"the paper, cloath, silk, or cotton intended to be printed or stained "may be laid on the arabesque prints or moulds and impressed "thereon, or rubbed with a pad or such like thing made of cloath "list, by either of which methods compleat and perfect impressions "of such enlarged prints or moulds may be obtained."

[Printed, Sd. No Drawing. Petty Bag.]

A.D. 1784, April 28.-No 1431 (four).

FOULIS, ANDREW, and TILLOCH, ALEXANDER.-" A method " of making plates for the purpose of printing by or with plates, "instead of the moveable types commonly used, (a) and for vend

(a) Numerous attempts have been made to obtain solid printing surfaces by transfer from similar surfaces composed of movable types. The history of Stereotype printing (as such solid surface is termed), although involved in some degree of uncertainty from the secrecy observed at first by those who practised it, may be said to have originated with Vander Mey of Leyden, who, about the end of the 16th century, in conjunction with Müller, also of Leyden, prepared plates of a quarto and folio Bible, and several other works, by soldering the bottoms of common types together with melted lead and solder to the thickness of about three quires of writing paper. The costliness of the invention in this form was a bar to its adoption, and after the death of Vander Mey it was abandoned.

In 1725, Ged, a goldsmith of Edinburgh, arrived at the knowledge of the art by a series of difficult experiments. (Encyc. Lond., "Printing.") His invention was simply this; from any types of Greek, Roman, or other characters he formed a plate for every page or sheet of a book, from which he printed, instead of using a type for every letter, as is practised in the common way. In 1730, Ged and his associates in the enterprise obtained a privilege from the University of Cambridge, for printing Bibles and Common Prayer Books, according to their stereotype method. They sunk a large sum of money in the undertaking, but had finished only two Prayer Books when they were obliged to relinquish it. It appears that one of the partners was averse to the plan, and engaged such people for the work as he thought most likely to spoil it, for the compositors, when they corrected one fault, designedly made six more; and the pressmen aiding the combination of the compositors purposely battered the letters in the absence of their employers." (Encyc. Met., vol. xxiii., Art. Printing.) Ged died in poverty, after having refused very advantageous proposals for establishing his new art in Holland. (Encyc. Lond., "Printing.") His son James Ged published "Proposals for reviving stereotype printing May 1751, and Biographical Memoirs of Wm. Ged, Lond. 1781. About the same time Valleyre, a French printer, cast metal plates for printing calendars, a specimen of which may be seen in Camus' Histoire et Procédés de Polytypage et de Stereotypie.

in

In 1740, Funkter, of Erfurt, published in German a short and useful Introduction to the Cutting of Plates (or blocks) of wood and steel for the making of letters, ornaments, and other figures; to the art of baking plaster, of preparing sand moulds, for casting letters, vignettes, tail pieces, medals, and of forming matrices for them, &c. Octavo. Camus has an account of the processes employed.

About 1775 an attempt was made at Philadelphia, by Benjamin Mecom, nephew of Benjamin Franklin. He cast plates for several pages of the New Testament, and made considerable progress towards the completion of them, but never accomplished it. Dr. Franklin himself adopted a plan of writing the subject on paper with a glutinous ink, sprinkling it with emery powder or iron filings, and passing it through a rolling press between a hard and soft metal plate, the latter of which was left with an intaglio impression, and worked as a copperplate. The effect was rough and unsightly. M. Rochon next etched the subject direct upon a steel plate, took an impression on paper, and from this obtained,

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ing and disposing of the said printing plates, and the books or "other publications therewith printed, whereby a much greater

by "set off," direct impressions on paper. This mode is said to have been used for several works privately circulated. M. Rochon then adopted the mode of mechanically stamping punches into soft metal, which were either used as printing surfaces or as the matrixes for casting them. His inventions do not, however, appear to have come into general use.

In 1780, Carez, a practical printer at Paris, started a new method, which consisted in composing the page of type in the ordinary manner, attaching it face downwards to a heavy block of wood, which was brought down with a smart blow upon fused type metal on the point of congealing. The sharp mould thus produced was then made to take the place of the composed page, and being similarly brought down upon type metal in a similar state, produced a stereotype facsimile of the composed page. Hoffman, a German, who adopted Carez's plan, substituted for the metal matrix obtained by the first stage in the above process, a thin layer of prepared clay, on which the subject had been impressed by a series of punches. (See post, No. 4249; A.D. 1818.)

In 1783, Hoffman, of Alsace, endeavoured to extend the discoveries which had been made in stereotyping. He formed two sorts of types, one for detached letters and the other for the termination of words most frequently occurring in the French language, such as ais, étre, eurs, ment. He termed his art of casting types polytypie, and that of uniting several characters into one type logotypie. He printed several sheets of a Journal Polytype on solid plates. In 1787 he was deprived of his printing office by a judicial decree, and in 1792 addressed a memorial to the Minister of the Interior, to enable him to open a new channel of industry. (Encyc. Met. Lexicog., "Printing.")

Some numbers of the Journal Polytype having fallen into the hands of Carez, a printer at Toul, the latter, in 1785, made his first attempts upon works which he called homotyped (to denote the union of many types in one). He printed several works, among them an edition of the Vulgate, which is said to be very neatly executed. (Encyc. Met., Art. "Printing.") Hoffman was followed in his processes of polytyping and logotyping by M. Gengembre, who made his first attempts in 1789, but relinquished them in 1794, in which year he embarked for

America.

In 1791, M. Gegembre printed the 50 sous notes of the Caisse Patriotique upon the following plan:-He caused the whole print of the notes to be engraved in relief upon a plate of steel, the letters and ornaments being run together in a manner impracticable with separate punches, and this engraving he pressed into plates of alloyed copper, from which any number of stereotype plates were taken by Carez's method."

It is stated that in printing the first assignats of the Revolutionary Government, no less than 300 so-called facsimile engravings had to be prepared. The result was an utter want of confidence in the Government paper. To remedy this, the Committee of the Assignats caused many experiments to be instituted for the production of plates which should be not only imitative and similar, but pro re identical. The plan adopted was that of engraving a

from which copper punches in relief (called "mother punches Plate in intaglio,

") were obtained. From these "daughters" were struck, which, when perfect, were facsimiles of the original engraving, and were worked by the roller press in the manner of copper-plates. Numbers of them were, however, defective, as in many cases the air compressed in the mould of a single letter would effectually prevent the fused metal sinking to the full depth, and thus there would be no letter at all upon the plate. Upon the suppression of assignats the establishment was broken up.

The most successful of the French stereotypers were Messrs. Didot the elder, Firmin Didot, and L. H. Heran, who in 1797 obtained patents for their respective inventions. Their first productions were logarithmic tables and the classics.

In 1798, Didot issued an edition of Virgil printed from a plate cast in a matrix made by slow and forcible pressure of types of hard metal placed within a steel box against a metal plate.

Héran, Didot's partner, hit upon the formation of a set of types, on which the letter was in intaglio and direct. The spaces, quadrats, leads, &c. were of the exact height of the type. The whole, when composed, presented the appear

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."

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The invention is declared to be "performed by making a plate " or plates for their page or pages of any book or other publication, "and in printing off such book or other publication at the press. "The plates of the pages to be arranged in their proper order, and "the number of copies wanted thrown off, instead of throwing the "impressions wanted from moveable types locked together in the "common method; and such plates are made either by forming "moulds or matrices for the page or pages of the books or other "publications to be printed by or with plates, and filling such "moulds or matrices with metal or with clay, or with a mixture of "clay and earth, or by stamping or striking with these moulds or "matrices the metal clay, earth, or mixture of clay and earth." [Printed, 3d. No Drawing. Petty Bag.]

ance of a plate of copper into which the subject (direct) had been punched. This, after the necessary corrections had been made, was used as a matrix, and any number of printing surfaces obtained by pressing fused metal upon it. "Works executed from such plates are of remarkable neatness, and the process may be pronounced of very great utility, although as far as known it has never been introduced into England." (Encyc. Brit., Art. "Printing.") For a short time they worked in partnership, but for many years they have stereotyped numerous works on their own account.

In 1798, some experiments in stereotyping were made at Vienna by Falka, a Hungarian, but being refused a patent for his invention, he retired to Buda, where he established himself in the printing-office belonging to the University. Towards the end of the last century, Professor Wilson, of Glasgow, being engaged in a series of experiments for making etchings upon glass with fluoric acid for the purposes of art, thought it possible to make polytypes of glass from engraved copper-plates. In this he in some degree succeeded, having executed several polytypes in intaglio from moulds in copper-plates, and in relief from woodeuts; but it cannot be said to have been practically successful, the lines not having any degree of sharpness in either case, while the brittleness of the material would be a decided objection. (Encyc. Brit., “Printing.")

Fifty years after the discovery of Ged, Tilloch made a similar discovery without having any knowledge of Ged's invention. (Encyc. Lond., "Printing,") and with the assistance of Foulis, printer to the University of Glasgow, after great labour and many experiments, overcame every difficulty, and produced plates, the impressions from which could not be distinguished from those taken from the types from which they were cast. A Patent was also taken out for Scotland, but they proved unsuccessful, and after several small volumes had been stereotyped, the invention was abandoned, and Mr. Tilloch removed to London.

Some years afterwards, says Hansard (Typog. 638), "after many expensive and tedious experiments, Lord Stanhope, aided by Mr. Walker, an ingenious mechanist, succeeded in this important invention to the full extent of his highest expectations." In these experiments Lord Stanhope was assisted by Mr. Wilson, a London printer, besides receiving instructions from Mr. Tilloch, and having the benefit of Mr. Foulis' personal attendance. (Encyc. Met. Lex., "Printing.") The introduction of the joint letters in, an, re, se, to, of, on, attributed in No.6800, A.D. 1835, to Lord Stanhope, date probably from the period of these experiments. In 1804, with the approbation of his lordship, the invention was offered by Mr. Wilson to the University of Cambridge, but some differences having arisen between the contracting parties, the matter fell to the ground, Mr. Wilson publishing his case entitled, "Arbitration between the University of Cambridge and Andrew Wilson," in a stereotyped pamphlet.

A.D. 1784, May 19.-No 1435 (four).

ARNOLD, SAMUEL.-" Printing vocal and instrumental musick "of all kinds with types in a neater and more expeditious manner "than hath hitherto been used."

The invention is "described as follows:-An entire new speci"men of notes, together with all the characters, &c. used in "musick, cast on purpose in types. Heretofore all the notes "have been cast in separate pieces. Many in my new invention "are cast together, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 in one piece. The breaks in "the lines are rendered less frequent, sometimes having but one "in a whole bar, and sometimes having no break for a whole line "together. The musick is printed sometimes at once and some"times at twice, according to the nature of the composition of the "musick. The lines are sometimes cast with the notes and "sometimes without the notes; this also depends on the nature "of the composition of the musick."

[Printed, 3d. No Drawings. Rolls Chapel Reports, 6th Report. Rolls Chapel.]

A.D. 1786, March 18.-N° 1540 (one). BUNNETT, JACOB.-" A machine for printing of paper hangings, "callicos, cottons, and linens in general, whereby any number of "colours may be printed thereon at one and the same time, and "whereby ten times as many pieces may be printed in as short a

space of time as one piece is now printed by the common method." Three horizontal and parallel "printing cylinders" have each a waterproof colouring roller above them. On the top of each colouring roller is a canvas or wire-bottomed trough. The pressing cylinders are below the printing cylinders and are thrown in and out of gear by the action of wedges on their axles. The material passes before being printed over six rollers "to give it friction and to prevent its wrinkling."

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2. A similar machine with intermediate colouring rollers, the whole motion being rendered uniform by toothed gearing.

3. A trough roller colours the paper as it passes between it and a pressing cylinder above it. The colour is smoothed by passing between another cylinder and a brush.

[Printed 9d. Drawings, by the foot notes to which the invention is entirely described. Rolls Chapel Reports, 6th Report, p. 174. Rolls Chapel.]

A.D. 1786, December 9.-N° 1575 (one).

HENRY, SOLOMON." New invented instrument to stamp or “mark with, which may be composed of various colours so as not

to be counterfeited or forged, for the better securing the property "of His Majesty's subjects from imposition."

The face of the stamps is made in parts, each containing a part of the design, and different "water colour stains, varnish, or oil "colour or any other colouring " being laid on each, and the parts united, an impression is produced of the design in any number of colours. Various modes of dividing the design and uniting the parts for the impression are shown, e. g., plugs fitting into perforations in the face, irregular pieces confined by a collar, concentric cylinders held together by a pin. "An instrument with pins or "points which may be made of any shape, for the purpose of piercing through the back side of the impression to prevent the "same from being erased or counterfeited; the piercing must be "made before the impression, that the roughness which the piercing "occasions may be flattened and smoothed by the damp; whereas, "should a counterfeit thereof be attempted, the colour would run through the holes if put on after the holes are made, and if the "piercing is made after the impression, the same will spoil the device

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or design and cause a roughness thereon easily to be discovered." The stamps may be of metal, "wood, ivory, horn, bone, stone, "porcelain, wax, clay, leather, papa mache, or any composition or "substance sufficiently hard, and the design or device thereon may “be engraved, cut, pierced, cast, carved, struck, stamped, or etched. ".. And in order to cause the stamp to make the impression, device, or design, the same may be pressed, rolled, ham"mered, or formed by hand or anything sufficiently weighty or strong to impress it on the thing intended to be stampt, and "which impression may be made on paper, parchment, leather, Isilks, stuffs, or any other commodity capable of taking up the same."

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[Printed, 9d. Drawings. Petty Bag.]

A.D. 1790, April 29.-No 1748 (one).

NICHOLSON, WILLIAM. (a)—“ A machine or instrument on a new construction for the purpose of printing on paper, linen, cotton, "woollen, and other articles in a more neat, cheap, and accurate "manner than is effected by the machines now in use."

Types for use by this invention are cast in the usual manner, excepting that “instead of leaving a space in the mould for the

(a) Ante, p. 23.

P.

G