144 THE NATIONAL SCIENTIFIC INSTITUTIONS AT BERLIN. 



lu 1852, the establishment commenced operations with a personnel 

 consisting of four officials, two messengers, and fifteen laborers. At 

 present nine hundred persons are employed. 



On August 1, 1852, the manufacture of postage stamps, stamped en- 

 velopes, newspaper wrappers, which until then had been made by \m- 

 vate contract, was given to the bureau together with all the necessary 

 machines and implements for the manufacture of the same, which had 

 been the property of the PostOfifice Department. 



At the close of the year 18G0, when the Royal Lithographing Institute 

 became combined with the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, it was 

 found necessary to employ copper engraving with photographic and gal- 

 vanoplastic processes in engraving of charts instead of lithography, 

 and this change again was productive of an enlargement of the oflBce 

 together with a corresponding increase in machinery. 



A great source of revenue and profit was offered in the enormous sup- 

 ply of postage stamps and cards required by the totally unexpected de- 

 velopment of the postal service. This kind of work had formerly been 

 performed by the printing office of Decker, which by decree of May 23, 

 1877, had been purchased by the German Government for the sum of 

 6,780,000 mark ($1,695,000) and had been placed under the jurisdiction 

 of the Postmaster-General. 



By law of May 15, 1879, the Prussian Bureau of Engraving was pur- 

 chased by the Imperial Government for a consideration of 3,573,000 

 mark ($893,250) and consolidated with the printing establishment under 

 the name, "Royal Bureau of Engraving and Printing." 



The amalgamation took place at once from a business point of view, 

 the general supervision remaining in the hands of the chief of the Ger- 

 man post and telegraph administration, in whose bureau a separate 

 division was established under the name "Director of the Royal Bureau 

 of Engraving and Printing." 



In order to accommodate the increased force of the combined offices, 

 the adjacent buildings were purchased in May, 1879, for the sum of 

 517,500 mark ($129,375); the tearing down of the old buildings began 

 at once and in the autumn of 1881 the new building was ready for 

 occupation. 



The bureau at present employs ninety-five artists and regular mechan- 

 ics, and seven hundred and seventy laborers (male and female), appren- 

 tices, and porters. 



The work of the bureau increases from year to year although a great 

 deal of it, not involving money or bonds, is now turned over to private 

 industries. 



At present the ordinary work required by the Government and bu- 

 reaus represents about 120,000,000 sheets, of which the Imperial Post 

 and Telegraph Administration uses about 13,000,000 sheets and about 

 60,000,000 cards, independent of the large amount of work ordered from 

 private firms. 



