STEREOTYPING. 1 8 I 



And these are not placed in their cells alphabetically, but as they are 

 most frequently required ; the spaces used to divide letters and words 

 are in the lower case. With a composing -stick in his left hand (this is 

 a small brass frame to hold the letters temporally), the compositor picks 

 up each letter separately, places it in his stick, from which, after being rilled, 

 the letters are removed in a mass, then forming words, to a galley ; the page 

 required being composed, it is tied tightly with thin twine and transferred 

 to the chase this is an iron frame, in which the type is locked, by means 

 of small pieces of wood being driven by a mallet tightly up the sides of 

 the chase, to give the necessary margins to the pages; the whole being in 

 one complete mass, so that every letter is firmly fixed, it is called the/brw 

 as outer and inner form for the two sides of the paper printed. Previous 

 to the forms going to press, or machine, the pages or columns of type are 

 carefully corrected with the manuscript, and again revised by the 

 Reader ; each compositor correcting his own matter. It is then "read 

 for press," and is printed accordingly. 



There are several sorts of printing presses, as the Columbian, Stanhope, 

 &c., but where expedition, or a long number of impressions are required, 

 the work is always done at " machine." 



After the "copies" are printed, the forms are unlocked and the letters 

 distributed, that is, returned to the divisions to which each letter belongs 

 in the compositor's frame or case; when a page or form is broken by 

 being badly imposed, the type thrown thus into confusion is called pie-, 

 this is the approbria of the printing office, and about as welcome as the 

 night-mare. 



Printing was introduced into this country by William Caxton in 1474, 

 and the first printing press was in the Almonry, Westminster Abbe^. 

 The first book printed was " the Game and Play of Chesse." 



STEREOTYPING. 



Every body has seen at the bottom of title pages the words " stereotype 

 edition," but very few, except "the trade," are acquainted with the 

 ingenious process. The first idea of casting in metal plates emanated 

 from one William Ged, a printer of Edinburgh, in 1725, and was so far 

 successfully practised by him, that he was engaged by the University of 

 Cambridge to print bibles and prayer books ; but, by the jealousy and 

 dishonesty of his workmen, in committing wilful errors, the process was 

 considered defective, and the intention quickly abandoned. About fifty 

 years afterwards it was revived by Tilloch, and was subsequently 



