PRINTING. 
jouer,” has proved frem old chronicles, in 
particular from that of Petit-Jean de Sani- 
tre, from edicts civjl and ecclesiastical, and 
from the figures of the cards, that they 
were invented towards Charles the Fifth’s 
reign, about the year 1376. By the shape 
of the crowns, and the sceptres with tlie 
jleur de lis, he infers that the French invent- 
ed them. They soon were introduced into 
Spain, Italy, Germany, and England. The 
names of the suits seem rather to imply a ■ 
Spanish or Italian origin. At first the cards 
were painted; about the year 1400 a me- 
thod was devised of printing them from 
blocks. To this we may directly trace the 
art of printing. The books of images form 
the next step. These also ^ w'ere printed 
from wooden blocks; one side of the leaf 
only is impressed, and the corresponding 
text is placed below, beside, or proceeding 
from the mouth of the figure. Of these 
scarce books, M. Lambinet mentions seven : 
1. Figur® typic® veteris atque antitypic® 
novi testamenti. This is the work which 
in Germany is called the Bible of the Poor, 
because it was originally designed as an 
abridgement of the Bible for those who 
could not purchase the whole scriptures in 
manuscript, and who probably could not 
read. There is one copy of this work in 
the Bodleian Library, and another at 
Christ’s College, Cambridge. 2. Historia 
S. Joannis Evangelist®, ejusque visiones 
apocalyptic®. 3. Historia sen Providen- 
tia Virginis Mari®, ex cautico cauticorum. 
4. Ars moriendi. 5. Ars memorandi 
notabiiis per figuras Evangilistariim. 6. 
Donatus, seu grammatica brevis in usum 
scholarum conscripta. It is not easy to 
conceive how this can be classed among the 
books of images. 7. Speculum human® 
salvationis. There is said to be an English 
translation of this work. Two other books 
of images, the Tewrdanck, and the 
Triumpf-wagen, are posterior to the com- 
mon use of printing. It is clear, there- 
fore, from the cotton and silk printing of 
the Indians, the Chinese block-printing, 
and these books of images ; and perhaps, 
also, from the bardic mode of writing, who 
cut tlieir poems upon bars of wood, arranged 
like a gridiron, and which they called 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 lat- 
ter 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 sooil after the invention of the com- 
mon letter-press printing. 
The history of the invention of modern 
stereotype is, like that of common printing, 
involved in some obscurity as to the name of 
the person to whom justly belongs the honour 
of an invention so useful and curious. Mr. 
Andrew Tilloch, the wortljy and ingenious 
editor of the Philosophical Magazine, has 
given the following extract, translated from 
Niewe Algeraein 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, however, 
he readily comprehended that their letters 
were not cut in so elegant a manner, espe- 
cially when we reflect on the progress which 
typography has made since that period. 
Samuel and J. Leuchtman’s, booksellers at 
Leyden, have still in their possession the 
forms of a quarto Bible, which were con- 
structed in this ingenious manner. Many 
thousand impressions were thrown oflT, which 
are in every body’s hands, and the letters 
are still good. 
“ The inventor of tliis 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 Leyden. 
With the assistance of Muller, the clergy- 
man of the German congregation there, 
who carefully superintended the correction, 
he prepared and cast the plates for the 
above-mentioned quarto Bible. This Bible 
he published also in folio, with large mar- 
gins, ornamented with figures ; the forms of 
which are still in the hands of Elwe, book- 
seller at Amsterdam : also an English New 
Testament, and Schaaf’s Syriac Dictionaiy ; 
, the forms of which were melted down; like- 
wise a small Greek Testament, in 18mo. 
“ As far as is known, Vander Mey print- 
ed nothing else in this manner j and the art 
of preparing solid blocks was lost at his 
death, or at least was not afterwards em- 
ployed.” The Dutch editor supposes that 
the reason why Vander Mey’s invention 
was dropped was that “ though this process 
in itself is very advantageous, it is far more 
expensive than the usual method of print- 
ing, except in those cases where such works 
are to be printed as are indispensibly neces- 
sary, and of standing worth.” Mr. 'filloch, 
however, is of a directly contrary opinion. 
