PRINTING. 



classed among the books of images. 7. 

 Sj ccu'um human salvai.o .is. There is 

 sa u to be an English tiv.n-it.-.ion of this 

 work. Two other Books of images, the 

 Texvrdanck, and theTriumpf-wagen, are 

 posterior to the common use of printing. 

 It is clear, therefore, from the cotton and 

 silk printing of the Indians, the Chinese 

 block-printing, and these books of ima- 

 ges, and perhaps, also, from the bardic 

 mode of writing, who cut their poems 

 upon bars of wood, arranged like a grid- 

 iron, and which they culled carving a 

 book, that the idea of stereotype printing 

 is by no means of modern origin. That it 

 was prior to the' art of printing with 

 moveable types there can be no doubt ; 

 since this latter mode of printing was first 

 suggested by the Catholicon, which was 

 printed with wooden tablets, in a series, 

 and composed in forms. This mode of 

 printing, except in China, where it is still 

 practised, was laid aside soon after the 

 invention of the common letter-press 

 printing. 



The history of the invention of modern 

 stereotype is, like that of common print- 

 ing, involved in some obscurity as to the 

 name of the person, to whom justly be- 

 longs the honour of an invention so use- 

 ful and curious. Mr. Andrew Tilloch, 

 the worthy and ingenious editor of the 

 Philosophical Magazine, has given the 

 following extract, translated from Niewe 

 Algemein Konst en Letter Bode, 1798, 

 No. 232, which deserves particularly to 

 be noticed. " Above a hundred years 

 ago the Dutch were in possession of the 

 art of printing with solid or fixed types, 

 which in every respect was superior to 

 that of Didot's stereotype. It may, how- 

 ever, be readily comprehended, that their 

 letters were not cut; in so elegant a man- 

 ner, especially when we reflect on the 

 progress which typography has made 

 since that period. Samuel and J. Leucht- 

 mans, booksellers at Leyden, have still in 

 their possession the forms of a quarto Bi- 

 ble, which were constructed in this inge- 

 nious manner. Many thousand impres- 

 sions were thrown off, which are in eve- 

 ry body's hands, and the letters are still 

 good. 



" The inventor of this useful art was J. 

 Vander Mey, father of the well-known 

 painter of that name. About the end of 

 the sixteenth century he resided at Ley- 

 den With the assistance of Multer, the 

 clergyman of the German congregation 

 there, who carefully superintended the 

 correction, he prep-.ired and cast the 

 plates for the above-mentioned quarto 



Bible. This Bible he published also 

 folio, with large margins, ornamented 

 with figures ; the forms of which are still 

 in the hands of Elwe, bookseller at Am- 

 sterdam : also an English New Testa- 

 ment, and Schaaf 's Syriac Dictionary ; the 

 forms of which were melted down : 

 likewise a small Greek Testament, in 

 18mo. 



" As far as is known, Vander Mey 

 printed nothing else in this manner; and 

 the art of preparing solid blocks was lost 

 at his death, or at least was not afterwards 

 employed." The Dutch editor supposes 

 that the reason why Vander Mey's inven- 

 tion was dropped was, that, "though this 

 process in itself is very advantageous, it 

 is far more expensive than the usual me- 

 thod of printing, except in those cases 

 where such works are to be printed as 

 are indispensably necessary, and of stand- 

 ing worth." Mr. Tilloch, however, is of 

 a directly contrary opinion. 



In the year 1781 was printed, by and 

 for J. Nichols, London, a very interesting 

 pamphlet, entitled Biographical Memoirs 

 of William Ged ; including a particular 

 account of his progress in the art of 

 block-printing. The first part of the 

 pamphlet was printed from a MS., dic- 

 tated by Ged some time before his death ; 

 the second part was written by his daugh- 

 ter, for whose benefit the profits of the 

 publication were intended; the third is a 

 copy of proposals that had been publish- 

 ed by Mr. Ged's son, in 1751, for reviving 

 his "father's art, and to the whole is 

 added Mr. Mores's Narrative of Block 

 Printing 



It apears from this publication, that, in 

 the year 1725, Mr. Ged began to prose- 

 cute plate-printing. In 1727, he entered 

 into a contract with a person who had a 

 little capital, but who, on conversing 

 with some printer, got so intimidated, 

 that, at the end of two years, he had laid 

 out only twenty-two pounds. In 1729, 

 he entered into a new contract with a 

 Mr Fenner, Thomas James, a type-foun- 

 der, and John James, the architect. 

 Some time after, a privilege was obtained 

 from the University of Cambridge, to 

 print bibles and prayer-books ; but it ap- 

 pears, that one of his partners was ac- 

 tually averse to the success of the plan, 

 and engaged such people for the work 

 as he thought most likely to spoil it. A 

 straggling workman, who had wrought 

 with them, informed Mr. Mores, that 

 both bibles and common prayer-books 

 had been printed ; but that the composi- 

 tors, when they corrected one fault, 



