RUCK

In printing at machines, the paper, particularly if it be soft and not flat, in travelling round the cylinders frequently wrinkles; this is termed Rucking, or the Paper Rucks, or the Paper is Rucked; when this takes place, the sheets may be looked on as spoiled when it is for book work: the best preventative is to press the wet paper well in a powerful press for an hour or two, with small quantities between the boards, just before it goes to the machine. I would not recommend more than five quires in each portion, although I am aware that a ream is generally put in; but the smaller the quantity between each two boards the flatter the paper will be, and less likely to ruck.


Ruette, Macé

A Parisian bookbinder and bookseller who succeeded Clovis Eve as royal binder to Louis XIII in the early part of the 17th century. Ruette was at one time given credit for the invention of MARBLING, but as that art is known to have come to Europe by way of the Near East, his part may have been to introduce it into Parisian bookbinding. He and his son, Antoine, who was royal binder to Louis XIV, produced many bindings tooled in the "au pointillé," i.e., the POINTILLé style.

Bookbinding and the Conservation of Books: A Dictionary of Descriptive Terminology

US Government publication (Library of Congress), published openly in electronic edition by CoOL. Not a Gutenberg/pre-1930 public-domain text -- verify rights before reprinting rather than quoting.

Coutts, Henry T., and George A. Stephen. Manual of library bookbinding; practical and historical. London. Libraco. 1911.

Cundall, Joseph, ed. On bookbinding, ancient and modern. London. Bell. 1881.

Glaister, Geoffrey Ashall. An encyclopedia of the book. Cleveland. World. 1960.


RULES and REGULATIONS

proper to be observed in a Printing Office.

Compositors.

1. Compositors to receive their cases from the Overseer, or other person appointed by him, free from all pie, or other heterogeneous matter, with clean quadrat and space boxes to both roman and italic, which they are to return to him in the same clean state.

2. When a Compositor receives letter, furniture, &c. from the Overseer, he is to return what he does not use, in a satisfactory state.

3. Compositors to impose their matter when desired by the Employer or Overseer; and the same for proofs that are desired to be corrected; unless in either case it shall appear that all the stones are engaged.

4. When the Compositor imposes from a form, he is directly to tie up the pages of loose matter.

5. Forms, immediately after they are imposed, to be carried to the proof press; and the proofs, when pulled, to be given to the Reader, or carried into the reading closet, with, if a first proof, the copy, and, if a second, the foul proof.

6. No Compositor shall leave a foul stone, of letter, furniture, &c.

7. No Compositor to detain an imposing stone longer than the nature of the business may require.

8. When any cases are taken out of the racks, the Compositor is to return them into their proper place immediately after he has done with the same.

9. No cases to be placed over others, or under the frames.

10. Galleys with head lines, or other useful materials used during the course of a piece of work, to be cleared at furthest the day after the work is all completely at press.

11. When a work is finishing, the Compositor or Compositors concerned shall, as the forms are finally worked, clear them away; taking from them the head lines, white lines, and direction lines, as also the leads and reglets, which, with the furniture of each sheet, the matter being properly tied up for papering, are to be given to the Overseer, or any person he may appoint.

12. Sweepings of frames to be cleared away before one o’clock every day. Matter broken by accident to be cleared away on the same day.

13. No Compositor to mix two separate founts, without an express order from the Overseer.

14. When a Compositor carries his form down for press, he is not to put two forms together without a partition between them.

15. The saw, saw block, bowl, sponge, letter brush, shears, bellows, &c., to be returned to their respective places as soon as done with.

16. No person to take a candlestick, bodkin, snuffers, composing stick, &c., not his own, without permission of the owner.

17. No person to misplace cases in the rack, or take an upper without the lower case, or vice versâ.

18. Pie of any sort, on boards, windows, frames, &c., to be cleared after five minutes notice.

19. No person to take sorts from the frames or cases of another without leave; nor to hoard useful sorts, not immediately wanting them.

20. No person (except the Master or Overseer) to call off the errand boy while he is sweeping his rooms.

21. No candle to be left by any one, except in charge of some proper person; and the boundaries of the office to be considered, in all cases, the open air.

22. Jobs to be cleared away immediately after notice having been given by the Overseer.

23. These regulations, in cases of extreme hurry of business, by leave from the Master or Overseer, may be suspended; but, when that has ceased, to be immediately resumed.

24. No Compositor to throw for money or liquor.

25. Not to throw letters, quadrats, quoins, or furniture at each other.

Pressmen.

1. All proofs to be pulled within five minutes after notice, by the Pressmen who are in proofs.

2. Immediately after pulling a proof, the Pressmen to rub over the forms and chases with a lye brush, and place them against the Compositor’s frame to whom they belong, where they are to leave the proof.

3. Not to work without a figure unless particularly ordered.

4. As soon as a form is wrought off, the pressman to carry it to the lye trough, and there completely rub it over with lye, rinse it, and then carry it to the wrought-off place, or to the end of the Compositor’s frame it belongs to.

5. Not to leave the lye jar uncovered.

These rules may be varied to suit the business of the office in which they may be adopted, or the size of the establishment; in practice it will be found essentially necessary to have established rules and regulations, that the business may be carried on with method and good order.

Rules. See Brass Rule. Metal Rules.

Public domain (Project Gutenberg, pre-1930 text)


ruling

1. The process of marking or ruling lines on paper, usually by means of one of the types of RULING MACHINES. Ruled paper is used for county, court and other record books, forms, notebooks, checkbooks, loose-leaf books, etc.

It is also possible to print patterns of lines similar to those produced by ruling. Ruling, however, has several distinct advantages over printing, including: 1) the absence of glare. (Glare in this context refers to the effect produced when more light is reflected from the printed lines than the paper itself, and results in strain on the eye of the user. Ruled lines do not produce glare because the ruling inks are aqueous liquids, and their color, therefore, does not stem from insoluble pigments, but from dyes which are absorbed into the surface of the paper. Modern offset lithography appears capable of producing less glare than other printing methods, and today, certain kinds of ruled lines are now often produced by web offset printing. Loose-leaf books, checkbooks, and other mass produced items are today always printed); 2) the simplicity of multi-color work. (The ease with which various colors can be ruled side by side in one operation is also closely related to the nature of ruling inks. Essentially, ruling uses the same technique commonly known as SPLIT FOUNTAIN printing, in which the reservoir is compartmented, each section containing ink of a different color. Printing ink, on the other hand, is a highly viscous material that must pass through a series of rollers before it can be applied to the image carrier. Ruling ink is of low viscosity and can be fed to the ruling pens or discs by capillary action; therefore many different colors can be ruled extremely close to each other); and 3) writing done in ink will not skip as it may if the ruled lines are printed.

2. The ruling on the printed pages of letterpress books for the purpose of setting off the text from headlines, pagination, notes in the margins, etc. This type of ruling was prevalent from about the mid-16th century on the continent to the end of the 18th century in England. The color of the ruling is almost always red, now often faded to brown, particularly in the earlier continental books. The practice was usually reserved for large paper copies or special copies. Professional rulers were available for this work.

Palmer, Elbridge Woodman. A course in bookbinding for vocational training. New York. Employing bookbinders of America. 1927.

Strauss, Victor. The printing industry…Washington, D.C. Printing Industries in America. 1967.


ruling inks

The special aqueous, low viscosity, rosin and dye fluids used in ruling machines. See also: RULING.


ruling machines

The machines used to rule lines on paper according to a predetermined scheme. There are two basic types of ruling machines in use today: the pen ruling machine and the disc ruling machine. The pen ruler applies ink in lines by means of multiple pens. It is the most common type of ruling machine in general use, and is also the one usually regarded as producing the best results. It is used for short-run general ruling and is capable of producing lines in the most intricate patterns. Its operation is relatively simple. The paper is fed from the feed board onto an endless moving blanket, each sheet being kept in position on the blanket by means of thin cords stretched around a series of plain and grooved rollers. The pens are held in a slide fitted on the carriage and positioned according to the pattern to be ruled. The pens rest lightly on the paper and rule the lines as the sheet passes beneath. After passing under the pens, the sheet is carried on cords underneath the machine a nd onto another blanket to permit the ink to dry before delivery to the pile at the end of the machine. The pens on the carriage are arranged to rule along the length of the sheet for RUN-THROUGH RULING. For "struck work" the carriage may be lowered or raised at any required position on the sheet. It is automatically operated by a system of cam wheels at the side of the machine that are synchronized with a gate in front of the feed board which retains and releases each sheet in such a manner that it passes under the pens at the proper time. The pens may be set in a slide in a straight line so that they drop and lift in a straight line, or they may be staggered so that they drop and lift in different alignments, e.g., for box headings. Different colors of ink may be ruled at the same time from the same set of pens on the same carriage provided they are not too close together. Pen ruler s are designed with one or more carriages, which permits additional sets of pens to be used on the same sheet if required by the pattern, or separate carriages may be used for different colors of ink.

The disc ruler transfers the ink to the sheet by means of thin revolving discs instead of pens. Its principal advantage over the pen ruler is that, on two-sided machines, both sides of the sheet can be ruled in one operation; in addition, some disc machines will rule, count, perforate, slit, and jog the sheets, all in one operation. Despite these advantages, however, they are still considered to be less versatile than pen rulers in the combinations of intricate patterns they can rule. In addition, disc rulers have a tendency to produce broken lines. On one-sided disc rulers, the discs are arranged on spindles according to the pattern of ruling required. The spindles are set around a cylinder over which the paper is conveyed by means of thin cords. On "striker" machines the spindles are arranged so that they can drop and lift the discs as required by the ruling pattern; however, since each row of discs is set on one spindle, and therefore in one line, a separate spindle has to be used for each "step" (and also for each color on most machines), whether or not the lines run off one end of the sheet. Two-sided (perfecting) machines have an additional cylinder and after the sheet has been ruled on one side it is carried by the cords to the second cylinder to be ruled on the reverse side before being conveyed to the delivery pile.

Kantrowitz, Morris S., and others. Printing and allied trades. 5th ed. New York. Pitman. 1962.


run in

The tendency of the sections of a book, particularly the sections at or near the center of a large book having considerable sewing swell, to collapse inward, causing the book to lose its shape, and (generally) to become loose in its case. Run in is usually caused by excessive swell in the spine, or by sewing that is too loose.


RUN IN THE CARRIAGE

Running the form under the platen, by turning the rounce.—M. This corroborates my opinion that the coffin, plank, &c., and not the long ribs, constitute the carriage, and that it was so understood in the seventeenth century. See Carriage.


run out

1. The fading or "running out" of the pattern lines in paste-graining. It is caused by the use of paste that is too thin. 2. See: FANNING OUT.


RUN OUT

The running of the carriage from under the platen, by turning the rounce.

Run out from Copy.—M. See Drive Out. This term is not now used.


run pelts

Sheepskins with grain surfaces pitted or otherwise damaged in dewooling by SWEATING.


Run Up

When the back has a fillet run from head to tail without being mitred at each band, it is said to be run up.


Run Up

When the back has a fillet ran from head to tail without being mitred at each band, it is said to be “run-up.”

The Art of Bookbinding: A Practical Treatise


Run Up

When a back has a fillet run from top to bottom without being mitred at each band, it is said to be run up.


run-through ruling

Down line ruling in which the lines run the full length of the sheet without a break.


run-up gilt back

The double gold lines produced by a two-line fillet which runs along sides of the spine of a book, and which are intersected at intervals by double gold lines on either side of each raised band. The horizontal lines are not mitered, and they cross the vertical lines, extending to the edges of the spine. The run-up gilt back represents one of the few cases where the fillet is used on the spine of a book.

U.S. Government Printing Office. Theory and practice of bookbinding. Rev. ed. Washington, D.C. U.S. Government Printing Office. 1962.


RUNIC

“Authors are much divided, as to the antiquity of the Runic characters; some suppose them to be very ancient, whilst others contend, that they are more modern than the ancient Gothic. Several writers affirm, that they were brought from Asia by the celebrated Woden. Olaus Wormius and Rudbeck contend, that they are older than the Greek. Mr. Wise says, that the Runic letters are found on coins, and on stone monuments, some of which may be near two thousand years old. He also supposes this alphabet to have been exceedingly ancient, and that it was formed from some alphabet of the Greeks, whilst it consisted of sixteen letters only, and before they had left the Eastern way of writing, from the right hand.

“The judicious Celsius was of opinion, that the Runic letters were nothing more than Roman letters, with the curves changed into straight lines, for the ease of engraving on hard substances. The learned and ingenious author of the History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire says, that the oldest Runic inscriptions are supposed to be of the third century; and he adds, that the most ancient writer, who mentions the Runic characters, is Venantius Fortunatus, who lived towards the end of the sixth century. Our opinion on the evidence before us, is, that the report of Woden having brought the Runic letters from Asia is entirely fabulous; that the tales of Rudbeck and Olaus Wormius, do not deserve the least attention; that Mr. Wise, though a respectable writer, is mistaken as to the antiquity of the Runic letters; that the opinion of the learned Celsius is nearly true, and that the Runic characters are composed partly of ancient Gothic and Greek letters, and partly of Roman, deformed and corrupted, probably by the Necromancers of the north, who used them in their spells and incantations, to which they were greatly addicted. The forms of several Runic letters, compared with the Greek and Gothic alphabets, sufficiently prove this observation. For instance, the Runic F or Fei, is a rude imitation of the Roman F, with the same vocal powers. The O or Oys, is an inverted digamma, with the power of the Roman U, that is of ou or W. R or Ridhur, is evidently the Roman R, with the same powers. I or Iis, is the Gothic and Roman I. S or Sol, is a resemblance of the ancient Greek Σ, with the same power. T or Tyr is an imitation of the Greek Tau, or Roman T. B or Biarkan is the Greek Beta, or Roman B; and L or Lagur appears to have been taken from the Grecian Lambda. We are of opinion, that the resemblances above pointed out, sufficiently evince, that the Runic characters are derived from the Greek, Gothic, and Roman letters.

“In the year 1001, the Swedes were persuaded by the Pope to lay aside the Runic letters, and to adopt the Roman in their room. In the year 1115, the Runic letters were condemned in Spain, by the council of Toledo. They were abolished in Denmark in the beginning of the fourteenth century, and in Iceland soon after.

“The order of the old Runic alphabet, which consisted of sixteen letters, was as follows: F, U, D, O, R, K, H, N, I, A, S, T, B, L, M, YR. It is not known when the order of the Runic alphabet was confounded, but we do not suppose that it is of greater antiquity upon that account.”—Astle.

Milman has the following remarks on the opinion of Gibbon quoted above by Mr. Astle: “The obscure subject of the Runic characters has exercised the industry and ingenuity of the modern scholars of the north. There are three distinct theories; one, maintained by Schlözer (Nordische Geschichte, p. 481, &c.), considers their sixteen letters to be a corruption of the Roman alphabet, post-Christian in their date, and Schlözer would attribute their introduction into the north to the Alemanni. The second, that of Frederick Schlegel (Vorlesungen über alte und neue Literatur), supposes that these characters were left on the coasts of the Mediterranean and Northern Seas by the Phœnicians, preserved by the priestly castes, and employed for purposes of magic. Their common origin from the Phœnician would account for their similarity to the Roman letters. The last, to which we incline, claims a much higher and more venerable antiquity for the Runic, and supposes them to have been the original characters of the Indo-Teutonic tribes, brought from the East, and preserved among the different races of that stock. See Über Deutsche Runen, von W. C. Grimm, 1821. A Memoir by Dr. Legis. Fundgruben des alten Nordens. Foreign Quarterly Review, vol. ix. p. 438.”—Gibbon, chap. ix. note 16.

The University of Oxford are in possession of the matrices of a Pica Runic, which is the only one in England.

Running Title. See Head Line.


Runner

The front board used in cutting edges, &c.


Runner

The front board used in cutting edges.


running out

See: FANNING OUT.


Running title

The title of the book or subject placed at the top of the pages.

The American Printer: A Manual of Typography


RUNS ON SORTS

When matter runs much on some few sorts of letters, they say it runs on sorts. See Sorts.—M.


Runs on Sorts

when *Matter* runs much on some few Sorts of *Letters*, they say, *it Runs on Sorts*, See *Sorts*.


russet

The condition of a vegetable-tanned hide leather that has been dressed and is ready for staining or finishing by other processes. Such leather is also frequently referred to as "skirt" or "skirt leather."

British Standards Institution. British standard glossary of leather terms. B. S. 2780: 1956. London. British Standards Institution.

Tanners' Council of America, Inc. Dictionary of leather terminology. 6th ed. New York. Tanners' Council of America. 1969.


Russia bands

See: BANDS (2).


Russia calf

Originally, a leather produced in Russia from calfskin, vegetable-tanned with tannin obtained from the bark of willow, poplar, or larch trees, curried from the flesh side with a mixture containing birch-bark extracts—which gives it the characteristic odor for which it was famous—and dyed red or reddish brown. It was often given a grain pattern of latticed lines. Genuine Russia calf was at one time highly valued as a bookbinding leather, particularly between 1780 and 1830, partly because its pleasing odor was supposed to repel insects. It was first introduced into Europe before 1700.


Russia cowhide

See: AMERICAN RUSSIA.


Russia leather

A more-or-less obsolete trade name originally applied to a shaved cowhide, and later calfskin, horse hide, goat skin, or sheepskin, vegetable-tanned with tannins obtained from willow and other barks, curried on the flesh side with a mixture containing birch-bark extract to give it its characteristic odor, and dyed black and in colors other than the original red or reddish brown. Russia leather (or imitation Russia calf) was produced as early as the 17th century. Its use as a bookbinding leather in the 20th century has been mainly for BANDING blankbooks.

Horne, Herbert Percy. The binding of books; an essay in the history of gold-tooled bindings. 2nd ed. New York. Haskell House. 1970.

Pleger, John J. Bookbinding. Rev. ed. Chicago. Inland Printer. 1924.


Russia leather

A fine leather prepared in Russia, and imitated elsewhere, by very careful willowbark tanning, dyeing with sandalwood, and soaking in birch oil. It is of a brownish red color, and has a peculiar and characteristic odor. The genuine is not often used in binding; it is not as strong as cowhide.


RUSSIAN

In the Russian alphabet there are thirty-four letters.

The English letters, made use of in explaining the sound of the Russian characters, are to be pronounced as follows:

The Russian Alphabet.

Most of the above letters invariably retain their proper sound, the following however are subject to slight variations.

Г, gā. In some instances bears the sound of a strongly aspirated h: герои, a hero, héroy; генералъ, a general, héneral; Господь, Lord, Hospod, and in the terminations of adjectives and pronouns, in the genitive case, may be pronounced either as v or h, его, yāho or yāvo; что новаго? what news, tchtō nōvahō, or nōvavō?

Е, ā. At the commencement of words bears the sound of yā, ex. есть, it is, yaste; едва, scarcely, yādva. When it precedes two consonants, or a consonant followed by the hard sign, ъ, it generally bears the sound of yeo, as in yeoman, the accent falling upon o, ex. медъ, honey, meo͡dd; ленъ, flax, leo͡nn; орелъ, an eagle, oreo͡ll.

ѣ, yā. Is pronounced like yā at the commencement of a word, and like ā in the middle or at the end, ex. ѣхать, to ride, yachat; лѣнорть, idleness, lānoste; на столъ, on the table, na stollāy.

There are eleven vowels in the Russian alphabet, which are divided into hard and soft.

Hard а, о, у, э, ы. Soft я, е, ю, и, ѣ’.

In the combination of vowels with consonants, they are subject to the following variations:

The only diphthongs in the Russian language are those formed by the combination of и with the other vowels: ай, ей, ій, ой, ый, яй. When и occurs without the ̆ it must be pronounced separately from the vowel, which precedes it, ex. воиин, a warrior, vo-een. Whenever two vowels occur together in a word (excepting the above-mentioned diphthongs) each bears its full and separate sound, ex. воображеніе, imagination, vō-ob-ra-jā-nē-ā—A Practical Grammar of the Russian Language, by James Heard. 2 Parts, 12mo. St. Petersburg, 1827.

The Russian Alphabet

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


RUTHVEN’S PRESS

Ruthven’s patent press differs materially from all others. Instead of the form of types being rolled under the platen, and back again when the impression has been made, the type form remains stationary upon the iron table, the platen is drawn over it, and the impression is obtained by means of a lever working vertically like the handle of a pump, and acting by connecting levers upon both sides of the platen, so as to draw it down with ease and effect. It is a good and powerful press, but the head and platen are heavy and require exertion to push them back off the form, and more particularly as the ribs, if the grooves in which the wheels attached to the head and platen travel may be so called, form an inclined plane, which causes the platen to come forward over the form with but little exertion.


s pattern

The code name for a fine-grained, silklike pattern embossed on a book cloth.


sabai grass

A fiber grass, Ischaemum augustifolium, indigenous to India, and used in the manufacture of paper similar in characteristics to that produced from BAMBOO. Also called "bhabar."

Grant, Julius. Books & documents; dating, permanence and preservation. London. Grafton. 1937.


saddle

The part of a sewing or stabbing machine on which sections are placed to he brought up under the sewing needles and loopers, or the stitcher head.

Gazurian, Johnny A. The advertising & graphic arts glossary. Los Angeles. Los Angeles Trade-Technical College. 1966.


saddle sewing

The process of sewing a section, e.g., a periodical issue or pamphlet, through the center fold by means of thread. The term "saddle" derives from the SADDLE of the machine. Saddle sewing affords full openability of the section, i.e., to the gutter of the binding margin. Saddle sewing may also be done by hand, usually employing a figure-eight stitch, but it is more often done by machine, usually one which has the capability of varying the length of the stitch. Cf: SADDLE STITCHING.


saddle soap

A mild soap made with some additional unsaponified oil and used in removing dirt from vellum bindings and in cleaning and conditioning leather bindings.

Horton, Carolyn. Cleaning and preserving bindings and related materials. Chicago. American Library Association. (Conservation of library materials pamphlet no. l; Library Technology Project publications, no. 16). 1969.


saddle stitching

The process of securing the leaves of a section, e.g., a periodical issue or pamphlet, through the center fold by means of wire staples. The term "saddle" derives from the SADDLE of the machine. The machine cuts the wire, forms the staple, drives it through the paper and clinches it from the other side. The section is stitched in two or more places depending on the height of the publication. The number of leaves that can be satisfactorily stitched in this manner depends to a great degree on the thickness of the paper. Saddle stitching, which is fast and, therefore, more economical than SADDLE SEWING, enjoys the same advantage of that method, namely, full openability to the gutter of the binding margin. The staples used in saddle stitching are usually formed from round wire and are generally made of copper, galvanized iron, or aluminized iron. Also called "wire stabbing." See also: SIDE STITCHING.

Hutchings, Ernest A. D. A survey of printing processes. London. Heinemann. 1970.

Melcher, Daniel, and Nancy Larrick. Printing and promotion handbook …3rd ed. New York. McGraw-Hill. 1966.


Saddle-stitched

A pamphlet or book of one signature only sewed with thread or fastened with wire staples along the back is said to be saddle-stitched.


sailcloth

A strong, heavy CANVAS sometimes used for covering very large blankbooks.

Johnson, Pauline. Creative bookbinding. Seattle. University of Washington Press. 1963.


salicylanilide

A crystalline compound (HOC6H4CONHC6H5), used as a fungicide. It is applied either as an aqueous (weak alkaline) solution, or as a non-aqueous solution, in a concentration of 0.1% by weight of the fabric or paper. Since it does not have a great affinity for cellulose fibers, it can be washed out fairly easily if necessary, and, being both colorless and odorless, it is not likely to alter the appearance of the material treated. As it is relatively non-volatile, it should make the material treated immune to attack for long periods of time at normal atmospheric temperatures. It does not contain chlorine.

Langwell, William Herbert. The conservation of books and documents. London. Pitman. 1957


salicylic acid

A crystalline phenolic acid (C7H6O4), soluble in alcohol, ether and hot water, but less soluble in cold water. At 200 C. it decomposes into phenol and carbon dioxide. It is used in the manufacture of dyes, and as a preservative for paste.

Goodwin, Bancroft L. Pamphlet binding…Chicago. United Typothetae of America. (Typographic technical series for apprentices, pt. 5, no. 30). 1925.

Zaehnsdorf, Joseph William. The art of bookbinding…London. Bell. 1890.


salimeter

A hydrometer especially graduated to indicate the percentage of salt (sodium chloride), in a pickling or brine solution. It is used in developing pickling solutions and in measuring the salt concentration of brining solutions used in curing hides and skins.

Wilson, John Arthur. Modern practice in leather 367. manufacture. New York. Reinhold. 1941.


salt

See: SODIUM CHLORIDE.


salt sprout

The crystallization of salt on, or in, the grain of a hide or skin, which may cause damage to the grain surface. It is caused by allowing a pickled skin to dry out. See also: PICKLING.

Sharphouse, John Henry. Leather technicians handbook. New ed. London. Leather Producers' Association. 1971.


salt stains

Discolorations which appear on the grain surface of hides and skins that have been cured by wet-salting. The stains, which are usually greenish-blue or rusty-brown in color, may develop in the corium of the skin, in which case they are usually flat, oriented parallel to the skin surface, and surrounded on all sides by normal hide fibers. They may also develop on the flesh side, or on the grain surface of the skin. All three types are characterized by a hardening of the fibers caused by a grainy deposit which can be removed by treatment with strong acid solutions. As bacteria are found only in the stains which form on the flesh or grain surfaces and not in the corium, it is not believed that they are caused by these organisms, but by deposits formed from alkaline earth salts present in the salt and autolytic decomposition products of blood and non-collagenous hide proteins. Their presence reduces the value of the finished leather significantly; however, the addition of 3% soda ash and 1% naphthalene by weight of the salt virtually eliminates the problem.

O'Flaherty, Fred, and others, eds. The chemistry and technology of leather. New York. Reinhold. (American Chemical Society monograph series, no. 134. 1956-65. 4 vol.


salts of tartar

See: POTASSIUM CARBONATE.


SAMARITAN

It is the opinion of many of the most eminent Hebrew scholars, that this alphabet is the one made use of by the ancient Hebrews, and with which Moses himself wrote the Pentateuch; and that the Hebrew letters at present in use are those of the Chaldees of Babylon, introduced by Ezra in consequence of the Jews having forgotten their own characters during the Captivity. It agrees with the Hebrew and Syriac, in respect to the number and power of the letters, though it differs as to their forms, as may be seen from the annexed table:

It will be readily perceived that this is one of the most simple of the Oriental alphabets, as there are no initials or medials, as is the case with the Arabic and Syriac; there are no letters lengthened for the sake of ornament, as in the Hebrew and Chaldee; and there are no finals.

With respect to pronunciation, ࠀ ࠇ and ࠏ seem to differ very little from each other, if we may judge from their frequent permutation.

In writing the numbers, they follow the Hebrew system of notation, with this exception, that for 15 they use both ࠄࠉ (10 and 5) with the Syrians, and ࠅࠈ (9 and 6) with the Jews.

The Samaritans are altogether destitute of vowel points, and their power is to be collected from the cognate languages.

The quiescents are the same in Samaritan as in Hebrew and Chaldee, namely, four, ࠀ, ࠄ, ࠅ, ࠉ. The situations and the points, by which each becomes quiescent, are the same as in Hebrew.

The Samaritans use also certain points and lines in writing, partly for the sake of distinction, and partly of abbreviation. The points are as follow:—

1. A thick point placed near the top of the letter distinguishes one word from another, thus ࠰ࠄࠄࠋࠀ ࠰ࠓࠌࠀࠅ and God said.

2. An imperfect sentence is indicated by two transverse points, in this manner, ࠰࠰ࠌࠉࠌࠋ saying—

3. A period or perfect sentence is marked by two perpendicular points, thus, ࠱ࠄࠌࠅࠄࠕ ࠰ࠉࠐࠀ ࠰ࠋࠏ upon the face of the deep.

4. The beginning of every verse is marked by an asterisk, as, -¦-ࠅࠀࠌࠓ࠰ࠀࠋࠄ࠰ And God said.

5. In long paragraphs a third point is added to the period, thus, ¦-, and in order to point off sections various lines are made use of, as :>-, ¦-—, in which much is left to fancy.

A line drawn above a letter denotes:—

1. That words with two meanings must not be received in their more general signification, as, ࠓࠓࠓ̅ࠓ bedebher, in pestilence, not ࠁࠃࠁࠓ bedabhar, in a word; ࠌࠔ̅ Sem, for a proper name, not an appellative; ࠋࠀ̅ El, for the name of God, and not the preposition.

2. Apocope, or elision of a letter, as, ࠕ̅ࠀ for ࠄࠕࠀ atta, thou; ࠏ̅ࠔࠉࠅ for ࠄࠏࠔࠉࠅ and he looked back.

3. The mark of a quiescent letter, as, ࠉࠅ̅ࠔ he placed.

4. The substitution of one letter for another, as, ࠕ̅ࠌࠔ for ࠄࠌࠔ his name.

The preceding observations are abridged from the “Synopsis Institutionum Samaritanarum” of George Otho, printed at Frankfort-on-the-Main, 1707.

Samaritan in the British Founderies.

English. Oxford.

Pica. Caslon. Grover, to James, to Fry, to Thorowgood and Besley; cut for Walton’s Polyglot.

Small Pica. Fry, to Thorowgood and Besley.

The Samaritan Alphabet


sammying

A method of conditioning newly tanned hides or skins with water to bring about a uniform distribution of moisture of approximately 30 to 40%. A leather is sammed to condition it for STAKING.

Sharphouse, John Henry. The leatherworker's handbook. London. Leather Producers' Association. 1963.


sample back

A strip of material such as leather, cloth, etc., intended to represent the spine of a book and used as a sample for matching colors, material, lettering, etc. See also: RUB (1),

American Library Association. Editorial Committee. Subcommittee on library terminology. A. L. A. glossary of library terms, with a selection of terms in related fields. Compiled by Elizabeth H. Thompson. Chicago. American Library Association. 1943.

Harrod, Leonard Montague. The librarians' glossary of terms used in librarianship and the book crafts, and reference book. 3rd ed. London. Deutsch. 1971.


sandarac gum

See: GUM SANDARAC.


sanding

1. The process of rubbing down the edges of a book with fine sandpaper, or a sanding machine, so as to remove as small an amount of margin as possible. 2. The process of sanding down the paper or leather spine lining of a book to make it smooth, chiefly so that no undulations or lumps will be seen under the leather covering. 3. The process of sanding the edges of book boards to impart smoothness.


Sangorski, Francis

An English bookbinder apprenticed to Charles Ferris and employed in the workshop of Douglas Cockerell in 1899. In 1901 Sangorski and the English bookbinder GEORGE SUTCLIFFE opened their own bindery, which is still in operation, and commenced producing the fine jeweled bookbindings on which, over the course of years, their great reputation was largely built. Of the hundreds of such volumes they executed, the most outstanding, and their crowning achievement, was a binding known as the GREAT OMAR.

Coutts, Henry T., and George A. Stephen. Manual of library bookbinding; practical and historical. London. Libraco. 1911.

Middleton, Bernard C. A history of English craft bookbinding technique. New York. Hafner. 1963.

Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. The history of bookbinding 525-1950 A.D. Compiled by Dorothy Miner. Baltimore. Trustees of the Walters Art Gallery. 1957.


SANSKRITA

The term Sanskṛita seems to have been given to the language so called by way of pre-eminence, and to distinguish it from the vulgar dialects called Prākṛita. The former is an epithet implying elegance and perfection, and the latter the contrary.

Several of the provinces of India have alphabets distinct from each other, in which they not only write their particular dialects, but even Sanskṛita. Indeed most of the alphabets, properly Indian, agree in the number, order, and power of their letters, with the Dēva-nāgari, the one here used, because it is that in which Sanskṛita is most commonly written, and which is the most elegant and approved.

All languages of the Hindu class are read from left to right.

THE ALPHABET.

अ a,   आ ā;   इ i,   ई ī;   उ u,   ऊ ū;   ऋ ri,   ॠ ṛī;   ऌ ḷri,

ॡ ḷrī;   ए ē,   ऐ ai;   ओ ō,   औ au; ॱ am, ः ah.

In speaking of the letters individually, it is the practice to use the term कार: kārah (make, form) after each of their names as here exhibited: thus the vowel अ a, is called अकार: a-kārah; and the consonant क ka, ककार: ka-kārah.

OF THE VOWELS.

The simple vowels are reckoned five; for which there are ten characters: अ a, इ i, उ u, ऋ ṛi, ऌ ḷri, to denote the short sounds; and आ ā, ई ī, ऊ ū, ॠ ṛī, ॡ ḷrī their corresponding long sounds, which are directed to be held twice the time of the short.

Most of the vowels, occasionally, assume a very different shape from that exhibited in the alphabet, which the following arrangement may serve to explain.

As Initials.

अ    आ    इ    ई    उ    ऊ    ऋ    ॠ    ऌ    ॡ    ए    ऐ    ओ    औ

As Medials and Finals.

ऻ    ि     ी    ु    ू    ृ    ॄ    ॖ    ॗ    े    ै   ो   ौ

Initials, Medials, and Finals, in composition with a Consonant.

अक aka, आका ākā, इकि iki, ईकी īkī, उकु uku, ऊकू ūkū, ऋकृ ṛikṛi, ॠकॄ ṛīkṛī,

ऌकॢ ḷrikḷri, ॡकॣ ḷrīkḷrī, एके ēkē, ऐकै aikai, ओको ōkō, औकौaukau.

In this manner the vowels may be combined with any other consonant.

As the letters have the same powers in composition which are given to them in the alphabet, and do not, as in our language, change their sound with their situation, a few observations on the pronunciation of each character in due order, may enable a person to read with tolerable accuracy and ease.

अ a, the first letter in the alphabet, has that obscure short sound which the French give to e, in the particle le, and which is very common in our language, though there be no distinct character for it; as in the words money, honey, and some others, where it is represented by o; and in but, shut, and the like, where u is the substitute. The letter अ never makes its appearance but as an initial; for when the sound of it is required after a consonant, as a medial or final, it is pronounced with it as in the alphabet; it being an invariable rule, that every open consonant, not followed by another vowel, must be pronounced as if अ a were written after it.

आ ā should have the same sound as is given to the former, held twice the length. It occurs, as a medial, in the word काला kāla, Time, the first syllable of which is pronounced nearly like the English word call. As a medial and final its character is [#].

इ i, and ई ī, are two characters to note the sound which the Italians give to the vowel i. The former is to be pronounced short, like ee in meet (encounter), and the latter long, like the same letters in meet (fit). After a consonant, as a medial and final, as has been already observed, they are changed to ि and ी , which are placed as in the words मणि: manih, A jewel, and देवी dēvī, A goddess.

उ u, and ऊ ū, are to be articulated like oo in the English words foot, and fool. After a consonant they are usually subjoined; as in पुत्र: putrah, A son, and भू: bhūh, The earth; but occasionally, particularly after र r, on the side, thus रु ru, रू rū.

ऋ ṛi, and ॠ ṛī. The first of these sounds short, somewhat like ri in rit; and the second is the same held twice as long. ॠ ṛi short occurs in ऋत ṛita, Right, True. The other is very rarely used, except it be in the oblique cases of some nouns. In our characters a dot under the ṛ may serve to distinguish them from the syllables रि ri and री rī. As medials or finals they are always placed under their consonants, in this form, नृ nṛi, नॄ nṛī.

ऌ ḷri, and ॡ ḷrī. The short power is found in the word कॢप्त kḷripta, which the learned of Bengal soften into kḷipta, and which, probably, is the true pronunciation of it. The long form seldom, if ever, occurs but in grammars. Here too a dot under the ḷ will serve as a distinction, when we would explain them.

ए ē, though classed among diphthongs, differs not from the simple sound of e in where; and so it is pronounced in [###] dēvah, A god. It is said to be a compound of अ a and इ i.

ऐ ai is a diphthong, and is always sounded as the letter i in our alphabet; but it will be better to represent it by ai. There is an example of it in the word रै: raih, Wealth.

ओ ō differs not from our o held long, as in stone; though it is said to be a diphthong composed of अ a and उ u.

औ au is decidedly a diphthong, having the power of ow in the word how; which in these letters would be written thus, हौ hau.

Here properly end the vowels, for ं am, and : ah, are, correctly speaking, rather substitutes for the nasals, and ह ha, when silent, at the end of a syllable. They are called अनुस्वार: anuswārah, and विसर्ग: visargah. The one occurs in the pronouns अहं aham, I, and त्वं twam, Thou, and the other in स: sah, He.

OF THE CONSONANTS.

The first five-and-twenty consonants are distributed into five classes, in the plural number called वर्गा: vargāh; in speaking of which, they are named after the first letter of each class: the first class being called कवर्ग: ka-vargah, the class of क ka; the second चवर्ग: cha-vargah, the class of च cha; and so for the rest. Some grammarians use the first letter of each class combined with उ, to denote all the letters in each class respectively, as, कु ku, for the first; चु chu, for the second; टु ṭu, for the third; तु tu, for the fourth; and पु pu, for the fifth class.

The First Class, or Gutturals, क ख ह घ ङ.

क ka has the precise sound of hard c, but is better expressed by k, the power of which not being liable to change.

ख kha has the same sound uttered with greater force, as if combined with the letter ह ha. Ignorant transcribers are very apt to confound it with the letter श sha.

ग ga is the hard g, as sounded in gun.

घ gha is the same aspirated.

ङ nga is equivalent to ng in king. Generally speaking, every other nasal is resolved into this, before any letter of this class; or, at least, to be pronounced like it. In Dēva-nāgari manuscripts, it is, when silent, for the most part represented by the single dot [ं] अनुस्वार: anuswāra.

The Second Class, or Palatals, च छ ज छ ञ.

च cha has the exact power we express by ch, as in church.

छ ch’ha is the former aspirated.

ज ja has the power of g soft, as in Giles; but will be more certainly expressed by j, as in James.

छ jha is the aspirate of the former.

ञ ṇa. This is the proper nasal of this class, which in composition is sounded rather softer than ङ nga, It seems to be formed by pressing the whole breadth of the tongue into the hollow of the palate, the tip turned downwards, and forcing the sound through the nose, with the mouth open. It is chiefly used before letters of its own class; but in Dēva-nāgari manuscripts, as is the case with the other nasals, it is generally expressed by [ं] anuswārah. It seldom appears with another consonant immediately before, or a vowel after it: indeed there are but few instances of it, (except in grammatical compositions,) one of which is in the root ज्ञा jnā, signifying know, and its derivatives, where the character ज्ञ is said to be a compound of ज ja and ञ ṅa, the just articulation of which is found so difficult, and the sound so harsh, that it is frequently softened into gyā, as if written ग्या. As the sound of ण before another consonant approaches nearer to that of n than any other letter, it may be represented by it, with a mark over it, thus, ṅ.

The Third Class, or Cerebrals, ट ठ ड ढ ण.

This series of consonants is pronounced by turning and applying the tip of the tongue far back against the palate; which producing a hollow sound, as if proceeding from the head, it is distinguished by the term मूर्द्धन्य mūrddhanya, which Mr. Halhed, in his Grammar of the Bengal Language, has translated cerebral.

ट ṭa has the sound of t, articulated as above directed.

ठ ṭha is the same aspirated.

ड ḍa differs from the common d only in the above particular. In Bengal it is generally pronounced like a very obtuse r.

ढ ḍha is the same aspirated.

ण ṇa is distinguished from the common n by the manner of producing it, as above.

In our letters those of this class may be conveniently expressed by a dot under ṭ, ḍ, ṇ.

The Fourth Class, or Dentals, त थ द ध न.

त ta is the common dental t.

थ tha is the former aspirated.

द da has the power of our d.

ध dha is the aspirate of द da.

न na is the common n. It is sometimes, like the other nasals, represented by anuswāra [ं].

The Fifth Class, or Labials, प फ ब भ म.

प pa corresponds with p.

फ pha is the former aspirated. In writing foreign words with these characters, this letter is used for the sound of f.

ब ba. This letter is very often confounded with व va. Its power is that of b.

भ bha is the aspirate of ब ba.

म ma is m. When silent it is often expressed by [ं] anuswāra; as in संवत् samvat, A year, an æra.

The Semi-Vowels, य र ल व.

य ya. This letter, which is a palatal, like our y (with which it corresponds), is often put in the place of इ i and ई ī. Its proper power is that of y in yarn; but in Bengal they generally pronounce it as we do j, confounding it with ज ja.

र ra is our r. It is esteemed a cerebral. In composition it frequently assumes two other forms. In the middle of a word, immediately preceding another consonant, it is mounted upon its head in this shape [#], when it is optional in the writer to double the letter with which it so coalesces: as in the word कार्य्य kāryya, An affair, which is pronounced kārya. After a consonant it is always subjoined in this shape [#], as in the word प्रकार prakāra, A sort or manner. This letter, in grammars, is generally called रेफ rēpha.

ल la answers to our l. It is ranked among dentals.

व va is generally pronounced like v, and is then a dento-labial; but when subjoined to another consonant, it is often necessarily articulated as our w, it being then frequently the natural substitute for उ u before another vowel; as द्वौ ḍwau, Two.

The Sibilants and Aspirate, ष ष स ह.

ष ṣa. The proper sound of this letter is produced by applying the tip of the tongue to the fore-part of the palate, and passing the voice as in pronouncing our s, from which it may be distinguished by a dot under it, thus, ṣ. It is a palatal.

ष sha is generally pronounced as sh in shoe; but in the western parts of India it is frequently articulated like, and confounded with ख kha. It is a cerebral.

स sa has precisely the power of s in Saint, and is esteemed a dental.

ह ha is h. At the end of a word, when silent, it is represented by [ः] visarga. It is classed among gutturals. This properly is the last letter in the alphabet, [#] ksha, as before observed, being a compound character.

There is another letter, not usually given in the Dēva-nāgar alphabet, in this form, ॡ, which seems to have a power similar to that of the surd, or Welsh ll. It occurs in the Vēdas, and is included in some of the provincial alphabets.

OF COMPOUND CONSONANTS.

The sound of अ a, it has been already mentioned, is given to every open consonant, not followed by another vowel; but as it must often happen that a word ends with a consonant, or that two or more consonants meet together without a vowel between them, it is proper the learner should know what is done in these two cases. If a word terminates in a consonant, the vowel is cut off by a small mark of elision, such as is seen under क ka in the word वाक् vāk, Speech, which written without it, thus, वाक, would be pronounced vāka. If two or more consonants meet together, it is a general rule that they coalesce, and form a compound character. Sometimes it so happens that the simple letters are not to be traced in the compound, instances of which occur in [#] ksha, and क्ष jṅa, which are composed of क and श, and ज and ण; but, in general, the shapes of the letters are so little altered, that they may be easily discriminated. There are several modes of forming these compounds: sometimes it is found convenient to put one letter under the other, and at others to blend them together, thus, द्ध; but the most usual way is to place them in their natural order, yet so that their bodies, as well as heads, may be in contact, omitting the final upright stroke of every letter that has one, except the last. In the word कार्त्स्न्यं kārtsnyam, Wholeness, there is a coalition of no less than five consonants; namely, र, त, स, न, and य; ra, in a new shape, is mounted upon the head, and त ta, स sa, and न na, deprived of their upright strokes, thus, [#] [#] [#], are connected, and finally united to य ya. A little practice will render this subject familiar to the learner.

OF EXTRANEOUS CHARACTERS.

One stroke, thus [#], or two, thus [#], serve to divide hemistichs and distichs.

A sort of sigma, in this shape, [#], is frequently used as an apostrophe, to show that a vowel has been dropped by rule.

A character like a crescent, with a dot between its horns, thus, ँ, is occasionally put over a consonant, which by the rules of orthography has been substituted for a nasal.

In the Vēda other diacritical marks are used, which do not occur in common books. A small perpendicular line over a vowel, thus अ॑, denotes that it is to be pronounced high; a parallel line drawn under a vowel, thus अ॒, denotes that it should be pronounced low; and a curved line over a vowel, thus [#], indicates that it must be pronounced in a manner to partake of both the former. The intention of these three marks seems to be the same as what was originally designed by the acute, the grave, and the circumflex accents. A figure of three is sometimes put after a vowel, thus अ३, or three lines over it, thus [#], to show that it is to be held longer than usual, as in calling, or crying.

Two dots, thus ः, called visarga (विसर्ग:), are used to denote a final [#]. They are occasionally represented in this manner [#].

A single dot over a letter, thus अं, is called anuswārah (अनुस्वार:), and denotes a final nasal.

The numerical figures are, १  २  ३  ४  ५  ६  ७  ८  ९  ० 1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9  0

In the Vēdas, the character for ं anuswāra, before व, स, ह, and र, is in this form, [#]; so for [###] is written [###].

A Grammar of the Sanskrita Language, by Charles Wilkins, LL.D. F.R.S. 4to. 1808.

Sanskrit in the British Founderies.

English. Caslon; cut for Dr. Wilkins, Oriental Librarian to the East India Company.

The Sanskrita Alphabet


saponification

The hydrolysis of esters by alkalis, and especially the hydrolytic action by which fats and oils containing glycerides are converted into soap and an alcohol, which, in the case of glycerides, is glycerin. See also: FATLIQUORING; ROSIN SIZE.

Kingzett, Charles Thomas. Kingzett's chemical encyclopedia; a digest of chemistry & its industrial applications. Ed. by D. H. Hey, and others. 9th ed. London. Baillière, Tindell and Cassell. 1966.

Mayer, Ralph. A dictionary of art terms and techniques. New York. Crowell. 1969.


satin

A smooth fabric woven in satin weave, and having a very lustrous face and dull back. Satin is woven of silk and other fibers and at one time was used extensively in the production of EMBROIDERED BINDINGS. The fabric lacks the durability of velvet or canvas, which were the other principal cloths used for such bindings.

Davenport, Cyril James Humphries. English embroidered bookbindings. London. Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner. 1899.

Prideaux, Sarah Treverbian. An historical sketch of bookbinding. London. Lawrence & Bullen. 1893.


satin stitch

A padded or unpadded embroidery stitch that is nearly alike on both sides and is worked in various lengths and parallel lines. It is closely woven and evenly made so as to resemble satin.


satin white

A paper filler prepared from aluminum sulfate (Al2SO4)3) and calcium hydroxide (slaked lime) (CaOH)2). It is used as a coating pigment in coating mixtures, particularly in coated paper of high white color requiring an enamel finish. Satin white is difficult to handle, and does not keep well; therefore it is usually prepared immediately before use. Very close control of its preparation is necessary to obtain fully satisfactory results.

American Paper and Pulp Association. The dictionary of paper, including pulp, paperboard, paper properties and related papermaking terms. 3rd ed. New York. American Paper and Pulp Association. 1965.


SAW

A small thin saw, with a back to strengthen it, to cut furniture with. I would have the blade much narrower than it generally is, so broad only as to cut fairly through the furniture, before the back stops it from cutting deeper by resting on the saw block; it would then prevent the saw block from being cut so much as it generally is in a careless manner, sometimes even through at the front, till the saw comes in contact with the stone, and is spoiled.


SAW BLOCK

A piece of wood on which to cut furniture to certain lengths; it is similar to a carpenter’s mitre block, with the addition of a cut at right angles. The customary place for using it is on the fore edge of the imposing stone.

A wooden saw block.


SAW BLOCK

A box similar to a carpenter’s mitre-block, to guide in cutting furniture, &c.


saw kerf binding

A method of binding single sheets by means of both thread and adhesive. Kerfs (dove-tailed grooves) are cut across the spine at an angle and are filled with adhesive. Sewing thread is then woven around the kerfs to supplement the adhesive, following which the kerfs are again filled with adhesive. This technique was the forerunner of SMYTH-CLEAT SEWING.

Johnson, Pauline. Creative bookbinding. Seattle. University of Washington Press. 1963.


sawing in

The process of sawing grooves across the spine of the gathered sections of a book for reception of the cords used in sewing a book on recessed (sawn-in) cords. "Sawing-in" was introduced as part of the search for economical binding processes which began as early as the 16th century. Centuries later, in combination with the HOLLOW BACK, it was to have a significant effect on the future of craft binding. See also: RECESSED-CORD SEWING.


sawing in

When grooves are made in the back with a saw to receive the bands.

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


sawing in

When the back is sawn for the reception of the cord in sewing.


sawing in

Making grooves in the back of a book with a saw to receive strings or bands.


SAWING MACHINE

A machine for sawing the backs of books quickly.


sawn-in cord sewing

See: RECESSED-CORD SEWING.


SAXON,

or Anglo-Saxon. The Anglo-Saxon alphabet contains twenty-three letters; Q not being originally a Saxon letter.           Form. Sound. Form. Sound.      [A] A a a as in bar  N n n    B b b  O o o   [C] C c c as in choice  P p p    D ꝺ d  R ꞃ r   [E] E e e as in feint [S] S ꞅ s    F ꝼ f  T ꞇ t   [G] G ᵹ g as in gem Ð Þ ð þ th   [H] H h h  U u u    I ı i  Ƿ ƿ w    K k k  X x x    L l l  Y ẏ y   [M] M m m  Z z z       For anꝺ the Saxons used these abbreviations, ⁊ and [#]; for þaꞇ and þæꞇ they wrote ꝥ; and for oððe or, and the termination lıce ly, they wrote ł; as ł or; and ꞅoðł for ꞅoðlıce truly.  [Note.] We also find uł for or; Ƿıłłm. for Ƿıllelm, William; and [H]æł, for [H]ælenꝺ, Jesus; ł stands for leoꝼeꞅꞇan, φίλτατοι, amicissimi, most friendly or beloved; apł, ap̃, or ap°, for apoꞅole, an apostle; apłar, apostles; [H]ieꞃłm, Jerusalem,; ꞅcıł, a shilling, money.  When an m was omitted, they made a short stroke over the preceding letter; as þā for þam.  [Note.] There are many other abbreviations and connectives; such as æꝼꞇ̃ æꝼꞇeꞃ, after; allm̃ allmıhꞇıᵹ, almighty; am̃, amen; ancen, ancenneꝺe, only begotten; b, b̵, bıꞅc̃, bıꞅcop, a bishop; bꞃoð, bꞃođ, bꞃoþeꞃn, brethren; caꞃc̃, caꞃceꞃne, a prison; cꝼꞇ, [#], Cꞃıꞅꞇ, xꞃeꞅ, Cꞃıꞅꞇeꞅ, Christ, Christ’s; c̃ƿ, cƿæð, saith; [#] for ꝺæᵹ, a day; ꝺꝺ, ꝺđ, David; ꝺꞃīh, ꝺꞃıhꞇ̃, Lord; ꝺñꞅ ꝺꞃıhꞇneꞅ, Lords; ꝼ̃ ꝼoꞃ, for, on account of; ᵹ̃, ᵹeaꞃe, a year; Iħr, Ihc̃, Jesus; ꞅ. [M]. ꞅeınꞇe [M]aꞃıe, St. Mary; ꞅ. p. St. Peter; ƿũꞇ, ƿuꞇoꝺlıce, certainly, &c. See Thwaites, p. 1

or Anglo-Saxon. The Anglo-Saxon alphabet contains twenty-three letters; Q not being originally a Saxon letter.

For anꝺ the Saxons used these abbreviations, ⁊ and [#]; for þaꞇ and þæꞇ they wrote ꝥ; and for oððe or, and the termination lıce ly, they wrote ł; as ł or; and ꞅoðł for ꞅoðlıce truly.

[Note.] We also find uł for or; Ƿıłłm. for Ƿıllelm, William; and [H]æł, for [H]ælenꝺ, Jesus; ł stands for leoꝼeꞅꞇan, φίλτατοι, amicissimi, most friendly or beloved; apł, ap̃, or ap°, for apoꞅole, an apostle; apłar, apostles; [H]ieꞃłm, Jerusalem,; ꞅcıł, a shilling, money.

When an m was omitted, they made a short stroke over the preceding letter; as þā for þam.

[Note.] There are many other abbreviations and connectives; such as æꝼꞇ̃ æꝼꞇeꞃ, after; allm̃ allmıhꞇıᵹ, almighty; am̃, amen; ancen, ancenneꝺe, only begotten; b, b̵, bıꞅc̃, bıꞅcop, a bishop; bꞃoð, bꞃođ, bꞃoþeꞃn, brethren; caꞃc̃, caꞃceꞃne, a prison; cꝼꞇ, [#], Cꞃıꞅꞇ, xꞃeꞅ, Cꞃıꞅꞇeꞅ, Christ, Christ’s; c̃ƿ, cƿæð, saith; [#] for ꝺæᵹ, a day; ꝺꝺ, ꝺđ, David; ꝺꞃīh, ꝺꞃıhꞇ̃, Lord; ꝺñꞅ ꝺꞃıhꞇneꞅ, Lords; ꝼ̃ ꝼoꞃ, for, on account of; ᵹ̃, ᵹeaꞃe, a year; Iħr, Ihc̃, Jesus; ꞅ. [M]. ꞅeınꞇe [M]aꞃıe, St. Mary; ꞅ. p. St. Peter; ƿũꞇ, ƿuꞇoꝺlıce, certainly, &c. See Thwaites, p. 1.

In studying the Anglo-Saxon tongue, it is of great consequence to remark, that the inevitable changes introduced by the lapse of time through successive ages; the existence of the three great dialects, and their frequent intermixture; the variety of Anglo-Saxon writers, and their little acquaintance with each other; but, above all, their total disregard of any settled rules of orthography; have occasioned many irregularities in the language, and thrown difficulties in the way of the learner, which at first sight appear truly formidable; but, on closer inspection, these difficulties present no insuperable obstacle.

The principal difficulty consists in this: The Anglo-Saxon writers often confounded some letters, and used them indifferently for each other. This is the case to a most surprising extent with the vowels and diphthongs; so that the consonants, though often treated in the same manner, form the only part of the language which possesses any thing like a fixed and permanent character.

Remarks on the Change of the Consonants required for derivation and declension.

B.

B, F, or U, are often interchanged; as

Bebeꞃ, beꝼoꞃ, a beaver. Iꝼıᵹ, ıueᵹ ivy. Obeꞃ, oꝼeꞃ, oueꞃ, over. [E]bolꞅan, eꝼolꞅan to blaspheme. Foꞇ, uoꞇ a foot.

C.

C often interchanges with G, K and Q; as

Ðonceꞅ, þonᵹeꞅ thoughts. [C]ẏð, kẏð kindred. [C]ẏnınᵹ, kẏnınᵹ a king. Aceꞃ, Akeꞃ a field. [C]ƿen, quen, a queen, wife, &c.

C and CC are also often changed into H, or Hh, before ꞅ or ð, and especially before ꞇ; as Sꞇꞃehꞇon they strewed, for ꞅꞇꞃecꞇon, from ꞅꞇꞃeccan. Ahꞅıan for acꞅıan or axıan to ask. ꞅehđ for ꞅecđ seeks, from ꞅecan to seek.

In Dan. Sax. C changes into ᵹ, h, hƿ and k; and ch changes into h.

D.

D and T are often used indiscriminately for each other, and Ð is changed into ꝺ, especially in verbs; as ꞅeođan to boil or seeth; ꞅoꝺen boiled, ıc cƿæđ I said; þu cƿæ đe thou saidst. he ƿẏꞃđ he is or becomes; þu ƿuꞃꝺe thou becomest.

F.

In Dan. Sax. F changes into b and p.

G.

G is often changed into h and ƿ; as [H]eꞃeꞇoha for heꞃeꞇoᵹa a leader; Dahum for ꝺaᵹum with days; Geꞅƿıᵹan to be silent; ᵹeꞅuƿoꝺe he was silent or dumb; ꞅoꞃh for ꞅoꞃᵹe sorrow.

G interchanges with I and Y, when I has a sort of a consonant sound; as ᵹeo, ıeo or ıu yore, formerly; ᵹeoᵹuđ, ıeoᵹuđ youth; ᵹeoc, ıoc or ıuc yoke.

G is often suppressed before n, or ᵹn lengthened into ᵹen; as þẏꞅıᵹne, Þẏꞅıne from þyꞅꞅ or þıꞅ this, and ænıᵹne, aenıne, from aenıᵹ any. G is often added to words that end with ı, as hıᵹ for hı they; and on the contrary G is often omitted in those words which end in ıᵹ; as ꝺꞃı for ꝺꞃıᵹ or ꝺꞃẏᵹ, dry.

In Dan. Sax. G is sometimes dropped, or changed into C, H, or K; and GS into X.

H.

[H] is sometimes changed into ᵹ; as þaᵹ for þah he grew or throve, from þean to grow.

In Dan. Sax. [H] is sometimes added to words, and sometimes dropped; or it is changed into c, ᵹ, ch, or k; and [H]u into ƿ.

K.

The Saxons originally expressed the sound of the modern K by C. As C also stood for a soft sound, it was difficult to know when it was to be sounded hard, and when soft. To remove this difficulty, the Danes and Normans introduced the letter K to denote the hard sound of C.

L.

L and N are often written double or single without any distinction at the end of monosyllables; but this reduplication ceases when words are lengthened, so that a consonant follows; as ƿell or ƿel well; ealle or al all (omnis); ealne, all (omnem); also ıc ꞅẏlle, þu ꞅẏlꞅꞇ, he ꞅylđ, I sell, thou, &c.

In Dan. Sax. L is sometimes put for R.

M and N.

In Dan. Sax. these two letters are sometimes interchangeable; and N is occasionally dropped.

P.

The Saxon p and ƿ are easily mistaken for each other, both in MSS. and on coins; and even in printed books great care is sometimes necessary to distinguish these letters.

In Dan. Sax. P changes occasionally into B and U.

Q.

Q is not an original Saxon letter, and very seldom occurs in MSS.; Cw and Cu were commonly employed where Q is now used.

R.

R in Dan. Sax. is occasionally added to words, and is sometimes changed into L.

S.

S and Z are merely variations of the same original letter. The Z is only the S hard.

In Dan. Sax. Ss, Ð, or X are sometimes substituted for S.

T.

T in Dan. Sax. occasionally changes into D and Ð.

W.

In Dan. Sax. W changes into F and Ui; We into oe, u, ue; Wi, into u, uu; Wa, into uıæ, ƿæ; Wr, into war; and Wu, into u.

X.

X is sometimes supplied by cꞅ; as neoꞃcꞅen for neoꞃxen quiet. In Dan. Sax. X interchanges with S.

Z.

Z is only the S hard. See S.

Remarks on the Vowels and Diphthongs.

If the consonants,—those natural sinews of words and language,—suffer such changes, it may safely be presumed, that those flexible and yielding symbols, the vowels, would be exposed to still greater confusion; a confusion almost sufficient to induce one to imagine that they are of no weight or authority, in Anglo-Saxon orthography.

A.

A kind of Italic a is much used in Anglo-Saxon MSS. Where we now use A or E, the diphthongs Æ, Œ, and Ea continually occur in Anglo-Saxon; but Œ more frequently in Dan. Sax.

The vowel A and its diphthongs thus interchange.

A and O. See under O.

A and Æ: as ac, æc an oak; aceꞃ, æceꞃ a field; habban to have, ıc hæbbe I have; ꞅꞇan a stone; ꞅꞇænen stony; laꞃ doctrine; læꞃan to teach; an one; æniᵹ any one.

Æ and EA: as æ, ea water; æc, eac eternal.

Æ and Œ: as aeᵹhƿeꞃ, ceᵹhƿeꞃ everywhere; aeᵹhƿilc, oeᵹhƿilc every one.

Æ and Y: as ælc, ẏlc each one.

In Dan. Sax. these occur indifferently:—A, æ, e, ea, o, eo; Æ, e, ıe, œ, o, ea, ue.

E.

E interchanges with [Æ]. It is often added to the end of Anglo-Saxon words where it does not naturally belong, and it is as often rejected where it does.

Eo is changed into ẏ and e, and ea into e, but more usually into ẏ.

[E]aðe, eðe easily; and ceaᵹreꞃ, cereeꞃ a castle.

[S]eolꝼ, ꞅelꝼ, ꞅẏlꝼ self; ꞅẏllan, ꞅellan to give, sell, &c.

Neah near; nehꞅꞇ nearest; ealꝺ old; ꞅe ẏlꝺꞃa the elder; ƿealꝺan to rule, he ƿelꞇ or ƿẏlꞇ he rules; leaꞅ loose, lẏꞅan to loose; ᵹeleaꝼa belief, ᵹelẏꝼan to believe.

In Dan. Sax. these occur indifferently:—E, a, eo, ce, O, u, as, ea, ẏ; ea, eo, ı, ẏ; eau, eoƿ; ee, e; eı, œ, ı; eo, a, e, ı, ıƿ, u; eu, ẏƿ.

I.

I is interchanged with e and y; as

Iᵹlanb, eᵹlanb, ẏᵹlanb an island; eꝼel, ẏᵹel evil; ıꞃþımᵹ, eaꞃþımᵹ, ẏꞃþlınᵹ a farmer; ꞃen rain, ꞃınan to rain; beꞃnan to burn, bẏꞃnan to set on fire; cƿeþan to say, þu cƿyꞅꞇ, cƿıꞅꞇ, thou sayest.

In Dan. Sax. these occur indifferently: I, ıa, ıo, eo, ẏ; ıœ, ıe, œ; ıuh, eoƿ.

O.

O is changed into u, e and ẏ, and eo into ẏ; but sometimes into a, especially before n in a short or terminating syllable.

Oꝺe and oꝺ, into aꝺe and aꝺ; ꝺom ᵹudgment, ꝺeman to judge; ꝼꞃoꝼeꞃ comfort, ꝼꞃeꝼꞃtan to comfort; ꝼoc a foot, ꝼec feet; boc a book, bee books; ꞅcoꞃm a storm, ꞅcẏꞃman to storm; ᵹolꝺ gold, ᵹẏlꝺen golden; ƿoꞃb a word, anꝺƿyꞃꝺan to answer; ƿeoꞃc a work, ƿẏꞃcean to work; heoꞃb or hẏꞃꝺe a herd; ıoc, ıuc me a yoke; leƿan, ᵹoƿan to show; man and mon a man; lanᵹ and lonᵹ long; ꞅanꝺ and ꞅonꝺ sand.

In Dan. Sax. these occur:—O, a, e, I, u; œ, æ, e, o, ue, ƿe; oea, eo; oƿe, uu.

U.

U is sometimes converted into ẏ: as ꞅcꞃuꝺ clothing, ꞅcꞃyꝺan to clothe; cuþ known, cẏþan to make known.

In Dan. Sax. these are used indiscriminately:—U, ꝺ, ꝼ, o, oƿ, ƿe, ƿı, ƿu; ue, æ, œ, ƿe; uı, ƿ; uu, oƿe.

Y.

The Anglo-Saxon Y is the Greek Υ (upsilon), or, as the French call it, y Greque. The ẏ was not dotted in the oldest MSS.

Y is sometimes changed into u.

In Dan. Sax. these occur:—Y into e, ea, ı; and Yƿ into eu.

Further Remarks on the Letters.

The preceding observations on the consonants and vowels will render the following peculiarities less surprising, and may perhaps explain their causes.

The final letters of words are often omitted: as ƿomb, ƿom; ƿæᵹ or ƿeᵹ, ƿe.

A vowel near, or at the end of a word, is often absorbed by the preceding or succeeding consonant, especially if that consonant be a semi-vowel; but either that or the nearest vowel is still understood: as Luꝼꞅꞇ for luꝼaꞅꞇ lovest; luꝼð for luꝼað loveth; and other verbs in the 2d and 3d persons. Geƿꞃıxl for ᵹeƿꞃıxle changes; ꞅuꞅl ꞅuꞅel sulphur; ꞅƿæꝼl for ꞅƿæꝼel sulphur; bloꞅm for bloꞅma a blossom; boꞅm for boꞅum bosom; boꞇl for boꞇle a village, house, &c.; bꞃıꝺl for bꞃıꝺel a bridle.

Contractions of words are common: as N’ẏꞅꞇe for ne ƿıꞅꞇ knew not; n’æꝼꝺe for ne hæꝼeꝺ had not; ẏꞃn’ð for ẏꞃneð runneth.

In Dan. Sax., on the other hand, monosyllables are sometimes changed into longer words: as ƿꞃað anger, wrath, lengthened into ƿaꞃað. Other words contract two syllables into one; as cẏnınᵹ into kẏnᵹ a king.

The different letters suffer a very frequent change of position: as ꞇınꞇeꞃᵹe, ꞇınꞇꞃeᵹe pain; þıꞃꝺa, þꞃıꝺꝺa third.

A very great variety exists in writing the same word by different Anglo-Saxon authors, as will appear from the following examples: ᵹeoᵹeþe, ᵹeoᵹoð, ᵹeoᵹuð, ᵹeᵹoþe, ıoᵹoð, ıuᵹuð youth; mæneᵹeo many, a multitude, is written mæneᵹo, mænıᵹeo, mænıᵹo, mænıᵹu, mænıo, mænıu, mænẏᵹeo, maneᵹeo, maneᵹu, manıᵹe, manıᵹo, manıᵹu, meneᵹeo, meneᵹo, meneᵹu, menıᵹeo, menıᵹo, menıᵹu, menıo, menıu.

Adjectives in the comparative degree end indifferently in aꞃ, æꞃ, eꞃ, ıꞃ, oꞃ, uꞃ, or ẏꞃ; and the superlative in aꞅꞇ, æꞅꞇ, eꞅꞇ, ıꞅꞇ, oꞅꞇ, uꞅꞇ, or ẏꞅꞇ.

Active participles end in anꝺ, anꝺe, ænꝺ, ænꝺe, enꝺ, ınꝺ, onꝺ, unꝺ or ẏnꝺ; and passive participles in aꝺ, æꝺ, eꝺ, ıꝺ, oꝺ, uꝺ, or ẏꝺ.

So also, [H]e ꝺıelꝼ, ꝺealꝼ, ꝺelꝼ or ꝺalꝼ he dug; and læꞅƿenꝺe, læꞅƿıᵹenꝺe, læꞅᵹenꝺe or læꞅıenꝺe feeding; ıc ƿuꞃpe, ıc ƿeoꞃpe, ıc ƿẏꞃpe, or ıc ƿeꞃpe I cast away; man, mon a man; he mæᵹe or muᵹe he may; he ꞅıᵹ, ꞅı, ꞅıe, ꞅe, ꞅıo, or ꞅeo he is; ꞅınꝺon, ꞅenꝺon, ꞅıenꝺon, ꞅınꞇ, ꞅıenꞇ, ꞅınꝺ, ꞅın, ꞅıen, ꞅeon, are.

Some short words assume very different meanings: as bıᵹ, bıᵹe, bẏᵹe, beᵹ, beaᵹ, beah and beh, which, according to their connexion, signify indifferently, a turning, a crown, a gem, a bosom, buy, he turned, he submitted, &c. from buᵹan, to turn, bow, &c.—The Elements of Anglo-Saxon Grammar. By the Rev. J. Bosworth, M.A. F.A.S., 8vo. 1823.

“The Saxon capitals which vary from those now used are C, E, G, H, M, and W. The small letters are d, f, g, r, s, t, and w, which are all Roman, except the Ƿ, ƿ, and some notes of abbreviations used by the Saxons, as Ð ð, þ th, ꝥ that, &c. Many other abbreviations were used by the Saxons. These notes of abbreviation are not the original members of an alphabet; they were the result of later reflection, and were introduced for dispatch.

“By an attentive observation of the different specimens of writing in England, we perceive the several gradations of change, by which one form of a Roman character has imperceptibly changed into another. The Saxon ƿ, says Mr. Whitaker, seems to have been only the Roman V at first, and to have been lengthened into the Saxon character, and enlarged into the present Roman W, by bringing the principal stroke somewhat lower, and closing the top in the one, and by redoubling the whole in the other. The W is unknown, both to the Latin and its daughter languages, the French, the Spanish, and the Italian: it is composed of two characters, namely of the V or U doubled.

“The writing which prevailed in England from the coming of St. Augustin, in 596, to the middle of the eleventh century, is generally termed Saxon, and may be divided into five kinds, namely, the Roman Saxon, the set Saxon, the running hand Saxon, the mixed Saxon, and the elegant Saxon.”—Astle.

Elegant Saxon.—This writing was adopted in England in the tenth century, and was continued till the Norman conquest; but was not entirely disused till the middle of the thirteenth century.

All subsequent Saxon writers endeavour to keep as near as possible to the form of the letters in a book of Saxon Homilies in the Lambeth Library (No. 439), written in the tenth century. There is a beautiful specimen in the MSS. of the Rev. E. Thwaites, M. A. to be found in the Harleian MSS., at the British Museum (No. 1866). It is described in Nichols’s Lit. Anec., vol. iv. p. 140, as “one of the most lovely specimens of modern Saxon writing that can be imagined.”—Bosworth, p. 20.

About the year 1567, John Daye, who was patronized by Archbishop Parker, cut the first Saxon types which were used in England. In this year Asserius Menevensis was published by the direction of the archbishop in these characters; and in the same year Archbishop Ælfric’s Paschal Homily; and, in 1571, the Saxon Gospels. Daye’s Saxon types far excel in neatness and beauty any which have been since made, not excepting the neat types cast for F. Junius at Dort, which were given by him to the University of Oxford. Astle, p. 224.—Bosworth.

“The Saxon types which were used in printing St. Gregory’s Homily, having been burnt in the fire which consumed Mr. Bowyer’s house and all his printing materials [Jan. 30. 1712-13], Lord Chief Justice Parker was so munificently indulgent, as to be at the expence of cutting a new Saxon type for Mrs. Elstob’s Saxon Grammar, from fac similes by Mrs. Elstob; the punches and matrices of which Mr. Bowyer’s son presented, by the hands of Edward Rowe-Mores, esq; to the University of Oxford. See the Archæologia Antiq. Soc vol. i. p. xxvii.”—Gent. Mag., Oct. 1778, p. 455. Note.

Saxon Upper Case.

Saxon Lower Case.

Saxon in British Founderies.

Double Pica.—Fry, to Thorowgood and Besley.

Great Primer.—Fry, to Thorowgood and Besley.

English.—Caslon. Fry, to Thorowgood and Besley. Oxford. Wilson.

Pica.—Caslon. Fry, to Thorowgood and Besley. V. and J. Figgins. Oxford. Wilson.

Small Pica.—Fry, to Thorowgood and Besley. V. and J. Figgins. Oxford. Wilson.

Long Primer.—Caslon. Fry, to Thorowgood and Besley. V. and J. Figgins. Wilson.

Brevier.—Caslon. Fry, to Thorowgood and Besley. V. and J. Figgins. Wilson.

The Saxon Alphabet

Layout of Saxon case