Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2015 https://archive.org/details/stereotypingelecOOwils r STEREOTYPING; ELECTROTYPING. STEREOTYPING AND ELECTROTYPING A GUIDE FOR THE PRODUCTION OF PLATES BY THE PAPIER MACHE AND PLASTER PROCESSES. With Instructions for depositing Copper by the Battery or by the DYNAMO MACHINE. ALSO HINTS ON STEEL AND BRASS FACING, ETC. £v FRED <[ J. F. WILSON. \ LONDON : WYMAN & SONS, GREAT QUEEN STREET, Lincoln's inn fields. All Rights Reserved. PREFACE, EARLY two hundred years ago Joseph Moxon, author of the " Mechanick Exercises," issued the first technical work on Printing. He felt that some apology was necessary for writing a book on such a subject as " handicraft," and he took pains to show, that while the so-called professions were advantageously supplied with manuals intended to impart technical instruction to those who proposed to enter their ranks, there were no works which performed a similar office for the benefit of those engaged in trades. He argued that the artisan as well as, for instance, the engineer or the architect, required and would be substantially bene- fited by, information concerning his own trade conveyed through the medium of a book, and with this object he published the first practical work on Typography. From that time to the present a large number of books % have been issued with a similar intention. The benefits accruing from them, as well as from their natural outcome — the periodical technical press — have never been doubted, but, on the other hand, are being more widely recognised and more adequately appreciated year by year. * See, for titles, "A Bibliography of Printing," by E. Bigmore and C. Wyman. 4to. 1880. London : Quaritch, Piccadilly. /7S7 1 VI STEREOTYPING AND ELECTROTYPING. What Moxon did for printers' " smithing " and " car- pentry," has since been done by writers acquainted with the details of other industrial arts, and strictly technological treatises form no inconsiderable portion of our current national literature. As time passes by, and the various arts of daily life are developed and extended, the principle of division of labour enters into the literary work of describing them, as into the practical work of carrying them out. It would be a task characterized by great temerity for any writer now to attempt to deal with the subject of Printing in its entirety. Specialists are called for; it is now, not "all-round excel- lence" — which, in fact, means little more than mere general knowledge — that is required, but complete acquaintance with one particular branch of a subject. The present work forms one of a Technical Series which has in view this necessity. Although a letterpress printer has a general knowledge of both Presswork and Composition, it would require more than ordinary opportunities to enable one to become thoroughly conversant with what is called both "press" and "case." Hence there has been issued a special treatise on Machine-Printing,* dealing with the subject with a minuteness and fulness, as it is hoped, that would be impossible of attainment within reasonable limits in a book treating of the whole subject of Printing. Again, as Lithography is in relation to Typography an entirely separate, although closely allied and auxiliary art, a separate volume f has been appropriated to its treatment. The arts of Stereotyping and Electrotyping have also now, it has been thought, become of sufficient importance * See "Printing-Machines and Machine-Printing," by F. J. F. Wilson (" Wyman's Technical Series"). London. 1880. 8vo. t See "The Grammar of Lithography," by W. D. Richmond (" Wyman's Technical Series "). London. 1880. 8vo. PREFACE. vii to require a special technical manual. Both subjects have already been referred to in several of the existing text- books, but necessarily without that completeness, compre- hensiveness, and perspicacity which are really essential in a work designed to impart instruction in the rnodus operandi of the several processes. The present work may therefore be properly regarded as the first of the kind that has been devoted to the same subject. It may claim, perhaps, some consideration from that circumstance ; but it is hoped that its intrinsic merits will entitle it to the favour of those for whom it has been compiled. The aim throughout has been to make it thoroughly practical and useful. All literary ornament has been sacrificed wherever it might obscure the subject under treatment ; and repetition has been tolerated whenever it appeared to be necessary to secure a greater clearness, or to emphasize important points. The present treatise has naturally divided itself into two chief portions, respectively devoted to Stereotyping and Electrotyping. The first of these includes the Paper and the Plaster Processes ; for, although the last named is now less indispensable than formerly, it could not be disregarded in a work pretending to any degree of completeness. In each section there have, as far as possible, been described, in the first place, the machinery, materials, and appliances required, and then the different steps in the successive processes. The paragraphs are numbered for purposes of reference \ and the table of contents at the beginning will enable the reader to readily find any particular item of information in which he may be interested. Allusion may, perhaps, be permissible to the historical portions of the work, which have been written by Mr. John Southward, author of the " Dictionary of Typography," " Practical Printing," &c., under the direction of the Vlll STEREOTYPING AND ELECTROTYPING. Editor of The Printing Times and Lithographer, with whom the idea of this work originated. There is thus presented a more complete and connected narrative of the origin and progress of the two arts than has yet appeared, the materials being obtained partly from original sources and partly from researches made at the British Museum and other great libraries. The full titles of the principal works consulted are cited in the text, thus supplying a Biblio- graphy of the subject in miniature. The author of the practical portion of this work has enjoyed peculiar advantages in describing the different processes, owing to his connection with one of the most extensive Stereotyping and Electrotyping establishments in this country. Obsolete methods have been omitted, while due prominence has been given to those of latest introduction and of greatest practical utility. Cordial acknowledgments are due to Mr. Richardson (of the firm of Richardson, Koolman, & Isger), to whom the proof-sheets have been submitted, and who has from time to time aided with suggestions and additions ; as well as to Messrs. R. Hoe & Co. and others for the loan of illustrations of especial technical value. TABLE OF CONTENTS. HISTORY OF STEREOTYPING. Introductory — Earliest Experiments in Stereotyping — Ged's Invention — Second Invention of the Art — French Experiments in Poly typing — English Progress in the Art — Perfection of the System, and its Successful Application to Newspaper Printing — India-rubber Stereotype page i THE PAPER PROCESS. Chapter I. — Definitions — Advantages and Disadvantages of the Paper and Plaster Processes respectively — Origin of the word " Flong" — Preliminary Operations (§§ i — 6) 25 Chapter II.—The Flong— Recipes— the Mould— Beating (§§ 7—14) 29 Chapter III. — Melting-pot and Furnace — Drying-Plate — Imposing Surface — Drying the Mould — Baking — Preparing the Metal (§§15-25) 33 Chapter IV. — Casting the Plate — Casting-box — Ladles, Gauges,&c. — Circular-Saws — Planing — Planing-Machine — Finishing (§§ 26—31) 38 Chapter V. — Bevelling — Bevelling Table and Machine — Use of Power for Driving — Mounting on Wood — Finishing and Picking — Packing Plates (§§ 32 — 37) 44 Chapter VI. — Small Stereo Foundries. — Directions for their use — Harrild's Combination Table — Miller & Richard's Miniature Foundry (§§ 38—49) 49 Chapter VII. — Type-high Stereotyping. — Gauges and Cores — Adjustable Cores (§§ 50—56) 58 Chapter VIII. — Casting Curved Plates for Newspapers. — Casting at a London Daily Newspaper Office described (§§ 57 — 63) 62 X STEREOTYPING AND ELECTROTYPING. THE PLASTER PROCESS. Chapter IX.— The Metal-pot, Oven, Dipping-pans, Floating-plate— Crane, Cooling, &c.— Metal for Plaster-casting (§§ 64—74) ...page 70 Chapter X. — Preparation of the Form — Casting the Mould — Back- ing—Casting the Plate (§§ 75—81) 75 Chapter XI. — Knocking-out — Finishing the Plate — Planing the Back— Moulding from Plates (§§ 82—85) 80 Chapter XII. — Recent Modifications of the Stereotype Process — Adjustable Blocks and Plates — Stereotyping direct upon Wood — The Celluloid Process — Blocks and Catches for mounting Plates... 84 ELECTROTYPING. Chapter I. — Historical. — Galvani's Discovery of Animal Elec- tricity — Volta's Pile — Jacobi's, Jordan's, and Spencer's Dis- coveries — Subsequent Development of the Art of Electro- Metallurgy (§§ 1— 12) 95 Chapter II. — Theoretical. — Electricity— What it is — How it is produced — Positive and Negative — the Current — Definition of Terms (§§ 13—19) 107 Chapter III. — Practical. — Taking the Mould — Incidental Difficul- ties — the Workshop — Proper Chases — Furniture — Hydraulic and Screw Presses — Blackleading— Blackleading Machine — Selection of Blacklead or Plumbago (§§ 20 — 31) 112 Chapter IV. — The Connections and their Arrangement — Supporting Rods — Binding Screws — Supporting Hooks — Metal-pot — Mould- ing-pans — Backing-pans — Motive Power (§§ 32 — 39) 122 Chapter V. — Moulding — High and Low-spaced Forms — Floating — Filling the Wax Pans — Taking the Impression —Clay's Improve- ment in Moulding — Moulding from Plates— Building — Low Spaces and Floating — Building-irons (§§ 40 — 53) 128 Chapter VI. —Blackleading the Mould — Nature of Plumbago — Blackleading by Hand and by Machine — Stopping-out — Exclusion of Air (§§ 54-58) 135 Chapter VII. — The Battery — Frames for the Silver — Supports for the Zinc Plates— the Silver Plate — Platinising — Cleaning the Zinc Plates — Amalgamation with Quicksilver — Cleaning, Renewal, &c. (§§59-7o) 138 TABLE OF CONTENTS. xi Chapter VIII. — The Battery— Battery Solution — its Ingredients — its Renewal — its Duration— Solution for the Depositing Trough — its Ingredients — Preparation of the Copper-plates — How to clean them (§§ 71— 78) page 145 Chapter IX. — The Battery Connections — Working a new Solution — Methods of Assisting the Process of Deposition —Adams's System (§§79-84) 149 Chapter X.— Management of the Battery and the Depositing Solu- tion — Period of Exhaustion — Temperature and its Influence upon the Battery-power — Mishaps and Remedies (§§ 85 — 93) 152 Chapter XI. — Proper Thickness of the Shell — Removal from the Mould— Backing — Composition of Backing Metal— Granulated Tin — Preparation of the Acid — Backing the Shell (§§ 94 — 101) ... 156 Chapter XII. — Finishing the Plate — Trimming— Beating-up — The ^■"f Lathe — Bevelling — Mounting on Wood — the Picker and his Qua^v^" 1 . E fications — Picker's Bench (§§ 102 — in) f!H 159 Chapter XIII. — Finishing the Plate [continued) — the Picker's uen^h J — Tools required — Chipping the Plate — Routing Machine — Picking' — Insertion of Types and Cuts in Plates — Repairs of BatterV^ Additions — Gauge for Mounted Electros (§§ 112— 122) ^163 Chapter XIV. — Dynamo-Electric Machines. — Theory of the Ac- tion of Dynamo- Electric Machines — their Origin — the Wilde, Schuckert, Weston, and Gramme Machines — Application to Electrotyping— the Trough — Agitation of the Solution — the Con- nections (§§ 123 — 132) 169 Chapter XV. — Etching for Copperplate Printing. — Theory of Etch- ing on Copper and Zinc Plates — the Interrupted and Continuous Processes — Formulas for the Mordants — Etching by the Battery — Derincenzi's Process (§§ 133 — 142) 179 Chapter XVI.— Steel and Iron Facing. — Advantages of the Steel Process — Preparation of the Original Plate — the Mould — the Shell — Finishing the Plate — Batteries — Deposition of Iron (§§ 143— x 57) 184 Chapter XVII. — Brass Facing. — Advantages and Disadvantages of the Process — Theory of the Deposition of Brass — Watt's, Wood's, and Roseleur's Recipes (§§ 158 — 165) 189 Appendix. — Materials used in Electrotyping 192 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. FIG. 1. Griffin & Hawkes' Type-high News Block page 23 2. Paste-Sieve 30 3. Beating 32 4. Steam Drying-surface .face p. 34 5. Small Melting-pot and Drying-surface combined 35 6. The Skimmer 36 7. Ladles, for pouring 38 8. Steel Gauges 39 9. Circular Saw 40 10. Hand Planing-machine ... 42 11. Table with Bevelling and Squaring Planes 44 12. Manley's Bevelling-machine 45 13. American Bevelling-machine 46 14. Gas Melting-pot 50 15. Casting-box for Gas Foundries 51 16. Casting-box with Gas Arrangement in Position for Pouring... 51 17. Matrix in Position prior to Casting 52 18. Adjusting the Casting-box prior to Casting 53 19. Pouring (showing arrangement of Gas-jets) 54 20. Harrild's Combination Table 56 21. Miller & Richard's Miniature Foundry 57 22. Iron Gauge for a Page 58 23. Iron Gauge for a Column 59 24. Large Ladle 59 25. Under-side of a Plate cast in Harrild's Adjustable Core 60 26. 27. American Adjustable Core ' 61 28. Core-bar 61 xiv STEREOTYPING AND ELECTROTYPING. FIG. 29. Curved Casting-box in Position for placing Mould page 64 30. Curved Casting-box in Position for Casting 65 31. Hoe's Finishing-saddle 66 32. Drying-surface 67 33. Farmer's Finishing-saddle 67 34. Planing-Machine 68 35. American Dipping-pan 70 36. Stereotyping by the Plaster Process face p. 71 37. The Crane face p. 7 2 38. Dipping-pan 7 2 39. Tool for raising the Mould 77 40. The Bonnet 83 41. News Plate supplied to Newspapers 85 42. Block on which the Plate is fixed 85 43. Plate and Block together in Position ready for Printing 85 44. 45. Diagrams illustrating proposed New System of Mounting Plates 86 46, 47. Blocks for Mounting Plates 90 48. Side Clump for the Catch 90 49. Catch 90 50. Half and Whole Page Clumps 91 51. Volta's Pile 96 52. Simple Cell 104 53. Diagram showing Action of Galvanic Pair 108 54. Hoe's Filling-table, Wax-kettle, and Heating-table 115 55. Wax Moulding-box 1 16 56. Moulding-box with Hooks 1 16 57. Toggle Press for Moulding face p. 116 58. Hydraulic Press 117 59. Blackleading-Machine with the Box removed to show Action of Brush and Perforated Table 119 60. Binding-screws 123 61. Backing-pan 1 24 62. Metal-pot, Frame, and Moulding-frame 125 63. Backing-pan on Stand 126 64. Lever to raise the Mould 131 65. Building-knife 133 66. Building-tool 134 67 American Building-iron 135 68. Wooden Frame for Battery 139 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. XV FIG. 69. Battery for Platinizing Silver Plates page 141 70. Smee's Battery 146 71. Picker's Slab with Blowpipe arrangement 163 72. Blowpipe Apparatus 164 73. The Routing-Machine 165 74. Iron Gauge 168 75. Fixed Magnet and Armature 171 76. Siemens' Armature 172 77. Wilde's Machine 173 78. The Elmore Dynamo-Electric Machine 175 79. Schuckert's Dynamo-Machine 178 80. Bunsen's Battery 187 HISTORY OF STEREOTYPING, I.— INTRODUCTORY. STEREOTYPE* is a repro- duction of a printing surface, adapted to give impressions by the letter-press method. These impressions, whether from type or wood-engravings, correspond in every respect to those ob- tained from the original. The process of Stereotyping, divested of technical details, is as follows : — From V7Ta^^| Vv. a form of " matter/' which may be )\ wholly or in part composed of movable types, is taken a matrix or mould, and from this mould is cast the stereotype plate. The original is in relievo; the mould consequently is in intaglio; the resulting cast or stereotype, of course, is again in relievo. This in turn may likewise become an original, and casts may be taken from a stereotype plate ; or, on the other hand, from the same mould may be taken other casts. Thus the multiplication of the original may be carried on indefinitely. * The word " Stereotype " is derived from the Greek stereo, fixed, and tupos, a type or form. In the language of the workshop, " stereo- plates " is usually abbreviated to stereos. B 2 HISTORY OF STEREOTYPING. Printing from stereotype is, in one respect, the reverse of printing from movable types. The first books were from solid wooden blocks, each of which formed a page. Then came the era of typography, in which these pages were composed, mosaic-like, of a number of separate types. Then succeeded the period of stereotyping, in which pages formed by single blocks were again used. The distinction between the two is, that whereas the antique blocks were of wood, the later ones were of metal ; and that while the one kind consisted of originals that were separately engraved, the other are mechanically-produced copies, and cast in a mould. In another aspect, Stereotyping may be regarded as the complement of typography. One type or letter is engraved, and a variety of similar types are cast from the matrix. One page is now composed, a mould in paper or plaster is taken from it, and from this mould or matrix we obtain our stereotype plate. Hence it appears somewhat singular that so apparently obvious a process should not have been earlier attempted. Printing by movable type was invented about 1440 ; stereotype printing was not attempted until between 1700 and 1726. In regard to all great inventions the same remark is applicable, — the wonder is they were not thought of before. The observation has been made in reference to typography, and writers have expressed surprise that for generations printers went on engraving fresh characters on wood for each new page and new book, and that it did not occur to them to make a set of separate letters and multiply them by casting. Those, however, who are acquainted with the processes of the type-founding art can understand the difficulties which presented themselves to the original in- ventor; In the same way it is only necessary to understand the modern method of stereotype-founding to appreciate the obstacles which in the outset were encountered, and the slow and gradual steps by which it has been brought to its full practical realisation. The uses of Stereotyping are several ; among them the following : — 1. As already stated the original printing surface may be INTRODUCTORY. 3 reproduced almost to an infinite extent, and as each copy- may be printed from, the means of production of impres- sions on the press are increased in proportion to the number of casts taken. Before stereotyping was invented the duplication of forms could only be effected by the slow and costly process of setting them up in type over again. 2. Stereotyping ensures an accurate copy of an original text. Every reproduction by setting movable types is liable to deviation from the original, in spite of the exercise of great precaution to secure an exact facsimile. The varia- tions in different editions of the Authorised Version of the Holy Bible are notorious ; notwithstanding the minute care taken to insure accuracy and identity. Even when forms are kept standing for subsequent editions, they are liable to alteration by letters dropping out, and when others are inserted to supply the deficiency there is always the possibility of their being misplaced. 3. The dangers inseparable from the printing from forms composed of movable types are obviated by stereotyping ; a solid cast only is worked from, and if it becomes damaged the expense of making another cast is comparatively slight. 4. A smaller quantity of type may be employed w T hen stereotyping is practised than would be otherwise con- venient. A portion of a work may be set up, a cast taken, and the type then returned to the cases, to be again used for a succeeding portion. Instead of keeping type " stand- ing " for a possible second edition of a book, paper moulds or plaster casts may be taken, and the type liberated. 5. Stereo-plates may be more easily stored than forms, as they occupy much less space, and are more handy. 6. The " flong " or substance of which the paper moulds consists, being really made of series of layers of paper, maybe bent to almost any curve desired. It would be impossible to arrange a type round the smaller cylinders of the modern rotary machine, and thus stereotypes, first bent in the casting- box, are a necessity of modern newspaper printing. This, as will be shown hereafter, is a point of the utmost im- portance in fast printing ; and in this way improvements in stereotyping first led to rotary printing for newspapers being made practicable. b 2 4 HISTORY OF STEREOTYPING. 7. By the process of stereotyping, flexible printing surfaces may be obtained, capable of printing on unyielding substances like wood or metal, or on irregular surfaces. The india-rubber stamps which have only recently become so largely employed, are produced by a method of stereotyping. The sharpness of their impressions sometimes rivals that even from ordinary metal type. II. — Earliest Experiments in Stereotyping. The early history of Stereotyping, like that of Typo- graphy, is involved in much obscurity, probably owing to the fact that the first experimenters conducted their pro- cesses in secrecy. The earliest stereotype plates in existence are believed to have been produced between the years 1700 and 1725. Specimens of them were shown at the Caxton Exhibition of 1877, being lent by Messrs. E. & J. Brill, of Holland. They are supposed to have been originated by Van der Mey, of Leyden, in conjunction with a Lutheran minister named Johannes Muller, and formed part of a Bible, which was printed in the office of Luchtmans & Co., at Leyden. These plates at one time belonged to Isaac Enschede and John Enschede, the founders of the celebrated type-founding firm of Enschede & Sons, of Haarlem. The office of Isaac was opened about 1703, and was afterwards sold, the plates forming lot 254. An impression of one of them is given at the end of the sale catalogue. One of these early plates is- preserved in the Royal Library at the Hague, and another found its way to London, having been purchased by Mr. Ellis, bookseller, of Bond-street. The system adopted by Van der Mey and Muller was to set up the types in the ordinary way, and to afterwards solder them together, forming a solid plate. The advantage of this- process may not be quite apparent to modern printers. The plan would seem to have been suggested by the desire to avoid the possibility of errors of omission in forms that were kept standing, for in many editions letters are found to be wanting through their having dropped out of forms thus laid by. Van der Mey's experiments were not exactly the genesis of stereotyping, but an intermediate link between INTRODUCTORY. die original system of printing from movable types and that of printing from casts, as now practised. He is said to have immersed the bottoms of the types, after the pages had been composed and made quite correct, nearly up to the shoulders of the letter in melted lead or solder, thus rendering the page a solid mass, but when the impene- trability, so to speak, of a form of type after being locked up — it then becoming almost a solid mass — is considered, it seems most probable that this operator really fused the feet of the types together. The essence of the modern system is, as already stated, reproduction by casting. The plan of Mey and Miiller required a separate composition of the types for each form required ; and hence was divested of all the advantages of multiplication without resetting, which is the chief characteristic advantage of stereotyping. The true art dates a few years later, and is of Britis offspring. /?S> III. — Ged's Invention. The great objection to the method already named waVi£| costliness, as the type used was no longer available in any after form. The idea now seems to have arisen of getting plates from the types, which would always be ready for use. It is not known at what time or in what country attempts of the kind were first made. The French claim that one Valleyre accomplished the production of stereotypes ; but there is great reason to regard the story as apocryphal. In the year 1725 there was living in Edinburgh a gold- smith named William Ged — a Scotchman, born in 1690. One story current is, that he had gained reputation for the talent he displayed in the processes of his own business, and having been prosperous and amassed a considerable sum of money, he betook himself to money-lending, or banking. In this way he became acquainted with a number of the local printers. There being at the time no type- founders in Scotland, all the type required was obtained from London and elsewhere, often resulting in much em- barrassment. Ged was advised to commence a type-foundry; but the idea occurred to him, that if casts of composed type forms were taken, suitable for printing from, a less quantity 6 HISTORY OF STEREOTYPING. of type would be necessary than was then in use. In his- own autobiographical sketch, to be mentioned hereafter, Ged however merely states that he had a conversation with a printer, and was attracted with the idea of forming plates from types when composed into pages. With this view William Ged procured a form, and began experiments. He laboured at the project for two years, and seriously impoverished himself, not only by the actual sums of money he spent, but by neglecting his own legitimate business. Accordingly, we find him applying to an Edinburgh printer for funds to establish a foundry, and offering in return one-fourth of the profits of his invention. The contract was entered into, the printer covenanting to make the necessary advances of capital to carry on the work. Both, it must be observed, were entirely ignorant of the art of type-founding. Their repeated mistakes, together with the opposition and unfavourable opinion of printers, completely disheartened the moneyed partner ; but his assistance was of the very slightest value, for at the end of two years he had advanced to Ged only ^22. Ged, con- sequently, obtained a dissolution of the partnership. Gcd's Process. — We are entirely ignorant of the modus operandi of Ged. In the Memoir written by his family, the practical details are referred to in the vaguest terms, and his descendants, without entering into particulars, speak merely of his " tools'' and "implements." Rowe Mores stated that he believed the plates to have been cast in a mould made by pouring on gypsum ; but the shallowness of the casts that are still preserved discredits this supposition. Gypsum, if it had been used in the manner stated, would assuredly have produced casts with more depth. It is most probable that the pages were laid on gypsum, or some other semi-liquid substance, just as it was drying ; especially as the letters on the edges of the plates stand up rather higher than those in the centre, owing to the page having made a deeper impression there. Only in parts is there the mark of the shoulders of the letters \ nowhere is to be seen an impression of the quadrats. In the year 1729 a London bookseller and publisher, the celebrated Fenner, visiting Edinburgh, learned from Ged of the promising nature of his scheme, and offered to start in INTRODUCTORY, 7 London a foundry for carrying it out, allowing Ged half the profits. The inventor, anxious to embrace any opportunity for carrying out his idea, agreed to the arrangement, dis- posed of his business in Edinburgh, and followed his new partner to the metropolis. Fenner, there is little doubt, did not act honourably by Ged ; for when the latter arrived in London, no foundry or apparatus was provided. Fenner alleged that the delay was occasioned by his having got acquainted with a type- founder who would, for one-sixteenth share from each, fur- nish all the type that would be wanted. This founder was the well-known Thomas James. A contract was subsequently entered into, and in accordance with its terms he supplied " two parcels of different types," which Ged maintains were of imperfect quality, and unfit for the purpose. After this arrangement had existed a short time, it was proposed to divide the business into four shares, and to admit John James, the brother of Thomas James, as fourth partner. John James was a prosperous architect, possessed of considerable means. Ged was further promised £100 for " the use of his family," and 30s. per week for his own subsistence. These terms were agreed to, and Ged applied himself with great enthusiasm to the manufacture of the plates. Soon after this date, his narrative, however, breaks into complaints against the malice and ill-will of his partners, whom he represents as taking every opportunity of thwarting him in his operations. He declares that Thomas James furnished him with types that had never been finished, or " adjusted " properly, and that his partners engaged igno- rant and unskilful persons to superintend the establishment. He also accuses them of bad faith in never formally execut- ing the contract, or paying him the sum of money which had been stipulated. He was, he says, put off from time to time with empty promises, with the design of expelling him from the partnership, after his colleagues had obtained such a knowledge of his secret as to render his assistance no longer necessary to them. In 1730 Ged was induced to go to Cambridge, his partners having obtained a licence from the University 8 HISTORY OF STEREOTYPING. authorities to print Bibles and prayer-books. A large sum of money was undoubtedly sunk in the undertaking. Only two prayer-books were " finished/' it is said, before the partners determined to relinquish the enterprise. One of the partners, it is alleged, was covertly averse to the plan, and engaged such persons for the work as he thought fit most likely to spoil it, and the compositors, when they cor- rected one fault, designedly made six more, while the press- men, aiding the combination of the compositors, purposely battered the letters in the absence of their employers. We hope, however, for the credit of the printing craft, that this statement is exaggerated. Quarrels with his partners of course resulted, and Ged returned to London. Here he attempted, by means of arbitration, to get the money that he claimed was owing to him, but he was unsuccessful ; and, thoroughly disappointed and broken in spirit, in 1733 he left London, and returned to his native city, Edinburgh. It is alleged by Ged, and the statement may possibly be well-founded, that shortly after this time books were actually printed from stereo-plates at Cambridge. However this may be, on his return to Edinburgh his friends entered into a subscription for practically realising his plans. An un- expected opposition was, however, met with. No compo- sitor could be found who would work on any book intended to be stereotyped. To obviate this, Ged's son, James, was bound apprentice to a printer, and after he had been a little more than twelve months at the business, he was allowed by his masters to return to the office in the night- time, when all the other compositors were gone away, and to set up the pages for his father to cast from. In this way there was prepared the edition of Sallust, presently to be referred to. Stereotyping was also applied to the pro- duction of some other books, which, owing to the hostility of the trade in Edinburgh, were printed at Newcastle in 1742. In this year Ged made application to the University of Cambridge for another licence, but without success. The Rebellion shortly after broke out, and James Ged, the son, " wearied with many disappointments," joined the forces of the Pretender. He was afterwards taken prisoner at Carlisle, and sentenced to death. Through some in- INTRODUCTORY. 9 fluential friends of his father, however, he escaped the extreme penalty. William Ged was next induced to enter into a partnership with some gentlemen who persuaded him again that it was necessary to go to London, along with his son, who had now acquired a practical knowledge of the business. With this purpose in view he had all his implements " new fit up," and sent to Leith, there to be shipped for London. He was on the point of following them, when he fell sick and died, October 19, 1749. Ged?s Son and Successor. — After the death of his father, James Ged had all the apparatus sent up to him in London, where he had been working for some time as a journeyman printer. As his father had died in such poor circumstances he was precluded from following out the invention without pecuniary assistance. In 1751, however, he issued a pro- spectus headed " An Account of Some of the Advantages of that Improvement in the Art of Printing invented by William Ged, late goldsmith in Edinburgh ; with proposals of a subscription for enabling his son, James Ged, printer, and now the only possessor of this valuable secret, to carry it into further execution for the good of the public and the benefit of his family." 4to. London, 1751 ; pp. iv. Quoted by Nichols, in the Appendix to Rowe Mores's Dissertation. (London: 1778. 8vo.) In this production, after extolling his father's invention and enumerating its advantages, he proposed that "the lovers of learning and encouragers of industry will have the goodness to open a subscription to enable him to prosecute his father's art." For the money that would be raised, he proposed to give " all the security in his power, that the gentlemen subscribers shall be gradually reimbursed out of the profits of his work, in such proportions as they shall think proper. " This appeal was not successful. Having soon after received a remittance from his younger brother, William, who it appears was also brought up to the printing business, but, "being tired with repeated disappointments in his father's invention," had left the country and gone to Jamaica, James bought some type and was requested to go also to Jamaica, taking with him his father's implements. 10 HISTORY OF STEREOTYPING. " Unluckily," says their sister, " Mr. James left the tools to be shipped by a friend of his, who most ungenerously kept them to make a trial of his skill in that way, and the tools were never heard of more, which was no small disappoint- ment to William, and what he regretted to his last day. James Ged died in 1760. The preceding particulars are taken from a little work published anonymously in 1781, entitled, " Biographical Memoirs of William Ged, including a particular Account of his Progress in the Art of Block-Printing." (London : 1 781. 8vo.) This curious pamphlet, of which there is a copy in the British Museum, is composed as follows : — Chapter L, " Mr. W. Ged's narrative of his scheme for Block-printing, dictated by himself some time before his death for the satisfaction of his relations." Chapter II., '"Supplementary narrative of Ged and his invention, written by his daughter." Chapter III. is a reprint of James Ged's tract already referred to. Chapter IV. is " Mr. Rowe Mores's* narrative of Block-printing, from his Dissertation on Type-founders." The pamphlet was edited by John Bowyer Nichols, the famous printer. The Gentleman' s Magazine — then justly an authority of the highest eminence on all subjects connected with science and literature — reviewed this pamphlet in the year of its appearance, and extracted the leading incidents in the life of Ged. The reviewer concludes, "Thus ended his life and project, which, ingenious as it seems, is not likely to- be revived if, as Mr. Mores suggests, it must, had it at first succeeded, have soon sunk under its own burden, for reasons here needless to recapitulate. The attempt, how- ever, to rescue it from oblivion is laudable and the end benevolent. As such, may success attend it." — Gentleman's Magazine, vol. li., p. 379. GecVs Productions. — Several of the works produced from Ged's stereotyped plates are extant, but they are not distin- guished for even ordinary typographical excellence. One * Mr. Rowe Mores, who was the author of the curious and interest- ing work on Type Founding and Type Founders, was intended for the church, but devoted himself to letter-founding. He bought up alt the London type-foundries dating before the rise of William Caslon. INTRODUCTORY. I I of them is the edition of Sallust, entitled " Belli Cati- linarii et Jugurthini historic," which bears the imprint, " Edinburgh Guil. Ged, aurifaber Edinensis ; non typis mobilibus, ut vulgo fieri solet, sed tabellis seu laminis fusis excudebat." It is an i8mo., set in brevier, and in addition to title, &c, comprises 150 pages. There is nothing whatever that is remarkable about its execution ; but it clearly appears that the type used must have been in poor condition, and by no means such as any person desirous of showing the merits of his invention would have selected. There are also many errors, indicating that the proofs were not read by a person acquainted either with Latin or the details of printing. The first edition of the book was probably printed in 1736, as Ged's son states, but no copies exist bearing that date. The title-page block, however, appears to have been pierced, and a subsequent year added. Two copies of this work were exhibited in the Caxton Exhibition, one belonging to the Edinburgh Faculty of Advocates, the other to the Royal Institution. Along with the former was an original cast of one of the pages — a relic possessing an exceptionally melan- choly interest. A copy of the work, bequeathed by Sir Thomas Grenville, is also now in the British Museum. Another book printed from Ged's plates was Scougal's "Life of God in the Soul of Man," a duodecimo, bearing the imprint, " Newcastle, printed by J. White, from plates made by W. Ged, goldsmith, in Edinburgh, 1742." The body of the work is in long primer, and it comprises 12 pages of introduction and 108 pages of text. The art of stereotyping was thus lost after the death of Ged's sons. It appears, however, that some experiments in this direction were made at Philadelphia by Benjamin Mecom, nephew of the celebrated Benjamin Franklin. According to Thomas's " History of Printing in America," these experiments did not lead to any practical result. In 1820 Mr. Thomas Hodgson edited for the Newcastle Antiquarian Society a little volume intended, as stated in the preface, " to collect into one publication a variety of information which either lay scattered in different works, or was unknown to the generality of English readers. . . . Stereotyping has never yet been fully and accurately 12 HISTORY OF STEREOTYPING. described." The title is "An Essay on the Origin and Progress of Stereotype Printing, including a description of the various processes. By Thomas Hodgson. Newcastle : 1820." 8vo., pp. xii. and 178. IV. — Second Invention of the Art. In the Philosophical Magazine, vol. x., for 1801, pp. 267- 377, which was then edited by Alexander Tilloch, that writer, in a paper headed <£ A brief account of the origin and progress of Letterpress-plate, or Stereotype printing," de- scribed his achievements in the art of stereotyping. He says, "Had I listened to the solicitation of friends I should long before this time have published some account of an art to the advancement of which I had in some degree contributed, and in which I may affirm I was tolerably proficient upwards of twenty years ago. I may add that the idea was truly my own, for such was the fact ; but in perfecting the invention I had the assistance and joint labours of another, Mr. Foulis, who assisted me in my labours." Tilloch also says that his first experiment was made in 1779 : "I communi- cated my ideas on this subject to Mr. Foulis, printer to the University of Glasgow, my native city, and where I then resided, who furnished me with a page of types ready set up, or composed, for my first experiment, which had sufficient success to induce me to try others, and convinced Mr. Foulis of the possibility of producing plates which would yield impressions not to be distinguished from those taken from types. . . . We agreed to prosecute the business together, and if possible to bring it to perfection ; and in pursuance of this resolution performed, I may say, in- numerable experiments, till we at last overcame every difficulty. ... In the meantime we learned that our art, or one extremely similar, had been practised many years before by Mr. Ged, and, soon after, the world was favoured by Mr. Nichols with an interesting pamphlet entitled 'Bio- graphical Memoirs of William Ged.'" Tilloch goes on to refer to the patents which he and Foulis took out for the invention. These are four in number, and dated April 28, 1784, being granted "to Andrew Foulis and INTRODUCTORY. 13 Alexander Tilloch," for " a method of making plates and for the purpose of printing by or with plates, instead of the movable types commonly used, and for vending and disposing of said printing plates and the books or other publications therewith printed, whereby a much greater degree of accuracy, correctness, and elegance will be introduced into the publication of the works both of the ancient and modern authors than had been hitherto obtained." The specification gives but a meagre account of the details of the process. The plates, it said, were made by forming moulds or matrices from the page of the books or other publications to be stereotyped, and such moulds or matrices were to be filled with metal or with clay, or with a mixture of clay and earth, and stamping or striking with these moulds or matrices the metal, clay, earth, or mixture of clay and earth. Writing then, in his own magazine, Tilloch says : " The patents were obtained, nay they are even expired and yet we hear people who only began their stereotype labours yesterday taking to themselves the merit of being the first inventors. As to benefits, I have yet received none, and Mr. Foulis, I believe, has reaped as few \ for owing to cir- cumstances of a private nature, and which in no way concern the public to know, the business was laid aside for a time, and having afterwards quitted Glasgow and removed to London, I soon found myself so much occupied with other concerns that I have hardly had time even to think upon it since." Tilloch communicated to a friend the fact that his moulds were by preference taken in plaster of Paris ; trial had been made of other substances, but this was found to be the best. The plates were thin, and mounted on wooden blocks. Tilloch also invented the high spaces and quadrats subsequently used. He was in fact the originator of the plaster system, as afterwards generally practised. V. — French Experiments in Polytyping. We must now refer to the method known as " Polytyping." As now carried on the following is the modus operandi An 14 HISTORY OF STEREOTYPING. electrotype^ taken in the usual way from a form or wood-block, and the mould or matrix is formed from this. The matrix is then fixed to a weight, suspended to a line running through a pulley, immediately over a steel plate. The metal, being ladled on to a sheet of writing-paper, is allowed to cool until it becomes of the consistency of dough, when the apparatus is enclosed, and the line loosened, which causes the matrix to fall on the metal, upon which it leaves its impression, similar to that made upon a medal by means of a die. It is then trimmed round and mounted on wood or metal. The process of polytyping thus differs from stereotyping in the fact, that while a stereotype is taken by pouring molten metal on the mould the polytype is made by a method akin to die-sinking. Polytyping is used only for the reproduction of small woodcuts or typographical ornaments. For that purpose it is considered by some founders to be superior ; for two reasons. The duplicates can be produced more rapidly than by stereotyping, and at a cheaper rate. Secondly, the blanks or whites of the polytype are much deeper than those of the ordinary stereotype. In the year 1784 Francois Ignace Joseph Hoffmann, a native of Alsace, but residing at that time in Paris, invented the following process. With a page composed of types in the usual manner, he made an impression on a mass of soft fat earth mixed with plaster or gypsum, and prepared with a glutinous paste of syrup of gum and potato starch. This impression became a matrix, into which a composition of lead, bismuth, and tin being pressed at the moment of casting, gave plates which exhibited in relief facsimiles of the types which had been used to form the matrix. From plates made in this way were printed many sheets of the Journal Polytype, and Hoffmann announced a stereo- type or, as he calls it, polytype work, which appeared in three volumes octavo, in 1787. Hoffmann's process was kept secret, but its products excited much attention, and gave rise to several imitations. Among those who followed in his footsteps was Joseph Carez, a printer of Toul. Some numbers of the Polytype Joicrnal having fallen into his hands in 1785, he instituted a series of experiments, which were attended with such INTRODUCTORY. is success that in a short time he published editions of several large volumes from plates made by his own peculiar process. These editions he called " omotyped," the word signifying the junction of many types in one. His process may be thus briefly described. The page being locked up, was placed downwards on a block of wood suspended from one arm of an iron lever or swing beam. On the top of a wooden pillar there was a cardboard tray, smeared over with oil. The workman took from a furnace a quantity of molten type-metal, which he poured into the cardboard tray. The moment the metal began to be clouded by cooling, he let fall upon it the block of wood and the page attached. In this way an impression of the page was formed. This plate, after being trimmed, was fixed to the under side of the block or ram, and let fall upon some fused metal placed as before on the bed of the machine, and thus was obtained a plate in relief fit for printing from. We now approach a period extremely important in the history of the art of Stereotyping. About this time the French Government issued a vast quantity of assignats and became conscious of the necessity of guarding against forgery. This called forth the abilities of artists, who not only successfully applied all the inventions that were known, but discovered several new ones. The first issue of assignats in 1790 and 1791 were printed by Anisson, "director of the printing-office of the Louvre." A second issue was made by Didot the elder. The body of the assignat was printed with ordinary types, but in order to render the note more difficult of counterfeiting, a copper- plate engraving was placed at the head. The number of copies required being too large to be printed from one form, still less from one engraved plate, an engraver was engaged to furnish 300 plates of the medallion. The assignats, however, were scarcely issued before they were counter- feited, and great difficulty was actually experienced in recog- nizing the genuine assignats of the Government. The consequences of having a number of plates resembling each other, but not identical or necessarily authentic; became evident. A modification of the polytype process was resorted to. Casts were taken of the separate parts of the docu- ment and these became matrices, which were united i6 HISTORY OF STEREOTYPING. together and a single matrix formed. This was struck into molten metal. The operation was called dicker — not a dictionary word, but a phrase used by die-sinkers to express the striking of melted lead, in order to obtain a proof. It signifies to let a matrix fall perpendicularly, suddenly, and forcibly upon molten metal, and the term cliche has since been generally applied to stereo-plates and electro-plates by the French. The plates and forms of the assignats decreed by the Convention were thus stereotyped and printed ; as were also the mandats of the year 1796. After the suppression of the system of issuing assignats and mandats, a. great part of the material used in producing them was destroyed, but some of the matrices were deposited in the Museum of Antiquities at Paris. The keeper of the archives of the Republic was M. Antoine Gaston Camus, and the law authorizing the issue of the mandats ordered that none of the operations of producing them should be effected save in his presence. He thus acquired a complete practical knowledge of the subject, and wrote a work entitled " Histoire et Procedes de Polytypage et du Stereotypic " (Paris, an X. [i.e. 1801]. 8vo. pp. 135). A year previously to this, i.e., in 1795, the Convention had begun to issue lottery tickets, a printer named Gatteaux being charged with their execution. Finding some difficulty in the way of producing the necessary casts he consulted his brother-in-law Anfry, as well as Firmin-Didot. The latter had just published Caillet's " Logarithms," which he announced as a "stereotyped" work; thus being the in- ventor of the word now so familiar. The stereotype was, however, not such as is now so called ; for the book was set up in type, and the pages were afterwards incorporated into one solid mass, in the same manner as practised by Van der Mey. The result of the deliberations of the three printers was a process in which the face of the type was sunk into a plate of cold metal by means of a screw press. Anfry invented a harder metal for the types, which prevented their being damaged by being violently impressed on a plate of lead. The matrix was then found to be without any defect, and the type was not injured in the operation. The hard metal, thus invented by Anfry, was largely INTRODUCTORY. 17 composed of silver, and was therefore exceedingly costly, A workman in the employ of Pierre and Firmin-Didot named Herhan, subsequently devised another alloy equally hard but much less expensive. A patent was subsequently taken out for this invention by Herhan, F. Didot, and Gatteaux. Shortly after, the Didot firm published a lengthened prospectus of a series of stereotyped works, offering to sell plates to printers. This prospectus was denounced by the French printers as tending to degrade the art of typography, and it was elaborately argued that all its claims as to economy were quite false. In 1798, however, the three partners published an edition of Virgil, afterwards one of Phaedrus, and not long after a complete series of the classical authors. Didot and Herhan were thus associated in 1798. Didot continued to practise the same processes, but Herhan soon after separated from him, and devoted his attention to a modification of the stereotyping process, which he had de- vised. In 1S00 he secured a patent for this invention. He was succeeded by Mame Brothers, who further modified the existing process. In 1 8 1 o, Lambinet wrote his " Histoire succincte de la Stereotypic," in which he computed that about 2,000 plates were then struck in Paris every month. VI. — English Progress in the Art. We must now return to the history of stereotyping in Great Britain. About 1797, Professor Wilson, of Glasgow, made some improvements in the system. In 1800 Earl Stanhope became desirous of introducing stereotype printing into this country, where, although it had already been twice invented and practised, it had for some years fallen into disuse, and might indeed be said to be almost unknown. His lordship had the benefit of the personal instruction of Tilloch, as well as of Foulis, who resided for some months at his lordship's mansion at Chevening. Andrew Wilson, a London printer, was also associated with Earl Stanhope and the result was that in 1802 the plaster process was perfected, which has ever since been followed, until the introduction of the French or papier-niache method, which c iS HISTORY OF STEREOTYPING. is quicker but perhaps less satisfactory in the result. Wilson issued a prospectus announcing in glowing terms the results- which had been achieved, and in 1803, under Lord Stan- hope's patronage, commenced business as a stereotype printer, in which he continued for several years ; but he did not receive much encouragement. He then took to- publishing, and issued a number of school books, but with- out much success. In 1804, with the approbation of Lord Stanhope, the invention was offered by Wilson to the University of Cambridge; but differences arose between the contracting parties, and the matter fell to the ground. Wilson subsequently published his version of the affair in a stereotyped pamphlet, entitled " Arbitration between the University of Cambridge and Andrew Wilson. " It was not until 1807 that the first stereotyped book appeared from, the Cambridge Press, and in 1809 the first from its sister University. With these exceptions, the knowledge of the art was kept secret for several years. Some misunderstanding between Earl Stanhope and Wilson subsequently led to the engineer, Walker, who constructed the Stanhope press and fitted up Wilson's foundry, being encouraged to set up a stereo- typing foundry on his own account, and as an opposition to Wilson. Of course this proceeding led to a rupture between Wilson and Walker. A mechanic, named Peter Kier, was- employed by Wilson to make the apparatus, and he intro- duced several improvements in it. Shortly after, a quarrel also arose between him and Wilson, when Walker, in revenge, announced that he would for the sum of ^50 divulge the entire process to any person, who would buy from him the necessary apparatus, the cost of which was ^250. In this way the knowledge of the process became dis- seminated throughout the country, and generally practically adopted. Great improvements have since been made in the art of stereotyping, but they have nearly all consisted in mere modifications of the details and of the apparatus originally employed. Among the most successful of the early stereotypers was Charles Brightly, a printer of Bungay, who himself effected some minor improvements. These were described INTRODUCTORY. 19 in a pamphlet entitled " The Method of Founding Stereo- type, as practised by Charles Brightly of Bungay, Suffolk (Bungay: 1809. 8vo)." Practically, the system detailed is that of Earl Stanhope ; but Brightly was perhaps the first to demonstrate the economy of the process when applied to certain classes of printing. Only two years before the appearance of his work it had been asserted in the Monthly Magazine (April, 1807), that " Stereotype had not been adopted by the booksellers of London, and it does not appear that more than twenty or thirty works would warrant the expense of being cast into solid pages." The Patent Office records bear evidence of the in- creased attention that was soon after being paid to this subject by inventors ; but most of the specifications refer either to small points of detail, or to suggestions whicb^?Y> subsequent experience have shown to be impracticable. \Ve need not therefore occupy space by referring to these infli-] vidually. In 1818 Augustus Applegath, the celebrate^ printing-machine maker, who is described as of " NelsonS^ Square, Great Surrey Street/ 7 took out a patent for striking stereo-plates with a metal mould ; obviously an adaptation of the prevailing French system. In the same year he took out a patent " for improvements in the art of casting stereo- type or other plates for printing." The pages were to be set up with high spaces and quadrats. The specification describes a " striking-rod wound up eight inches above a wooden block. On this the metal was poured in a dry cartridge paper tray. Then the striking-rod was to descend and cause the type and moulding-frame to form an impres- sion on the semi-fluid metal, in the same manner as sealing- wax receives the impression of the seal." In this prepara- tion, it will be perceived, there was little novelty. In 1820 the great engineer, Marc Isambard Brunel, took out a patent for "an improvement in making stereotype-plates," the object of the invention being "to multiply printing-plates for the purpose of accelerating the printing of daily papers." The system is in effect a kind of polytyping, and has since been nearly forgotten; certainly it was never practically carried out. In 1822 Sir William Congreve proposed certain alterations of a very original but entirely fantastical character, which it is unnecessary here to describe. c 2 20 HISTORY OF STEREOTYPING. VII. — Perfection of the System, and its Successful Application to Newspaper Printing. After the passing of the Reform Bill in 1832, the news- papers of this country made huge strides in regard to circu- lation, and the mechanical ingenuity of engineers and others was taxed to the utmost to provide greater facilities for pro- ducing a large number of copies in the shortest possible time. In 1846 there was introduced into England by an Italian named Vanoni — by trade a maker of plaster casts of statuary — a system of forming moulds in papier mdche. It had been utilised in France for a short time to form stereo-plates, and was known for some time after its introduction here as "the new French process." The advantages of papier mache will be described in the practical portion of this work, and need not therefore be indicated here. Another Italian, James Dellagana, became acquainted with the system in Paris, and came over here to set up a stereotype foundry. He was introduced to the proprietors of the Times and entrusted with the production of their stereo- plates. James Dellagana soon became the most successful stereotyper of his day, and shortly found himself at the head of a large and lucrative business. He made several substantial improvements in the art, but did not at first patent them. In 1855, however, he protected an invention for casting plates type-high ; the solid plates, requiring no mounting, being much more suitable than the old-fashioned thin ones for newspaper-work. He also devised a system for casting these plates hollow inside, but still type-high. By the use of a " core 99 on the casting box, he ensured greater lightness and convenience in handling. This system is still largely adopted.* * In 1853, at a meeting of the Royal Scottish Academy of Arts on the 28th February, Dr. Daniel Wilson read a paper in which he is said to have described the improvements in the art of stereotyping from the time of Tilloch and Foulis up to that date, afterwards referring to the origin and progress of the papier-mache method — then almost a com- plete novelty. This paper possesses considerable historical interest, and it is to be regretted that only a short abstract is given in the 'Transactions" of the Society for 1853 (Edinburgh : 1853. 8vo.). INTRODUCTORY. 21 In 1856, James Hogg and John Napier took out a patent for improvements in stereotyping. A sheet of stout printing paper, or a cloth, &c, was coated with a paste of red ochre and fine whiting, thin glue, fine starch, and wheaten flour with a little alum. This was to be laid on the form to be reproduced, which had been previously oiled. A pull was taken on the press or with a mallet and planer. A mould might also be made in plaster of Paris. It was to be left on the form to dry. There are other details given, but they possess no interest now. In i860, James Wood patented improvements in making stereotype columns of news. Previously they had to be cast with a sort of bevel or shoulder at the sides. By the use of an improved casting-box, Mr. Wood obviated this objection, the plates being flush with the type and ready for immediate use in a newspaper form, alongside movable type-matter. In 1 86 1, James Dellagana patented a rolling-press for taking the moulds. This was a great improvement on all previous methods of making the moulds. While these patents were being taken out, a series of experiments was being made at the office of the Times which led to the most important and permanent results. Indeed from 1856 to 1859 a great number of trials were made with the object of getting good plates as quickly as possible, the results of each successive step being freely communicated to the world. Thus, in a more or less imperfect form, stereotyping was being spread among news- papers, and facilities were ultimately devised which furnished them with every requirement to meet the largest circulation. By i860 the change from movable type to stereotype plates had been accomplished, facilities for duplicating, triplicating, and even quadruplicating forms being completely carried out, with the great additional advantages of the risk in- cidental to the manipulation of large forms of type being altogether avoided, and wear-and-tear minimised to the utmost. The experiments, conducted at the expense of Mr. John Walter, had begun with the improvement of the papier-mache process, as already stated quite new in this country. The columns were originally cast type-high, and arranged, after being planed and finished, in a form of lour pages. When worked off by a spare flat machine this 22 HISTORY OF STEREOTYPING. plan accelerated the speed at which the Times had been previously printed by nearly 5,000 impressions per hour. The next step was to adapt these type-high columns to the rotary Applegath presses, then worked with polygonal chases. Thus another 5,000 per hour in speed was gained. Subsequently, instead of separately dealing with columns, the papier-mache matrix was taken from the complete page at one operation. This was done originally by brushes, which beat the paper into the type. Afterwards it was facilitated by a roller-press, constructed for the purpose. In 1863 the culminating point was reached — at least the highest achievement up to the present time. For a long time a series of costly experiments had been carried on at the Times office for the construction of a new rotary press ; one of the essentials of which was that the stereo-plates from which the printing was to be done should be cylindrical. In 1863, two gentlemen connected with the Times esta- blishment, Mr. John Cameron Macdonald and Mr. Joseph Calverley took out a patent for " improvements in the manufacture and application of printing apparatus." The patentees employed the ordinary papier-??idche process, but they cast the plates in a tubular form, cylindrical on the external surface. In 1866 they patented further im- provements. The details of the process will be described hereafter, in treating of stereotyping pages of newspapers. Suffice it here to say, that no improvements of any practical importance have been subsequently devised, and that to the Times proprietary, and the gentlemen named, is really due the perfection of an art which in the present day is nearly of equal importance to that of type-founding, and assuredly more widely practised. One application of stereotyping ought to be mentioned, although it has not given rise to any modifications of the actual processes, except in a small detail. It was suggested that news matter might be composed in some central office and casts taken, to be sent to various journals, who would thereby save the expense of the original type-setting. In 1858, Mr. Isaac Heyes, of Sheffield, proposed to Mr. Samuel Harrison, of the Sheffield Ti??ies, that it would be •a profitable speculation to carry out such a scheme. The latter fell in with the suggestion, and soon made a large INTRODUCTORY. 2 3 lousiness in this way, supplying stereotype columns to all parts of the country. In i860 a London company, known .as the National Press Association, was formed, which largely developed the system. On the death of Mr. S. Harrison, his business was carried on by Messrs. Leader <& Sons. In 1876, Messrs. Griffin & Hawkes, of Bir- mingham, patented an improvement in the casting of these columns. Mr. Harrison's were type-high, entirely of metal but hollow in the middle, and made in the manner already referred to as devised by Mr. James Dellagana. The Bir- mingham inventors reverted to the old system of using a thin metal plate mounted on wood, but they cast on the wood direct, planing the latter subsequently to bring it to the height of type. A very simple but ingenious plan was .adopted for fastening the plate to the wood. Two flanges were sunk as shown by the dark lines in the accompany- ing cut. These/permitted of the cast being cut transversely Fig. 1. at any required place, the junction of the wood and metal being nevertheless completely provided for — as would not have been practicable under the old system, wherein pins or screws were used. It may be mentioned as evidence of the cheapness which this improvement has permitted, that newspaper columns of the ordinary width are now supplied by this firm at a cost of only one penny per inch in depth ; that is, a column, Times dimensions, if of 30 inches in length, will amount only to half-a-crown. Several modifi- cations of this have recently been patented, which will be described in the practical portion of the work. The mere cost of setting an equivalent quantity of type and the incidental expenses would be, probably, not less than 15 s. 24 HISTORY OF STEREOTYPING. VIII. — India-rubber Stereotype. In 1864 there was patented a modification of the stereo- type process which, although little noticed at the time, has since given rise to quite a new branch of industry, and has materially enlarged the capabilities of letter-press printing. In that year Mr. Alfred Leighton, a member of the firm of Leighton Brothers, colour-printers, London, took out protection for " improvements in the construction, manu- facture, and reproduction of stamps and other printing sur- faces in relief." The novelty of his invention consisted in the fact that these surfaces are elastic, being made of an india-rubber compound and vulcanized in the moulds. The mould was formed from an ordinary fount of type or an engraving. A sunk copy was first made in gutta-percha ; thence a copy was taken in plaster of Paris, and from this a sunk matrix or mould in metal. The compound was pressed into the mould, and at the back a plate was applied, formed with grooves and ridges on its surface. The effect of heat was to vulcanize the compound, and the ridges allowed the back of the surface to spread or give way with the pressure, and thus relieve and equalize the pressure on the face when the surface was in use. In this way india-rubber stamps for marking or printing were formed, and their utility was soon apparent. Whereas an impression with ink on rough, hard substances, such as wood or metal, the india-rubber adapted itself to irregu- larities, and imparted the ink with the greatest precision. Several minor improvements in the process of making these flexible stamps have since been devised, and the business of producing them is now very largely carried on in different parts of the country. When carefully manipulated, an india- rubber stamp will, as already stated, give nearly as delicate an impression as ordinary type or a wood-block. an unyielding metal or wooden THE PRACTICE OF STEREOTYPING. THE PAPER PROCESS. CHAPTER I. Definitions —Advantages and Disadvantages of the Paper and Plaster Processes respectively— Origin of the word "Hong " — Preparation of the Form. ■Si HERE are two distinct methods of stereotyping, each being designated according to the material of which the moulds or matrices are com- posed. They are called respect- ively, the Paper process, and the Plaster process. In the Paper process the moulds are of papier mache, that is, paper damped, and reduced almost to the consistency of pulp. In the Plaster process, on the other hand, the mould is of plaster of Paris, or gypsum. The Plaster process is the older process, according to the date of its invention ; but in the present day the Paper process is the more extensively adopted. 2. Adva?itages and Disadvantages. — The great advantage possessed by the Paper process is the comparatively short time it occupies. In the case of newspapers this is very important. A matrix may be made and the plate cast and finished ready for the machine in from twelve to fifteen minutes. Another and great advantage of the Paper process J26 THE PRACTICE OF STEREOTYPING. is that a series of plates may be cast from the same matrix. In the Plaster process the mould is destroyed in releasing the " shell," or cast, hence only one plate can be produced without remoulding. A third advantage is, that the moulds may be preserved for future use. If it be anticipated that a work will have only a small sale, it can in the first instance be printed from the type ; but as a precautionary measure the pages may be moulded and the matrices preserved. In the event of a reprint being required, the plates may then be expeditiously produced from the moulds. If the reprint be not necessary, the outlay consequent upon the taking of the moulds is of comparatively little moment. Again, paper matrices may be packed and sent any distance without damage. This is often done by export publishers, books being printed in other countries from plates cast in moulds taken from the type set up at home. Paper moulds, also, may be bent to a circular form without sustaining any damage. A semi-cylindrical casting- box, of the same diameter as the impression cylinder of the printing-machine, is used, and the plates will of course adapt themselves to that surface. This cannot be accom- plished by the Plaster process. Above all, the Paper process is extremely simple, and may be successfully practised on a very small scale. The Plaster process, however, has its own, peculiar recommendations. The plates thus produced are in all respects superior to those obtained by the Paper process, being deeper and sharper. There are, however, great counterbalancing disadvantages in the use of plaster moulds. Disadvantages. — The production of a plate by the plaster method is, as compared with the production of one by the paper process, much slower and more costly. It is also essentially a dirty operation. In distributing the type after it has been moulded, there is often much trouble and waste of time, caused by the necessary removal of small specks of plaster which adhere to the form. For reasons that will be explained later on, high spaces are made for founts intended to be stereotyped in plaster. These spaces are much higher than the ordinary ones. THE PAPER PROCESS. 27 They are almost a necessity, but are a source of constant trouble whenever the type itself has to be worked from, as they stand up and black the sheet. They are, also, originally more expensive than the others. Both the paper and plaster systems are unsuitable for woodcuts. Plaster matrices are preferable of the two ; but these are quite excelled by electrotypes — the latter being, indeed, the system now generally adopted for reproducing engravings, as will be explained in the section of this work devoted to that subject. 3. We will now proceed to describe the two processes ; treating, first, of the Paper method ; secondly, of the Plaster method. In the case of each, the plan adopted will be to describe, first, the machinery, appliances, and matejialsrTTTT*- used, and secondly, the modus operandi. \ i vis4 The Paper process resolves itself into four parts^ — a. The composition of the "flong." I f K] S b. The preparation of the matrix. \ c. The casting of the plate. / BP A-P* d. The finishing of the plate. ^^-LL^*^* 4. The derivation and origin of the word " flong " may puzzle the future etymologist, without an explanation. It is an English phonetic form of the French word flan, which is pronounced almost alike. The use of the word in this way arose from a trifling circumstance. The principal member of the eminent firm of Dellagana & Co., when a young man in Paris, was in the habit of frequenting a cafe where they partook of a kind of pastry called fia?i, an edible much like in appearance the oat-cake of our northern i counties, but thicker, and made in layers, in a similar way to the "flong." One sees at once the resemblance between this and " flong." Mr. Dellagana and his companions saw it too, and for want of a better word, if better could be found, when they were afterwards inducted into the mysteries of the new papier-mache process, they named the suggestive material of which the matrix was formed, flan. When the method was brought over to this country the word was pronounced, and came to be written, " flong." 5. It may be well to caution the reader at the outset that to be entirely successful it is absolutely necessary that the 28 THE PRACTICE OF STEREOTYPING. several materials employed should be of the best quality ; inferior materials usually conduce only to waste of time and money. The beginner should deal with a well-estab- lished firm, taking care to stipulate that everything supplied to him should be of the best quality. If it be desirable. to, economize, experience will soon show where a saving may- be effected with safety. 6. Before proceeding to the initial stage of the stereotyping process, it may be necessary to give some directions for the preparation of the form itself. We may state that it is never advisable to cast a larger plate than is absolutely necessary, as a large plate is liable to give much more trouble than a small one, especially in the hands of an inexperienced work- man. Hence, whenever a form is capable of subdivision, the opportunity of doing so should be acted upon. Should the form be sent to the foundry, say as a double crown, in 8vo, it must be laid up on the imposing-surface, unlocked, the matter slightly wetted with a sponge, and the furniture removed. The type-high clumps should then be placed round the pages, which should be re-imposed in small chases. Two or four pages may be placed together, with clumps between each. The lowest side of the clumps must be put next to the type, so as to give room for the bevel of the plate when it is completed. Great care should be taken in the re-imposition, that no letters are allowed to slip at the sides of the pages. The matter should be examined before being locked up, as if any letters fall down or become displaced, the plate would be faulty and perhaps useless. The pages must be securely (but not tightly) locked up and well planed down. If the latter be not attended to, some ot the letters may possibly be cast higher than others. In this case the mischief can only be remedied by having the letter " picked " out of the plate and a type inserted, — a process which only an experienced workman can success- fully periorm. THE PRACTCE OF STEREOTYPING. 2 9 CHAPTER IL The Flong — Recipes — The Mould — Beating. 7. The Materials and Appliances for making the flong consist of flour, whiting, glue, &c, with pans, sieves, &c, as stated below. These do not require further description. 8. The composition for making flong is mixed by almost every stereotyper in a manner peculiar to himself, all being, however, based on the same principle. The fol lowing recipes will be found more or less excellent : — a. 2 lb. of flour ; 1 lb. whiting ; \ lb. glue ; adding a small piece of alum, which prevents fermentation. Mix with water to the consistency of thin paste. b. 10 oz. flour; 15 oz. white starch; a tablespoonful of alum. — First mix the flour, starch, and alum in a saucepan, and add a little cold water. Stir well together until it becomes as thick as cream. The remainder of the water must be boiling, and added in that state, care being taken that the composition is well stirred meanwhile to prevent it becoming lumpy. The whole must next be boiled, the same precaution of continual stirring being taken. The composition must then be allowed to stand till cold. Before using it, a little Spanish whiting should be added. c. Glue, 8 oz. ; litharge, 4 oz. ; flour, 4 oz. ; whiting, 6 oz. — Well mix in about a quart of warm water. This may be thickened, if thought desirable, by adding more whiting. Thin paste is generally preferred. Some stereotypers add gum instead of glue ; but besides being more expensive, there is really no advantage in its use. The composition is supplied by many firms in tins ready for use, accompanied by instructions. We may state that we have invariably found the material thus sold entirely successful. The " Antiseptic Paste" made by Messrs. Richardson, Koolman, & Isger, of London, is highly recommended, and is perfectly safe in its use. The great advantage is that it THE PRACTICE OF STEREOTYPING. may be kept for two years, and still be found to have retained its virtue. This is of especial importance to provincial and colonial stereotypers : it is sold for about 8d. per lb. 9. After the paste has properly cooled, it must be passed through a fine sieve to prevent any lumps being present. This sieve is fixed to the bottom of a tin pot, about 8 or 10 inches wide at top, and slightly tapering towards the base (Fig. 2). A double flange is made at the bottom to allow of it fitting inside the rim of another pot underneath. A small quantity of the paste is poured in and rubbed or pressed through the meshes by a hard brush. By this means all lumps are excluded. Fig. 2. — Paste-sieve. 10. The Flong. — The flong is really the substance made of several thick- nesses of paper fastened together by the paste previously mentioned. The papers best adapted for the making of flong are thick blotting or wrapper, and tissue. First, cover the blotting or wrapper paper with a thin, even layer of the composition, and place upon it a sheet of tissue, rubbing it with the palm of the hand to render it smooth ; care must be taken that all lumps have been previously removed from the paste. Next, place a piece of blotting on the tissue, and roll flat. To this must be added two more pieces of tissue-paper, the whole forming a substantial flong. When a number of moulds are to be taken, it is advisable to make sufficient flong for the whole. When completed, and not required for immediate use, place the flong separately between damp blankets, with a board and weight on the top. This will keep them moist, and in a proper state for use for some considerable time. By this means the stereotyper can finish one operation at a time, and confine his sole attention to each successive process. If the flong become dry it should be discarded, for in this case it loses its virtue, and great difficulty will be experienced in obtaining a proper depth in the mould. Added to this, it is liable to crack in the heating. THE PAPER PROCESS. 31 1 1 . Preparation of the Mould or M atrix. — The appliances- required for this part of the process do not need description. They consist of brushes for moulding, the chalk, oil, and paste used in preparing the matrix ; mallet, planer, blanket blotting, tissue, and wrapping-paper, linen cloth, &c, as stated below. 12. Beating. — The form having been properly planed and carefully examined, slightly slacken the quoins. With the brush provided for the purpose rub the surface of the type over with oil : olive oil is to be preferred for this purpose. This is to prevent the matrix from adhering too firmly ta the type. Cut the flong to the size of the page or pages, including the side and bottom clumps. Press it between, blotting-paper to remove the superfluous water, and with the long soft brush dust some French chalk over the surface. The flong must now be placed on the face of the type,, the tissue downwards. Cover it with a damp linen cloth, and with the hard brush commence to beat, beginning at one end of the form and advancing to the other, in order to exclude the air from the surface of the type. If this be not attended to it is probable that an imperfect mould will be the result. If the work be very open, or composed of rule-work, the blank parts may be pricked with a pin to liberate the confined air. The beating of the flong is undoubtedly the most difficult process the stereotyper has to master, and it is only with great care and judgment that a really good matrix can be obtained. The handle of the brush must be held in such a manner as to enable the bristles to fall positively flat on the back of the flong. If it falls unevenly the mould will be dis- torted 5 and perfectly useless ; besides which the face of the type will be injured. This process requires much practice to perform it successfully, and it is not an unusual occur- rence for even a veteran to find his labour has been in vain when the matrix is finally lifted from the form. 13. The bristles of the brush are liable to become in time somewhat rounded, especially with careless beating, in which case difficulty will be experienced in obtaining a sharp and perfect matrix ; besides this, the flong will require more 32 THE PRACTICE OF STEREOTYPING. beating, and the type is apt to become quickly worn. When the brush shows signs of wear, it should be carefully rubbed upon the hottest part of the stereo chamber, that the Fig. 3.— Beating. protruding hairs may be burnt down to a common level. This plan is often adopted in the case of new brushes, and is considered by some stereotypers to effect an improvement. THE PAPER PROCESS. 33 14. Having beaten till the impression of the types is plainly seen on the back of the flong, paste a piece of thick wrapper on the top, and beat again, after which it will be necessary to place another piece and proceed as before. The matrix may now be of sufficient thickness, and the operator can determine if such be the case by lifting one corner and examining the impression. If any portion appears to be deficient in sharpness or depth, paste another piece on and carefully beat again in the shallow part. The whole of the flong should never be lifted off the type until it is determined that the mould is satisfactory, as great difficulty may be experienced in replacing it. If there are any " whites " in the matrix cut a piece of an old mould half the size of the open space, and paste on. This will prevent the metal from being too high in the plates, and obviate chipping. When the mould is of sufficient depth and uniform all over, softly plane the back. After having tightened the quoins all is ready for the drying process. CHAPTER III. The Melting- Pot and Furnace — Drying the Mould — Drying- Plate — Imposing Surface — Baking — Preparing the Metal. 15. The Melting- Pot and Furnace. — The size must, of course, be regulated by the amount of work required to be done. In workshops where the metal is made or mixed, it is advisable to have a large cover or " bonnet " for the pot. This should be made of sheet-iron, and stand about 3 feet high, tapering at the top, and having an outlet through an iron pipe into the flue. In the front side of the cover should be placed the door, which must be sufficiently large to admit of the operator either mixing the metal or taking it out without inconvenience. The flue of the furnace is conducted through the 16. Drying-Plate, upon which the moulds are baked and dried. This is constructed of iron, and resembles a long, thick iron slab, being hollow, to admit the smoke to pass D 34 THE PRACTICE OF STEREOTYPING. from the furnace to the chimney. At one portion is fixed a press for drying the moulds. The platen is adjusted by a strong, upright screw, having a wheel at the top. Some printers object to the use of dry heat for the baking the matrix, as it is sometimes liable to destroy the type by rounding the bottom. A steam-chest is therefore in some cases substituted, and we consider this to be superior to the method above described. The entry and escape of the steam are regulated by screw-valves placed under the table. (See Figs. 4 and 5.) 1 7. Iron Imposing Surface for laying up, re-imposing the page, and making the matrix. A second surface, when possible, should be provided, but slightly lower than the one before mentioned. This will be found more convenient in the making of the matrix, as it gives the operator additional power over his brush when beating. 18. Type-high Clumps and Chases y to place round the pages previous to moulding. Two or three pieces of blanket, a pair of shears, and some minor appliances described below, will also be necessary. 1 9. Drying the Mould or Matrix. — Lift the form and place it on the drying surface under the press, taking care that the matrix does not become misplaced during the operation. Cover the back with two or three pieces of blanket and screw down the platen tightly, if the page be solid. But less pressure must be exerted in the case of an open or title-page, or the mould may perhaps be cut. From ten minutes to a quarter of an hour is required for the drying operation. After this time has elapsed loosen the platen so as to relieve the form of pressure for a minute or two, to allow any steam to escape. As it is possible that from the great heat the quoins may have become loose, it is advisable to tighten them before removing the form to the imposing- surface. The mould will now be found to adhere somewhat tightly to the type, and its removal must be patiently effected, or it will be spoilt almost at its completion. Care- fully raise one corner at a time with the forefinger and thumb, lifting it higher each time, when the matrix will leave the type. Should it, however, from any cause, such as imperfect oiling, &c, adhere so firmly as to resist the To face p. 34.] Fig. 4. — Steam Drying-surface. D 2 36 THE PRACTICE OF STEREOTYPING. ordinary means of lifting, the beating-brush may be applied to the back. If this fails, the matrix will have to be de- stroyed by pouring cold water on the back after the form has been again heated. 20. Woodcuts are seldom and ought 7iever to be stereo- typed by the paper process, but in such a case the matrix must be allowed to dry without the application of heat, or the blocks will split. The casting-box, slightly heated, is generally used in such cases. 21. It is now necessary to bake the matrix. Trim it with a pair of shears to the proper size, allowing sufficient margin to admit of the gauges lying securely on the surface. Cut a piece of brown paper the same width as the mould, and 6 or 8 inches long, and paste on the top edge of the page. This is to lap over the mouth of the casting-box, and prevents the molten metal from running to the back of the mould when the plate is being cast. Lay the matrix on its back on the heating surface to bake. To keep it perfectly flat, and prevent its warping, place weights on the sides ; the type-high clumps are admirably suited for this purpose. Leave it for about fifteen or twenty minutes, when it will be perfectly dry and hard. It is now ready for use. Previous to placing it in the casting-box put a little French chaljf over the surface with the soft long-haired brush. 22. Preparation of the Metal. — As we have before men- tioned, the success of the stereo-plate greatly depends upon the quality of the metal used. It is manufactured by some firms in blocks ready for use, and for small foundries it is a much better plan to purchase than to make it, as, besides the trouble, the process is both dirty and unhealthy. The metal must be hard and clean, and is made by the mixture of 12 per cent, of antimony with lead. The antimony imparts to the lead all the necessary hardness. Fig. 6. — The Skimmer. The lead should be melted first in the melting-pot, already described. All the dross and dirt should be skimmed from the top with the Skimmer. THE PAPER PROCESS. 37 23. After the metal has been carefully skimmed of all the impurities which float to the surface, with the perforated ladle, it should be bright and clean in colour. A few drops of oil or a piece of tallow should be added, as this assists to cleanse it. Poor metal not only yields a larger percentage of dross, which in itself is nothing but waste, but necessarily requires more attention at the metal-pot. The better the quality of the metal the greater the certainty of good plates. 24. We have before mentioned the advisability of having a cover or " bonnet" fixed over the pot. This is the more necessary when lead refuse is melted up, the fumes from which are both injurious and offensive. The lead should be melted first, by itself, and after carefully removing the floating dross, cast into blocks ready for re -melting with the antimony. In paper-casting sometimes as much as 18 per cent, of antimony is added, as for the plaster process. Although this renders the plates more expensive, they will be found to be sharper and harder, and infinitely superior to those made of poorer metal: Engravers* surface-plates are generally made of the above mixture. Practised stereotypers can tell the proper state of the metal for casting by holding the hand above the pot ; but this, of course, is a matter of some experience. The proper calculated heat is about 6oo°. In the foregoing instructions we have supposed the operator to be provided with such facilities as are found in the larger foundries. 25. The lead should be melted first, all the dross and dirt being skimmed from the top, and the antimony added and well stirred. Care should be taken that no zinc finds its way into the pot with the lead. Its presence can, how- ever, be easily detected, as, requiring much greater heat to melt, it will be found floating at the top of the metal-pot when the lead is in a liquid state. Zinc will render the metal almost valueless. Poor metal will cling to the sides of the melting-pot, and also to the ladle. When this is the case it must not be used, or the plates will be unsound — in fact perforated. The addition of a little antimony will, however, remedy the 38 THE PRACTICE OF STEREOTYPING. defect. The quality of the metal may be tested by breaking a solid piece, when it should be brittle and have a glittering appearance. CHAPTER IV. Casting the Plate — Casting-Box — Ladles, Gauges, &c. — Cireular Saws — Planing — Planing-Machine — Finishing. 26. The Casting-Box. — This consists of two thick iron surfaces, the top one serving as a lid. The hinges are made by two protruding pins at one end, fitting loosely into slots on either side of the bed. By this means plates of any thickness can be cast, the height being regulated by the iron gauges placed round the matrix. The box is supported in a low upright frame by two swivels in the centre. The lid and bed are held firmly together by a movable bar, which works loosely on a pin on one side of the bed, and when the lid is closed down, may be swung round and securely clamped by a centre screw. The mouth of the box is slightly bevelled inwards to admit of the metal being poured without Pig- 7- — Ladles, for pouring. spilling. The casting-box being nicely balanced in its frame^. but little power is needed in the tilting for pouring, &c. When it is moved either in an upright or horizontal position it is secured by self-acting springs. THE PAPER PROCESS. 39 27. Steel Gauges (Fig. 8), usually made a pica in thick- ness, and are usually of two kinds. These are for placing round the matrix in the casting-box. 28. Casting the Plate. — In order that the metal may not be too speedily chilled when it is being poured, it is necessary to heat the casting-box prior to placing the mould. This is usually done by pouring a ladleful of molten metal [ into the box and letting it remain 1 for a minute or two, when the box Fig. 8.— Steel Gauges. can be opened and the block re- moved. When first commencing work this should be done two or three times. After carefully wiping the surface of the box clean, place the mould in the centre, face upward, and allow the brown paper that has been previously fastened to the top of the page to lap over the front of the mouth of the casting-box. This is to insure the metal running directly to the face of the mould. The thin flat gauges must now be put round the mould. The one in the shape of a right-angle should be first placed, allowing just sufficient margin for the plate. The smaller gauge must be placed on the other side, being pushed close to the piece at the bottom. The lid of the box can now be closed, clamped, and secured by the upright screw. Disengage the side spring, and swing into a vertical position, when the mouth of the box will of course be at the top. If the brown paper before mentioned is liable to obstruct the flow of the metal, place a small wooden wedge at either corner. With the skimmer again carefully remove any dross that may have accumulated on the surface of the metal. Dip a piece of paper into the pot to finally test its fitness. If the paper is turned to a straw-colour by the insertion, the metal is in proper condition. Sufficient must be taken in the ladle for the whole casting. This is in all cases necessary, as the metal, immediately it comes into contact with the casting-box, solidifies, and the addition of a second lot would assuredly spoil the appearance of the plate, as it would be imperfect at Fig- 9- — Circular Saw THE PAPER PROCESS. 41 the junction. When large castings are made the ladle is made sufficiently capacious to hold the requisite quantity of metal, having handles at either end to admit of two work- men lifting it. As the large ladle cannot conveniently be dipped into the metal, it is filled by a smaller ladle, but prior to this it should be heated by being first filled with hot metal, which can be emptied back again. The casting-box must be perfectly dry before pouring. Run the metal slowly into the mouth of the casting-box, being careful to avoid splashing. When sufficient has been poured in, let it remain for two or three minutes, when the metal will have become properly set. Swing the box into a horizontal position, unfasten the clamp, and lift the lid. The plate will then be found lying back upwards. Remove the gauges and put the casting upon the imposing surface. The mould can be removed by lifting opposite corners with the finger and thumb, each time raising it higher. During the operation the workman should be provided with some stout pieces of blanket for the hands, as the whole of the apparatus is of course very hot. A long leather apron, extending from the neck to the feet, should be worn, as the metal is liable sometimes to fly when pouring. 29. The Circular- Saw, for separating and trimming the plates. This should be fitted in an iron table, and can either be worked by a treadle or steam-power. A piece of tin, thin sheet-iron, or even thick glass, should be suspended across the front of the saw to prevent the pieces of metal flying in the face of the workman when cutting. The simplest and best way of securing this guard is to fix the top to a piece of thin iron wire, the other end of which can be fastened several inches behind the saw, into the table. (See Fig. 9.) 30. Planing- Machine, for reducing the plates to the pro- per thickness. This machine consists of a long iron bed, working backwards and forwards on a long screw running underneath, thus securing a slow, steady, and powerful motion. The knife is fastened at a slight angle in a frame running across the centre of the bed, and only the bed is moveable. The plate is placed face downwards on the bed, and a thick wedge-shaped piece of iron is forced by the operator on the back of the stereo. The plate slowly Fig. io.— Hand-planing Machine. THE PAPER PROCESS. 43 passes under the fixed knife, and a regulated shaving of metal is taken off. A simple, cheap machine is made by Messrs. Hoe. In this the table is moved by a long-spoked wheel, somewhat similar to the steel-plate press. The axle of the wheel is in gear with racks on either side of the table, and in this manner a powerful and steady motion is obtained. (See Fig. 10.) 31. Finishing the Plate. — When the casting is suffici cool the superfluous metal at the head, called the ./ c tang^ ? or " pour-piece," may be removed by the circular/ sa,w T or sharp-pointed hook. If more than one page has been 6as# L the pages must be separated in the same way, and tKrnmed to a gauge. The newly-cast plate is slightly thicker thafi required, and is also uneven on the back, in consequent of the unequal contraction of the metal. It must now be prepared for the planing-machine. With a file or rasp bevel the top and bottom edges, filing from the back towards the edge of the plate. This is in order that the knife of the planing-machine shall only take off the necessary thickness of metal, by affording a hold to the knife when it first touches the plate. If this be not done, the knife will have a tendency to make a thicker cut and draw the plate up from the bed of the machine. The plate may now be placed in the planing-machine, the precaution being taken to place a piece of paper between the face of the plate and the iron bed. The knife should be so set as to reduce the thickness of the plate to a small pica, allowance of course being made for the thickness of paper underneath. Although we are aware that small foundries are rarely provided with a planing- machine, we would strongly recommend it in all cases, as, besides giving the plate a finished appearance, it is eco- nomical from the printer's point of view. The plate finished by this means is much more level, and consequently takes less underlaying when making ready. By laying a small steel straightedge across the face of the plate, from the head-line to the foot, it can soon be ascertained if it is perfectly level. 44 THE PRACTICE OF STEREOTYPING. CHAPTER V. Bevelling — Bevelling-Table and Machine — Use of Power for Driving — Mounting on Wood — Finishing and Packing — Packing Plates. 32. Appliances. — The following diagram of a table with bevelling and squaring-planes, does not require any ex- planation. The squaring and bevelling may be performed by the Fig. 11. — Table with Bevelling and Squaring- Planes. bevelling-machine (Fig. 11) which consists of a flat narrow iron table, which can be moved backwards and forwards, on a slide, at the will of the operator. The plate is laid upon the table, face upwards, and secured by the screw- platen. A piece of stout blanket is fastened underneath this, to prevent batters. The cutting and bevelling is per- formed by three shaped knives fixed in the disc, which is made to revolve at a speed of about 2,000 revolutions per minute. The plate having been set to a gauge, the table is moved slowly forwards, the revolving knives making a THE PAPER PROCESS. 45 a clean and uniform bevel. One great advantage of this machine is that the superfluous metal need not be removed before the bevelling, as the knife performs both operations at the same time. To prevent the pieces of metal flying about, a sheet-iron box is fixed round the revolving disc. Of course this machine is only necessary in large foundries, where it will be found extremely economical. We may mention the fact that trimming and bevelling a sheet of, say 1 6 pages crown octavo, by the ordinary plane takes 30 to 40 minutes, while the same number of pages can be both trimmed and bevelled by the above machine in about 10 minutes. In the latter case, moreover, the plates are posi- tively uniform in size, and the gauge having once been set no testing is necessary. 46 THE PRACTICE OF STEREOTYPING. Fig. 13. — American Bevelling Machine. THE PAPER PROCESS. 47 33. It will be found both convenient and economical to employ an engine for driving the lathes, &c., especially when a large amount of work is done. A gas-engine requires but little space or attention, and is eminently adapted for this purpose, besides which gas is comparatively cheap, and cost is only incurred while the engine is at work. We may mention that the net cost of driving a 3! h.-p. Crossley gas-engine is about 2d. per hour. This includes the cost of oil for lubricating purposes. Moreover, the fire insurance premium is not increased by their use. Tfe^^Ni " Backus " motor is also adapted for driving the machinery^ especially when it is limited. Although the cost of the water necessary for driving is slightly in excess of gaj>, the original expense is far less than that of the gas-engine s^he water motor occupies less space ; no heat is generated ; and a feed-pipe from the main supply, together with a water pipe, are all the fittings required. A 2 h.-p. " Backus " engine costs about ^30 or ^40, and calculating the water at 8d. per 1,000 gallons, the estimated working expense is about 4d. per hour. 34. Bevelling by Hand. — After having trimmed the plate by the circular saw, run the squaring-plane round the sides, allowing sufficient margin for the bevel. Then place the head of the plate against the stop of the shooting-block and shave the sides with the bevelling-plane. The plate must be held tightly, or it may slip, in which case it is probable that the knife will cut the edge of the type and spoil the whole. A carefully-prepared gauge should be kept for every-sized plate, and the bevel should be formed accordingly. Far less trouble would be experienced by the machine-minder in making register if this were more generally attended to. It is unnecessary to say that when rule-bordered coffin- blocks are used, it is imperative that the plates be positively exact, or they would, if too large, bind, or if too small would be loose, and " pull off" in the machine. 35. Mounting on Wood. — When it is intended to mount the stereotype on wood of course it is not necessary to use the bevelling-plane, the shooting-plane being all that is required. The plate should be trimmed almost flush to the side of the type all round, and mounted. The best 4 8 THE PRACTICE OF STEREOTYPING. pine, well-planed, is suitable for the purpose; but for the mounting of cuts, well-seasoned mahogany should be employed. French nails, a half-inch in length, may be used, and great care must be taken that the plates are securely fastened, or they may tear off in the working. Each pin should be punched in to prevent " blacking " on the machine. 36. Finishing a?id Picking. — With a sharp chisel or gouge chip away any metal that may appear unnecessarily high in the whites. The amount to be taken away will greatly depend upon the care bestowed in the placing of the piece in the hollow of the form when taking the mould, as before described. A small press in the foundry will be found useful in pull- ing proofs of the plates when they are finished. Defective letters or batters may thus be easily detected. These must be " picked " out, and new types inserted. In the case of newspaper plates this is not necessary, even if time allowed. In dealing with either stereo or electro-plates, remember it is far better, and in the end more economical, to cast a new plate than to patch up a bad one. A perfect plate can never be made out of a bad casting, and no amount of " picking" will render it fit to use. A plate requiring much repairing should be discarded, and a new one cast. It must be remembered, that some defects are only discovered when the form is properly made ready on the press or machine, when the necessary repairs to the plates often cause long and unprofitable delays. 37. Packing Plates. — In packing plates either to be stored, or even carried to the machine-room, the faces should never be allowed to be unprotected. The best way is to cut pieces of thick wrapper-paper, a little larger than the pages to be packed, and place one between every plate, taking care that the faces of the top and bottom plates are turned inside. The real value of a stereotype-plate is rarely appreciated by the workman, and the consequence is that in large printing- establishments the cost incurred for repairs is out of all proportion to that which should be necessary. THE PAPER PROCESS. 49 CHAPTER VI. Small Stereo Foundries — Directions for their Use — Harrild's Combi- nation-Table — Miller & Richard's Miniature Foundry. 38. We have now described in detail the various pro- cesses involved in casting a plate by the paper method. Where, however, the art is not carried on upon a scale of any magnitude, it may be considerably simplified. Any printer can be his own stereotyper if great expedition is not necessary ; and although in large towns where stereotyping is done by firms exclusively devoted to it and possessed of every appliance for carrying it out on the most economical system, it may not be advantageous for the ordinary printer to meddle with it, there are spread throughout the country many printing-offices into which stereotyping may be intro- duced with a great saving of time, expense, and plant. 39. Small, compact, and cheap but efficient, stereo-foun- dries, all more or less excellent, are supplied by several makers. The smaller ones are fitted for the application of gas, and although not suited for the extensive production of stereos, they are eminently adapted to printing-offices where the casting of plates is only occasionally done. The use of gas for melting the metal and baking the mould is to be commended not only on the score of economy but also for cleanliness. No flues have to be constructed, and the ex- pense of heating, &c, is only incurred while the foundry is in actual work. The chief objection urged is that the operation under these circumstances is perhaps more unhealthy. 40. In the arrangement of a small stereotype foundry the room selected should admit of free ventilation to carry off the fumes of the gas and metal. The prices of gas-foundries range from ^15. 15s. and upwards, according to the extra apparatus supplied. 41. It is not necessary to describe the whole process of stereotyping over again, to show how this class of apparatus E 50 THE PRACTICE OF STEREOTYPING. is to be used. Nor need we give a list of the appliances and materials required; an account of the small foundry itself will be sufficient for all practical purposes. Fig 14.— Gas Melting-Pot. 1 In the case of the smallest gas-foundries, the casting-box serves the purpose of a heating surface for drying the mould. E 2 5 2 THE PRACTICE OF STEREOTYPING. 42. When heating the metal by gas only a moderate flame should be applied. If used in excess an objection- able smell will be apparent, and the bottom of the pot will become covered with blacks. The length of time usually Fig. 17. — Matrix in Position prior to Casting. required to heat sufficiently the metal in a pot supplied to small gas-foundries is from thirty to forty minutes. 43. The casting-box is moved to a horizontal position, and the lid lifted up. After the mould is taken, place the form THE PAPER PROCESS. 53 Fig. 1 8. — Adjusting the Casting-box prior to Casting. 54 THE PRACTICE OF STEREOTYPING. THE PAPER PROCESS. S5 on the surface, put two or three pieces of blanket over the matrix, lower the lid, and allow sufficient time for baking. Care must be taken that the box is not allowed to become too hot. When the matrix is taken from the form it can be dried in the ordinary way. 44. The diagram (Fig. 19) showing the method of pour- ing the metal into the casting-box — which is heated by an arrangement of gas-jets — requires no explanation. When the plate is taken from the casting-box, although it may appear perfectly level on the back, if worked in this state it will be found that considerably more time will be occupied in the making-ready, in consequence of the shrinkage of the metal, besides which the plates lack that appearance of finish which distinguish the productions of a good workman. 45. In the first place, a circular-saw will be found almost indispensable for the trimming and separation of the pages. A planing-machine is also a desideratum. This last item is perhaps an expensive one, but, as we have before mentioned, the time saved on the printing-machine will speedily pay for the extra outlay. 46. A bevelling-plane should be provided. Although a little practice will speedily enable one to form the bevel to a plate with tolerable accuracy with the squaring-plane, it can never be done with the same nicety and precision as by the bevelling-plane. Besides this there is always the possibility of injuring the letters at the side, and the bevel is never so uniform. 47. On next page is a view of a " combination-table" sup- plied by Messrs. Harrild. It represents the whole of the minor appliances used in these small foundries. 48. Although for a sum of £15 to ^25 a foundry by which successful stereo-plates can be cast is to be pur- chased, we would advise a larger outlay, as being the more serviceable in the end as well as more economical from the printer's point of view. 49. An ingenious combination is supplied by Messrs. Miller & Richard (Fig. 21). It consists of an iron 5 6 THE PRACTICE OF STEREOTYPING. table which can be used for the beating-slab, &c, and on one side is placed a small circular-saw worked by a treadle. The squaring and bevelling-plane is supported in a groove ac the other side. At the end of the table, but separate from the slab, is the planing-machine. This is Fig. 20.— Harrild's Combination-Table. constructed in a similar manner to the larger ones elsewhere described by us, having the knife-block and knife fixed to the frame. The movable slab upon which the plate is placed is worked by a fly-wheel at the extremity. Thus the A, Metal-pot, Drying Surface, and Press. B, Combination Finishing-Table. C, Casting-box. Fig. 21. — Miller & Richard's Miniature Foundry. the above diagram, this is really a miniature foundry, a furnace being adopted instead of gas. 58 THE PRACTICE OF STEREOTYPING. CHAPTER VII. Type-high Stereotyping — Gauges and Cores — Adjustable Cores. 50. In the case of newspapers, in order to save the time necessary in finishing, planing, mounting, &c, thin stereo- plates, the cast is often made of the same thickness as the type itself, or type-high, as it is termed. 51. This process is substantially the same as that already described, but with certain important modifications. Several special appliances are required, but they have so much in common with those previously referred to, that in this case we shall notice them as they call for * 1 attention, in giving an account of the process generally. We will first de- scribe the casting of level plates, much used in local and other news- papers, where the number of plates is comparatively small, but the time for making them is precious ; and it will be unnecessary to repeat our in- structions as to the preparation of the form and making the matrix. An iron frame must be provided, type-high, which may be stated to be of the same height as a Queen Victoria shilling. (Figs. 22, 23). " 52- Since it would be an unneces- lg * 22 ' sary waste of metal, besides adding Iron Gauge for a page, materially to the weight, to cast the plate wholly solid, an iron core is em- ployed, of the same size as the page, and so shaped as to form a series of small arches on the under-side of the plate. Along the top side of the iron gauge (Fig. 22) are placed small holes into which pins on the core fit, thus rendering the latter immovable. The gauge and core should each be placed on the THE PAPER PROCESS. 59 heating-surface prior to making the matrix, that they may become hot, or the metal would receive a sudden chill at the sides and back of the plate. After baking the mould, and pasting the piece of brown paper to the top, as before described, warm the casting-box by filling it with molten metal, and take the block out when set. Place the mould in the casting-box, and put the type-high frame round the edges, taking care that it be so placed so as not to cover r Fig. 23. — Iron Gauge for Column. the head-lines or the edges of the side columns. When exactly in position, fit the core on the top, letting the pins fall into their proper holes. This operation should be as smartly performed as is compatible with due care to prevent the box, &c, becoming chilled. 53. If the page be large, a relatively capacious ladle with two handles will be required (Fig. 24). This must, of course, be carried by two men. After removing all the , dross, and testing the heat of the metal in the usual way, Fig. 24. — Large Ladle. the large ladle being too big or awkward to admit of its being put into the metal, must be filled by several dips by the smaller one. When pouring the metal, it is always advisable to fill the casting-box up to the top, as there is considerable shrinkage in a large and thick plate. The box having been turned to the horizontal position, the core can be lifetd from the frame. The latter may be 60 THE PRACTICE OF STEREOTYPING. easily detached from the plate by one or two sharp taps from a mallet. After taking off the mould, and trimming the plate by the circular-saw, it is ready for use. The mould should be preserved, in case a batter occur on the machine, when a new plate can speedily be cast. If any difficulty is experienced at any point in separating the mould from the cast, take the beating-brush and gently tap the back, advancing to the spot where it adheres. This will speedily disengage the matrix. If not, proceed as described at p. 35. 54. Single columns of newspapers are frequently cast type-high. The iron frame is then made of the same width as the column (Fig. 23), or in the same manner as the ordinary gauges, one piece at right angles and one long detached piece, which can be placed so as to cast to any width. When news-columns, however, are sold to different papers (and a very large trade is done in these), the stereos are frequently made slightly thinner than the ordi- nary plate, mounted on deal, and planed up flush. This of course considerably reduces the cost of carriage, besides using less metal. This method takes slightly longer than when the cast is type-high, and is adopted by large adver- tisers who send their announcements to numerous papers. In connection with type-high stereos, there are many very ingenious contrivances, by which solid plates of any size may be cast without the necessity of having special cores for certain pages. Fig. 25. Under-side of a Plate cast in Harrild's Adjustable Core. 55. Messrs. Harrild's Adjustable Core (Fig. 25) consists of a large iron frame, having several hollow adjustable bars running across. The matrix is placed face downwards in THE PAPER PROCESS. 6 1 the casting-box, and the frame having the bars adjusted to the required size on the top. These cores are now largely- used, especially by provincial foundries. 56. The same principle, differently applied, is adopted by an American firm. Figs. 26 and 27 are two adjustable core-bars, A A, having long screws, B B, running through them. The bars are type-high. These really form the frame in which the cast is made. Adjustable end-pieces can be fitted over the Fig. 28. Fig. 26. Fig. 27. American Adjustable Core. screws B B. These are placed on either side, and core-bars of any width are adjusted on the end-pieces (Fig. 28, c\ the former running across the frame. By means of the screws B B, the frame can be fixed at any desired size. After the matrix has been made, dried, &c, it is placed so as to rest on the bars A A, on either side, and the entire frame is then put into the casting-box, and the mould made. Fig. 27 shows the frame fitted ready for casting. Of course, when the plates are only required for a short while, and time is a great object, the above process offers many advantages. The plates are cast nearly fit for use, and they must necessarily be of the same height and width. But it is not applicable to works which require to be kept in stock, as the weight of metal would involve too great an outlay, besides which storage would be almost impossible. 62 THE PRACTICE OF STEREOTYPING. CHAPTER VIII. Casting Curved Plates for Newspapers — Casting at a London Daily Newspaper Office described. 57. Although stereotyping by the papier-mache method is undoubtedly a quick process, a great deal of mechanical skill has been brought to bear in order to make it addition- ally rapid in the case of newspapers. The principle is in all cases the same, but as the saving of a few minutes is a material consideration in the casting of a newspaper, ma- chinery is used throughout nearly the whole operation. In twenty minutes from the time when the last page has been received in the foundry it is expected on a daily paper that at least one printing-machine will have been started ; and supposing that only one page has to be moulded, the matrix dried, and the plate cast, trimmed, and planed in that time, it must be acknowledged that these various operations must have been accomplished in a very speedy manner. Of course this can only be done by a staff of well-trained hands — each set of men having their own particular work to do as the plate passes through each stage. The advertisement pages of a daily paper are always sent to the foundry early, and the plates are placed on the printing-machine as they are completed, so that, as a rule, only two pages at most are detained in the composing-room to the last minute for the insertion of the latest news, tele- grams, &c. It is very rarely that a cast is rejected on account of being slightly defective ; a few imperfect letters, more or less, being a matter of little importance, the main object aimed at being that the plates are level, as little time is allowed for patching on the machine. Plates are rarely lifted to be underlaid, although the machine-minder has frequently to paste a piece of paper on the cylinder blanket. On London evening newspapers the foundry arrange- ments are remarkably perfect. The number circulated of an edition — in some instances there are as many as six CURVED STEREOTYPES. 63 issues in one day — is occasionally somewhat limited. Dis- patch is therefore considered of even more importance than with some of the morning papers. The extent of this desire to furnish the latest news can hardly be realized by those ' outside the newspaper world. The morning papers, having in all cases more mechanical resources and really more time at their disposal, can all afford to wait until the last moment — say, 3 o'clock a.m., and yet supply the trade with the necessary number of copies at 5 or 6 o'clock in the morning. 58. Let us now describe the modus operandi of stereo- typing, as daily carried on at the office of a London dailyX evening paper. V , f Immediately the page is received in the foundry it is placed on the table of the rolling or moulding-machine and well planed. The flong, previously prepared and cut to the proper size, is placed on the face of the type, and beaten in by two workmen. This done, powdered whiting is brushed over the back. After the whiting is powdered on to the flong, the back is well scraped with a piece of brass rule or a straightedge. This is to prevent an undue accumulation at any point. The linen, which is wet, lessens the probability of the flong being injured by the rapid beating. A piece of brown paper is now pasted on and one or two thicknesses of blanket placed on the back, and the whole is rolled. The rolling-machine some- what resembles in appearance that used for the surfaces of paper, but has only one roller. The bed upon which the form is placed travels in gear with the cylinder. After the matrix has been allowed to run under the roller and back again it can be lifted. The rolling process is rather to remedy any defect in uneven beating than to deepen the impression of the matrix. 59. The form is now laid on the heating surface and placed under the press to be dried in the ordinary way. Two or three minutes are allowed for this, when the matrix is removed from the page. A piece of brown paper is pasted on the top, and the matrix dried on the chamber as usual. About three minutes' time is sufficient for the drying process. 64 THE PRACTICE OF STEREOTYPING. 60. When sufficiently well dried, the matrix is trimmed and placed in the curved casting-box, the circular form of course varying with the requirements of different printing- machines. The piece of brown paper pasted to the head must be allowed to hang over the mouth of the casting-box. The gauges are now placed round the matrix, the bottom one, in most instances, being so shaped as to form a bevel to the plate. As the pages are generally large, a capacious Fig. 29. — Curved Casting-box in Position for placing Mould. metal ladle is provided (Fig. 24), having two handles at one end, and one at the other, to allow of it being lifted by two men. This arrangement of having only three handles is to give the workman holding the two complete control of the ladle, and thus to save confusion. The other handle in the hands of the second man really serves as a swivel, both the direction of the metal being decided and the CURVED STEREOTYPES. 65 pouring done by one individual. The large ladle is filled from the metal-pot by a smaller one. A number of hands are always employed in a foundry of this description, and each detail is accomplished by a separate workman. By the time, therefore, that the mould is properly placed in the casting-box, the metal is ready to be poured. Fig. 30. — Curved Casting-box in Position for Casting. 61. The plate having been cast is allowed to stand about a minute, when it is taken out, still hot, and placed upon a finishing-saddle of the same circular form as the back of the plate, and secured by clamps and screws. At one end is an angular-shaped knife or chisel fixed in a carriage, and this can be moved to the required position by a screw. The carriage is fixed to a long lever which is secured to a centre pivot at the base of the machine (Fig 31). The whole is moved by a handle in a semicircular direction across the surface of the plate. By this the " pour-piece," or tang, is F 66 THE PRACTICE OF STEREOTYPING. 3 Hoe's Finishing-saddle. CURVED STEREOTYPES. 6 7 removed from the top end of the plate, and the bevel formed at the same time. The knife is lowered by the screw as each Fig. 32. — Drying Surface. Fig. 33.— Farmer's Finishing Saddle. successive cut is made. At the side of the saddle is an- f 2 68 THE PRACTICE OF STEREOTYPING. other knife fixed in a carriage working on a slide along the whole length of the page. This is moved rapidly backwards and forwards, until the proper bevel is formed. The plate is then turned round, and the other side treated in the same manner. In some instances, the knives, &c, attached to the saddle are driven by steam-power, but as several men can work at the plate at once, little or no time is gained by its application. 62. When the plate leaves the saddle, it is sometimes placed in the planing-machine (Fig. 34). Fig. 34.— Planing-Machme. The bed of this machine is made of a semicircular form,, so as to admit of the plate being placed face downwards, a piece of thin blanket being placed between the bed and the surface of the plate to prevent rubbing. A long, substantial knife, fixed in an iron axle, is made to revolve, the immense power necessary being communicated by strong gearing at the side. The extreme line described by the edge of the knife is of course of the same circumference as the surface of the cylinder of the printing-machine. CURVED STEREOTYPES. 69 63. The plate is now finished, and if still too hot, it may be cooled by cold water. We have here given a description of the form of appa- ratus commonly used, and although the machinery employed may slightly differ in its construction and action, the process, to all intents and purposes, is the same in all newspaper offices. 7 o THE PRACTICE OF STEREOTYPING. THE PLASTER PROCESS. CHAPTER IX. The Metal-Pot, Oven, Dipping- Pans, Floating-Plate— Crane, Cooling- Tank, &c. — Metal for Plaster Casting. The apparatus for stereotyping by plaster differs in al- most every respect from that used for the paper process, as will be seen from the following. 64. The Metal-Pot must be square and somewnat deep, also sufficiently large to admit of the casting or dipping- pans being immersed ; it should be placed near a wall, in order to allow the fixing of the crane for lowering and rais- ing the casting-pans. Fig. 35. — American Dipping-pan. 65. The Ove?i for baking the plaster-mould should adjoin the melting-pot, and must be provided with several iron shelves, to admit of several moulds being baked at one time. The best plan is to have an ordinary low brick furnace con- THE PLASTER PROCESS. 7t strticted, and to place on the top the square oven, say about 3 feet wide and 4 or 5 feet high. This will allow of several shelves being fixed. Partitions should be made on the shelves sufficiently wide to admit of the mould resting between. The oven must be bricked in, and the flue of the furnace should be carried round the sides and back of the oven, in order that all the heat from the fire may be utilized. The whole of the front of the oven is used for the door, so the casts, &c, may be placed and removed without obstacle. More space should be allowed between the bottom of the oven and the first shelf than between the others. This extra space may be used for heating the dipping-pans and floating-plates prior to casting. Under no circumstances is it advisable to put the plaster-moulds on the bottom of the oven, as the heat will be found to vary at different points, and this would have the effect of shrinking the moulds unevenly, and thus ren- dering them useless. It is in the baking that the moulds are frequently injured, as they are very liable to crack in consequence of uneven contraction. An iron shelf, about 8 or 10 inches wide, should be fixed in front of the oven, and upon the same level as the bottom shelf. This will enable the operator to slide the dipping-pans and float- ing-plates to the edge of the metal-pot. 66. Dipping-pans (Fig. 38), in which the plate is cast, are about 3 or 4 inches deep, wide at the top, and tapering towards the base, and are made of various sizes. They are mostly of oblong shape. On the sides are sockets to admit the clamps of the crane-chain when it is swung. The lid is either flat or made somewhat in the shape of a flat dome, but in either case without corners, to allow the metal to force its way to the mould inside. It is secured to the pan by an eyebolt- screw, tightening two loose clamps to the side of the pan, in a similar manner to the crane-chain. 67. The Floating-plate is made of iron, about half an inch thick, and fits loosely into the dipping-pan. 68. The Crane should be fixed at the back of the dipping- pot, and be rather light in construction, in order that it may be easily swung into any desired position. Connected with the end of the chain is a kind of ratchet with a wheel, 7 2 THE PRACTLCE OF STEREOTYPING. having extended spokes. By this means the dipping-pan, when connected by the clamps, can be lowered or raised with little exertion. Some cranes are constructed with a long handle, acting as a lever, and an iron rod is substituted for the chain. The dipping-pot is then managed by raising or depressing the lever, which can be secured in any posi- tion by pins to holes in the main support (see Fig. 37). But we consider the old arrangement to be the best, as the operator can guide the dipping-pot with one hand and manage the ratchet with the other. Fig. 38. — Dipping-pan. 69. The Cooling-Trough used for cooling the dipping-pan and its contents must be placed by the side of the metal-pot, and in such a position as to admit of the crane easily deposit- ing its charge. It should be about 4 feet long and 2 feet wide, and stand slightly below the top of the metal-pot. Four iron bars, f in. thick and 2 in. wide, should be fixed across, being sufficiently near each other to allow of two dipping- pans being placed on them at one time. Two or three pieces of thick flannel, or similar substance, must be secured round these bars so as to admit of the moisture being To face p. 72.] Fig. 37.— The Crane. THE PLASTER PROCESS. 73 gradually communicated to the hot pan. It will be found that a small quantity of molten metal will frequently fall into the trough from the corners of the dipping-pot when the latter is being swung, or from the ladle when filling up, so that the trough should be periodically cleaned out, and the dregs thrown into the metal-pot. Of course the refuse must not be put into the pot when the metal is heated. We have found it the best plan to well sweep up the foundry, and clean the cooling-trough every night, and to throw the whole into the pot ready for melting on the following morning. The dirt, &c, greatly assists in the fluxing of the metal. 70. The Moulding- Frame *, in which the plaster-matrix is originally taken from the form, is very like an ordinary chase in appearance ; but the four sides facing the type are bevelled inwards, so that when the plaster hardens, it has proper and equal support on all sides. 71. The Iron Surface on which the forms are placed for moulding should be fixed against the wall. It is advisable to have it somewhat long, in order that several moulds may be prepared immediately after each other. In lieu of an iron surface, slabs of stereo-metal, 1 inch thick, and well- planed on the surface, are sometimes used, the size being that of a large folio. These may be arranged along an ordinary wooden bulk. If this latter plan be adopted, the surface of the slabs should be frequently examined, in order to ascertain if there are any indentations, in which case they should be either replaned or discarded, as the type is liable to sink into the cavities when it is planed down, and the mould would be imperfect. 7 2. The Block upon which the casting-pan is placed after cooling, should be about 4 feet high and 3 feet wide, some- what similar to a butcher's block. It is necessary to provide one of this description, as very rough work has to be per- formed, which would be unsuited to any other kind of block. Upon this the mould is knocked out of the pan, the corners of the cast are struck off by the mallet, and the plate is liberated. 73. In addition to the foregoing apparatus, the following will be required : — 74 THE PRACTICE OF STEREOTYPING. Brushes, for cleaning the type, removing the plaster from the surface, and oiling. Small steel straight-edges, for taking off the superfluous plaster from the back of the newly-made mould. Chisels, for raising the moulding-frames from the form, and releasing the plate from the metal. A strong barrel, with lid, for the storage of the plaster. This must be placed in a dry place, as damp would entirely destroy the virtue of the plaster. Several tin cans should also be to hand for the mixing of the composition. The foregoing are the most necessary appliances required for the plaster process. There are, however, a few other items which as we go on we shall have occasion to mention. 74. Metal for Plaster-Casting. — For plaster-casting it is absolutely necessary that the metal be better in quality than that generally used in the papier-mache process, or it will not be sufficiently thin to force its way freely under the mould to the fine beards of the letters, &c. About 18 per cent, of antimony should be added to the lead, and when properly mixed the metal will be found both thin and hard. When stereo-metal is made in the foundry, a quantity should be mixed at one time, as the plaster process neces- sitates a great quantity of material being always in use. The manufacture of metal considerably interferes with the casting, and the dipping should never be commenced without a sufficient supply being available. In most foun- dries, when the mixing is carried on to any extent, a sepa- rate pot is provided for the purpose. As this process is very injurious to the health, the pot must be well closed in by an iron covering or "bonnet," before described, just sufficient opening being allowed for the long iron for mixing. When broken, the metal should present a sparkling appearance. If it is dull, sufficient antimony has not been added, and plates made from such metal will lack sharpness. THE PLASTER PROCESS. 75 CHAPTER X. Preparation of the Form — Casting the Mould — Baking — Casting the Plate. 75. Preparation of the Form. — When high spaces have been used in the composition, the work of the stereotyper is far less troublesome, for low spaces and quads have to be raised to the height of the shanks of the letters, prior to moulding. It is therefore always desirable to have high-spaced founts when plaster-casts are to be taken, but besides being originally more expensive, the high spaces are a source of constant trouble at any time that the type is required to be worked from. The page or pages must first be re-imposed, stereo fur- niture being placed round the sides. Next lock up and well plane the form, taking care that no pieces of plaster or grit be underneath. The "filling-up' ? is done by pouring plaster (about the consistency of paste) on to the surface of the form, and well rubbing it in by the hand. This thoroughly and evenly done, and before the plaster has properly set, the whole must be well brushed over with a rather stiff brush, which should remove all the plaster from the beards, &c, of the letters. After the pages have been well examined, the form must be placed in a rack pro- vided for the purpose, to thoroughly dry. It is advisable when a number of forms are to be cast to fill them all in at the same time. When the plaster is dry, lay the form on the imposing- surface, which must be free from grit, &c, and again brush the face that any small detached pieces of plaster may be taken away. Remember, it is absolutely necessary that the face of the type be both clean and dry ; if not, the oil will not be taken evenly and the cast will inevitably be spoilt. 76. Apply with a soft brush some olive oil. A small quantity of turps is sometimes added if the oil be very thick. Take care that the oil is allowed to touch in every part, or the cast will not come away in a perfect condition — pieces 7 6 THE PRACTICE OF STEREOTYPING. of plaster adhering to the untouched spot. The application of the oil answers a two-fold purpose ; — in addition to pre- venting the adhesion of the mould to the type, it prevents the moisture of the fresh composition affecting the plaster already used in " filling-up " the form. 77. Casting the Mould. — Pieces of tin about ijin. wide and of various lengths must be at hand. These are to be placed on the locking-up furniture round the type, to afford a perfectly flat surface for the casting-frame, and prevent the thin plaster from running. Place the casting- frame in position round the pages, having previously oiled the sides. In an iron or tin pot kept for the purpose, mix sufficient plaster to about the consistency of cream and pour it upon the face of the type. This must be carefully dabbed in with a piece of folded blanket or a dabber. By this means the air is excluded from between the plaster and the face of the type. Add more plaster-paste, and well rub in with the hand, to insure the plaster entering into the smallest crevices. The surface of the type will now be entirely covered with a film of plaster. Mix a further quantity of the composition, which may be a trifle thicker, and pour sufficient on the form to entirely fill the casting- frame. As is well-known, plaster hardens in a very short time, and it is therefore necessary to take every means to prevent small lumps from forming either on the hand or in the mixing-pot. After every operation the hands should be well rinsed and the pot also thoroughly cleaned out. Always bear in mind this precaution. While the plaster is in a liquid state, with a straight-edge level with the top of the casting-frame, when the mould should be allowed to stand for five minutes, by which time it will have partially hardened, when the back may again be scraped as before. If the mould is not of exactly the same thickness throughout it is liable to be cracked by the pressure of the molten metal in the dipping-pan. Remem- ber that the success of this process largely depends upon the quality and manipulation of the plaster. In no case should inferior material be used, or the moulds will prove to be defective. 78. After the mould has stood for about a quarter-of-an- THE PLASTER PROCESS. 77 hour it will be found sufficiently firm to lift from the type. Tools with short handles (Fig. 38), are used for this purpose. Take one in each hand and carefully insert the points between the casting-frame and the chase, and gently raise. This operation requires the greatest care, for if the force is exerted unevenly small portions of the plaster will break off and spoil the mould. After gently loosening one end of the frame treat the other end in the same manner, when the whole can be lifted off the form, being supported by the protruding bevel of the casting-frame. After the mould is taken off, the type should be perfectly clean, not a particle of plaster appearing in any portion of the type. 79. Baking the Mould. — Let the mould stand for a few minutes, and with a knife cut a small groove round the back, towards the iron frame, to loosen the hold. Now turn the mould on its back and slightly tap the frame, when the plaster will drop out in its entirety. Trim off the super- fluous plaster with the knife and cut notches on the top- sides of the plaster rim, so that the metal may find an admittance to the face when placed in the dipping-pan. The plaster-cast is now ready to be baked in the oven, the proper heat of which is about 400 0 . Put the mould between two of the partitions in the oven on its side, and allow it to remain for about an hour and a-half, when it will have become sufficiently baked, and will possess a brownish tinge. During this process the dipping-pot and floating- plate should also be placed in the oven on the bottom shelf, that they may be of the same heat as the mould. It is now necessary to testthe metal, for it is imperative that it be of the proper heat, or it will not flow freely under the cast. If it be not sufficiently hot, the plates will lack sharp- ness or become chilled ; if too hot the mould is liable to crack when immersed. The test mostly applied is the plunging a piece of paper into the metal, as in the papier- mache process. If it is found to be too hot, the draught of Fig. 38. 78 THE PRACTICE OF STEREOTYPING. the fire can be diminished or cold metal added. When the dipping-pot or casting-pan is sufficiently heated, slide it along the iron shelf to the front of the metal-pot and place the floating-plate, which is of the same size as the bottom of the pan, inside. Of course the workman will be provided with pads of thick flannel when handling the above. 80. Casting the Plate. — It is imperative that the pan, plate, and mould be of nearly the same temperature. If the plate is colder than the cast it will cause a sudden contraction of the latter ; if warmer, it will probably crack or warp it. Some stereotypers prefer to heat the floating-plate by im- mersing in the molten metal. No delay whatever must occur between the placing of the dipping-pot in position, the floating- plate inside, the mould on the top, and the fastening of the lid. If, after removing the cast from the oven, anything unfore- seen should happen to prevent its being immediately placed in the dipping-pot, it must be put back in the oven for a few minutes to be heated again, together with the pot and plate, or the mould will probably receive a fatal injury. When the cast is much smaller than the floating-plate, small cubes of plaster, previously prepared, may be placed round the sides, to prevent it moving about in the pan. The cover may now be placed on and secured by means of the clamps and centre-screw. The clamps attached to the chain on the crane must be fastened into the sockets on the side of the pan. Wind up the ratchet and swing the whole above the metal-pot, gently lowering it until the top is on a level with the surface of the metal. With one hand gently tilt the side of the dipping-pan at one corner into the metal. This can be done by tilting the chain-clamps, and allowing the metal to flow in only at one corner ; the air is thus driven out at the other openings. The pan should not be entirely immersed until all the air is expelled. When the pan is full, gently lower the whole into the metal, allowing it to touch the bottom of the pot. Air-bubbles will now rise to the surface. The metal in the melting-pot must not be allowed to run too low, or perhaps when the mould is placed ready for dipping it will be found that there is not sufficient to cover the top of the pan, in which case a serious delay will THE PLASTER PROCESS. 79 occur. When new material is added, the temperature of the molten metal will be considerably lowered, and it must be remembered that the same being in a liquid state is no criterion of its being in a fit condition. A cast should never be made without first testing the temperature. The molten metal, by its greater specific gravity, presses up the floating-plate and the mould to the lid of the dipping-pan, and also forces itself through the notches cut in the side of the plaster into every part of the mould. The pan should be allowed to remain in the metal for about ten minutes, during which time the floating-plate for the next casting may, if desirable, be placed in the metal, of course allowing a sufficient portion to be above the surface to enable the operator to obtain a firm hold for the removal. 8 1. When the pan has remained in the metal for the time stated, it should be gently raised and swung round to the cooling-trough, being allowed to rest on the supports made for the purpose. Care must be taken that it be swung in a perfectly horizontal position, or the metal is liable to flow on one side and thus render the thickness of the plate uneven. As the metal cools it will considerably contract, and metal must be poured in at the corners of the dipping-pan, to make up the deficiency and to exert the necessary uniform pressure on the cast. This pouring must be done several times during the cooling. When the water in the trough sinks, as it will do owing to the rapid evaporation, a further supply should occasionally be added to keep it to the required level. The cooling of the cast should never be hurried or the mould will split and the metal run into the crack. If the cooling operation is hastened in the slightest degree, the sudden contraction of the metal on the surface of the newly-formed plate will also cause the letters to lose their sharpness. The water in the trough should be sufficiently high to sodden the pieces of blanket, but must not be allowed to touch the bottom of the pan. The cooling process should properly take about twenty minutes. While the dipping-pan is on the cooling-trough, another cast can be made, or the plate previously cooled taken from the metal. 8o THE PRACTICE OF STEREOTYPING. CHAPTER XI. Knocking-out — Finishing the Plate — Planing the Back — Moulding from Plates. 82. Knocking Out — When the pan has remained for the stated time, lift it on to the knocking-out block, loosen the clamps, and remove the lid by inserting a strong chisel at the corners. Turn the pan upside down and give a smart blow with the mallet on the bottom, when a block of apparently solid metal will drop out. Let it stand for a few minutes to allow it to become still colder, when the whole must be turned again, the widest part being uppermost. When the metal is sufficiently chilled, with a mallet strike off the extreme cor- ners, being careful to hit away from the bulk. After this is done break the sides away, striking from the top, and, as before, away from the body of the metal, or the plate will be injured. When all the edges round the top are struck off, the thin metal covering of the mould can be removed, and the whole of the plaster will be exposed to view. This can be picked from the surface of the cast, and the latter be lifted from the floating-plate. As we have already advised, the whole of the dipping should, if possible, be performed at the same time, which will greatly facilitate matters. The stereotyper should wear a leather apron, to pro- vide against the effects of metal-splashing, and also some thick blanket-pads, that he may be able to safely handle the hot dipping-pans, floating-plates, &c. If any of the plaster adhere firmly to the metal, the whole may be at a convenient opportunity returned to the melting-pot, when the plaster will rise to the surface, and can be skimmed off with the ladle. Careful examination will soon decide if the cast is per- fect, in which case the superfluous metal can be cut away and the plate finished. 83. Finishing the Plate. — More work is required in the THE PLASTER PROCESS. 81 finishing of the plaster-plate than in the papier-inache process, which is, of course, another additional item of ex- pense. In consequence of greater and unequal contraction of the metal on the face, as well as on the back of the cast, before finishing in the ordinary way, the plate must be "flattened." First, trim the superfluous metal from the sides, &c, and then run the small straightedge over the face, when the indentations may easily be seen. Mark these places with a pair of callipers on the back, and with a planer or burnish- ing hammer knock up to the required height. A piece of thick brown paper or thin flannel must, however, be placed between the beating surface and the face of the plate, or the latter may get injured. 84. Planing the Back. — The back of the plate will be found to be somewhat rugged, and probably extremely uneven. It is therefore necessary before planing to turn the plate to a uniform thickness, in a lathe made specially for the purpose. This consists of a large thick disc, work- ing on a short shaft. Four adjustable toothed chucks or "dogs" lie upon the surface, and can be moved to any position towards the centre of the disc by the turning of a screw-head in the flange of the wheel. In front, and parallel with the disc, is a slide, upon which a carriage pro- vided with adjustable knives is fastened. After the plate is fixed to the large disc or wheel by the chucks, the machine is set in motion, and, as the plate revolves, the carriage and knives move slowly along toward the centre of the disc. By this means a regulated thickness of metal is taken off, in circular strips. A piece of thin brown paper should be placed between the faces of the disc and the plate to prevent any injury to the latter by rubbing when it is being secured. When fixing, it is necessary to place the plate as near the centre of the wheel as possible, and to tap or press it closely to the surface, or it may be springy when screwed up, which will cause the metal to be taken off in an uneven thickness. On the other hand, the chucks must not be screwed up too tightly, or the same defect will occur, and the plate be insecure. Just sufficient force should be exerted in securing the plate to prevent the possi- G 82 THE PRACTICE OF STEREOTYPING. bility of it being thrown off when being turned. The lathe may be worked either by steam-power or treadle. After the foregoing, the plate should be planed, bevelled, &c, in the same manner as in the case of the papier-??idche process. Should the plate unfortunately prove to be defective, there is no alternative but to remould and proceed as before. Here, again, the process compares very unfavourably with the papier mdche, as in the case of the latter it would be only necessary to take another cast from the uninjured matrix, whereas the plaster-cast has been destroyed in the removal of the plate. It will therefore be seen how necessary it is to use every precaution throughout each operation; as, firstly, bad plaster will render the mould defective, as also will the im- perfect application of oil on the face of the type ; again, in lifting the cast from the page an injury may be done to some portion of the matrix ; and sometimes it will split in the baking from some apparently unaccountable cause. It is not advisable to use this process for engravings, as the latter mishap frequently occurs. We would in all cases advise that where possible, when cuts are present, the whole page should be electrotyped, as it will really be found cheaper, besides proving more satisfactory in the result. Wood- cuts are also liable to warp on the application of the wet plaster. 85. Moulding from Plates. — When it is necessary to cast from a stereotype-plate, clean the surface of the old plate well with lye, that every particle of dirt that may have accumulated in the storage may be removed. After it has been thoroughly dried, the face must be oiled, as in the case of type, and laid upon the table for moulding. As the moulding-frame lies flush to the imposing-surface the use of the tin side-pieces is unnecessary. The mould is taken in the manner previously described, but instead of the plaster being lifted from the page, this must be reversed. When sufficiently dry, turn the mould on its back, and with a knife or chisel gently raise the plate from its bed of plaster, and allow the mould to remain until in a fit condi- tion to trim. Then treat in the manner already prescribed. THE PLASTER PROCESS. 83 The contraction in plates taken by the plaster process is much greater than by the papier mache. This is owing to the shrinkage of the mould in the baking, and in the dipping-pan. In the paper process, the baking is performed while the mould is on the type ; but the plaster is put into the oven by itself, and the evaporation of the moisture causes the contraction. It may be safely stated that a page of crown quarto will shrink about a nonpareil in length, and a thick-lead in width. Fig. 40. — The Bonnet. — See p. 33. 8 4 THE PRACTICE OF STEREOTYPING. RECENT MODIFICATIONS OF THE STEREOTYPE PROCESS. CHAPTER XII. Adjustable Blocks and Plates — Stereotyping direct upon Wood — The Celluloid Process. REFERENCE has been made in the historical portion of this work to the system of supplying newspapers with stereo casts, with the view of rendering unnecessary the re-composition of articles of news and other literary matter. The great saving that may be effected by adopting this plan has also been pointed out. The chief drawback — although it is not in itself of very- great importance — to this system, is the cost of carriage of the columns between the place of their production and the locality in which they are intended to be used. If the weight could be reduced by lessening the quantity of metal used, this end would of course be at once accomplished. Inventors recognised the fact that as it was only the surface that was actually printed from, the less metal used for mounting, the greater the economy that would be effected ; in other words, the mounts might remain at home station- ary ; that is, at the place where the printing was to be done, and the surface, with as little backing as was necessary to give it the required strength, alone need be sent from the foundry and returned thither after use, to be again cast into another column plate. Messrs. Cass ell, Fetter, 6° Galpirfs Plate and Block. — The method of using this recently-patented invention is as follows : — The newspaper is supplied with the maximum number of column-blocks likely to be required, and upon application to the firm named, thin column-plates contain- ing general news, original articles, &c. .are sent. The invention consists of a thin plate with an undercut projection and a bed or block of metal on which the plate is placed and firmly fixed by means of the column-rule. RECENT MODIFICATIONS. 85 The blocks are cast in columns and afterwards cut up in pieces, of lengths varying from | inch to 18 inches, for the convenience of making up columns to any required length. The plates are made to fit the blocks, and when locked up in chase with column-rules they become immovable, and thus present a solid block of metal. The movement of the plate downwards when locked up, is prevented by the flange, while movement in the opposite direction is prevented by the head-rule of the flange. The following drawings will clearly illustrate the nature and practical utility of the invention : — Fig. 41. — A, News Plate supplied to Newspapers. Fig. 42. — B, Block on which the Plate is fixed, and Fig. 43. — A B, Plate and Block together in position ready for Printing. The blocks remain with the newspaper proprietor, and the thin plates only are forwarded for daily or weekly use. 86 THE PRACTICE OF STEREOTYPING. The plate and block together are of course type high, and the block being of metal ensures an evenness of impression not always obtainable from stereo mounted on soft wood. Another plan is as follows : — On either side of the block is a raised piece of metal or shoulder, about \ inch wide, bevelled inwards. The plate itself is cast with a flange, which is also bevelled, and which allows of its fitting into the sides of the bed. The surface of the plate is a trifle wider than the groove, and this overlapping piece rests on the top of the strips of metal on the bed. The plate can then be inserted in the groove at the bottom of the column, and pushed into position. If more convenient, the bed may be made in two pieces, so that it may be slightly divided, the plate pushed under the bevel on one side, and the whole secured by locking up. An improve- ment, we would suggest, would be that the side-pieces on the bed should be made of brass, which would prevent it being worn away by constant use, as might be the case if type-metal were employed. We can best illustrate the above contrivance by the fol- lowing diagram : — ^ : 3 Fig. 44. — The Plate. A. The Surface. B. The Flanges. The following method is equally simple : — To the plate is cast a thin piece of metal at right angles with the sur- face, and this is dropped between the two pieces into which the block is divided, and thus fastened by the locking-up, as the following will show : — Fig. 45. — The Dotted Lines represent the Plate. A very large trade is done by Messrs. Griffin, of Binning- RECENT MODIFICATIONS. S7 liam (see p. 23), in completely mounted blocks, the latter being of wood, with the plate cast upon it. The wood is grooved inwards on either side, and placed in the casting- box, when the metal is poured and run into the spaces. Thus, when the plate is cast, and planed at the sides, it is ready for printing. Plates are supplied that are cast to the ordinary thick- ness, and nailed upon lengths of wood ; but the above plan is much preferable, from the fact that all of these columns are exactly type-high, and require little or no underlaying on the printing-machine, a great saving of time in making ready being effected by their use. Messrs. Byles 6° Sons' Improvements. — By this method the mould, instead of being dried upon the form from which it is taken, is lifted off in a moist state, placed in a special frame, and subjected to the necessary amount of heat. The inventors of this process claim for it several advan- tages, the most important of which is, perhaps, the preven- tion of injury to the type. There is no doubt that type suffers considerably from being repeatedly subjected, under pressure, to great heat, the bottom becoming rounded. A saving is also effected in the original cost of the plant, no drying process or surface being required. It is stated further, that fuel is saved ; but this can only be the case when the drying surface is heated independently, as in the majority of instances it is made hollow, and forms a portion of the flue through which the heat, smoke, &c, passes from the metal pot. On the other hand, a new item of cost arises in the purchase of the drying frame. A saving of time is, however, undoubtedly effected by the adoption of this process, as the mould can be properly baked in from three to four minutes, whereas, even in news- paper foundries, nearly double this time is usually occupied in this operation. As the form is not heated, the type is ready for distribution immediately the mould is lifted, which is certainly an additional advantage. This method has now been in operation at the office of the Bradford Observer for some time, and has proved so generally successful as to warrant Messrs. Byles in protect- ing it by a patent. Permission for its use must therefore be obtained from the proprietors of that journal. 88 THE PRACTICE OF STEREOTYPING. M. Jannin! s Celluloid Process. — Celluloid, a composition of American invention, and which is now largely used for such purposes as the making of knife-handles and similar articles, has been adopted by an ingenious Frenchman, M. Jannin, as a substitute for metal in the casting of plates. The composition itself is made by mixing, in suitable proportions, yellow oxide of lead (the quality known as massicot being the best) with glycerine. The material can be made of any consistency, the addition of glycerine im- parting softness. While the plates produced by this method possess all the sharpness of electro or stereotype, they are sufficiently tough to answer every purpose, and, in fact, are not so liable to become battered. The invention of M. Jannin really consists in a novel application of existing processes, for there is nothing new in the composition itself, or in the mode of casting the plates. The preparation for the matrix is made by mixing together yellow oxide of lead (quality massicot) and glyce- rine. This may be done by hand, but it has been found preferable to employ a small grinding-mill for the purpose. The composition should be of the same consistency as putty. Upon a thin iron plate, spread this mixture to the thickness of f of an inch, and slightly greater in surface than the form to be moulded. Press a piece of blotting- paper over the whole to absorb the superfluous glycerine. After planing the form, lift the plate of composition and place it, face downwards, on the type. It must now be subjected to a gentle pressure in a stamping-press, and a slight heat applied to the iron plate. After three or four minutes the composition will have completely set and hardened, when it may easily be lifted from the form. The matrix thus prepared is now ready to take casts from. A hot press is required, so constructed as to allow both steam or cold water being admitted into the head. Place the matrix upon the table of the press, and lay a piece of celluloid of the same size upon the top. The head of the press having been heated by the admission of steam, is screwed down on to the celluloid, which is thus softened. By the application of great pressure this material is forced into the minutest crevice of tne matrix. When it is decided that such is the case, the steam is allowed to RECENT MODIFICATIONS. 8 9 escape and cold water admitted into the press, which speedily cools, and consequently hardens the celluloid. The cast may now be easily removed from the matrix and trimmed, when it is immediately ready for use. The inventor claims the following advantages for this process : — Elasticity, tack, and softness, yet unyielding to a fair impression. The plates may be speedily cleaned, and are suitable for printing in any coloured ink, rendering brass or steel-facing unnecessary. Being elastic, the plate may be easily bent or curved ; and in case of fracture, the sub- stance may be easily united by its own solvent. The material — both the celluloid and moulding composition — may be used an indefinite number of times, and the oxide of lead does not lose its intrinsic value by constant use ; therefore no material is wasted. The whole operation may be, with the proper appliances, performed in about ten minutes, which is less time than is required for producing a plate by the papier-mache process. BLOCKS AND CATCHES FOR MOUNTING PLATES. Blocks. — In the majority of printing-offices where stereo- typing is practised, the movable blocks or " risers " used for the mounting of plates are cast on the premises. An un- doubted saving is thus effected, for the blocks, as soon as they show signs of being battered or broken, may be con- signed to the metal-pot and speedily recast. These blocks are usually cast square, with slight indenta- tions on each side, sufficiently large to admit of the brass catch being fitted-in flush. In order that any-sized page may be mounted in this way, two sizes of blocks are adopted. Should it be impossible, however, to make up the exact surface required by a combination of blocks, clumps and leads are of course used in addition. The blocks are usually made of the following dimen- sions — 3 in. x i\ and \\ in. square. (Figs. 46 and 47.) The side-clumps for the catches ( Fig. 48) are also made in two sizes, \\ and 3 in. long, and a pica in thickness. These can be placed in any position round the page of 9! attention of all who are interested in assurance societies, and it will certainly become indispensable V, the managers and other officials of such societies." — Birjningham Daily Gazette. Third Edition, royal 8vo., cloth, price 5s.; post-free, 5s. 4d. A Manual of the Statutes of Limitation, Showing the time within which the ownership of property must be asserted and exercised or actions commenced to prevent the operation of these statutes, viz. — Barring th> remedy for obtaining or extinguishing the right to such property. By JAME' WALTER, Esq., Member of the Incorporated Law Society. Fcap. 8vo., cloth, gilt lettered, price 3s. post-free. King Alfred, and other Poems. By PERCY RUSSELL. " We not only read through the volume, but thoroughly enjoyed the reading. Mr. Russell has poeti feeling, and does not offend one's ears with false quantities." — Brief : the Week's News. Crown 8vo., cloth, price is. 6d.; post-free, is. 8d. 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" Strangely enough, when this work was planned no modern book on printing machines existed, and it was a knowledge of this fact that occasioned the expansion of the volume before us into an exhaustive description of all classes of typographic printing machines. The author is not only thoroughly practical, but possesses the valuable gift of being able to convey technical instruction in a clear manner, and so far as it is possible to teach the art of machine printing verbally, the author has certainly taught it. The text is throughout elucidated by a number of good illustrations, which are given not simply to embellish the volume, but to impart practical point to the instructions given, and we cannot conceive that any practical printer can possibly need anything more than this book in the way of the literature of his art." —Brief. " The want of such a work as this has long been felt. Everyone having to do with printing machinery, be he learner, machine-minder, manager, or employer, cannot fail to learn much that will be useful to him from a study of its pages. For this latest addition to their admirable technical series, the trade will owe a debt of gratitude to the publishers." — Paper and Printing Trades Journal. "Mr. Wilson's remarks upon machines for the printing of bookwork, jobbing, and coloured work, will be of great service both to artizans and employers." — Daily Chronicle. Crown 8vo., cloth, price 5s.; post-free, 5s. 4d. (Illustrated.) Stereotyping and Electrotyping: A Guide for the Production of Plates by the Papier Maehe and Plaster Processes. With Instructions for Depositing Copper by the Battery or by the Dynamo Machine. Also Hints on Steel and Brass Facing, &c. By FRED. J. WILSON, author of " Printing- Machines and Machine-Printing." ' ' ' Stereotyping and Electrotyping ' supplies a long-felt want in a complete and satisfactory manner, and should be in the hands of everyone engaged in these important branches of the printing business."— Paper and Printing Trades Journal. " It fills a blank which has only too long existed in our literature, and it will be most cor- dially welcomed by all printers who have attempted, or wish to attempt, to supply their own needs ir either of the departments mentioned. To all such the book before us will be a great boon, for it deal: with its subjects most exhaustively — historically, theoretically, and, above all, practically. _ Its autho; had acquired considerable experience in both branches at Messrs. Cassell's works; but he availed himsel: of the additional advantage of having his proof-sheets revised by Mr. Richardson, of Racquet Court one of the best electrotypers in the Metropolis. The volume consists of 191 pp., and is furnished w itl no fewer than eighty woodcut illustrations." — The Printers Register. "The author, in his preface, claims some indulgence, on the ground that it is the first work of it kind. His chosen subjects, he says, ' have been already referred to in already existing text-books, bu necessarily without that completeness, comprehensiveness, and perspicuity which are really essential ii a work designed to impart instruction in the modus operandi of the several processes.' He also^ state that his endeavour has been to make the volume ' thoroughly practical and useful,' sacrificing literar ornament where it might obscure the subject under treatment. The volume, we think, is a valuabl acquisition to our technical literature. Altogether there are about eighty engravings, some of ther double-page."- — Design and Work. Second Edition, crown 8vo., cloth, price 5s.; post-free, 5s. 4d. (Illustrated.) Already Translated into several Languages. The Grammar of Lithography. A Complete and Practical Guide, for the Artist and Printer, in Commercial and Artisti Lithography, Chromo-Lithography, Zincography, Engraving on Stone, Photo-Lithe graphy, and Lithographic Machine Printing, with an Appendix containing origim Recipi for preparing Chalks, Inks, Transfer Papers, &c, &c. By W. D. RICHMONE Tiie proof-sheets of this work have been revised by some of the most eminer men connected with the Art of Lithography, the result being a complete and reliable wort "All that can be imported relative to the lithographic arts by verbal instruction is here lucidl and succinctly presented." — Printers' Register. "The book is tastefully got up and excellently printed, and altogether is most creditable to tl firm which has issued it to the trade." — Press Nezus. 74, 75, Great Queen Street, London, W.C. Wyman & Sons, Printers, Publishers, &c. 7 WYMAN'3 TECHNICAL SERI.ES-"wtf«««*. Crown 8vo., cloth, price 2s. 6d. ; post-free, 2s. iod. Spelling and Punctuation. A Manual for Authors, Students, and Printers ; together with a List of Foreign Words and Phrases in common use and their Explanations. By the late HENRY BEADNELL, Printer, author of " A Guide to Typography : Literary and Practical," "A Key to One of the Main Difficulties of English Orthography," &c. Admirably adapted to Business Men, Authors, Printers, and Apprentices. " Even some of the best educated persons are occasionally at a loss as to the spelling of words some- what out of the common run, while the proper method of punctuation is understood by comparatively few persons. All such benighted mortals— and they are not confined to any one rank or class— will find the work before us a veritable treasure-house of useful information. It helps to solve all those knotty points that occasionally arise in reading and writing, and for which ordinary dictionaries are consulted in vain. . . . . The book is neatly printed, and may well be regarded as an indispensable adjunct to the ordinary dictionary." — Furniture Gazette. Crown 8vo., cloth, price 2s. ; post-free, 2s. 3d. (Illustrated.) How to Manage a Steam-Engine. A Handbook for all who use Steam-power. Illustrated with examples of different types of Engines and Boilers, with Hints on their Construction, Working, Fixing, k, Economy of Fuel, &c. By M. POWIS BALE, M.Inst.C.E., author of "Woodworking Machinery, its Progress and Construction." " Forming one of the volumes in the Technical Series of Messrs Wyman, this little work is of especial value, as its name implies, to all who have to do with the steam-engine, whether they be manufacturers, owners, or simply care-takers. ; ' — The Foreman Engineer and Draughtsman. " We can warmly recommend ' How to Manage a Steam-Engine ' to our readers." — Building World. "The book affords valuable information relative to the management of the steam-engine, and is copiously illustrated with woodcuts, which materially assist the reader in his perusal. The author explains in his preface that this is not written as a technical engineering work, but is intended for the use of steam users generally, especially for those in the colonies and other remote districts where skilled labour is not easily obtainable." — British Trade Journal. Mounted on Rollers, price is. Rules for Engine - Drivers and Boiler ATTENDANTS : Showing how to Avoid Accidents and Secure Efficiency and Economy of working. By M. POWIS BALE, M.Inst.M.E., author of "How to Manage a Steam-Engine," &c, &c. In Preparation. A Glossary of Technical Terms used in CONNECTION WITH PRINTING MACHINERY, giving upwards of 500 Defini- tions of Words and Phrases employed in the Machine-room, together with a Description of the various Mechanical Motions used in Printing Machinery and its Adjuncts. Illustrated by numerous carefully-prepared Diagrams. The first Dictionary of Technical Terms used in the Printing Machine-room which has ever been attempted. Royal 8vo. f price is. Authorship and Publication. Being a Handy Guide for Authors, in matters relating to Printing and Publishing, Advertising, &c, including the Law of Copyright. Should be in the hands of every Author, Third Edition, crown 4to., price is.; post-free, is. id. Wyman's Dictionary of Stationery and COMPENDIUM OF USEFUL INFORMATION. For the Office, Counting-house, and Library. 74, 75, Great Queen Street, London, W.C. Wyman & Sons, Printers, Publishers, &c. WY MAN'S TECHNICAL SERIES -continued. New Edition, crown 8vo., cloth, price 2.3. ; post-free, 2s. 2d. Workshop Management. A Manual for Masters and Men, being practical remarks upon the Economic Conduct of- Workshops, Trade Chanties, &c. By FREDERIC SMITH (a Workman) ^ It is a book worthy of the study of both master and man."- Buxton Advertiser •U treats in a clear, sensible way on a number of points affecting the regulations which should be .carried out m workshops and factories."— Sussex Daily N ews 0 & UL " ?X e can recommend this little work both to employers and the employed."— Labour News a i;? ere 13 not . hlu & omitted which is of service to those concerned."— Builders' Reporter ( The suggestions offered in this little work are decidedly good."— City Press ^ The book is of none the less worth because the author happens to be modest'"— Iron This little work, evidently from the pen of a practical man, contains many useful hints for the •management of a workshop ; and although the book is apparently designed more particularly for the .trade of a cabinetmaker or builder there are still many general principles which are equally applicable ito the workshops of every handicraft. — The Timber Trades Journal. New Edition, crown 8vo., cloth, price is.; post-free, is. id. (Illustrated.) English China and China Marks: Being a Guide to the Principal Marks found on English Pottery and Porcelain With Engravings of upwards of 150 Marks, j T u he illustrations, which are very numerous, include marks from the fifteenth to the present century and thus furnish a key to many of the puzzles with which collectors delight to concern themselves "— City Press. ''For dealers and persons affected with chinamania there is a useful illustrated guide to 'English •China and China Marks, the collection including marks from the fifteenth to the present centurv"— Daily C hronicle. J ' "In this guide are given the principal marks found on English pottery and porcelain. No less than twenty-five illustrations of the Derby marks are furnished. Tbe book is got up in a most tasteful ma nner, and is an important addition to our literature on pottery."— Buxton Advertiser. Crown 8vo., cloth, price 2s. ; post-free, 2s. 2d. Professional Bookkeeping. A Treatise for Non-Traders, designed to meet the special requirements of Le°"al Medical and similar Professions. By WILLIAM JOHN GORDON. " This system of accounts differs materially from the ordinary methods of mercantile book-keepimr taught in the ordinary manuals. Principles are first clearly laid down and explained, then followed by an exposition of details and numerous examples." — The Bookseller. "Mr William John Gordon's 'Professional Bookkeeping' forms a fairly good introduction to the subject. — Daily Chronicle. Medium 4to., cloth gilt, bevelled boards, price 5s., post-free. The Cabinet- Makers' Pattern Book. Second series. Being Examples of Modern Furniture of the Character mostly in demand selected from the Portfolios of the leading Wholesale Makers. To which are added Ori- ginal Designs by First-rate Artists, comprising various Designs for Hall Furniture, Library Furniture, Dining-room Furniture, Drawing-room Furniture, and Bedroom Furniture, j " This will be found an invaluable work by the Master Cabinet-Maker and Upholsterer." Second Edition, crown 8vo., cloth, price 4s. ; post-free, 4s. 4d. (With numerous illustrations.) The Practical Cabinet- Maker : Being a Collection of Working Drawings of Furniture, with Explanatory Notes. By u A WORKING MAN. 3 y ''•■ru 6 Y elcome a bi S market for this very excellent work by 'A Working Man.' "— Design and Work. 1 he book well deserves to be owned by every working cabinet-maker who may care to advance in knowledge. - The Architect. 74, 75, Great Queen Street, London, W.C. Wyman & Sons, Printers, Publishers, &c. 9 Just ready, fcap. folio, cloth gilt, price ios. 6d. The Furniture Trade Catalogue. Containing examples of Modern Furniture of the Styles mostly in demand, together with a carefully-prepared WHOLESALE TRADE PRICE-LIST AND DESCRIPTIVE INDEX OF PLATES. Above Five Hundred Illustrations. The whole of the plates in this work are kept on the Stone, and the Publishers are prepared to supply Copies of any or all of the Designs, in large or small quantities, on the most moderate terms. ESTABLISHED 1872. With Illustrations of Furniture Designs and Working Drawings. Every Saturday, price 4c!. Yearly Subscription, including postage, 20s.; Half-yearly, ios. ; payable in advance. The Furniture Gazette. AN ILLUSTRATED WEEKLY JOURNAL, TREATING OF ALL BRANCHES OF CABINET-WORK, UPHOLSTERY, AND INTERIOR DECORATION, BOTH AT HOME AND ABROAD. TWO PRIZE MEDALS. IXDISPENSA BLR TO THE NUMEROUS TRADES CONCERNED. Useful alike to the Connoisseur, the Antiquary, and the Householder. The Publishers beg to call the attention of those who are not Subscribers to the Furniture Gazette to the strong claims of this Journal on the support of all who are inte- rested in the Furniture, Upholstery, and Decoration Trades. The Furniture Gazette has completed the Fifteenth Volume of the New Series, and is the recognised organ of the important industries it represents — a fact shown not only by its continually increasing circulation, but. by the steady demand for space both in its Literary and Advertising Departments. Neither labour, care, nor expense is spared in the conduct of this Journal to secure matter of special practical value and interest to its Subscribers. Information carefully selected as to technical and artistic matters, as well as to the commercial, scientific, and mechanical branches of the numerous Trades within the province of the Furniture Gazette, may always be found in its pages. Amongst the subjects thus generally treated of and watchfully recorded in its columns, the following may be indicated : — The various Manufactures appertaining to Furni- ture, Upholstery, and Decoration, in all their numerous branches of Wood, Metal, Porce- lain, Woven Fabrics, Paper, &c, with the Materials, Tools, and Appliances peculiar to each. Working Drawings from Practical Authorities. The state of Home and Foreign Markets, with a special view to Imports and Ex- ports, and the fluctuations of Supply and Demand. Suggestions for Useful and Attractive Novelties in Materials and Manufactures. Recent Patents and Improvements. Scientific Principles, Inventions, and Discoveries affecting Manufactures, Materials, or Ma- chinery. Decorative Works in progress* or newly com- pleted, with careful and accurate Descrip- tions, illustrated, where necessary, with Wood-Engravings. Changes in Fashion, Actual and Prospective. Ecclesiastical Furniture and Decoration. Art Exhibitions, Art Schools, and Reports of Lectures on Art in connection with Furniture and Upholstery Manufactures. Current Prices, Trade Reports, Tables of Ex- ports, and minor Trade Jottings. Legal and Police Intelligence affecting the re- presented Trades. News, Notes,, and Com- ments. Useful Hints. " Short Ends Corner" for Workmen. Practical Papers by Practical Workmen, &c. Correspondence. Answers to Correspondents, &c. A Correspondent in every targe Manufacturing Town. 74, 75, Great Queen Street, London, W.C. io Wyman & Sons, Printers, Publishers, &c. SIXTH YEAR OF PUBLICATION. Crown 4to., stiff boards, price 2s. 6d.; post-free, 3s. The Furniture Gazette Diary and Desk- BOOK FOR 1882. A Complete and useful Office Diary and Desk-book for 1882, interleaved with blotting- paper, adapted to the requirements of the Cabinet, Upholstery, and Decorative Trades throughout the Country. The Diary contains, in addition to the usual Business infor- mation, a carefully-compiled and authentic Directory (so far as vouchers have been obtained) of the numerous Trades allied to Furnishing. This Diary, which has been found to be a desideratum, commands a large and influential Circulation, and is a daily Work of Reference for the Furnishing Trade. "This is a well got-up work. Plenty of space and good paper are given in the diary, the almanack and tabular matter are carefully compiled, and a useful classified list of the furniture, upholstery, and allied trades is given." — Building- News. "Ought to be on the desk of everyone engaged in any department of the furniture trade. Besides an excellent diary, with the ordinary general information of such publications, we have a good bibliography of furniture and decoration, and a pretty full and classified list of the furniture, upholstery, and allied trades." — Iron. " Will be found of service to all engaged in the trade to which it specially refers." — Lloyd's Weekly London Newspaper. " It contains a mass of useful matter of the nature likely to be required by the members of the furniture and allied trades. The diary, which is capitally arranged with regard to probable commercial require- ments, is interleaved with blotting-paper." — European Mail. "This is a well got-up diary, which, besides the usual leaves for writing purposes, contains a large quantity of useful information on matters of special interest to the trades for whose use it is issued." — English Mechanic. "The informational part of the work is so concise, liberal of facts, well-arranged, and useful; and the blank, blue blotting-paper interleaved portion, devoted to scribbling, presents so commendable a surface for the pen, that we wish the Diary ' many happy returns,' year by year."— Eigaro. "This is a new and useful addition to the stock of publications of its sort. The special information given by it is indicated by its title." — Weekly Dispatch. "This is a tastefully got-up business diary, interleaved with blotting-paper." — Draper. " It is very tastefully got up, and should find favour with the extensive trades for which it is intended." — Timber Trades' Journal. "We have no hesitation in saying that it is a very useful work.'' — Builders Weekly Reporter. " It is well got up, is interleaved with blotting-paper, and contains a great deal of useful information." — Warehousemen and Drapers Trade Journal. Published on the 1st and 15th of each month. The Volunteer Service Review. Price 2d. ; Post free, 2^d. A Paper devoted to the interests of every branch of the Volunteer Service, including Gunnery, -Rifle Practice, and Military Engineering. TWELFTH YEAR OF PUBLICATION. Every Wednesday, price 6d. ; Annual Subscription, ^1. is., with Monthly Marine Supplement, £1. 5s. The Review. A First-class Paper on all matters connected with Fire, Life, and Marine Insurance. Folio, cloth gilt, price 5s. Published Yearly. The Review Almanack for 1882. Containing a Calendar of the Principal Events for Ensuing Year, and various other memoranda relating to Fire and Life Insurance. 74, 75, Great Queen Street, London, W.C. Wyman & Sons, Printers, Publishers, &c. n Published on the 15th of each Month. Price 6d. Annual Subscription (payable in advance), 7s. 6d. post-free. The Printing Times and Lithographer: A Technical and Fine-Art Journal, devoted to Typography, Lithography, and the Repro- ductive Arts. The Printing Times and Lithographer is a medium of communication between all who are associated with the Art of Printing in its manifold forms. Having no separate interests to serve, it is not the organ of any one class or trade, but deals with every topic impartially and fearlessly. It has gained a high reputation for the great value and inte- rest of its contents. Writers of experience and special knowledge are its contributors ; while gentlemen well known in the Scientific and Art World co-operate with the con- ductors to render the Journal a complete and authoritative exponent of the current pro- gress of the Graphic Arts. All new Works of interest to the Printing Profession receive an early and impartial criticism. Especial attention continues to be paid to the new modes of Automatic Engraving which are constantly being introduced in Great Britain and Abroad ; and illustrations of their capabilities, with details of their practical working, are given. Amongst the many subjects treated of are the Press, as it is affected by the restrictions placed upon it from time to time by Government Departments, &c. ; the Law of Copy- right as it affects Newspaper Proprietors, Authors, Publishers, Type-Founders, &c. ; the advances made in the Art of Printing ; the production of New Publications ; an account of all New Inventions ; a chronicle of Passing Events ; the management and progress of the various Trade Charities ; the operations of Workmen's Unions and Combinations among Manufacturers, &c. Its pages are open to the free discussion of all questions upon which its readers may desire to interchange opinions by way of Correspondence. The Printing Ti?nes and Lithographer derives its information from, and circulates in, all parts of the World ; and no pains are spared to ensure the accuracy of its intelligence, and to render it in every respect worthy the support of Lithographers, Letterpress Printers, Artists, Antiquaries, and Literary Men generally. Being a thoroughly-established Journal — one which is both carefully read and pre* served — and possessing a large and increasing circulation at Home and Abroad, the Printing Ti?7ies and Lithographer presents an exceptionally good medium for the publi- cation of the Announcements and Advertisements of Type-Founders, Printers' Engineers, Inventors, Manufacturers, and of all who are associated with the Art of Printing in its various branches. FOURTH YEAR OF PUBLICATION. Crown 4to., price 2s. 6d., stiff boards ; post-free, 3s. The Printing Trades' Diary and Desk- BOOK FOR 1882. The Printing Trades' Diary and Desk-book is compiled each year with a view to meeting the everyday requirements of Principals, Overseers, and Managers, connected with the Letterpress Printing, Lithographic, Stationery, Bookbinding, and Auxiliary Trades. In addition to the usual General, Commercial, and Legal Information, it will contain : — A Diary, three days on a page, interleaved with Blotting-Paper ; the London Compositors' Scales of Prices for News and Bookwork, Revised and Annotated ; Abstracts of the Scottish and Provincial Scales of Prices ; an Epitome of the Law of Libel and Copyright, as affecting Printers and Newspaper Proprietors ; Tables for the Printer's Warehouse, | relating to the Sizes and Giving- out of Paper, Cardboard, &c. ; Tables for the Store- room, the Economy of Types, Materials, &c. ; Various Useful Forms, Recipes, Memo- randa, &c, &c. Merely elementary information is avoided, as the aim of the compilers is to present, in a convenient and accessible form, only useful matter, which, in the course of his ordinary occupation, the master tradesman may at any time require. All the Reference Tables have been carefully compiled, and the Recipes actually tested. " There is nothing in the business like it." — Paper and Printing Trades Journal. " It contains a large mass of information of interest to all branches of the trade." — City Press. "We have no doubt the publishers will reap the reward of their enterprise in catering for the wants of printers in a large sale of the Diary wherever its merits are known." — Scottish TyfiograpJiical Circular. " It has now become an assured success." — Paper and Print, 74, 75, Great Queen Street, London, W.C. i2 Wyman & Sons, Printers, Publishers, &c. FIFTEENTH YEAR OF PUBLICATION. PRICE 6d. ; POST-FREE, 7 D. PUBLISHED IN OCTOBER OF EACH YEAR, In an Illuminated Wrapper, beautifully printed in Old-Style Type, on Toned Paper, Everybody's Year-book for 1882. A Useful and Popular Annual, containing Something for Everybody all the Year Round. The Cheapest and Best Gift-book of the Day. COZEiTTZEZLsTTS : Fixed and Movable Festivals ; Holidays at the Public Offices ; Date of Creation of some Festivals ; Jewish Calendar ; Mahometan Calendar ; Law Sittings ; Law Terms ; University Terms ; Eclipses ; Transfer and Dividend Days ; An Almanack and Calendar of the Events of the Year ; Story of the Months ; Age of the Moon ; Rising and Setting of the Sun ; Time of High Water at London Bridge ; Phases of the Moon ; Things to be Borne in Mind ; Astronomical Notes of the Month ; Table of High Water at nearly 200 of the Principal Ports ; A Perpetual Almanack for finding the Day of the Month ; Table for Calculating Interest ; Family Ready-Reckoner ; Interest Table ; Tables of the Sovereigns of England and Scotland ; The Royal Family ; Sovereigns of Europe ; The National Debt ; Archbishops and Bishops of the Established Church ; Supreme Court of Judicature ; Her Majesty's Ministers and Chief Officers of State ; Her Majesty's House- hold ; The Peerage ; The House of Commons ; H.R.H. The Prince of Wales's Household ; Her Majesty's Privy Council ; Lords-Lieutenant of Counties ; Officers of Parliament ; British and Foreign Ambassadors ; Consulate Offices in London ; Metropolitan County-Courts ; Assessed Taxes ; Stamp Duties ; Corporation of the City of London ; School-Board for London ; Metropolitan Board of Works ; Bank of England ; London Banks ; Cab Regulations ; Postal Information ; English Weights and Measures ; How to make your Will ; Distribution of Intestate Estates ; Languages and Alphabets ; Prevailing Winds ; Money and Coinage ; Foreign Moneys and their English Equiva- lents ; French Weights and Measures ; The Sportsman's Calendar ; Multum-in-Parvo Guide to the Principal Places of Amusement and Chief Points of Interest in London and its Suburbs ; Popula- tion of the World ; Sundials ; List of Seaside Resorts ; The Bail-Room Guide ; and a large amount of Information Useful to Everybody AH the Year Round. " Most people will invest sixpence in 'Everybody's Year-Book' when they see it, for it is full of in- formation, admirably printed, and just the book to have by you." — Whitehall Review. " A practical work of general interest." — Daily Chronicle. "Contains a vast amount of interesting matter."— Weekly Times. " It should be in every household." — Brighton Exa7niner. " Contains a large amount of matter of a varied and interesting character." — Edinburgh C our ant. " Affords a very large amount of 1 information for everybody.'" — Reynolds s Newspaper. " The book should be in the hands of every one." — The Walsall Free Press. " Is replete with information on a great variety of subjects." — Wat erford Daily Mail. " It includes a large amount of miscellaneous information, in addition to the customary andnecessary almanack matter, and will be found handy for reference on a great variety of subjects. A copious index makes reference easy." — Halifax Courier. "Is a useful and popular annual, with much curious and miscellaneous information."— Sunday Times] " Its contents are more useful, more closely packed, and better arranged than ever. The amount anc'J • variety of information embodied in the pages of the annual are well fitted to maintain and extend its popularity." — Edinburgh Daity Review. "A very useful little publication, and contains much interesting and valuable information." — Pictorial World. J ''Full of valuable information and statistics on all kinds of subjects. Equally useful in the study, the office, and the boudoir." — Sunday Times. " It is the cheapest sixpennyworth that we have met with of its class."— The Dewsbury Chronicle. " The section devoted to seaside resorts is remarkably good, and will be found of xeal use when the holiday season comes round again." — Brief. # # I " There is to be found in it a mass of information, so that what is said on the title-page is literally true — there is 'something for everybody all the year round.'" — Broad Arrow. *** Owing to the constant demand for complete sets, the Publishers will be happy to exchange the current issue of Everybody's Year-book for copies of Everybody s Year-book for 1874. 74, 75, Great Queen Street, London, E.C. GETTY CENTER LIBRARY 3 3125 00798 6983