood less, than any other article used; and the facility with which the block is again brought into a working state, more than compensates for the trifling additional expense incurred, as nothing more is required than to wipe the surface dry, and to pull two or three impressions on dry waste paper.

The engravers always show an impression when the block is taken home to their employer; and this impression is taken in a manner, where the subject is not of a large size, such as to produce a superior effect to what a printer can with a press, when he has a number to do, which are generally worked in a form with types, and his price so low for printing, as not to enable him to do justice to the subjects. This causes great dissatisfaction to his employer, and he is unable to remedy the grievance; for the engraver’s proof is obtained by means of a burnisher, with one thickness of paper in addition to that printed on, so that he can examine each part to bring it up where it is required, and leave the others as delicate as he pleases: he thus obtains an impression from the surface only, perfect in all its parts, with the best ink that can be procured; while the printer gives dissatisfaction, because he cannot, in the way of trade, perform impossibilities.

Papillon, in his work on Engraving on Wood, published in 1766, complains of a plan nearly similar being adopted by the French engravers, with which he finds great fault. The following is a translation of the passage:—

“Some engravers on wood have the knack of fabricating the proofs of their engravings far more delicately, and in a more flattering manner than they really ought to be; and this is the means they make use of—they first take off two or three, in order to adjust one of them to their fancy, and which they think will favour their imposition; having selected it, they only beat anew the parts of the block charged with shades and the deeper strokes, in such a manner, that the lighter ones, distances, &c. being only lightly covered with ink, in as far as not being touched in the new beating, they retain no more than what was left by the preceding impression; the result is, that the new proof comes off extremely delicate in those places, and appears pleasing to the eye; but when this block is printed in conjunction with letterpress, the impressions then appear in their natural state, and totally different from that which they presented on delivery of the work. The strokes are of one equal tint, hard, and devoid of softness, and the distances are often less delicate than the foregrounds. I shall risk little by saying that all the three Le Sueurs have made use of this trick.”

The pressman will find it an advantage, if it be necessary to do full justice to an engraving, to have a good impression from the engraver, and place it before him as a pattern, and then arrange the overlays, &c., till he produces a facsimile in effect; but the most valuable lesson will be when he can obtain the assistance of the artist at the press side, to direct him in making ready the cut, and I would advise him by no means to be impatient at the tediousness of the operation, as he will obtain more information how to produce a fine impression by this than by any other means. It will also instruct him how to meet the wishes of the draftsman and the engraver, with regard to effect, in a way superior to any other; and will, with care and attention, ultimately lead him to excellence in printing engravings on wood.

An assertion is now generally promulgated, that machine printing is superior to that of the press, even for engravings on wood, and thus misleading publishers and the public. When I come to speak of machines, and of presses, I will endeavour to show that it is incompatible with the principle of a machine that it can equal a press in producing fine work.

Errand Boy. See Devil.


ERRATA

A list of errors that have escaped both the author and the printer. It is generally printed in a small type at the end of the work. It should always be kept down, and never brought out in a prominent manner. Some authors seem partial to extend the errata, by noticing the most trifling mistakes, such for instance as a turned letter, and adding corrections of the writing and of misstatements of facts, as well as new facts which may have arisen; and all under the name errata, as if they were entirely the errors of the printer; in this case they ought to be styled Corrections and Additions. In my opinion, there is no occasion to insert in the errata any thing that does not affect the sense. Mr. Beloe, in his Anecdotes of Literature, states that “the book which is distinguished by the greatest number of errata on record, is that containing the works of Pica Mirandula, printed at Strasburgh in 1507, by a printer of the name of Knoblouch. The errata of this volume occupy no less than fifteen folio pages.”


ETHIOPIC

The Ethiopic language is descended from the Hebrew, yet approaching nearer to the Arabic than to any other of the Semitic languages. It observes the order of reading and writing from left to right, in common with the other languages of the same origin. It has twenty-six characters peculiar to itself, of which the order, figure, name, and power are as follow:—

Of these ጰ: and ፐ: are used only in words of Greek and Latin origin. In expressing Arabic these seven, ሰ: ተ: ነ: ከ: ዘ: ደ: ጠ:, and in Portuguese and Italian these three, መ: በ: and ለ:, are made use of with the addition of certain horns.

Moreover, none of the above letters are connected, except ገ:, which, in the name of God, sometimes coalesces with ዘ:, in this manner ዘ:, as ለዘለበሐረ:

The power of the letters approaches nearest to those which have been added, whence it appears that ሀ: ሐ: and ኀ:, also ሠ: and ሰ:, also አ: and ዐ:, and lastly ጸ: and ፀ:, are generally pronounced in the same manner, which causes no small confusion in writing, as one cognate letter is often put for another, so that it should always be borne in mind in looking for a word in the lexicon, that if it is not to be found under one letter, we should continue our researches under the cognate.

These four ቀ:, ጠ:, ጰ:, and ጸ: or ፀ:, have a sound altogether at variance with European custom, and the correct pronunciation can only be learnt by hearing. But one destitute of a preceptor may approach nearer to their genuine sounds, by first prefixing to each the power of the vowel i, thus, ik, it, ip, iz, and afterwards, having substituted in its place an apostrophe, he may add the vowels, in this manner ’k-a, ’k-e, ’k-i, &c., and similarly with ’t-a, ’p-a, ’z-a, &c.

In Ethiopic the numbers are not represented by the letters, but by certain peculiar figures formed apparently from the Greek letters, and which are included within two small lines, in the following manner:—

The other numbers are compounded from these, the greater being always placed first, as as ፲፩: 11. ፲፪: 12. &c. ፳፩: 21. ፳፪: 22. &c. ፻፩: 101. ፻፪:102.

In Ethiopic the vowels are not expressed by particular letters, as in the European, or by separate points, as in the Oriental languages, but by certain small lines or circles annexed to the top, middle, or bottom of the letters themselves, or by the shortening or lengthening of one of the strokes, which changes are in number seven; whence arise so many orders of letters, or rather of syllables, of which the first is considered as the simple figure, and the remainder as compound, and are read—the first by a short, the second by u, the third by i, the fourth by a long, the fifth by e long, the sixth by e or y short, and the seventh by o; in this manner:

The diphthongs are formed not only by the letters ው: and ይ:, mutes of the sixth order, after a letter of the first or fourth order, as, for instance, አውራኀ: months, ተሠይመ it is appointed; but also the four letters ቀ: ኀ: ከ: and ገ: with the addition of certain peculiar points, are generally considered to form diphthongs in the first, third, fourth, fifth, and sixth orders, in this manner:

In Ethiopic each separate word is distinguished by two thick points, and the periods by four or more; there are no marks of accentuation.

The preceding observations are extracted from a small treatise on the elements of Ethiopic grammar by George Otho, professor of the Greek and Oriental languages at Marburg in Hesse Cassel, with an acknowledgment of being indebted for his information to Ludolph; and bound in connexion with the “Fundamenta Punctationis Linguæ Sanctæ” of Jacob Alting, printed at Frankfort on the Main, in 2 vols., 1717.

Ethiopic Types in the British Founderies.

English.—Oxford University. Thorowgood & Besley. Formerly Bynneman’s.

Pica.—Caslon & Livermore. Thorowgood & Besley. Walton’s Polyglot; through Andrews’s and James’s founderies to Fry.

The Ethiopic Alphabet

Ethiopic numerals

Ethiopic vowels

Ethiopic diphthongs


ETRUSCAN

The confines of ancient Etruria bordered closely upon the city of Rome, being separated from it only by the Tyber to the south-east and south. There is proof, indeed, that almost all Italy was at one time under the power of Etruria.

Although the Etrurians seem to have arrived at the highest point of civilization, and even of luxury, at an early period, whilst Rome had as yet no existence, and to have been distinguished in a variety of respects far beyond the people of surrounding nations, we are almost wholly ignorant of their history, and even their origin is involved in the greatest doubt.

The people of Etruria, called by the Romans Etrusci or Tusci, are styled Tyrrheni or Tyrseni by the Greek historians.

The difficulties of the Etruscan question are increased by a difference of statement and of opinion in the accounts recorded on the subject, by Herodotus and Dionysius, two of the greatest antiquaries and historians of ancient times.

Herodotus, who, says Athenæus (lib. xii.), obtained his account from Lydians, gives to the Tyrrheni a Lydian origin, and states that they emigrated under the command of Tyrrhenus, one of the sons of Atys: while Dionysius, partly because Xanthus, an historian of Lydia, is silent respecting this emigration, will not allow the tradition to be true, but imagines them to have come from the north. It is not improbable that both are in part correct: the earlier portion of the Etrurians might have come from the north, while the later colony (who must have been advanced in civilization to have effected the voyage) might have been Lydians; and in all probability these subsequent settlers constituted the dominant portion of the invaders of Etruria.—Sir William Gell’s Topography of Rome, 8vo. 1834.

The Etruscan language must have been the same, or nearly so, with the Hebrew and Phœnician. For, whether we consider them as descended from Ashur, Peleg, the Egyptians, Phœnicians, or even Celtes, and from some of these they undoubtedly descended, their language must have been either the same with the Hebrew and Phœnician, or nearly related to them. The first Pelasgic settlements in Etruria could not have been many centuries after the deluge, and very few after the dispersion; and at that time the languages, or rather dialects, of the Egyptians, Assyrians, Babylonians, Celtes, Syrians, Arabs, &c., must have approached extremely near to the Hebrews and Phœnicians, which the learned allow to have been almost the same. With regard to the Canaanites or Phœnicians migrating into Etruria, after the first colonies of the Pelasgi or Tyrsenians settled there, it cannot be denied, that their language had received but little alteration from the primitive Hebrew. So that both sacred and profane history concur to evince the Hebrew, Phœnician, and Etruscan tongues to have been, in the earlier ages, nearly the same.

This likewise farther appears from the letters and manner of writing anciently used in Etruria. The letters are almost the same with those of the earliest Greeks, brought by Cadmus out of Phœnicia. The manner of writing is purely Oriental, the letters being drawn from the right hand to the left, consonant to the practice of the Eastern nations. The former point is rendered indisputably clear by the Eugubian tables, in conjunction with the Sigean inscription, and the latter by a bare perusal of the generality of the Etruscan inscriptions. Nay, the very remote antiquity of the first colonies that settled in Etruria, as well as of the Etruscan language and alphabet, may be easily inferred from those inscriptions. For as the Pelasgic alphabet, that prevailed in Greece before the age of Deucalion, consisted of sixteen letters, the Etruscan or Pelasgic alphabet, first brought into Italy, composed of only thirteen letters, must have preceded the reign of that prince. The high, not to say almost incredible, antiquity of the Etruscan language and alphabet, has been clearly evinced in two dissertations, by Mr. J. Swinton, printed at Oxford in the year 1746.—Univ. Hist. 8vo. vol. xvi. 1748.

The author of a “Tour to the Sepulchres of Etruria, in 1839,” in a visit to General Galassi’s museum at Rome, says, “If we had been surprised at Campanari’s exhibition, we were petrified at the general’s. Here we saw an immense breastplate of gold, which had been fastened on each shoulder by a most delicately wrought gold fibula, with chains like those now made at Trichinopoly. The breastplate was stamped with a variety of arabesques and small patterns, as usual in the Egyptian style. The head had been crowned with fillets and circular ornaments of pure gold, and a rich mantle had covered the body, flowered with the same material. In this grave also had been found a quantity of arms, round bronze shields with a boss in the centre which was stamped, spears, lances, and arrows; a bier of bronze, as perfect as if made a year ago; a tripod, with a vessel containing some strange looking lumps of a resinous substance, and which on being burnt proved to be perfumes so intensely strong, that those who tried them were obliged to leave the room. There were many small images, perhaps of lares, or of ancestors, in terra cotta that had been ranged in double lines close to the bier; also some large common vessels for wine and oil, and some finely painted vases and tazze, with black figures upon a red ground, which had been consecrated to the dead. There were wheels of a car upon which the bier had been brought into the sepulchre, and many other things which I do not remember; but the wonder of all these treasures was a sort of inkstand of terra cotta, which had served as a schoolmaster’s A. B. C. On it were the Etruscan letters, first in alphabet, and then in syllables, and both the letters and the syllables are the same as the oldest form of the Greek. It was deciphered by Dr. Lepsius, and is the key to all we at present know, and will be the basis of all we are ever likely to know, of the Etruscan tongue.”——“This humble article is likely to prove to Europe, what the stones of Alexandria and Rosetta have been before it, the dictionary of a lost language, and the interpreter of an extinct race.”

“I noted that upon this inkstand were four alphabets engraved, and after each the syllables,—thus, ba, be, bi, &c., ma, me, mi, and so forth; that one of these is in the oldest or archaic form of the Greek alphabetic letters, and that hence connexion is likely to be traced and demonstrated between the Egyptian, Etruscan, and Pelasgic.”

The Primitive Etruscan Alphabet.

To these letters may be added the four following complex characters [#], [#], [#], and [#].

Etruscan in the British Founderies.

Pica.—Caslon and Livermore. Cut by Caslon for the celebrated linguist, the Rev. John Swinton, Oxford, about 1733.

The Etruscan Alphabet


Eve style

A framework of various geometrical-shaped compartments linked together by interlaced circles; the centers of the compartments are filled with small floral ornaments and the irregular spaces surrounding them with circular scrolls and branches of laurel and palm. An elaborate style of the end of the sixteenth and beginning of the seventeenth century.


EVEN LINES

When a piece of printing has to be executed in great haste, a number of compositors are employed on it, and the copy is cut into small pieces for each, to facilitate the making-up, imposing, and the general furthering of the work; if the copy should be in long paragraphs, the compositors have each to begin a line and to make their copy end a line, frequently with great irregularity of spacing; this is termed making even lines. In daily newspapers it is of constant occurrence.


EVEN PAGE

The second, fourth, sixth, or any other even numbered page is called an even page.

Exclamation, Note of. See Punctuation.


EVEN PAGE

The 2d, 4th, 6th, or any even-numbered page of a book.


EXERCISING THE PELT

Frequently currying a pelt, to get it into condition, is termed Exercising the Pelt, or Giving the Pelt Exercise.


extra binding

a trade term for the best work.


FAC

Before the introduction of printing into Europe, and its application to the production of books, the Librarii or writers of books, in Rome, were a regular company who had several immunities: their business was a trade, and they were regulated by certain laws. Besides these writers of books, there were artists whose profession was to ornament and paint manuscripts, who were called Illuminators; the writers of books first finished their part, and the illuminators embellished them with ornamented letters and paintings. We frequently find blanks left in manuscripts for the illuminators which were never filled up. Some of the ancient manuscripts are gilt and burnished in a style superior to later times. Their colours were excellent, and their skill in preparing them was very great.

This practice, of introducing ornaments, drawings, emblematical figures, and even portraits into manuscripts, is of great antiquity. Varro wrote the lives of seven hundred illustrious Romans, which he enriched with their portraits, as Pliny attests in his Natural History. Pomponius Atticus, the friend of Cicero, was the author of a work on the actions of the great men amongst the Romans, which he ornamented with their portraits, as appears in his life by Cornelius Nepos; but these have not been transmitted to posterity. However there are many precious documents remaining, which exhibit the advancement and decline of the arts in different ages and countries. These inestimable paintings and illuminations, display the manners, customs, habits, ecclesiastical, civil, and military, weapons and instruments of war, utensils and architecture of the ancients; they are of the greatest use in illustrating many important facts, relating to the history of the times in which they were executed. In these treasures of antiquity are preserved a great number of specimens of Grecian and Roman art, which were executed before the arts and sciences fell into neglect and contempt. The manuscripts containing these specimens, form a valuable part of the riches preserved in the principal libraries of Europe. The Royal, Cottonian, and Harleian libraries, as also those in the two Universities in England, the Vatican at Rome, the Imperial at Vienna, the Royal at Paris, St. Mark’s at Venice, and many others.

When the art of printing was first applied in Europe to the production of books, they were in imitation of, and sold as, manuscripts; and blanks were left at the commencement of the respective divisions of the work, for the illuminator to fill in with the proper letters, and ornaments, as was usual in manuscripts, and so close was the imitation that, even in our own time, it has required the assistance of a chemical test to ascertain which was manuscript and which was printed. When the secret of printing was divulged, and the deception could not be continued, ornamental letters of a large size were introduced, and printed with two colours, generally red and blue, the letter being of one colour, and flourishes, extending the whole length of the page, in the other, so as to have the appearance of being done with a pen; then succeeded various grotesque figures, in attitudes to resemble letters; afterwards small Roman Capital Letters, with ornaments round them forming a square design; subsequently the block was pierced so that any letter could be introduced, and the ornamented part could be used for any initial; the next descent was for the letter founders to cast the ornament in type metal, and pierce it for general use, and these cast ornaments for letters were called Facs, as an abbreviation, I believe, for Facsimile. The last descent was to the extreme, to put a plain Roman Capital Letter, frequently extending four or five lines in depth; and this is the substitute for a beautiful coloured drawing.


FACE OF A LETTER

The surface of that extremity of the type which bears the letter.


Face of a Page

or Form.* The Superficies of a *Page* or *Form*, where the *Faces* of every *Letter* lies in the same Plain.


FACE OF A PAGE,

or Form. The superficies of a page or form, where the faces of every letter lie in the same plain.—M.


FALLING OUT

The same as Dropping out, which see. But this term is more generally applied to a page, a quarter, or a whole form, when any one of them falls out of a chase from the shrinking of the quoins and furniture.

In summer time particularly, forms in chase require to be frequently examined, and the quoins tightened, to prevent this accident, and more especially when they have been imposed in wet furniture. Compositors should neither be negligent, nor forgetful of this, as in the progress of a work the forms are in their charge, and if the whole of a form, or part of it, falls out, they not only have to distribute the pie, but to recompose the matter gratuitously.


fanfare style

When the compartments on a decorated corner formed by fillets or curves, or both, are filled with little branches, vines, etc., the style of decoration is said to be fanfare—from its first having been used on a book of which this word formed the principal part of the title.


FANNING

This is a term used in the Warehouse, in counting paper. It consists of taking hold of the right hand lower corner of a portion of the paper between the flat side of the fore finger and the end of the thumb, and pinching it tolerably tight; then with a twist of the wrist turning the right hand edge of the paper up, and running the left hand over the surface of the paper, it separates the sheets at the top corner, so as to have somewhat the appearance of a fan, and enables the person to count it with facility.


FAT

With compositors, short pages, blank pages, and light open matter: with pressmen, light forms, forms that only require one pull at wooded presses; and very small numbers, such as five, ten, fifteen, or twenty copies each, are termed Fat.

Fat. See Beat Fat.—M.


FAT

Poetry and leaded matter.


Fat Face

or *Fat Letter*, is a broad Stemmed *Letter*.


Fat Face

or *Fat letter*.—Broad stemmed letter.


FAT FACE,

or Fat Letter, is a letter with a broad stem. For observations on them and specimens, see Type.

Fat Form. See Fat.

Fat Work. See Fat.


Father of the chapel

President or chairman of a composing-room or press-room chosen by the hands.


Feed guide

An implement attached to a press to aid in correct feeding.


Feeding

Supplying the press with sheets.


FEET OF A PRESS

The frame of a wooden press that lies horizontally on the floor, into which the cheeks and hind posts are inserted by means of mortises and tenons.


FELT

Pieces of felted hats. This is the best substitute for scaleboard, when there is a deficiency of that article, to use as cards in the head of a press; and even when there is no scarcity of scaleboard, a few pieces put in improve the pull. See Cards.


Female Gage

*Screws*, &c. The *Hollow Gage*, or *Hollow Screw* that receives its *Match Gage* or *Screw*, &c.


fillet

The cylindrical ornament used in finishing upon which simple lines are engraved.


fillet

A cylindrical tool used in finishing, upon which a line or lines are engraved.


fillet

A cylindrical tool upon which a line, lines, or figures are engraved. Used in finishing.


FINE PRESSWORK

This is the technical term for presswork of superior quality; it is in some measure indefinite, for, as presswork is paid a certain price for a given number, and the price advances according to the time and care bestowed on it, that for which the lowest price is paid is termed common work, and after the price has advanced about one half in addition, it is styled fine work; although it may advance gradually to six times the lowest price, or more, it is still called fine work.

In aiming at excellence in printing, it will be found that Presswork deserves particular consideration, as a part on which the beauty of a book so much depends.

It will be necessary, in the first instance, to endeavour to define more particularly what is meant by the term Fine Presswork, for except this be understood, we shall come to no satisfactory conclusion, as workmen vary in their opinions respecting it, and frequently produce sheets of different shades of colour in the same volume, when it is done at different presses, and all under the name of the finest work; and when the same person either actually prints the whole, or superintends it, the work will be executed according to his criterion, without any fixed rule whereby to decide; thus one man shall produce the finest work, according to his opinion, of a pale grey colour, while another will produce it so black and surcharged with colour, that if the ink be not of a very good quality, it will not only smear, but the paper at the edges of the letters, nay, even the whole page, will be tinged with the oil which separates from the colouring matter of the ink, to the entire destruction of all beauty of workmanship.

Fine Presswork is the art of printing perfect impressions from the surface of engravings in relief.

By obtaining perfect impressions, I would be understood that the subject transferred to paper should be an impression from the surface and the surface only of the engraved lines, of such a tone as to produce all the effect of which the subject is capable, without either superfluity or deficiency of colour.

Having thus defined my meaning of the term Fine Presswork, I shall speak of the means by which it is to be produced, which may be of use to those who have not had opportunities of printing splendid books.

The press ought to be in the best condition, otherwise there will be no certainty of the impression being equal, except with great trouble and loss of time. The joints of the tympan should not have any play; if they have, it will affect the register, which being out disfigures the appearance of the book; it also causes a great risk of producing slurs and doubles: the most certain way of having them without play is to construct them on centres, so that if they should work a little loose, they can at any time, with the greatest ease, be tightened by means of the screws on which the centres are formed.

The parchments on the tympans should be thin, and of a uniform thickness, and stretched on the tympans so as not to be flaccid. It is said that the French printers in their finest works used silk on the tympans, on account of its thinness, its smoothness, and uniformity.

The face of the platen ought to be a true plane, and parallel to the press stone, or table. It will be found in practice that an iron platen is superior to a wooden one for producing a sharp clear impression, where fine work is wanted; for, by discarding woollen blankets, the pressure must be increased to obtain this effect, which indents wood, and then requires so many overlays to make a uniform impression, that they produce nearly the same effect as blankets, and it becomes necessary to new face the surface frequently, which is inconvenient and expensive: the iron platen is not subject to this inconvenience; but it is more liable to injure the types, as it will not yield; and should there be any inequality on the surface of the form, owing to it not being well planed down, or to any extraneous matter being upon it or under it, the types must give way, and be destroyed. Generally speaking, the iron platen wears the types more than a wooden one.

The head of the press should be so justified as to produce what is termed a soaking pull; that is, the form should begin to feel the pressure of the platen when about two thirds down; then, when the bar is pulled home, or what is technically called cheeked, which I would always recommend to be done in good work, as it keeps the pull regular and uniform, the power slowly increases, and the paper has time to be pressed gradually on the types, which causes it to receive the ink on all its parts, and produces a clear impression.

This justifying the head relates to wooden presses, where the head and the winter are allowed some play, which is filled up with pieces of scaleboard, called cards, cut to the size of the mortises in the cheeks, and inserted in them upon the tenons of the head, and under the tenons of the winter, allowing the pull to have some elasticity. For my own part, I would have the winter lie solid, and the spring be confined to the head. See Winter.

In the iron presses constructed on the late Earl Stanhope’s principle, where increased power is produced by means of a compound lever applied to the screw, and where there is no elasticity in the pull, this effect is produced in a greater degree than in a press of the common construction; for, as the platen descends on the form, the power increases considerably, but the motion is slower; thus the effect of the soaking pull is preserved, with a considerable addition of power, owing to the combined action of the screw and the compound lever.

In Ruthven’s press, where the platen is suspended from the head, and brought over the form by means of small wheels with grooves in their edges running on the ribs, the pull is regulated by screws on the locking pieces, and also through the springs by which it rests on the ribs, that bring it nearer to, or remove it from the form.

In Clymer’s Columbian press, where the power is obtained by a compound lever, the pull is regulated by a screw that connects the bar with the lever, and additionally by thin plates of iron placed upon the top of the platen under the bottom of the spindle. It is also regulated in the same way, in the Albion press, as originally constructed by R. W. Cope.

In Sherwin and Cope’s Imperial press the pull is justified by a wedge above the head of the spindle or bolt in the front, which has a screw attached to it with a projecting head, by which the pull is adjusted to the greatest nicety, with ease and facility. Mr. Hopkinson has adopted the same plan in the Albion press since it came under his management on the death of Mr. Cope.

The advantage of having a good press will be unavailing for the production of fine work, if the types are much worn; for it will be found impossible to produce a sharp clear impression if the perfect shape of the letter and the fine lines are rounded and worn away by much use, as, in consequence of this roundness of the letter from wear, it will be necessary to use much blanket in the tympan to bring up the shape of the whole letter, which will produce a gross and indelicate impression of more than the surface.

I have been told that Didot, of Paris, in his most splendid works, never printed more than three sheets from the same fount of letter, when it was sent to the melting pot, and replaced by a new fount.

The colour of the ink must depend on the taste or fancy of the master printer;—but no, I am mistaken, for, unless he prepares his own ink, he is obliged to use that only which is manufactured for general use; and there is little if any choice in purchasing this article, when it is wanted of a superior quality. Leaving the particular shade or tone out of the question, I will state my opinion as to what the qualities of black printing ink ought to be for fine work.

Intenseness of colour.

Impalpability.

Covering the surface perfectly of the type or engraving.

Quitting the surface of the type or engraving, when the paper is pressed on it, and adhering to the paper.

Not smearing after it is printed.

Retaining its first appearance without any change.

Ink ought to be reduced to an impalpable smoothness, either in a mill or on a stone with a mullar; and this is essentially necessary, as the process gives it the next quality—of completely covering the surface of the type, or the lines of the engraving, and that with the smallest quantity; and, with proper care in printing, presents to the eye an impression, in which the edges of the lines are smooth and perfect, and the surface of the impression on the paper is completely covered with ink, without any superfluity; which constitute the perfection of presswork with types.

Another property required in ink is, that it shall not only cover the surface of the lines on the paper printed, but that it shall also quit the face of the type or engraving, and leave it quite clean when the paper is impressed on it, and attach itself to the paper, so as to give a perfect impression of the subject represented, without the colour of the paper appearing through the ink; and that this property, of quitting the type or engraving, and becoming attached to the paper, shall continue the same through any number of impressions, without any accumulation of ink on the surface printed from.

After having obtained these results, and when the printing is as perfect as it can be made by workmanship, still something more is requisite, viz. that the ink shall not smear on being slightly rubbed; and that it shall retain its colour and appearance, without the oil in the ink spreading at the edges, or tinging the paper—in short, that it shall continue unchanged for any length of time, thus preserving and continuing the beauty of the work.

The balls should be in good condition, otherwise the pressman may exert his skill in vain, with a great loss of time and waste of paper, without the intended effect. They are made smaller and stuffed tighter with wool than those used for common work, which enables the pressman to distribute the strong ink that is used with more facility; they also cover the surface with ink better than if they were softer, and are easier for the workman; for large soft balls, used with ink made very strong with varnish and colour, would be almost unmanageable.

The quality of the paper is of great consequence in fine printing, but it is frequently overlooked by the printer’s employers, who are too apt to pay more attention to a showy appearance and a low price, than to quality.

The best paper for receiving an impression, as I have observed in the article Engravings on Wood, is India paper; but as that which comes to England is thin, it is not used for bookwork, neither would it be durable, as it wants toughness to enable it to sustain much wear.

The next best paper for printing is French plate paper, which is superior to English plate paper, as the latter has a good deal of gypsum in its composition, which causes it to be very uncertain in the wetting; for having given it a sufficient quantity of water, judging from appearances and by comparison, and expecting to have it in good condition, the pressman shall find it, when wanted for use, nearly dry, and harsh, and the water unequally diffused; it has then to be wetted again, and particular attention must be paid to the turning and pressing of it, before it is in a proper state for printing on. I attribute this effect to the gypsum, which has had its water of crystallization driven off by fire in preparing it, and the water which it takes up in wetting crystallizes to supply its place. I do not say that all English plate paper is affected in this manner by water, but I have repeatedly experienced it in practice; and in the second wetting, if great care be not taken, the gypsum being already saturated, it will imbibe too much water, which will squeeze out in printing, and prevent the paper from taking the ink uniformly, so as to spoil the impression.

The best English paper for printing on is that which is made of fine linen rags, and moderately sized, without the use of acids in bleaching, and without being adulterated with cotton rags: this paper takes water kindly, is easily got into good condition, receives a good impression, is durable, preserves its colour, and does not act upon the ink.

Messrs. J. Dickinson and Co. have made great improvements in the quality of paper, and manufacture one kind which is admirably adapted for printing, being made by a peculiar process which gives it a particular affinity for the ink. They have also introduced improvements in the manufacture which have superseded the use of French paper with us, and have also nearly done so with the Chinese or India paper.

Having thus spoken of what I mean by fine presswork, and of the materials by which it is to be produced, I shall now proceed to describe the process; for when a printing office is provided with materials of the best quality, and the master of it is desirous of producing superior workmanship, there is something more required—he must resolve to lay in a fund of patience, as well as to submit to a great and continued expense of materials, or else he will never excel.

A good pressman will, as a matter of course, be well acquainted with the whole of the usual routine of presswork; in addition to which, to form his judgment, he should make himself acquainted with the most splendid books, and study them as patterns of workmanship.

In making ready it must be evident, that when a clear sharp impression is wanted, the pressure should be on the surface only, without penetrating into the interstices; of course the tympan ought not to be very soft, neither should any woollen blanket be used: the most perfect impression will be obtained when fine thick paper alone is used in the tympans, and even of this article I would not recommend many thicknesses.

After an impression is printed, the pressman examines if it be uniform throughout; if it be, which is very rarely the case, he goes on with the work; if not, he proceeds to overlay, in order to produce regularity of pressure, and of colour, over the whole form.

To effect this object, he takes thin smooth paper, and wherever the impression is weak he pastes a bit of it, of the size and shape of the imperfect part, on the tympan sheet, and proceeds in the same manner with every part that is imperfect; he then pulls another impression to examine the effect of his overlays, and continues to add to them where wanted, till the pressure of the platen is the same in every part, and the impression is uniformly of one shade of colour.

If the impression come off too strong in parts, or at the edges or corners of the pages, or on the head lines, it will be necessary to cut away the tympan sheet in those parts, and, if that does not ease the pressure sufficiently, to cut away the same parts from one or more of the sheets that are within the tympans.

It is generally preferable to overlay on a sheet of stout smooth paper inside the tympan, and particularly where the same press does the whole or great part of a work: this sheet is cut to fit the interior of the tympan, so as not to slip about, and has overlays pasted on it where wanted, to bring up the impression till it is very nearly equal; in all succeeding sheets it saves the pressman a great deal of time, as he will be certain that when he pulls a sheet of another form of the same work it will be nearly right, and he will only have to place thin overlays on occasional parts to make the impression perfect, with very little trouble. On the same principle, where this method is not adopted, preserving and using the same tympan sheet with its overlays, will be more expeditious than having to repeat the operation with every form.

Where short pages occur in a form, the bottoms of them and the edges of the adjoining pages will print too hard, and not prove a clear impression; it will therefore be necessary to have bearers to protect them, which are generally of double pica reglet pasted on the frisket, so as to bear on some part of the furniture or chase; but high bearers, made to the height of the types, are better, when they can be placed so that the balls do not touch them during the process of beating: in such a case they are liable to tear the frisket, from their closely adhering to it by their inky surface and the pressure. They may be placed where the regular foot of the page would have been had it been a full one, to prevent those hard edges which would otherwise be produced. This principle will hold good in all cases of short pages, blank pages, and the edges of wood cuts; but where it happens that some of the edges, or a particular page of a full form, come off too hard, and where there is not room to place a high bearer, then a piece of double pica reglet pasted on the frisket in the usual way will answer the purpose.

It is not necessary that these bearers should be placed close to the part requiring to be eased; they will produce the same effect if placed at a distance, keeping the direction, so that they take a good bearing on the platen, avoiding the frame of the frisket and the points; in using reglet as low bearers, I would recommend that the flat side of the furniture should be turned uppermost to receive the pressure of the bearers, provided they do not bear upon the chase.

When a high bearer does not ease the pull sufficiently on particular parts, its effect may be increased by pasting slips of stout paper on it, as overlays or underlays, and a bearer of reglet may be amended in a similar manner.

It happens occasionally that the tympan causes the paper to touch the form partially on being turned down, and occasions slurs, and this may occur from the parchment being slack or the paper being thin and soft. To prevent this inconvenience it is customary to roll up a piece of paper, similar to bookbinders headbands, and paste it on the frisket adjoining the part; this roll of paper takes a slight bearing on the furniture, and is a remedy. Many pressmen prefer pieces of cork cut to about the thickness of double pica, and pasted on the frisket.

It is neither customary nor advisable to fly the frisket in the best work, and more particularly when large heavy paper is used; it is a convenience in such cases to have a button screwed on the off side of the frame of the tympan, to confine the frisket flat to the tympan; it keeps the paper in its place, assists it in rising from the face of the form, to which it adheres owing to the strength of the ink; it helps to prevent slurring, and the paper from slipping, which occasions waste when it happens: altogether the button is of consequence in preventing accidents in the impression.

In working the white paper, instead of pins stuck into the tympan, to prevent the paper slipping, a duck’s bill is frequently used: it is pasted to the tympan at the bottom of the tympan sheet, and the tongue projects in front of it, indeed the tympan sheet appears to rest in it. The bottom of each sheet is placed behind this tongue, which supports it while turning down the tympan. See Duck’s Bill.

In proceeding with the work the balls should be well cleaned, that no dirt or extraneous matter may be on their surface. They should not be too moist, which would prevent the ink distributing equally on them, and would also prevent it lying equally on the surface of the types or engraving; nor should they be too dry, as in that case they will not dispose of the ink so smoothly as to produce a fine impression; neither will they retain particles of dirt on their surface, but part with them to the form, which will cause picks. The moisture ought to be just so much as to make the pelt or composition soft, when the ink will distribute kindly and equally, which will be perceived by their lugging; they will also part with it to the form equally where they touch, so that the impression will be sharp and clear.

The ink ought to be rubbed out thin and regular on the ink block, so that in taking ink it shall at the very first be diffused tolerably smooth on the surface of the balls, which causes a greater probability of producing good impressions. It is likewise advisable to keep rubbing the ink out on the block with the brayer, as also to be almost constantly distributing the balls; the consequent friction produces a small degree of warmth, which is of advantage, particularly in cold weather.

As uniformity of colour is requisite for beauty in printing, I would recommend that the pressman should take ink for every impression where the form is large; this I am aware will be thought too troublesome, but I am decidedly of opinion that it is advantageous in producing regularity of colour: it is unpleasant to the eye to see in a splendid book two pages that face each other, the one of a full black, rather surcharged with ink, the other rather deficient in quantity and of a grey colour; yet this must happen when, as is frequently the case, three or four sheets are printed with one taking of ink.

Beating for fine work should not by any means be slighted. The form ought to be gone over two or three times, not with heavy thumps, but slowly and regularly with a firm hand, just raising the balls each time completely clear of the types, and advancing but a little way, so that in fact each part will be beat five or six times over, or more; the face of the type will then be completely covered with ink: but the pressman should be careful not to beat too far over the edges of the pages, nor, if the margin be wide, to let the balls scrape against the edges of another page, as in both cases ink or extraneous matter will be scraped from the balls, and accumulate about the types at the extremities, and thus cause picks and rough lines.

In splendid books, and particularly where the paper is large and heavy and the type large, set-off sheets are used to interleave the whole impression while working, and are continued in it till the printed paper is taken down from the poles, when they are removed by the warehouseman. These set-off sheets are put in when the white paper is working, and moved from one heap to the other during the working of the reiteration. They prevent the ink from setting off from one sheet to another while they are newly printed, which it would otherwise do from the weight of the paper, and also from fine printing being usually worked of a full colour.

For the uniformity of impression I would advise that the pull should be adjusted in the first instance so as to cause a proper degree of pressure on the form to produce a good impression when the bar is pulled home, and then invariably to cheek the bar, and allow it to rest in that position during a short pause; this is easily done in the Stanhope, the Ruthven, the Columbian, and Sherwin and Cope’s presses, as the increased power is obtained by a compound lever, which is generally so adjusted as that the lever shall come a small portion beyond the centre of the circle it partially describes when the bar is pulled home, and as it has then reached a point beyond its maximum power, it is easily retained in this position to rest on the pull: the same observation applies to all other presses having, what is usually termed, the increased power, which is the application of a compound lever to a press on the common construction; but in a one pull wooden press, instead of this application, which I must acknowledge I never knew to answer well when applied to these presses, I would recommend when fine work is doing a simple contrivance that I adopted in two presses, which answered the purpose uncommonly well, and enabled the pressmen to rest on the pull uniformly, without too much effort to keep the bar to the cheek, which with a heavy form and a large platen becomes very fatiguing to continue through a number of impressions, if not impossible, with the unaided exertion of the arm. See Catch of the Bar.

It will thus be perceived, that to produce presswork of a highly superior character, great expense and much time are required; and that it is requisite to have a good press, and that press to be in good condition; to have new types, or types the faces of which are not rounded by wear; to have good balls, and those balls in good condition; the ink should be strong, of a full black colour, the oil well boiled, to prevent it separating from the colouring matter and tinging the paper, and it should be ground so fine as to be impalpable; the paper should be of the best quality, made of linen rags, and not bleached by means of an acid which has a tendency to decompose the ink; the beating should be carefully and well done, not in a hurried manner, the face of the type should be completely covered with ink, without any superfluity, so as to produce a full colour; and the pull should be so regulated as to have a slow and great pressure, and to pause at its maximum in order to fix the ink firmly upon the paper; these particulars observed, with paper only in the tympans, perfect impressions of the face of the type only will be obtained in the most superior manner, and a splendid book will thus be produced in the best style of printing.


Finishers' Press

Is the same as a laying-press, only much smaller.


finishing

Is that department that receives the volumes after they are put in leather, and ornaments them as required. One who works at this branch is termed a finisher.


finishing

Comprises tooling, lettering, polishing, etc.


finishing

The department that receives the volumes after they are put in leather. The ornaments placed on the volume. The person who works at this branch is termed a finisher.


finishing

comprises lettering, tooling, and polishing, &c.


finishing

The department which receives books after they are put in leather, and ornaments them as required. It includes lettering, tooling, polishing, etc. Also, the ornaments placed on a book. One who works at this branch is termed a finisher.


finishing press

A small press, used for holding books when being finished.


finishing press

a small press used for holding books when they are being tooled (see Fig. 84).


finishing press

A small press with which a book is held firmly with its back upward and exposed for work.


finishing stove

A heating box or fire used for warming the various tools used in finishing.


finishing stove

used for heating finishing tools.


finishing stove

A small gas heater, similar to a “hot plate,” for heating finishing tools.


FIRE EATER

Compositors who are expeditious workmen are styled Fire Eaters, and also Swifts.


FIRST

The pressman who has wrought the longest at that press, except an apprentice, for he must allow any journeyman, though new come, that style, is distinguished by the name of First, the other his Second, these call one another companions: generally the master printer reposes the greatest trust upon the care and curiosity for good work of the First; although both are equally liable to perform it. All the privilege that the First has above the Second is, that the First takes his choice to pull or beat the agreed stint first: and that the Second knocks up the balls, washes the forms, teazes wool, and does the other more servile work, while the First is employed about making register, ordering the tympan, frisket, and points, &c., or otherwise making ready the form, &c.—M.

At the present day there is no such distinction; both the pressmen are equal, are equally responsible for the work, and take all the respective parts without any distinction; unless one of them be an acknowledged superior workman, and then he will, as a matter of course, take the lead in making ready, but in nothing else.


FIRST FORM

The form the white paper is printed on, which generally by rule ought to have the first page of the sheet in it.—M. This is the reverse of the present custom, which is invariably to lay on the inner form first, viz. the one that has the second page in it; except it is directed to the contrary, for some particular reason. See Lay on.


FIRST FORM

The form first printed, which generally contains the first page of a sheet.


FIRST PAGE

First page of the sheet, which is always placed to the left hand in the first or outer form on the stone, when imposing.—M. In Hebrew works it is placed to the right hand, as in books printed in that language the order of the pages is reversed.


FIRST PROOF

The first impression of any matter after it is composed, for the purpose of comparing it with the copy; it is usually printed on a cheap hard sized paper, that will bear writing ink well, to mark the literal errors, and any variations from the copy that may have occurred, in order to assist their correction in the metal.


FIRST PULL

In a two pull press of the common construction, the platen only covers half a full form, and to obtain an impression of the whole, the carriage is run in at twice; the first pull prints one half, and the second pull the other half.


FLARING A FORM

In working by candle light, when imposing, correcting, or laying a form on the press, it sometimes happens that melted tallow will be spilt on the pages and choke up the letter. To get rid of this tallow, and clean the form again, the compositor lights a piece of paper and puts it on the grease, to melt it; he then brushes it with the letter brush, and, if necessary, repeats the operation.


FLARING BALLS

When pelt balls are too soft, from having imbibed too much moisture, and are wanted for immediate use, they are flared; that is, the pressman will take a sheet of waste paper, and having rolled it up slightly, will light it, and holding the face of one of the balls downwards, will pass it backwards and forwards over the flame, and then treat the other ball in a similar manner: this not only evaporates the moisture, but also communicates a small degree of warmth to the balls, which causes them both to take ink and to distribute it better than before the operation.

Composition balls are liable to crack, both in distributing, and also when separating them after they have been left in the rack upon each other, particularly when they are new and soft; to remedy this, they are flared, which, when it is judiciously done, melts the surface of the composition and fills up the cracks. They are also flared when the face begins to fail, which melts the composition, and forms a new and smooth surface.


Flexible

When a book is sewn on raised bands and the thread is passed entirely round each band.


Flexible

A book sewn on raised bands, with the thread passed entirely around each band, allowing the book to open freely.


Flexible

When a book is sewn on raised bands, and the thread is passed entirely round each band. It is the strongest sewing done at the present time. This term is often misused for limp work, because the boards are limp or flexible.


Flexible binding

When a book is sewn on raised bands or cords and the thread is passed entirely round each band, and the whole binding is such as to permit the book to be opened readily.


flexible glue

This is usually made by adding about two tablespoonfuls of glycerine to half a pound of the glue in a dry state.


flexible sewing

When the cord rests on instead of being sunk into the back and the thread is carried around it; a book thus sewn usually opens freely.


FLOWERS

Types with ornaments cast on their face instead of letters. They are used for borders round jobs, cards, pages, and wrappers of books; and for other embellishments.

Luckombe, in his work on printing, gave many specimens of borders, head pieces, &c. composed of flowers by Mr. Hazard, of Bath; and lately, Mr. Johnson and Mr. Nichols have produced some large and elaborate pieces with this material, by combining an immense number of pieces of different patterns and sizes, to represent pillars and arches; but after all the ingenuity they have displayed, and the patience they have exerted, their productions are inferior to the effect of an engraving; and only tend to prove, in my opinion, that ingenuity and patience are misapplied.

Flowers are cast on bodies from a Pearl up to a Four Line Pica, and of a great variety of patterns. Of late years our letter founders have greatly improved their specimens by the addition of many new designs.

The practice formerly was to cut the pattern perfect on each piece, and many patterns had a line at the foot of each, so that when a border was formed, there was a continual line round the inside. I pointed out to the late Mr. Catherwood, of the firm of Caslon and Catherwood, the inconvenience of both these modes of cutting flowers: in the first case, when the pattern had a solid ground, the flowers joined in that solid part, and, after being used a few times, the angle became rounded, and always showed a separation between each piece; I recommended that the junction should be in the most open part of the design, so that a little rounding of the angle would not be so perceptible: and in the second case, the same cause produced the same effect; for after being used a few times, the angles became rounded, and instead of a continued line, it became a series of short lines, separated from each other by intervals: to remedy this, I suggested to him to discard the line, and that a piece of brass rule should be substituted by the printer, which, being in one piece, would form a continued line, and not be liable to injury from the same cause. He adopted both these plans, and the junction of the flowers that have been subsequently cut has been much improved; but the abolishing of the line has not produced the neat effect I anticipated, for it rarely happens that the printer will take the trouble of placing a rule within the flowers; in consequence, many of the designs present, when printed, a meagre and unfinished appearance.


FLY

See Devil.—M. A boy who takes the printed sheets off the tympan as soon as the pressman turns it up, for the sake of despatch: it was most frequently done with newspapers, as they are always pressed for time, and are obliged to work with the greatest expedition. These boys are not now called devils, as in the time of Moxon, but Flies, or Fly Boys.


FLY

The person or apparatus that takes off the sheets from the press.


Fly leaves

The blank leaves at the beginning and end of a book, between the end papers and the book proper.


FLYING FRISKET

In working at press, the act of turning down the frisket and the tympan upon the form by the same motion, for despatch; it is always done in the regular way of working, but not in very superior work where the paper is heavy.


folder

This is a flat piece of bone or ivory used in folding the sheets and in many other manipulations. Also applied to a female engaged in folding sheets.


folder

A flat piece of bone or ivory used in folding sheets, and in many other manipulations; called also a folding stick. A female engaged in folding sheets.


folder

a flat piece of ivory or bone, like a paper knife, used in folding sheets and in various other operations.


folder

A flat piece of bone or ivory used in folding the sheets and in many other manipulations. Also applied to the person engaged in folding sheets.


FOLDING

In the warehouse. As the person who collates the books turns them, the gatherings lie ready to be folded, and as they are pushed a little over each other they are readily taken up separately; they are knocked up at the ends and sides, and evenly folded in the back, which is rubbed down with a folder; after this, from a dozen to twenty-five gatherings in thickness are knocked up together and put into the press, which is thus filled and screwed down. After lying a sufficient time in the press, they are taken out and are ready for booking.

Books are never folded across a page; of course some require to be folded the shortest way of the paper, and some the longest way.


FOLDING MACHINE

A machine invented to fold sheets, generally used in newspaper offices.


FOLIO

The running number of the pages of a work. When there is no running title, the folios are placed in the middle of the head-line, in Arabic figures, sometimes enclosed in brackets, sometimes in parentheses, but more frequently now without either; when there is a running title, the folios are placed at the outside corners of the pages. The prefatory matter has the folios generally set in Roman lower case numerals, and sometimes the folios of an appendix are done in a similar manner.

A sheet of paper folded in two leaves, is also termed folio; as folio post, folio demy, &c.; but when the size of a book is spoken of, it is styled a post folio, demy folio, &c.


folio

Two pages to a form.


folio

A sheet folded once, consisting of two leaves, or four pages; the size of the sheet being usually understood as about 19×24 inches, giving a leaf 19×12 inches. Also, the consecutive page numbers of a book, pamphlet, etc.


FOLLOW

See if it follows, is a term used as well by the corrector, as by the compositor and pressman. It is used by the corrector and compositor when they examine how the beginning matter of a succeeding page agrees with the ending matter of a precedent page: and how the folios of those pages properly and numerically follow and succeed one another, lest the pages should be transposed. But the pressman only examines that the folio and beginning word of the second page, and signature of the first and third page (when the reiteration is on the press) follow the folio and direction of the first page, and the signature of the third page follows the signature of the first page, orderly according to the volume, lest the form should be laid wrong on the press.—M.

Foot Notes. See Bottom Notes.


FOOT OF A PAGE

The bottom or end of a page.—M.


FOOT OF THE LETTER

The break end of the shank of a letter.—M.


Foot-sticks

Sloping pieces of furniture placed at the bottom of pages, between which and the chase the quoins are driven to fasten the pages.


FOOTSTEP,

is a board nailed upon a piece of timber seven or eight inches high, and is bevelled away on its upper side, as is also the board on its under side at its hither end, that the board may stand aslope on the floor. It is placed fast on the floor under the carriage of the press.—M. It is made of elm; and gives the pressman great advantage in pulling when he has a heavy form on the press.


FOOTSTICK

Footsticks are placed against the foot or bottom of the page: the outer sides of these footsticks are bevelled or sloped from the further to the hither end, which allows the quoins to wedge up the pages within the chase.—M. They, as well as sidesticks, which are precisely the same, and used indiscriminately for each other where the length suits, are made of oak; their width is in proportion to their length; for a form of demy octavo the broad end will be about an inch wide, and the narrow end about half an inch; but where a chase is small in proportion to the size of the pages, they are made narrower to allow of quoin room. Their height is the same as that of the other furniture; the outer angle at each end is bevelled off. A careful compositor, when he is making up furniture from the drawer, will cut off the bruised broad end from the old side and footsticks that will suit as to length, and thus economise the furniture, which for jobs and pamphlets will answer every purpose of new.


FORE EDGE

The fore edge, in making margin, is that edge of a sheet of paper, which, when folded to the proper size of the book, forms its outer edge.

Foreign Bills or Notes. See Forgery.


fore edge

The front edge of the book.


fore edge

The front edge of the leaves.


FOREDGE

The front edge of a book.


FOREDGE

(fore edge), the front edge of the leaves. Pronounced “forrege.”


FORESTAY

An upright support to the fore end of the frame and long ribs on which the carriage runs. It is fastened to the floor, and screwed to the frame.