94 The First Printers. 



than Belfast. There are many men around me who can 

 speak with more authority about Belfast printing than I could ; 

 but I am very glad to think that you have on record such a 

 book as the catalogue of early Belfast books, recently compiled 

 by Mr. John Anderson. If work of this kind were generally 

 taken up at large provincial centres, we should have a great 

 deal of additional light as to provincial printing. If I may 

 add one word more, especially to any printers who may be in 

 this room, I should like to say that I would most heartily 

 commend the study of the works of the early printers to the 

 printers of to-day. I am quite sure that in the productions of 

 the old press we may find many of our most valuable lessons for 

 the excellence of the modern press. I do not mean so much the 

 technical execution ; because, of course, the practice of printing 

 has undergone many revolutions in that way ; but the most 

 important lesson that printers will derive, and cannot help 

 deriving, from the study of early books is, that printing is before 

 everything an art, and that the printer must be an artist. The 

 artist must love his work, and must put something of himself 

 into his work. The greatest calamity which could befall 

 printing would be that it should become a mere trade, and that 

 printers should forget that they are responsible to their genera- 

 tion for maintaining a high ideal of beauty, and for encouraging 

 a holy horror of what is ugly or mean. 



If anything I have said this evening has succeeded in in- 

 teresting you in the study of old typography, I am quite sure 

 that the practice of modern typography will at any rate not 

 suffer by the kind patience with which you have listened to my 

 lecture. 



Mr. R. M. Young, B.A., Hon. Secretary, announced the 

 following donations : — A fine specimen of a glass sponge, from 

 Manilla, presented by Dr. J. King Kerr ; and a wooden water 

 pipe, 200 years old, from the rear of the Bank Buildings, presented 

 by Mr. Seaton F. Milligan. 



On the motion of Mr. Wm. Gray, seconded by Mr. Jos. 

 Wright, a vote of thanks was passed to the donors. 



