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THE AMERICAN PRINTER:

A Manual of Typography,

CONTAINING

PRACTICAL DIRECTIONS FOR MANAGING ALL DEPARTMENTS OF A PRINTING OFFICE,

AS WELL AS

Complete Instructions for Apprentices:

WITH SEVERAL USEFUL TABLES, NUMEROUS SCHEMES FOR IMPOSING FORMS IN EVERY VARIETY, HINTS TO AUTHORS, ETC.

BY THOMAS MACKELLAR, PH. D.

PHILADELPHIA: MACKELLAR, SMITHS & JORDAN FOUNDRY. 1893.

Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1866, by L. JOHNSON & COMPANY, In the Clerk’s Office of the District Court of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1878, by MACKELLAR, SMITHS & JORDAN, In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington, D. C.

Eighteenth Edition—Revised and Enlarged.

ELECTROTYPED BY MACKELLAR, SMITHS & JORDAN FOUNDRY, PHILADELPHIA.

EIGHTEENTH EDITION.

This edition of the _American Printer_, while essentially the same as the previous one, contains some additional matter.

PHILADELPHIA, _March, 1893_.

PREFACE TO FIRST EDITION.

Usefulness rather than originality has been aimed at in the preparation of the AMERICAN PRINTER, which is offered as an improvement on the typographical work formerly published by us. In addition to the results of actual personal experience embodied in the volume, information has been gathered and extracts have been freely made from various publications, such as _Ames and Dibdin’s Typographical Antiquities_, _Thomas’s History of Printing_, _Timperley’s Dictionary of Printers and Printing_, _Savage’s Dictionary of Printing_, _Johnson’s Typographia_, _Chambers’s Encyclopædia_, _Beadnell’s Guide to Typography_, as well as other books referred to in the notes. The work has been prepared amid the manifold interruptions incident to business life; yet we think nothing has been overlooked that is essential for the instruction of the learner or for the assistance of the workman.

Besides the matter relating to practical typography, the volume contains a sketch of the discovery of printing, and notices of type-founding, stereotyping, electrotyping, and lithography. The implements employed in typography are described and their uses explained; and complete schemes for imposition are laid down. The valuable tables and the plans of cases for various languages, and for music and labour-saving rule, will be found extremely useful; as well as the extensive lists of abbreviations and of foreign words and phrases, and orthographical hints.

Special attention has been given in setting forth the functions and duties of the foreman and proof-reader, so that the operations of an office may be prosecuted with efficiency, comfort, and economy.

Authors and publishers, as well as young printers, may consult the volume with profit; and, indeed, any intelligent person will find it serviceable.

CONTENTS.

PAGE.

RISE AND PROGRESS OF PRINTING 13-48

Discovery of Printing—Laurentius Koster—Geinsfleisch—Gutenberg—Fust—Bible printed—Peter Schœffer—Caxton—Ulrich Zell—Lambert Palmaert—Abraham Colorito—Humphreys and De Vinne on the invention of printing—Lenox’s collection of rare Bibles—Ancient typographical peculiarities—Catchwords—Invention of Signatures—Printing introduced into America—Type-founding in Europe—Decree of the Star Chamber—Type-founding in America—Prices of Type—Stereotyping—Electrotyping—Lithography—Engraving— Walk over a type-foundry.

IMPLEMENTS OR TOOLS OF THE ART 49-120

Types—Roman letter—Italic—Black—Anglo-Saxon—Names and sizes of type—Gradations of type—Point System of Type bodies—A Bill of Pica—A Fount of type—Capitals—Small capitals—Points—Apostrophe—Hyphen—Parenthesis and Bracket—References—Accents—Numerals—Arabic figures—Old-style figures—Cancelled figures—Fractions—Signs—Metal rules or dashes—Braces—Spaces—Two-line letters—Quadrates—Quotations—Labour-saving quotation furniture—Hollow quadrates—Circular quadrates—Labour-saving curvatures—Leads—Flowers and borders—Brass rule—Brass labour-saving rule—Improved labour-saving rule case—Earliest written sounds—Hieroglyphic alphabet—Runic alphabets—Anglo-Saxon alphabet and plan of cases—German alphabet and plan of cases—Greek alphabet and plan of cases—Hebrew alphabet and plan of cases—Russian alphabet—Comparative table of bodies of Music type—Music composition—Music cases—Modern conveniences.

COMPOSITION 121-140

General remarks—Requisites in an apprentice—American cases—Position of a compositor—Laying type—Distributing— Composing—Spacing—Justifying—Head-lines—Notes—Blanking— Paragraphs—Indexes—Titles—Dedications—Contents—Prefaces— Signaturing—Errata—Ironical rules—Advice to apprentices—Ironical rules for beginners in business.

IMPOSITION 141-199

General remarks—Tying up pages—Laying pages—Making up furniture—Making the margin—Locking up forms—Memoranda—Nomenclature of sheets—Schemes for imposing, from folio to 128mo.

PROOF-READING AND CORRECTING 200-217

Qualifications of a reader—Should be a printer—Indebtedness of authors to proof-readers—Process of reading—Proof record—Errors made in correcting—Two readers desirable—Punctuation—Alterations in proof—Stower’s remarks—Revise—Correcting in the metal—Capricious alterations—Proper method of correcting—Over-running—Hints to authors—Table of proof-marks, with explanations—Table of signatures.

THE FOREMAN OR OVERSEER 218-234

General duties—Treatment of compositors—Punctuality—Morning duties—Knowledge of all materials on hand—Order—Overseeing work—Regulating takes of copy—Prompt reading and correcting—Memorandum—Press-book—Press duties—Warehouse—Casting off copy—Managing hurried work—Companionships—Taking copy—Making up—Dividing the letter—Making up furniture—Imposing and distributing letter—Correcting—Transposition of pages—Rules to be observed in a printing-office.

THE PRESS AND ITS WORKING 235-292

History of the printing-press—Blaeu, its first improver—Ramage press—Stanhope press—Clymer or Columbian press—Smith press—Washington press—Adams’s bed-and-platen power-press—Invention of the Cylinder press—Frederick König—William Nicholson—Dr. Kinsley—Applegath and Cowper—Account of the house of R. Hoe & Co.—Stop Cylinder press—Cottrell & Babcock presses—Campbell presses—Richard M. Hoe’s type-revolving printing machine—Bullock perfecting press—The Walter perfecting press—The Hoe perfecting press—Presses at the Centennial Exhibition, 1876—Railroad-ticket printing and numbering press—Job presses—Ruggles, Hoe, Gordon, Degener, Wells, and Gally—Franklin press—Nonpareil press—Fire-fly press—Liberty press—Globe press—Peerless press—Universal press—Amateur presses—Folding machines—Setting up a Washington press—Setting up the roller-stand—Composition rollers—Melting kettle—Covering tympans—Wetting paper—Blankets—Making ready a form on a hand-press—Pulling—Rules and remedies for pressmen—Ley-trough—Making ready on cylinder presses—Fine hand-presswork—Printing wood-cuts—Card printing—Gold printing—Bronze printing—Printing in colours—Ink stone and muller—How to use dry colours—How to multiply colours—Contrast of colours—Oiling a press—How to treat wood type.

WAREHOUSE DEPARTMENT 293-299

Warehouseman—Warehouse-Book—Receipt of paper and delivery of sheets—Giving out paper to wet—Over-sheets—Hanging up paper to dry—Taking down sheets when dry—Filling in and pressing sheets—Counting out and putting away sheets—Standard sizes of machine-made paper—Table for giving out paper for a thousand copies.

JOBBING FACILITIES 300-310

Selection of type and presses—How to make a paying business—Memorandum order—Estimate book—Ames’s paper and card scale—Le Blond’s chart—Cabinets and cases—Rules for the government of a job office—Job composing-sticks—Patent quoins—Corner quadrates—Shooting sticks—Mitering machine—Lead cutter—Perforating machines—Imposing stone—Copy-holder—Paper and card cutters—Megill’s patent gauge pin—Extension feed-guide—Automatic counters—Patent ink fountain—Iron furniture.

USEFUL RECEIPTS 311-317

How to make printers’ rollers—German preservative for rollers—Directions for recasting rollers—Printers’ ley—Paste—Mucilage—Glue—Gum—Magenta surface paper—Coloured writing inks—Fire-proof ink—Printing ink varnish—Lithographic transfer ink—To give dark printing inks a bronze or changeable hue—An ink for marking tin or zinc—Drying preparations—Silvering solutions—To soften leather belting—How to open a ball of twine—To prevent adhesion of paper—To detect ground wood in paper—French gold printing—Transfer varnish—To make paper waterproof—To preserve books—To restore engravings.

ORTHOGRAPHICAL 318-332

Discrepancies—_a_ or _an_ before a vowel or silent _h_—_o_ or _oh_—_able_ and _ible_—_im_ or _in_ and _em_ or _en_—_in_ and _un_—_ise_ and _ize_—_or_ and _our_—_sion_ and _tion_—_Farther_ and _further_—_Peas_ and _pease_—Omission of _s_ in the possessive case—Formation of the plurals of words compounded of a noun and an adjective—Pointing of numbers, weights, measures, &c.—Derivation of English words—Rules for spelling—Plurals of nouns.

HOW TO SECURE COPYRIGHTS 333-335

Printed title required—Application to be made to Librarian of Congress—Style of printed title—Fees—Two complete copies required—Penalty—Notice of copyright to be given by imprint—Form of notice—Penalty for false notice—Authors may reserve the right to translate or dramatize—Form of notice—Original works only will be entered—Duration of copyright—Renewal—Form of application for renewal—Time of publication—Copyright may be secured for a projected as well as for a completed work—Assignments—Fees—Copies or duplicate certificates—Serials or separate publications—Copyright required for each volume or part of a book—Copyrights for works of art—Copyrights cannot be granted upon trade-marks or labels—Fee for registering at Patent Office—Citizens or residents of the United States only entitled to copyright—Full name and residence of claimant required.

THE METRIC SYSTEM 336, 337

TECHNICAL TERMS OF THE CRAFT 338-343

ABBREVIATIONS 344-356

FOREIGN WORDS AND PHRASES 357-372

INDEX 373-383

_THE SONG OF THE PRINTER._

Pick and click Goes the type in the stick, As the printer stands at his case; His eyes glance quick, and his fingers pick The type at a rapid pace; And one by one as the letters go, Words are piled up steady and slow— Steady and slow, But still they grow, And words of fire they soon will glow; Wonderful words, that without a sound Traverse the earth to its utmost bound; Words that shall make The tyrant quake, And the fetters of the oppress’d shall break; Words that can crumble an army’s might, Or treble its strength in a righteous fight. Yet the types they look but leaden and dumb, As he puts them in place with finger and thumb But the printer smiles, And his work beguiles By chanting a song as the letters he piles, With pick and click, Like the world’s chronometer, tick! tick! tick!

O, where is the man with such simple tools Can govern the world as I? With a printing press, an iron stick, And a little leaden die. With paper of white, and ink of black, I support the Right, and the Wrong attack.

Say, where is he, or who may he be, That can rival the printer’s power? To no monarchs that live the wall doth he give: Their sway lasts only an hour; While the printer still grows, and God only knows When his might shall cease to tower!

ANON.

_Hereby, tongues are known, knowledge groweth, judgment increaseth, books are dispersed, the Scripture is read, stories be opened, times compared, truth discerned, falsehood detected and with finger pointed, and (all as I said) through the benefit of Printing._

FOX’S MARTYRS.

_At the very epoch when the greatness of Burgundy was most swiftly ripening, another weapon was secretly forging, more potent in the great struggle for freedom than any which the wit or hand of man has ever devised or wielded. When Philip the Good, in the full blaze of his power, and flushed with the triumphs of territorial aggrandizement, was instituting at Bruges the order of the Golden Fleece, “to the glory of God, of the blessed Virgin, and of the holy Andrew, patron saint of the Burgundian family,” and enrolling the names of the kings and princes who were to be honoured with its symbols, at that very moment, an obscure citizen of Haarlem, one Lorenz Coster, or Lawrence the Sexton, succeeded in printing a little grammar, by means of movable types. The invention of printing was accomplished, but it was not ushered in with such a blaze of glory as heralded the contemporaneous erection of the Golden Fleece. The humble setter of types did not deem emperors and princes alone worthy his companionship. His invention sent no thrill of admiration throughout Christendom; and yet, what was the good Philip of Burgundy, with his Knights of the Golden Fleece, and all their effulgent trumpery, in the eye of humanity and civilization, compared with the poor sexton and his wooden type?_

MOTLEY’S RISE OF THE DUTCH REPUBLIC, Vol. i, 45.

The American Printer.

RISE AND PROGRESS OF PRINTING.

DISCOVERY OF PRINTING.

The credit of inventing the art which perpetuates the history and achievements of all the arts and sciences has been obstinately contested, several cities having advanced rival claims to the honour of the discovery. This, however, should be no matter of surprise when we consider that the inventor of a new art, unprotected by law, would naturally endeavour to conceal its processes for his own use and advantage. After due consideration, we agree with Isaiah Thomas in the opinion that the probabilities point to LAURENTIUS (sometimes called Coster, Koster, and Kustos) as the discoverer of the art of printing.[1]

Laurentius lived at Haarlem and was a man of property. He seems to have been engaged in printing books from wood blocks or plates, well known to antiquaries as the _Block Books_, in which the reading matter was illustrated by rude pictures. Fragments of works so printed by him are still in existence. Among others, the celebrated _Biblia Pauperum_, executed between 1410 and 1420, has been attributed to him. It was only natural that his thoughts should be led to the production of single types, as a means of cheapening and facilitating his work. These were first made of wood, and afterward of tin. The date of his invention of separate types is given as about the year 1429. Other dates have been stated, ranging from 1422 to 1436. The first of his printed books, it is claimed, was the _Speculum Humanæ Salvationis_, of which about ten copies are now known to be in existence. A small primer, or _Abecedarium_, in our opinion, shows all the marks of the first attempt of an experimenter in a new art. Koster died in 1439.

The necessity for employing workmen to assist in prosecuting the art led to the divulging of the secret. Among these men, it is supposed, was John Geinsfleisch, (or Gutenberg, Senior,) who, after learning the processes, returned to Mentz, his native place, and communicated the secret to his nephew, John Gutenberg, an ingenious artist of Strasburg. It is in evidence that the latter, in connection with two partners, spent a considerable amount of money in some private experiments. These appear to have occupied several years, from 1436 to 1439, when a legal contest arose as to the rights of one of the partners whose zealous activity had caused his death. Gutenberg continued at Strasburg till 1444, when, his means being exhausted, he rejoined his uncle at Mentz. Here he renewed his experiments, and, needing money, he procured an introduction to John Fust, a capitalist and money-lender, who seems to have been struck with the importance of the work, and who advanced a considerable amount (all the tools and presses being pledged as security) in furtherance of the enterprise. Two years were occupied in making the types and necessary machinery, when the great work of printing the Bible was begun. There can be little doubt that, during all his years of experiment, Gutenberg had executed smaller books, one of which is surmised to have been a reproduction of the Dutch _Speculum_ of Koster. The _Donatus_ of 1451, the _Appeal against the Turks_ of 1454, and the _Letters of Indulgence_ of 1454 and 1455, all appeared before the Bible,[2] which was not published till 1455 or 1456. This great book marked an era in the art.[3]

It is painful to be told that about this time Fust foreclosed the mortgage, and the entire work with all the materials passed into his possession. It seems, however, that Gutenberg succeeded in re-establishing a press, and continued to practise the art, but produced no work at all comparable with the Bible. He died about 1468.

After securing possession of the establishment, Fust engaged the service of Peter Schœffer, who had been apprentice or assistant to Gutenberg, and who was distinguished for scholarship as well as mechanical skill. His skill and the improvements made by him in the art soon led Fust to take him into partnership, and the Bible, the Psalter, and other important works were produced. Schœffer was further rewarded by the hand of the grand-daughter of Fust.

From this rapid summary, we may conclude, 1. That the merit of the invention of printing, however rude it may have been, belongs to Koster of Haarlem; 2. That Gutenberg placed the art on a permanent foundation; and, 3. That its economical application was insured by Peter Schœffer’s invention of cast metal types.[4]

It was of course impossible to conceal the knowledge of an art so useful to man, and within ten years after the publication of the great Bible presses were established in several German cities, in Rome and other parts of Italy, and soon thereafter in France and England.

William Caxton acquired a knowledge of the art in Germany, and carried it into practice at Westminster in England. The year 1477 is now accepted as the date of the introduction, the first book printed with a date in England being the _Dictes and Sayinges of the Philosophers, emprynted by me, William Caxton, at Westmestre, the yere of our Lord m.cccc.l.xxvij._ He had previously printed, without a date, _The Recuyell of the Historyes of Troye_, which was followed by _The Game and Playe of the Chesse, fynysshid the last day of marche the yer of our lord god. a. thousand foure honderd and lxxiiii._ These were, however, printed at Bruges; so, according to Mr. William Blades, “the first indisputable date we have to stand on is the printing of _The Dictes_ in 1477.”

Though at that time over sixty years old, Caxton was notable for his industrious habit. He was possessed of good sense and sound judgment; steady, persevering, active, zealous, and liberal in his devices for that important art which he introduced into England, labouring not only as a printer, but as translator and author. The productions of his press amount to sixty-four. In the churchwardens’ books of St. Margaret’s Parish, Westminster, his death is thus recorded: “1491. Item, atte bureyng of William Caxton, for iiii. torches vj_s._ viij_d._ Item, for the belle atte same bureyng, vj_d._”

The Bible was printed in Spanish at Valencia in 1479 by Lambert Palmaert, a German; but so completely was it afterward suppressed by the Inquisition that only four leaves now remain in the archives of Valencia. The first Hebrew Bible ever printed came from the press of Abraham Colorito, at Soncino, in 1488—a very remarkable work. Iceland had its printing-office in 1530, at which a Bible was printed in 1584.

ANCIENT PECULIARITIES.

The pages were either large or small folios, but sometimes quartos, and, the early books were therefore cumbrous and unhandy. Aldus Manuccio, of Venice, was the first to introduce the octavo form.

The leaves were without running titles, direction-words, paginal numbers, or divisions into paragraphs.

The character itself was a rude old Gothic (similar to that now known as _Old English_ or _Black_) mixed with Secretary, designed to imitate the handwriting of the times; the words were printed so close to one another that the matter was not easily read.

To avoid divisions, the early printers used vowels with a mark of abbreviation over them to denote that one or more letters were omitted in the word: _e.g._ co̅pose for compose, co̅pletio̅ for completion, &c. No punctuation-marks were used, except the colon and full point; but an oblique stroke (/) was after a while introduced, for which the comma was finally substituted. Logotypes were frequently employed.

Orthography was various and arbitrary. Proper names and sentences were often begun with small letters, as well as the first words in lines of poetry.