1898.] Dr. Roernle—BloclC'Prints from Khotan. 125 



is repeated on the same page, the impressions were sometimes taken so 

 close together that the margins of the prints run into one another. 



The books which I shall describe in this Note fall into two varieties. 

 One of them shows a text arranged in two columns, the other has a 

 text in three columns, of which, however, two are identical with those of 

 the first variety. The two varieties of text are shown in figures 1 and 2 

 of Plate I. To the first variety belong three of the five block-prints 

 described in this Note ; and one of these three forms a sub- variety, 

 as will be shown below. In printing these books, accordingly, at least 

 two distinct blocks must have been used; but the types cut on the 

 two blocks exhibit a very striking similarity, as if one were copied 

 from the other, so far as the identical portions of the text are con- 

 cerned. The various modes in which the prints were taken from these 

 two blocks will be explained under the description of each book. 



(1) Block- print a. This was received by me from Captain Stuart 

 H. Godfrey, along with two other volumes, on the 25th February last. 

 It is, therefore, not included among the " twenty-one volumes " men- 

 tioned in my Address. Its pages measure 8xl0| inches. It consists 

 of 32 " forms " ; each form is made up of one sheet of paper, which is 

 folded in the middle, thus making two leaves. Each form, accordingly, 

 consists of two leaves, or four pages. The book is provided with two 

 covers, each made up of four layers of paper pasted together to make 

 a thick paste-board. The forms are stitched together, to make up a 

 book, along the longer side of the leaves. The stitches are made with 

 copper nails, held in position by small thin copper plates, attached to 

 the two ends of the nails. 



The block of type (Plate I, fig. 1) which is printed on the pages 

 of this book measures, between the edging lines, nearly S^ X 6f inches. 

 Each page bears three impressions of it, placed side by side, parallel to 

 the longer side of the page, and so that the head of the block is always 

 turned to the outer edge of the page. The latter circumstance makes it 

 necessary to turn round the book entirely, when, in reading, one passes 

 from one page to the next following, though, of course, owing to the con- 

 stant repetition of the same text, there was no need, in reading, to observe 

 any particular order of the pages. On the right and left of each page 

 there is left a blank margin of about one inch on either side. This 

 reduces the space on the page to about 8} inches ; and as three impres- 

 sions of the block had to be accommodated within that space, they were 

 placed so close together that the co-terminous edges of their type 

 almost touch one another. To admit of this close printing, the enclosing 

 straight lines had to be left uninked ; and the edging lines of the block, 

 therefore, (excepting occasional smudges) are not seen on the pages. 



