96 
The views which the Lecturer then exhibited illustrated the 
first stages (tablets) in the development of printing, and were 
followed by the pictorial representations on the Egyptian monu- 
ments, Cleopatra’s Needle, and the columns in the Central Hall 
at Karnac—columns seventy-three feet high and twelve feet in 
diameter. 
Those were the stone books of the Egyptians, and were 
really ‘‘sermons in stones,” chronicles of Egyptian history. 
There were other examples at the entrance to the temple of 
Luxor—two columns, the third having been carried away by 
Napoleon, and standing at present in the Place de la Concord, in 
Paris. The funeral rolls, on the papyrus, illustrated a develop- 
ment of the Egyptian hieroglyphic. The Rosetta stone is one of 
the most important documents in existence. Untll 1830 the 
history of Egypt was a closed book, and it was not until this 
stone had been discovered and deciphered that we were able to 
unlock the treasures of early Egyptian chronicles. 
Coming to our own country the Lecturer recognised the loving 
care of the monks in recording and transmitting their knowledge, 
and gave illustrations of the book blocks, dated 1428, preceding 
the use of the moveable types. 
There had been a great deal of controversy as to who first 
introduced moveable types into Europe, but there was little doubt 
that Gutenberg first made use of them. Printers wanted to use 
part of the block, and so they cut the text, took out the letters 
which would not stand the pressure of the ink, and thus it was 
that the moveable type was developed. 
As early as 1457 printing was being done in four colours. The 
early printers were not only printers but scholars. ‘The text was 
gradually improved and became easier and more restful for the 
eye to look upon. Gutenberg had many trials to contend with, 
but he persevered, and there were many existing examples of his 
work, and of that of his contemporaries—Fust, Peter Schoeffer, 
and others. The first dated Bible was printed in 1462. From 
1448 to 1501, there were from eight and a half to nine million 
books produced. In 1467, two rival printing firms were at work 
in Rome, and for beauty of workmanship the specimens of the 
Italian type had neither been surpassed, nor equalled. Among the 
earliest productions in Italy were ‘‘ Cicero’s Letters.” Caxton 
produced one of the finest pieces of English work that it was 
possible to find at the time: ‘ Dicta; or, Sayings of the 
Philosophers.’ Many indulgences were printed at that time, and 
the Rylands’ Library had possession of rare copies of these docu- 
ments; the Lecturer said he would be pleased to show them, 
and other treasures, to the Club whenever they felt disposed to 
to pay him a visit. 
