Chap. IX.] Mechanic Aris^ II7 



Alexander Tilloch, of Great Britain, revived, or 

 rather rediscovered this art ; for he is said to have 

 been ignorant of Ged's contrivance till long after 

 he had announced his own. The snhsecjuent year 

 lie took out a patent ibr it, in conjunction with 

 Mr. Andrew Foulis, printer to the university of 

 Glasgow. About the year i7N9 ]\I. Didot, of 

 JVance, seems to have invented, a third time, this 

 valuable art, and to liave contri\ed several impoi- 

 tant improvements, which render his mode more 

 convenient and useful than that of any of his pre- 

 decessors*. The Stereot\)pe plan of printing is 

 most happily calculated to secure accuracy in nu- 

 merical tables, and in books of a similar kind. In- 

 deed, for publishing all \vorks of classical charac- 

 ter, extensive sale, and ])crmanent demand, it is 

 an invaluable acquisition. The beautiful editions 

 of several Greek and Roman classics, which have 

 been executed in this manner, by the French 

 printer above mentioned, are well known to be fa- 

 vourable specimens of this far-famed improve- 

 ment. 



In a considerable degree resembling the SfcreO' 

 type is the Logogmphic mode of printing, an in- 

 vention announced in 1783 by Mr. H. Johnson, 



* The Stereotype mode of printing adopted by Didot is as fol- 

 lows : the page is first set up in moveable types 3 a mould or iine 

 pression is then taken off the page \vith any suitable plastic mate- 

 rial 5 and afterwards as many solid pages are east from the mould 

 as may be wanted. The plan adopted by Ged, and oiiiers, seems 

 to liave been different. After setting up the page with moveable 

 types, they soldered them together, and thus formed a permanent 

 page, from which as many copies might be stricken as were de- 

 sired. The comparative merits of these dillerenl plans \wll rea- 

 dily present theniiielves to tlie intelligent reader. 



