share, produced a lawsuit among the surviving partners. Five witnesses were examined; and from the evidence of Bieldich, Guttenberg's servant, it was incontrovertibly proved that Guttenberg was the first who practised the art of printing with movable types, and that, on the death of Andrew Dritzehen, he had expressly ordered the forms to be broken up, and the characters dispersed, lest any one should discover his secret. The result of this lawsuit, which occurred in 1439, was a dissolution of partnership; and Guttenberg, after having exhausted his means in the effort, proceeded, in 1445-46, to his native city of Mentz, where he resumed his typographic labours. Being ambitious of making his extraordinary invention known, and of value to himself, but being at the same time deficient in the means, he opened his mind to a wealthy goldsmith and worker in precious metals, named John Fust or Faust, and prevailed on him to advance large sums of money in order to make further and more complete trials of the art. Guttenberg being thus associated with Fust, the first regular printing establishment was begun, and the business of printing carried on in a style corresponding to the infancy of the art. After many smaller essays with respect to the capabilities of his press and movable types, Guttenberg had the hardihood to attempt an edition of the Bible, which he succeeded in printing complete, between the years 1450 and 1455. This celebrated Bible, which was the first important specimen of the art of printing, and which, judging from what it has led to, we should certainly esteem as the most extraordinary and praiseworthy of human productions, was executed with cut-metal types on six hundred and thirty-seven leaves; and, from copies still in existence in the Royal Libraries of Berlin and Paris, some of them appear to have been printed on vellum. The work was printed in the Latin language; and besides those on vellum, there are several copies on paper in Germany, France, and England-all of which are justly esteemed as the highest bibliographical treasures. The execution of this-the first printed Bible-which has justly conferred undying honours on the illustrious Guttenberg, was, most unfortunately, the immediate cause of his ruin. The expenses incident to carrying on a fatiguing and elaborate process of workmanship for a period of five years, being much more considerable than what were originally contemplated by Faust, he instituted a suit against poor Guttenberg, who, in consequence of the decision against him, was obliged to pay interest, and also a part of the capital that had been advanced. This suit was followed by a dissolution of partnership; and the whole of Guttenberg's apparatus fell into the hands of John Faust, who, from being the ostensible agent in the business of printing, and from the wonder expressed by the vulgar in seeing printed sheets, soon acquired the name of a magician, or one in compact with the devil; and under this character, with the appellation of Dr Faustus, he has for ages enjoyed no very enviable notoriety. Besides the above-mentioned Bible, some other specimens of the work of Guttenberg have been discovered to be in existence. One in particular, which is worthy of notice, was found some years ago among a bundle of old papers in the archives of Mayence. It is an almanac for the year 1457, which served as wrapper for a register of accounts that year. This,' says Hansard, would most likely be printed towards the close of 1456, and may consequently be deemed the most ancient specimen of typographic printing extant, with a certain date. That Guttenberg was a person of refined taste in the execution of his works, is sufficiently obvious. Adopting a very ancient custom, common in the written copies of the Scriptures and the missals of the church, he used a large ornamental letter at the commencement of books and chapters, finely embellished, and surrounded with a variety of figures as in a frame. The initial letter of the first psalm thus forms a beautiful specimen of the art of printing in its early progress. It is richly ornamented with foliage, flowers, a bird, and a greyhound; and is still more beautiful from being 706 printed in a pale blue colour, while the embellishments are red, and of a transparent appearance. What became of Guttenberg immediately after the unsuccessful termination of his lawsuit with Faust is not well known. Like the illustrious discoverer of the great Western Continent, he seems to have retired almost brokenhearted from the world, and to have spent most of the remainder of his days in obscurity. It is ascertained, however, that in the year 1465 he received an annual pension from the Elector Adolphus, but that he only enjoyed this small compensation for his extraordinary invention during three years, and died towards the end of the month of February 1468. quaries and bibliomaniacs, by what means Guttenberg the honour of completing Guttenberg's invention, by EARLY PROGRESS ON THE CONTINENT. Haerlem and Strasburg were the first places to which the art of printing was transplanted from Mentz, and this at so early a date, that each of these places has its respective advocates as being the birthplace of it. From Haerlem, it passed into Rome in 1466, where its first professors were Conrad Sweinheim and Arnold Pannartz, who introduced the present Roman type in the following year, in printing Cicero's Epistolæ Familiares.' The Gothic character, from which our own blackletter was derived, was the next which was employed by the ancient printers; after which, in 1476, the first set of Greek characters was cast by the Italians whether at Venice, Milan, or Florence, is a disputed point. In 1488, however, all previous attempts at the Greek character were eclipsed by a splendid edition of Homer's works, published at the last-named place, in folio, and printed by Demetrius, a native of Crete. The first book in the Hebrew character was an edition of the Pentateuch, printed in 1482; the whole Bible, including the New Testament, not being executed till 1488. This was done at Soncino, a small town in the duchy of Milan. In 1467 printing was set up in the city of Tours; at Reuthlingen and Venice in 1469; and, it is believed, at the same time in Paris. This city was the tenth town in Europe in which a printing-press was established; it was set up by Ulrich Gering, a native of the canton of Lucerne, in the house of the Sorbonne, and in the year 1469. This Gering had been taught the art by Elias Helie von Lauffen, who introduced it into Switzerland, and he commenced the operations of the Lucerne press by publishing Marchesini's Biblical Lexicon Mamotrectus sive Primicerius,' in the year 1470. The first work which issued from Gering's press at the Sorbonne was the Epistolæ Gasparini Pergamensis;' it was also published in the year 1470. Gering continued his labours until 1508, and died on the 23d of August 1510, bequeathing very considerable property for the benefit of young scholars and the poor of Paris. Strasburg was the next town which had the advantage of a press, and soon afterwards Lyons-the one in 1471, the other in 1473. In fact, so rapid at this period was the spread of the new art, that between the years 1469 and 1475, attempts at printing books had been made in most of the principal towns of Germany, Italy, France, and the Netherlands, and often, as in the case of the Spiras of Venice, with eminent success. It was introduced into Russia about the year 1560, or more than a century after its general practice in Southern Europe. About the year 1496, the letter which we now call Italic was invented by Aldus Manutius, a Roman by birth, who set up the business of a printer in Venice. At first, Manutius used his Italic, or Venetian, as he called it, for the printing of entire volumes; but this was not generally approved of by typographers, and after a short period, Italic was employed only for particular words, prefaces, and introductions. Latterly, it has been the practice to use Italic only in very particular cases, as its constant requisition indicates a poor style of literary composition. PRINTING IN BRITAIN. The early history of printing in England is obscure. The credit of introducing the art into that country was long believed to be due to Mr William Caxton, a mercer and citizen of London, who, during his travels abroad, and his residence for many years in Holland, Flanders, and Germany, had thoroughly informed himself of the process, and upon his return was induced, by the encouragement of many men of wealth and rank, to set up a press in Westminster Abbey about the year 1471. Such was the tradition amongst writers, and it is still generally believed. Its groundlessness was ascertained about the time of the Restoration, when a little book, which previously had been little thought of, fell under the notice of the curious, as bearing date at Oxford in the year 1468, being three years antecedent to the presumed commencement of Caxton's labours. This book, copies of which are yet extant, is a small quarto of forty-one leaves, entitled Exposicio Sancti Jeronimi in Symbolum Apostolorum ad Papum Laurentium.' At the same time (1664) a work was published by a Mr Atkins of London, entitled Original and Growth of Printing in England;' in which an account is given of an ancient chronicle, said to have been found in the archbishop's palace at Lambeth, containing the particulars attending the first introduction of the art. By the latter, it would appear that it took place during the reign of Henry VI., under the auspices of Thomas Bourchiers, Archbishop of Canterbury, who sent R. Tournour, master of the robes, and William Caxton, merchant, to Haerlem, who persuaded an under workman, named Corsellis, to come to England and set up a press at Oxford. The manuscript mentions that the transaction cost King Henry 1500 merks. But a single press was soon found insufficient for England; upon which the king set up another at St Alban's, and a third at Westminster; the last being placed under the charge of William Caxton, in the year 1471. It would be useless for us here to enter into the merits of the question concerning the authenticity of the above-mentioned chronicle, which at one time divided the literary world to a violent degree. We shall only observe that the result of the disputation appears to be this :-The existence of the book beforenamed establishes beyond a doubt that books were printed at Oxford by Corsellis several years before Caxton set his press to work at Westminster, and therefore that that city has the honour of having been the first seat of the art in England; but Caxton was the first who introduced the printing with moulded metal types, the works by his predecessor having been executed merely with wooden ones. It is by our early writers not having attended sufficiently to this line of demarcation between the two stages of the art that the misunderstanding has, as far as we can judge, after much careful investigation, solely arisen. After the art of printing had been thus introduced into Oxford and St Alban's, it spread to Westminster, Cambridge, Tavistock, Worcester, Canterbury, Ipswich, &c. in almost all cases by the encouragement of the churchmen of these places, and generally with the view of printing works of piety. About the year 1500, or probably somewhat earlier, Pynson was, by patent of Henry VII., invested with the office of king's printer, which may be regarded as the first instance of an appointment of this nature. At the close of the fifteenth and the commencement of the sixteenth century, London possessed a number of printers, but none whose name has been so celebrated as that of Wynken de Worde, a foreigner, who had been instructed under Caxton. He improved the art considerably, and was the first printer in England who introduced the Roman letter-all previous printing, and much of a later date, being in the black or German letter. Although at first countenanced by the clergy, the art of printing was soon looked upon with extreme jealousy by the church, which at length discovered that this invention was but too certainly calculated to revolutionise the whole fabric of society. The earliest efforts of the art, as we have seen, were directed to the multiplication of the Bible; but for a period of sixty or seventy years from the date of the invention, all the copies of the Scriptures which were printed were in the Latin or some other classic language, not understood by the people. But now a new era commenced. Certain printers began to issue the Bible in the English tongue, translated from the original, and this gave mighty offence to the church, or Romish hierarchy. In 1526 Richard Grafton, a gentleman of liberal education, having adopted the profession of printing, issued an edition of the New Testament in the English language, which drew down the wrath of the then Bishop of London. A proclamation was issued by this prelate prohibiting its use. Understanding,' says this document,' that many children of iniquitie, maintayners of Luther's sect, blynded through extreame wickedness, wandrying from the way of truth, and the Catholicke fayth, craftely have translated the New Testament into our English tongue, entermedlying therewith many hereticall articles and erroneous opinions, pernicious and offensive, seducying the simple people,' &c. The proclamation goes on to order all copies of the said New Testament to be brought to the bishop's vicar-general to be burnt, under pain of excommunication, and incurring the suspicion of heresy. It does not appear that the fulminations of the bishop were of much effect. The New Testament having been readily purchased, it led to the publication, in 1535, of the whole Bible in the English language, into which it was translated by Miles Coverdale. But this noble undertaking was accomplished abroad. In 1539 England had the honour of producing an edition of the Bible in the English tongue, under the auspices of Cranmer and Henry VIII., the work being executed by Grafton and Edward Whitechurch. The progress of the art in England, after its first rush into notoriety, was remarkably slow. In the sixteenth century it was interrupted by the broils consequent on the Reformation, and in the seventeenth century by the still greater harassments of the Civil War, and the gloomy religious spirit which prevailed up till the Restoration. This last event was even unfavourable to it, by introducing a general licentiousness and contempt for any solid and respectable literature. At this period there was an act of parliament still in force, preventing more than twenty printers to practise their art in the kingdom. At the fire of London in 1666 (we quote a writer in the Penny Magazine') the booksellers dwelling about St Paul's lost an immense stock of books in quires, amounting, according to Evelyn, to £200,000, which they were accustomed to stow in the vaults in the metropolitan cathedral and of other neighbouring churches. At that time the people were beginning to read again, and to think; and as new capital naturally rushed in to replace the consumed stock of books, there was considerable activity once more in printing. The laws regulating the number of printers soon after fell into disuse, as they had long fallen into contempt. We have before us a catalogue (the first compiled in this country) of "all the books printed in England since the dreadful fire, 1666, to the end of Trinity term, 1680," which catalogue is continued to 1685, year by year. A great many-we may fairly say one half-of these books are single sermons, curious pamphlet sheets, and tracts. productions. In the reign of Queen Anne, printing was increased still further by the issue of the Guardian,' Spectator,' and other literary sheets; and in 1731 it received considerable impetus by the establishment of the 'Gentleman's Magazine,' being the first of the class of larger periodicals. Between 1700 and 1756, about 6000 volumes (exclusive of tracts and pamphlets) were published-a number which, since the commencement of the present century, has been increased thirtyfold. According to the last census, upwards of 16,000 persons are employed in the book trade of the United Kingdom! Printing was introduced into Scotland, and begun in Edinburgh, about thirty years after Caxton had brought it into England. Mr Watson, in his History of Printing,' says that the art was introduced in Scotland from the Low Countries by the priests who fled thither from the persecutions at home. Be this as it may, we find James IV. granting a patent in 1507 to Walter Chapman, a merchant of Edinburgh, and Andrew Mollar, a workman, to establish a press in that city. According to bibliographers, the most ancient specimen of printing in Scotland extant is a collection entitled the Porteus of Nobleness, Edinburgh. In 1509, a Breviary of the Church of Aberdeen was printed at Edinburgh; and a second part in the following year. Very few works, however, appear to have issued from the Scottish press for the next thirty years; but from 1541, the date from which we find James V. granting licences to print, the art has been pursued with success in the metropolis. At present, and from the beginning of the present century, it is perhaps the most distinguished craft in the city, being conducted in all its departments of typefounding, printing, publishing, and, we may add, paper-making at the mills in the vicinity. Printing was not known in Ireland till about the year 1551, when a book in black-letter was issued from a press in Dublin; but till the year 1700, very little printing was executed in Ireland, and even since that period, the country has acquired no celebrity whatever in this department of the arts, although possessing some respectable printing establishments. At present, Dublin and Belfast are the only printing and publishing stations in the sister kingdom. PROGRESS ON THE CONTINENT AND IN AMERICA. The progress of printing on the continent of Europe has been remarkably slow. Unless in the free states of Germany, where the art is pursued to an incalculable extent, the profession of the printer is almost everywhere under the severest restrictions, and little can be published without coming first under the scrutiny of censors appointed by the governments. The art is The whole number of books printed during the four-carried on in Brussels and Paris perhaps with a greater teen years from 1666 to 1680, we ascertain, by counting, degree of freedom than usual in other continental was 3550, of which 947 were divinity, 420 law, and 153 capitals, and from the presses in the latter city some physic-so that two-fifths of the whole were professional exceedingly elegant works have been issued. But at books; 397 were school-books; and 253 on subjects of Paris, as everywhere else, there is a general inferiority geography and navigation, including maps. Taking in the mechanism of the printing-office, when compared the average of these fourteen years, the total number with that now in use in England and Scotland, except of works produced yearly was 253; but deducting the in those cases in which the presses employed have been reprints, pamphlets, single sermons, and maps, we may imported from Great Britain. fairly assume that the yearly average of new books was much under 100. Of the number of copies constituting an edition, we have no record; we apprehend it must have been small, for the price of a book, as far as we can ascertain it, was considerable. While the art of printing has been, by slow degrees, creeping through the despotically-governed states of Europe, and establishing itself at isolated spots in Oriental countries, everywhere creating distrust, and nowhere allowed to be exercised with perfect freedom, it has readily taken root and flourished among the civilised inhabitants of North America. The first Roger North, speaking of those booksellers of his day who had the knack of getting up volumes on temporary matters, says, "They crack their brains to find out sell-printing-press established in the American colonies was ing subjects, and keep hirelings in garrets, on hard meat, to write and correct by the grate; so puff up an octavo to a sufficient thickness, and there is six shillings current for an hour and a-half's reading." In a catalogue, with prices, printed twenty-two years after the one we have just noticed, we find that the ordinary cost of an octavo was five shillings.' After the Revolution of 1688, the business of printing rapidly increased, by the demands for sheets of intelligence or news, as well as for a better class of literary one set up at Cambridge, in Massachusetts, in the year 1638, the era of the foundation of Harvard College of that place. It was only established by the exertions and joint contributions of different individuals in Europe and America; and there is no doubt that the mechanism and types were imported from England. The first work which issued from this press was the Freeman's Call,' and the second the Almanac for New England,' both in 1639; the first book printed was the New England version of the Psalms, an octavo volume of 300 pages. In 1676 books began to be printed at Boston; in 1686 printing became known in Philadelphia; and in 1693 in New York. In the year 1700 there were only four printing-presses in the colonies. Since that period, and especially since the revolution, which removed everything like a censorship of the press, the number of printing-presses has greatly increased. The mechanism of the press has likewise been much improved in that country; and the Americans have copied the patent steam-press of Cowper of London, and now possess machines of this description. In 1800 the number of presses had increased to 300; in 1830 they amounted to 1200; and we learn that they are still increasing in number and extending their influence. Boston, New York, and Philadelphia may be considered as the principal printing stations in the Union-from the presses of which have issued not only reprints of the majority of standard English works, but original volumes and series of volumes which do honour to American literature. In their style of typography and bookmaking the Americans are still inferior to the English, sacrificing beauty and durability to economy and despatch. Some years ago, the Cherokees, one of the tribes of native Indians, set up a press, and commenced a newspaper-a circumstance which may be regarded as an extraordinary proof of the growth of knowledge in America. a frame, where they are polished and made ready for use. Whatever be the size of the types, they are all made of a uniform height, and must be perfectly true in their angles, otherwise it would be quite impossible to lock them together. A single irregular type would most likely derange a whole page. The height of a type is, or ought to be, exactly one inch; but founders, much to their discredit, do not act with uniformity in this particular, the letters of some founders being higher than those of others. But all the types of one class of any founder are always uniform in size and height; and to preserve their individuality, all the letters, points, &c. belonging to one class, are distinguished by one or more notches or nicks on the body of the type, which notches range evenly when the types are set. These nicks, as we shall immediately see, are also exceedingly useful in guiding the hand of the compositor. Types are likewise all equally grooved in the bottom, to make them stand steadily. The varieties of size of types in the present day amount to forty or fifty, enlarging, by a progressive scale, from the minutest used in printing pocket Bibles, to the largest which is seen in posting-bills on the streets. Printers have a distinct name for each size of letter, and use about twelve sizes in different descriptions of book-work; the smallest is called Brilliant, the next Diamond, and then follow, in gradation upwards, We shall now proceed to a description of the art in Pearl, Ruby, Nonpareil, Minion, Brevier (the type with its various branches, though without entering into the which this sheet is printed), Bourgeois, Long Primer, more minute, and what would be tiresome, technical | Small Pica, Pica, and English. The larger sizes genedetails of the profession. rally take their names thus-Two-line Pica, Two-line English, Four, Six, Eight, or Ten-line Pica, &c. Other nations have adopted different designations for their letters, principally from the names of their inventors; for instance, the French entitle Small Pica, Philosophie, from the first maker of the letter. Some of these classes of letters have derived their names from having been first employed in the printing of the prayers of the Romish Church. Thus, Pica, from the service of the mass, termed Pica, or Pie, from the glaring contrast between the black and white on the page; Primer, from Primarius, the book of prayers to the Virgin; Brevier, froin Breviary; Canon, from the canons of the church, &c. OF THE TYPES. Printers in early times made the letters which they used, but in process of time the necessity for a division of labour created the distinct trade of a manufacturer of types, and it is only in rare instances in the present day that printers supply their own letter. The preparation of types requires much delicacy and skill. The first step in the process is the cutting of a punch or die, resembling the required letter. The punch is of hardened steel, with the figure of the letter cut, the reverse way, upon its point. On this die being finished, it is struck into a piece of copper, about an inch and a-quarter long, one-eighth of an inch deep, and of a All kinds of types are sold by weight by the founders, width proportionate to the size of the type to be cast. the price varying in amount according to the size of This copper, being so impressed with the representa- the letter. The smallest size, Brilliant, costs about 13s. tion of the letter, is called the matrix. The matrix per pound; Diamond, about 11s. per pound; Brevier, is now fixed into a small instrument or frame, called from 2s. to 38.; English, from 1s. 6d. to 2s.; and so on the mould, which is composed of two parts. The ex-in proportion for all intermediate sizes. Expensive as ternal surface is of wood, the internal of steel. At types thus are, their prices will not appear too high, the top is a shelving orifice, into which the metal is considering the immense outlay in cutting the punches poured. The space within is of the size of the required and the general manufacture. In the Diamond size, body of the letter, and is made exceedingly true. The 2800 go to a single pound weight of the letter i, and melted metal, being poured into this space, sinks down of the thinnest space about 5000. to the bottom into the matrix, and instantly cooling, the mould is made to open with the instantaneous movement of a spring, and the type is cast out by the workman. This process of casting types is executed with great celerity. Of course every separate letter in the alphabet, every figure, point, or mark, must have its own punch and matrix. In casting types, the founder stands at a table, and has beside him a small furnace and pot with heated metal, which he lifts with a small ladle. Type metal is a compound of lead and regulus of antimony, the latter giving hardness and sharpness of edge to the composition. The proper proportions of these metals is regulated by the size of the type, a greater quantity of antimony being employed for small than large letters. When the type is cast from the mould, it is in a rough state, and as soon as a heap has accumulated on the caster's table, they are removed by a boy, who breaks off the superfluous tag of metal hanging at the end of each type. From the breaking-off boy the types are removed to another place, where a boy is constantly engaged in rubbing or smoothing their edges upon a stone. Being now tolerably well cleaned, they are next removed to a table, and set up in long lines upon A complete assortment of types is called a Fount, which may be regulated to any extent. Every typefounder has a scale showing the proportional quantity of each letter required for a fount; and a peculiar scale is required for every language. For the English language, the following is a typefounder's scale for the small letters of a fount of types of a particular size and weight: a 8500 b 1600 i h 6400 0 8000 V 1200 W 2000 c 3000 400 q 500 400 y 2000 him into notice, and he was appointed to cut a fount of Arabic letters for an edition of the New Testament. This occurred about the year 1720, and from this period he entered on a successful career as a letter-founder. Hitherto the types used in England had been mostly imported from Holland; but Caslon's letters, by their decided superiority over those of all competitors at home and abroad, soon put a stop to the importation of foreign types, and were held in such estimation, as to be frequently sent to continental countries. From 1720 till 1780, few books were printed in England with the types of any other than this foundry, which still continues in existence in London. The ingenuity and success of Caslon meet with a parallel in the case of the late Mr Alexander Wilson, typefounder in Glasgow. This person, by a strong effort of perseverance under difficulties, began to cut punches for types at his native town, St Andrews, about the year 1740, and there opened a letter-foundry-the first established in Scotland-in company with an equally enterprising individual named Bain. In 1744, Messrs Wilson and Bain removed with their foundry to the neighbourhood of Glasgow, where it long flourished. The types produced by Mr Wilson were exceedingly neat, and even elegant, and became the real foundation of the fame of the Messrs Foulis, printers, whose editions of the Classics were printed from them, Branches of the Glasgow letter-foundry were afterwards established in the English and Scottish capitals. In Edinburgh, besides the foundry of the Messrs Wilson, grandsons of the first of the name, the principal establishment of the kind is that of Messrs Millar and Company, whose types we consider as standing in the first class in respect of neatness, beauty, and regularity. They are largely employed in the printing of Bibles, newspapers, and other works in which a small type is required; and it is with letter from this extensive foundry that CHAMBERS'S JOURNAL and the present publication are executed. The large letters used in posting and handbills are manufactured chiefly at Sheffield. In this kind of types very great improvements have also been made in recent times; and the varieties are becoming yearly more numerous and ornamental in character. The letter used in printing in North America is made principally at New York; and the style of both typography and presswork in that country is rapidly improving, and now almost competing with the products of the English press. words. In the lower, no alphabetical arrangement is preserved; each letter has a larger or smaller box allotted to it, according as it is more or less frequently required; and all those letters most in request are placed at the nearest convenient distance to the compositor. By this ingenious and irregular division of the lower case, much time is saved to the compositor, who requires no label to direct him to the spot where lies the particular letter he wants. To a stranger in a printing-office, nothing appears so remarkable as the rapidity with which the compositor does his work; but habit very soon leads the hand rapidly and mechanically to the letter required. When Italic letters have to be introduced, they are taken from a separate pair of cases of the same fount. The process of composing and forming types into pages may now be adverted to. Placing the copy or manuscript before him on the upper case, and standing in front of the lower case, the compositor holds in his left hand what is termed a composing-stick. Sometimes this instrument is of wood, with a certain space cut in it of a particular width; but more commonly it is made of iron or brass, with a movable side, which, by means of a screw, may be regulated to any width of line. In either case, the composing-stick is made perfectly true and square. One by one the compositor lifts and puts the letters of each word and sentence, and appropriate points, into his stick, securing each with the thumb of his left hand, and placing them side by side from left to right along the line. When he places a letter in the stick, he does not require to look whether he is placing it with the face in its proper position. His object is accomplished by looking at what is called the nick, which must be placed outwards in his composing-stick. (See adjoining representation of a type.) This is one of those beautiful contrivances for saving labour which experience has introduced into every art, and which are as valuable for diminishing the cost of production as the more elaborate inventions of machinery. When he arrives at the end of his line, the compositor has a task to perform in which the carefulness of the workman is greatly exhibited. The first letter and the last must be at the extremities of the line: there must be no spaces left in some instances, and no crowding in others, as we see in the best manuscript. Each metal type is of a constant thickness, as far as regards that particular size of letter; though all the letters are not of the same thickness. The adjustments, therefore, to complete the line with a word, or at anyrate with a syllable, must be made by varying the thickness of the spaces between each word. All the types in use in the printing-office are sorted A good compositor is distinguished by uniformity of in cases, or shallow boxes, with divisions. There are spacing: he will not allow the words to be very close totwo kinds of cases-the upper and lower case; the latter gether in some instances, and with a large gap between lying nearest the compositor upon the frame for their them in others. His duty is to equalise the spacing as support. The an- much as he possibly can; and this is in some cases very nexed illustra- troublesome. In composing poetry, or similar matter, tion exhibits the where there is always a blank space at one of the ends arrangement of of the line, spacing is very easily accomplished by fillthe cases and ing up the blank with larger spaces, or quadrats. But position of the whether prose or poetry, the matter of each line must compositor-the be equally adjusted and justified, so as to correspond lower case being in point of compactness with the previously set lines. immediately un- The process of composing is greatly facilitated by the der his hand, the compositor using a thin slip of brass, called a settingupper case di- rule, which he places in the composing-stick when he rectly above in a begins, and which, on a line being completed, he pulls slanting position, out and places upon the front of the line so completed, and the under in order that the types he sets may not come in contact part of the frame with the types behind them, but glide smoothly into stocked with their places to the bottom of the composing-stick. cases of different founts. In the upper case are placed all the capitals, small capitals, accented letters, a few of the points, and characters used as references to notes. In the lower case lie all the small letters, figures, the remainder of the points, and spaces to place betwixt the COMPOSING. When the workman has set up as many lines as his composing-stick will conveniently hold, he lifts them out by grasping them with the fingers of each hand, and thus taking them up as if they were a solid piece of metal. He then places the mass in an elongated board, termed a galley, which has a ledge on one or perhaps both sides. The facility with which some compositors can lift what is called a handful of movable type with |