Chapter X: Part 10

I would advise an inexperienced youth, when he comes to work among a number of men, to observe the manner of one of the best and quickest compositors: he will, perhaps, at first conclude that he is looking at a very slow workman, for the first appearance is fallacious; but when he examines more closely he will find his mistake, for what he at first took for slowness is the true principle of expedition; he will perceive no false motion, which invariably delays progress; the fingers go to one particular letter, take it up, convey it to the line direct, while the eye is directed to another letter which the fingers convey in the same manner to the line; thus letter after letter accumulate to words, lines, and pages, with a quickness that looks like magic, while to the spectator it seems to be only the pace of the tortoise. Let him look at another; there appears all bustle, all expedition; the body and head in continual motion; the hand so quick in its evolutions, that he gazes with astonishment on the apparent rapidity of arranging the letters: let him look again with more attention, and he will find that the man whom he supposed so slow makes no mistake, loses no time, but continues steadily and uniformly making progress: while the other frequently misses taking hold of his letter; then makes two or three flourishes with his hand and his head before he takes hold of another; and then his hand continues dancing and see-sawing, and after three or four of such motions, made with great rapidity, the letter is finally deposited in the line. This manner of lifting the letters is in reality the pace of the tortoise, although it has the appearance of the speed of the hare.

Regularity of spacing, and a due proportion of distance between words, contribute in a material degree to improve the appearance of a book.

When the lines are very short, or the type very large in proportion to their length, all general rules, both of dividing and spacing, must give way to necessity; for in such cases it is impossible at all times to space regularly, or to divide the words correctly.

There is a great diversity of opinion with respect to spacing; some authors and printers choosing to have the words wide apart, and others, on the contrary, preferring to have them nearly close together; the one, requiring an en quadrat, or two thick spaces, and the other, a thin space only, between the words. Both of these, in my opinion, go to an extreme: I prefer using a thick space generally, and justifying with thinner and hair spaces; so that there will rarely be a necessity for any violent inequality in the distance of the words from each other.

When a work is double leaded, or has reglet between the lines, it requires to be wider spaced than when it is solid: in the two first cases, two middling spaces, or a thick and a thin space, will not be too much; in the latter, a thick space will be quite sufficient. And it is necessary to attend to these circumstances; for printing that is open does not harmonize when close spaced, any more than solid matter does when wide spaced, which makes it look full of pigeon holes; for the distance between the words should bear some proportion to the distance between the lines.

When one or two letters require to be got in, or to be driven out, the difference between a thick space and a middling one is not perceptible to the eye, particularly if the compositor is careful to place the latter before or after a v or w, after a comma that comes before a v or w, or after a y; and, in like manner, an additional hair space will not be perceptible if it come after an f, or before a j; or if it come between db, dh, dk, dl, lb, lh, lk, or ll.

The most expeditious mode of regular spacing, perhaps, is to take the spaces as they rise; for there being in the box only three sorts, the thin and the hair spaces being in separate boxes, there will not be any violent disproportion if the line should be full at the first; and the slight disproportion may be easily remedied by changing the situation of two or three: if the line should not be quite full, then the introduction of a few thin spaces will equalise the distances; or the substitution of a few thick spaces for middling ones will have the same effect.

In setting a line of capitals, a careful workman will pay attention to the bearing off of different letters, for many of them when they fall together stand as if there were a space between them, and produce a bad effect: to remedy this inequality, hair spaces, or bits of paper, are required between those letters that stand close. The inequality is still greater in many instances in a line of Italic capitals, and of course requires the same remedy.

It would be desirable, and would tend to facilitate regular spacing, if there were a greater number of hair spaces cast to a fount than is now the case.

In poetry, the size of the type and the measure are usually so arranged as to admit the longest line to come into the measure, without having occasion to turn it: an opportunity is thus allowed for regular spacing, which is generally done with thick spaces. When a work in poetry is commenced, it is usual for the compositor to divide his space box up the middle with a piece of reglet, or with a piece of thin wood, made to fit tight, and to assort his thick spaces on one side, and the thinner on the other, to save time and trouble in picking them out.

As the measure for poetry is sometimes made as narrow as will conveniently allow the regular lines to come in, both to save quadrats, and also to lessen the price of composing, it not unfrequently happens that a line containing long syllables will not admit of thick spaces; in this case, the usual practice is to space close, and get in the line if possible, even with hair spaces, for turning it is attended with inconveniences; the page must be made up short, or long, to preserve the couplets, and it affects the next page, in preventing the stanzas backing each other.

A compositor will always find it advantageous to justify his lines to an equal tightness; and of this he must be sensible when he has to lock up his form: if he have been careless in this instance he will experience a loss of time and find a difficulty in getting his form to lift; and when it does lift, by means of sticking his bodkin into quadrats and spaces to tighten those lines that are slack, it will never be safe; for it is more than probable that many letters will draw out at press, and cause errors in that sheet, (for pressmen are generally careless how they replace a letter that has drawn, and, when it is discovered, they are satisfied if they put it into the right word,) the pressmen scold the compositor, who also, if he be working in a companionship, and should not be the last in the sheet, gets scolded by the compositor who has to lock up the forms, for his carelessness, and for the additional trouble which it causes.

I would avoid having a lower case f at the end of a line; for, being a kerned letter, the dot at the end of the curve is almost sure to be broken off while the sheet is being worked at press.

It is not possible to give particular rules for justifying all the sorts that occur in many works, and that are not in a printing office:--for a Ç, it will be necessary to cut away the shank to the bottom of the face of the letter, and justify a figure of 5 with the top back dash cut off; a long m̄, n̄, or any other letter, must be cut away to the upper part of the letter, and a small lower case l, with the fine lines cut away, fixed flat above; a short y̆ may be made by taking the bottom of an o; m̃ and ñ by cutting the front of a small a away, and laying it lengthways; ŵ and ŷ by inverting a lower case v, after cutting away the cross lines, and making the thick line equal to the fine one with a sharp knife.

Cutting away the shank allows the additional part to stand close to the face of the letter, which improves the appearance. In some instances it will be necessary to cut part of a lead away above the letter, and justify the addition in the vacancy. The compositor should, by all means, be careful to justify every sort that is added so tight as to prevent it from drawing out at press; but not so tight, as to force the words above and below out of line; in fact, they ought to be so managed as, when justified to the letter, to form unitedly its regular body in depth when it is practicable.

The compositor should also be careful to proportion the size of the accent or mark to be justified to the size of the letter, that there may be no disproportion between them.

I would recommend to every compositor when he goes to a fresh house, where it is likely he may work some time, to ascertain what founts are in the house, with the two line letters, blacks, flowers, &c.: this knowledge will give him facilities, and enable him to compose a title, or a job, with less sacrifice of time, than if he were not acquainted with the materials contained in the office.

COMPOSING RULE.

A piece of brass rule cut to the length of the measure, with a small ear or beak projecting at one end, by which to take it out. This rule is laid in the composing stick, and the letters arranged upon it; when the line is full, the rule is taken out by the projecting part, and laid upon the line composed, and this process is continued till the stick is full, when the rule is laid upon the last line as before, the whole of the matter in the stick is then grasped tight with both hands, (the rule preventing it from bursting,) taken out of the stick, and deposited in a galley.

COMPOSING STICK.

The instrument in which the letters are arranged into words and lines. It is generally made of iron, sometimes of gun metal, and long ones for large jobs occasionally of wood.

When made of iron it is formed of a piece of sheet iron, one side turned up nearly half an inch, at a right angle, which forms the back, and when that is turned to the workman at the right hand extremity an end is fitted to it, by screws, rivets, or dovetailing: this end is iron, considerably thicker than the bottom and back, and is soldered in its place to give it strength and stability.

There is a slide by which the length of the lines is regularly justified, which is fixed to the back by a nut and screw passing through a groove in it, and secured in its place by the screw passing through one of the holes in the back, by which means the length of the line can be arranged according to the size of the page. The end of the stick, and also of the slide, must form a right angle with the back, and be parallel to each other, otherwise the lines will be of unequal lengths, and cause much trouble. The English composing sticks generally hold from nine to eleven lines of pica. The French printers use much narrower ones, frequently not holding more than three lines.

COMPOSITION. _See_ ROLLERS.

COMPOSITOR.

He that composes or sets the letters.--_M._ _See_ COMPOSING.

COMPOSITOR’S BOOK.

To prevent mistakes, confused bills, and disputes in companionships, and with the employer, it is essentially necessary that a compositor should keep an account of the work that he does, and it is still better that he should be able to ascertain on the instant how much he has composed of any work that he is employed upon; the quantity in each signature; the number of pages charged, and in what signatures; and the forms he has imposed, and the signatures. The following form, it is presumed, will accomplish this object in a simple and easy manner.

+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Title of the Work. |
+----+----+--------+--------+---------------+----+----+--------+--------+
|Sig.|Set.|Charged.|Imposed.| |Sig.|Set.|Charged.|Imposed.|
+----+----+--------+--------+---------------+----+----+--------+--------+
| A | | | | Set in all. | A | | | |
+----+----+--------+--------+-------+-------+----+----+--------+--------+
| B | | | |Sheets.| Pages.| B | | | |
+----+----+--------+--------+-------+-------+----+----+--------+--------+
| C | | | | | | C | | | |
+----+----+--------+--------+ | +----+----+--------+--------+
| D | | | | | | D | | | |
+----+----+--------+--------+-------+-------+----+----+--------+--------+
| E | | | | | E | | | |
+----+----+--------+--------+ +----+----+--------+--------+
| F | | | | | F | | | |
+----+----+--------+--------+ +----+----+--------+--------+
| G | | | | | G | | | |
+----+----+--------+--------+---------------+----+----+--------+--------+
| H | | | |Charged in all.| H | | | |
+----+----+--------+--------+-------+-------+----+----+--------+--------+
| I | | | |Sheets.| Pages.| I | | | |
+----+----+--------+--------+-------+-------+----+----+--------+--------+
| K | | | | | | K | | | |
+----+----+--------+--------+ | +----+----+--------+--------+
| L | | | | | | L | | | |
+----+----+--------+--------+-------+-------+----+----+--------+--------+
| M | | | | | M | | | |
+----+----+--------+--------+ +----+----+--------+--------+
| N | | | | | N | | | |
+----+----+--------+--------+ +----+----+--------+--------+
| O | | | | | O | | | |
+----+----+--------+--------+---------------+----+----+--------+--------+
| P | | | | Imposed. | P | | | |
+----+----+--------+--------+---------------+----+----+--------+--------+
| Q | | | | Forms. | Q | | | |
+----+----+--------+--------+---------------+----+----+--------+--------+
| R | | | | | R | | | |
+----+----+--------+--------+ +----+----+--------+--------+
| S | | | | | S | | | |
+----+----+--------+--------+ +----+----+--------+--------+
| T | | | | | T | | | |
+----+----+--------+--------+---------------+----+----+--------+--------+
| U | | | | | U | | | |
+----+----+--------+--------+ +----+----+--------+--------+
| X | | | | | X | | | |
+----+----+--------+--------+ +----+----+--------+--------+
| Y | | | | | Y | | | |
+----+----+--------+--------+ +----+----+--------+--------+
| Z | | | | | Z | | | |
+----+----+--------+--------+---------------+----+----+--------+--------+

COMPOSITORS’ PRICES. _See_ SCALE OF PRICES.

CONDITION.

Balls are said to be in condition, or good condition, when they lug, and the ink is distributed easily and uniformly on their surface; that is, when they are neither too hard nor too soft: when they are either the one or the other, they are said to be in bad condition. _See_ BALLS. This also applies to rollers.

Paper is said to be in good condition when it has received a proper degree of moisture, been laid a day or two between the boards or in a heap, with weights upon the top board, then turned, which changes the parts is contact, and replaced under the weights for another day, so that the moisture shall be uniformly diffused and equal through the whole quantity of paper to be printed.

CONFESSION OF FAITH.

For the allowance of the duty on paper used in the printing of the book known by the name “The Confession of Faith,” _see_ PAPER.

CONTRACTIONS

used in Domesday Book and ancient Records. _See_ DOMESDAY BOOK. RECORDS.

COPE’S PRESS.

The ALBION. This is the production of Richard Whittaker Cope, and is an iron press. The power is produced entirely by levers, which, by means of two strong iron links attached to the head, and working at the bottom on what is called the lugs, communicate the power to the platen, and thus produce the impression: on the return of the bar the platen is lifted from the face of the types by means of a spiral spring fixed on the head of the press. I have repeatedly broken the links, when they were guaranteed to withstand any force in working the press that could be applied to it. On the death of Mr. Cope, the business was continued by trustees for the benefit of the family, and is under the immediate management of Mr. John Hopkinson, who has very much improved this press by taking away the links, and remodelling it: the principle, on the present construction, is the same as that of Sherwin and Cope’s Imperial press, with some variation in the application of the cap or knuckle, and also in the adjusting wedges, the screw of which to regulate the pull is at the near side of the piston.

COPTIC.

The Copts are undoubtedly descendants of the ancient Egyptians; but not an unmixed race, their ancestors in the earlier ages of Christianity having intermarried with Greeks, Nubians, Abyssinians, and other foreigners. Their name is correctly pronounced either _Ckoobt_ or _Ckibt_; but more commonly _Goobt_ or _Gibt_, and (in Cairo and its neighbourhood, and in some other parts of Egypt,) _’Oobt_ or _’Ibt_: in the singular, it is pronounced _Ckoob´tee_, _Ckib´tee_, _Goob´tee_, _Gib´tee_, _’Oob´tee_, or _’Ib´tee_. All of these sounds bear a great resemblance to the ancient Greek name of Egypt (Αἰγυπτος): but it is generally believed that the name of “Ckoobt” is derived from _Coptos_, (once a great city, in Upper Egypt,) now called _Ckooft_, or, more commonly, _Gooft_; to which vast numbers of the Christian Egyptians retired during the persecution with which their sect was visited under several of the Roman emperors. The Copts have not altogether lost their ancient language, their liturgy and several of their religious books being written in it; but the Coptic has become a dead language, understood by very few persons; and the Arabic has been adopted in its stead.

The Coptic language gradually fell into disuse after the conquest of Egypt by the Arabs. For two centuries after that event, it appears to have been the only language that the generality of the Copts understood; but before the tenth century of our era, most of the inhabitants of Lower Egypt had ceased to speak and understand it, [this has been shown by Quatremère, in his Researches on the Language and Literature of Egypt,] though, in the Sa’ee´d (or Upper Egypt), El-Muckree´zee tells, the women and children of the Copts, in his time, (that is, about the close of the fourteenth century of our era, or the early part of the fifteenth,) scarcely spoke any other language than the Sa’ee´dee Coptic, and had a complete knowledge of the Greek. Soon after this period, the Coptic language fell into disuse in Upper Egypt, as it had done so long before in the Lower Provinces, and the Arabic was adopted in its stead. All the Copts who have been instructed at a school still pray, both in the church and in private, in Coptic; and the Scriptures are still always read in the churches in that language; but they are explained, from books, in Arabic. Many books for the use of priests and other persons are written in the Coptic language expressed in Arabic characters.--_Lane’s Modern Egyptians_, vol. ii. 1836.

Gibbon states, that Cavio affords a shelter for the indigent patriarch of the Copts, and a remnant of ten bishops: forty monasteries have survived the inroads of the Arabs; and the progress of servitude and apostasy has reduced the Coptic nation to the despicable number of twenty-five or thirty thousand families.

We know very little of the ancient language of Egypt. Nearly all the remains of it we now possess, have been transmitted to us through the Coptic, Sahidic and Bashmuric Dialects. The Coptic Dialect was spoken in Lower Egypt, of which Memphis was the capital: hence it has been called, with great propriety, the Memphitic Dialect. The Sahidic, from the Arabic word _Sahad_, or _Al Sahad_, the _Upper_, or _Superior_, was the dialect of Upper Egypt, of which Thebes was the capital; it has, therefore, been called the Thebaïc. It is impossible to say which of these two dialects was the more ancient. Georgi, Valperga, Munter, and others, have decided in favour of the Coptic; and Macriny, Renandot, Lacroze, and Jablonsky, with as much show of reason, have contended for the Sahidic. Still, however, the question must be left to conjecture, as we have not sufficient evidence to enable us to decide upon it. Besides these two dialects, which have long been known, there was a third, which was spoken in Baschmour, a province of the Delta.

The existence of three dialects in Egypt has been so satisfactorily proved by Quatremère, Englebreth, and other writers; and so fully confirmed by the Bashmuric fragments which have been discovered and published, that little more need be added. If, however, any doubt remain, the following quotation from a manuscript work of Athanasius, a prelate of the Coptic church, who was Bishop of Kous, will entirely remove it. “The Coptic language,” says he, “is divided into three dialects; the Coptic dialect of Miser, the Bahiric, and the Bashmuric: these different dialects are derived from the same language.”

The introduction of Greek words into the Egyptian language commenced, no doubt, from the time of the Macedonian conquest, which the introduction of Christianity tended to confirm and extend. The Christian religion contained so many new ideas, that new terms were necessary to express them. These terms the language of Greece would readily supply; which, probably, were adopted by the Egyptians, from the Greek writings of the apostles.

Egyptian literature has recently attracted particular attention. All that has come down to us of the language and literature of ancient Egypt is contained in the Coptic, Sahidic, and Bashmuric dialects; and in the Enchorial, Hieratic, and Hieroglyphic inscriptions and manuscripts.

The Coptic, or, as it has been called, the Bahiric, but more properly the Memphitic, was the dialect of Lower Egypt; the _Mizur_ of the Scriptures. This dialect is more regular and systematic in its grammatical construction, and more pure, than the others.

Manuscripts exist, in Coptic, of nearly the whole of the Sacred Scriptures, and of the Services of the Coptic church. The works of some of the early Fathers, and the Acts of the Council of Nice, and also the Lives of a considerable number of Saints and Martyrs, are found in the Coptic dialect.

Dr. Murray says, the Coptic is an original tongue, for it derives all its indeclinable words and particles from radicals pertaining to itself. Its verbs are derived from its own resources. There is no mixture of any foreign language in its composition, except Greek.

The remains which we possess of the Egyptian language, when separated from the Greek, with which it is in some measure mixed up, has no near resemblance to any of the ancient or modern languages.

The importance of the Ancient Egyptian to the antiquary will at once appear, when we consider that a knowledge of it is necessary before the inscriptions on the monuments of Egypt can be properly understood, and the Enchorial and Hieratic manuscripts can be fully deciphered.

The terms Coptic and Sahidic have been adopted instead of Memphitic and Thebaic, lest confusion should be created; as the former are used in those Egyptian publications which have issued from the Oxford University Press.

The Coptic alphabet contains Thirty-two Letters. It will be seen, from a comparison of the alphabets, that the Egyptians adopted the Greek alphabet, with the addition of seven letters.

The Gamma never occurs in Coptic words, except in one or two instances. It is used instead of the Kappa in words derived from the Greek.

The Xi is seldom found in Egyptian words, but principally occurs in words derived from other languages. It is sometimes used instead of _ks_.

The stops used, are one or two points, · : but two points are most commonly used.

The mark used to divide the verses is +.

When the point or short line (`) occurs over consonants, it generally expresses the vowel _e_ short.

It appears, from some words derived from the Greek, that the point (`) has been used to express the vowels _a_ and _o_ short.

When the point (`) occurs above a vowel, it expresses the soft or sharp breathing of the Greeks. When it is found above _e_ long, it denotes the sharp accent; but when placed above the other vowels, it either expresses the soft accent, or it denotes that the letter should be pronounced separately, and agrees with the diæresis of the Greeks.

When the point (`) is put over a vowel in the beginning of words derived from the Greek, and which has the aspirate in that language, it indicates a sharp breathing.

Some Coptic words are abbreviated by a line or lines above them.--_Tattam’s Grammar of the Egyptian Language._ 8vo. 1830.

_Coptic in the British Foundries._

_English._ Oxford.

_Pica._ Caslon and Livermore. Dr. Wilkins’s edition of the
Pentateuch.

_The Coptic Alphabet._

+----------+-----------+-----------+-----------------+---------+
| Names of | Coptic | Greek | Corresponding | Number. |
| Letters. | Alphabet. | Alphabet. | English sounds. | |
+----------+-----------+-----------+-----------------+---------+
| Alpha | Ⲁ ⲁ | Α α | a | 1. |
| | | | { as _v_ | |
| Beta | Ⲃ ⲃ | Β β | b { between | 2. |
| | | | { two vowels.| |
| Gamma | Ⲅ ⲅ | Γ γ | g | 3. |
| Delta | Ⲇ ⲇ | Δ δ | d | 4. |
| Ei | Ⲉ ⲉ | Ε ε | e short. | 5. |
| So | Ⲋ ⲋ | ς | ç | 6. |
| Zeta | Ⲍ ⲍ | Ζ ζ | z | 7. |
| Heta | Ⲏ ⲏ | Η η | e long. | 8. |
| Theta | Ⲑ ⲑ | Θ θ | th | 9. |
| Iota | Ⲓ ⲓ | Ι ι | i | 10. |
| Kappa | Ⲕ ⲕ | Κ κ | k | 20. |
| Lauda | Ⲗ ⲗ | Λ λ | l | 30. |
| Mi | Ⲙ ⲙ | Μ μ | m | 40. |
| Ni | Ⲛ ⲛ | Ν ν | n | 50. |
| Xi | Ⲝ ⲝ | Ξ ξ | x | 60. |
| Ou | Ⲟ ⲟ | Ο ο | o short. | 70. |
| Pi | Ⲡ ⲡ | Π π | p | 80. |
| Ro | Ⲣ ⲣ | Ρ ρ | r | 100. |
| Sima | Ⲥ ⲥ | Σ σ ς | s | 200. |
| Tau | Ⲧ ⲧ | Τ τ | t | 300. |
| Hu | Ⲩ ⲩ | Υ υ | u | 400. |
| Phi | Ⲫ ⲫ | Φ φ | ph | 500. |
| Chi | Ⲭ ⲭ | Χ χ | ch | 600. |
| Psi | Ⲯ ⲯ | Ψ ψ | ps | 700. |
| Ou | Ⲱ ⲱ | Ω ω | o long. | 800. |
| Shei | Ϣ ϣ | | sh | 900. |
| Fei | Ϥ ϥ | | f | 90. |
| Hei | Ϧ ϧ | | kh | |
| Hori | Ϩ ϩ | | h | |
| | | | { and _j_ | |
| Gangia | Ϫ ϫ | | g { before | |
| | | | { a vowel. | |
| Sima | Ϭ ϭ | | sh | |
| Tei | Ϯ ϯ | | ti, di, or th | |
+----------+-----------+-----------+-----------------+---------+

COPY.

The manuscript that is to be printed, or a book that is to be reprinted; in short, any subject that is to be printed, is termed _Copy_.

Where it is possible, copy should always be kept locked up in a fire-proof closet. As it is rare for an author to have a duplicate, the loss of the manuscript would in many instances be irretrievable; it is also necessary to be very careful of the copy of new editions, in which the author or editor has made alterations; of all posthumous MS. works; and of unique copies, which sometimes are entrusted to the printer, the loss or destruction of which would be an unpardonable offence, unless it could be shown that all human precautions had been taken for their preservation.

I cannot omit noticing the careless manner in which many compositors keep their copy, leaving it loose on their frames and in their windows, and frequently neglecting to shut them when they quit work in summer, by which means the copy is sometimes blown away and lost, and at other times portions of it are destroyed as waste paper. The best method of preserving it is to have a paper case, or an old book cover, to put it in, and to keep it in the well of the frame, or the drawer when there is one.

Copy is generally given out to the compositor in regular portions: if it be printed, a sheet at a time; if in manuscript, a chapter, or section, as it may be; for the compositor has never the whole volume in his hands at once, excepting it be bound, and not allowed to be cut up, or taken to pieces. If the author supply it in small quantities at a time, it is usually handed to the compositor as it is received.

Many gentlemen who write for the press fall into an error, that appears inconsistent even with common reasoning; viz. _that the worse the manuscript is written, the more likely the work is to be correctly printed_: for, say they, the more difficulty the printer meets with in reading it, the more pains he is obliged to take to understand the subject; and of course he will print it more accurately than if he could pass it over in a slovenly manner.

In refutation of this prevalent error, I would ask those gentlemen, if they have never received letters from their friends, so hastily and carelessly written that their utmost efforts to decipher every word have been baffled, although they might arrive at the general meaning of the whole; I have myself seen letters which set at defiance all attempts to read them: I would ask those gentlemen, whether in examining ancient MSS. they have not often been perplexed in making out the subject, and after all their endeavours have at last risen from the task in many instances rather guessing at the meaning than being certain of it. Even so, and worse, is the case of the printer with ill-written manuscript, who frequently is ignorant of the subject on which he is engaged; how then is it probable that he should produce a proof as correct as if the manuscript were written in a fair legible hand?--it is neither probable nor possible. I have known more than one author, when appealed to for information on his own writing, unable to read it, and of course unable to explain to the workman the difficulty he was labouring under; and I have heard one of these very persons, among others, maintain, that the worse a manuscript was written, the more probability there was of its being correctly printed.

By the Act of the 39 G. 3. c. 79. s. 29. it is enacted, “That
every Person who, from and after the Expiration of forty Days
after the passing of this Act, shall print any Paper for Hire,
Reward, Gain, or Profit, shall carefully preserve and keep one
Copy (at least) of every Paper so printed by him or her, on which
he or she shall write, or cause to be written or printed, in
fair and legible Characters, the Name and Place of Abode of the
Person or Persons by whom he or she shall be employed to print
the same; and every Person printing any Paper for Hire, Reward,
Gain, or Profit, who shall omit or neglect to write, or cause to
be written or printed as aforesaid, the Name and Place of his
or her Employer on one of such printed Papers, or to keep or
preserve the same for the Space of six Calendar Months next after
the Printing thereof, or to produce and shew the same to any
Justice of the Peace, who, within the said Space of six Calendar
Months, shall require to see the same, shall, for every such
Omission, Neglect, or Refusal, forfeit and lose the Sum of twenty
Pounds.”

COPY MONEY.

It appears from Moxon’s work, that in his time each compositor received a copy of the work on which he was employed, or, in lieu of it, a sum of money, which was called _Copy Money_. This custom is abolished, and no remains of it exist. _See_ ANCIENT CUSTOMS and TAKE UP A SHEET.

COPYRIGHT. _See_ LITERARY PROPERTY.

CORDING QUIRES.

The outside quires of a ream of paper.--_M._ They are now called Outsides, or Outside Quires. _See_ CASSIE PAPER.

CORNER IRONS.

Irons screwed on the coffin of a wooden press at the extremity of each corner: these irons form a right angle at the outside, and an obtuse angle on the inside, being thicker at the angle than at the extreme ends, so as to allow the quoins to wedge up the form on the press stone. They are quadrat high.

CORRECT.

When the corrector reads the proof, or the compositor mends the faults he marked in the proof, they are both said to correct; the corrector the proof, the compositor the form.--_M._ In the first case, it is now styled reading the proof; in the next, the compositor has to put right the errors and mistakes he has made in the workmanship, previously to the sheet being sent to the author or editor; this he does by picking out the wrong letters or words by means of a sharp bodkin, and replacing them with the right ones; but if he have left an out or made a double, he then takes the matter into the composing stick, and over-runs it till he comes to the end of a paragraph; or the error may make one or more even lines, when the trouble is much lessened; still the length of the page must be had in view and kept right, either by branching out where it will admit of it, or by driving a line or two out, or getting a line or two in in the adjoining pages, according to circumstances, but never to make even lines too suddenly so as to cause the spacing to be unsightly, by being too close, or too wide, for the sake of saving a little trouble in over-running a few lines.

For the regularity and despatch of business a compositor should never delay correcting after he has received the proof: it causes disappointment to the author or proprietors of the work, and injures his employer in his business, by obtaining for him the character of want of regularity and punctuality; it injures the pressmen, by delaying the forms going to press; and it ultimately injures himself, by causing him to stand still for want of letter. It is a general rule in printing offices, that a compositor should always impose as soon as the sheet on which he is at work is out and made up, and that he also should correct his proof without loss of time. _See_ AUTHOR’S PROOF. FIRST PROOF.

CORRECTING

is the rectifying of such errors in the types as the compositor may have made, and any defects in the workmanship; it also includes making such alterations as the author, on examining the proof sheets, may think necessary.

The German printers have an implement, made of wood, similar to the back and bottom of a composing stick, in which they gather the corrections, and place it with them in it on the form, without risk of injuring the types, leaving their hands free from incumbrance. This appears to be an improvement on our practice, which is, when the corrections are numerous, to gather them in a composing stick, and place it on the face of the form, for convenience of having them close at hand; this should be avoided, and neither metal, nor any other article that is likely to injure the types or an engraving, should ever be laid on the face of the letter.

The French and the Italians employ a pair of tweezers for picking the wrong letters out of the form, by which they avoid injuring the letter with the bodkin; but there is a bodkin attached to the other end, to use when necessary. They say this is superior to our method of taking out the wrong letter with a bodkin, and executed more readily. In fact, with us there is frequent injury done by the inexperienced or careless workman in using the bodkin: the letter is often injured that is drawn out; if the bodkin is not very sharp, it occasionally slips and spoils the face of six or seven adjoining letters; and, by its injudicious use, the next letter, under the blade of the bodkin, is often rendered useless.

The specimen in p. 191. shows the manner of marking the corrections in a proof. The following is an explanation of the marks therein used, which will enable a gentleman who has to superintend a work through the press to correct the proof sheets in a way that will be clearly understood by the printer, and will tend to promote correctness, by preventing those mistakes that occasionally occur owing to his not comprehending all the marks on the proof.

Where a word is to be changed from small letters to capitals draw three lines under it, and write _caps._ in the margin.

1. The substitution of a capital for a small letter.

2. The marks for turned commas, which designate extracts or quotations.

3. The insertion of a hyphen.

4. The substitution of a small letter for a capital.

5. To change one word for another.

6. To take away a superfluous letter or word, the pen is struck through it and a round topped _d_ made opposite, being the contraction of the word _dele_, do thou expunge.

7. A letter turned upside down.

8. The insertion of a word or letter.

9. The substitution of a comma for another point, or for a letter put in by mistake.

10. The substitution of a ; for another point.

11. When words are to be transposed, two ways of marking them are shown; but they are not usually numbered, unless more than three words have their order changed.

12. When a paragraph commences where it is not intended, connect the matter by a line, and write in the margin opposite _run on_.

13. To draw the letters of a word close together that stand apart.

14. The marks for a new paragraph.

15. The substitution of a period or a colon for any other point. It is customary to encircle these two points with a line.

16. Where a space or a quadrat stands up and appears, draw a line under it, and make a strong perpendicular line in the margin.

17. Where there is a wrong letter, draw the pen through that letter, and make the right one opposite in the margin.

18. The transposition of letters in a word.

19. The mark for a space where it has been omitted between two words.

20. The manner of marking an omission, or an insertion, when it is too long to be written in the side margin. When this occurs it may be done either at the top or the bottom of the page.

21. When one or more words have been struck out, and it is subsequently decided that they should remain, make dots under them, and write the word _stet_ in the margin.

22. When a letter of a different size from that used, or of a different face, appears in a word, draw a line either through it or under it, and write opposite _w. f._, for wrong fount.

23. Marks when the letters in a word do not stand even.

24. Marks when lines do not appear straight.

25. The mark for the insertion of an apostrophe.

Where a word has to be changed from Roman to Italic draw a line under it, and write _Ital._ in the margin; and where a word has to be changed from Italic to Roman, write _Rom._ opposite.

To change a word from small letters to small capitals, make two lines under the word, and write _sm. caps._ opposite. To change a word from small capitals to small letters make one line under the word, and write in the margin _lo. ca._ for lower case.

Where the compositor has left an out, which is too long to be copied in the margin of the proof, make a caret at the place, and write opposite, _Out, see copy_.

The specimen when corrected would be as follows.

It is sublimely declared in the Christian Scriptures, that “God is Love.” In truth, to figure to ourselves under any other character a Being of infinite wisdom to conceive, and power to execute his designs, would appal the imagination of his dependent creatures. Neither can we find, in reasoning à priori, and from the nature of things, any foundation for believing that the misery rather than the happiness of those dependent creatures can be desired or devised by a Being who cannot possibly be actuated by any of the motives from which we know that injustice proceeds, as ignorance, selfishness, or partiality; and who can have entertained, so far as we are able to discover, no other object in creating man, except the intention of finally communicating a larger proportion of happiness than misery. These are the principles from which is deduced the necessity of justice and benevolence in the Creator.

Arguments of this nature will have more or less effect, according to the constitution of the mind to which they are presented. At the same time it must be conceded, that the works of God, generally considered, form the best criterion of his intentions; and that, however indisputable the eternal truths may be which render goodness inseparable from power and wisdom, there still remains a reasonable inquiry, how far the actual appearance of the world justifies this conclusion.

CORRECTING STONE.

The stone on which the compositor imposes and corrects his forms.--_M._ It is now called _Imposing Stone_, which _see_.

CORRECTIONS.

The letters marked in a proof are called Corrections.--_M._ At the present time, the right words or letters that are to replace the wrong ones are understood by the word; thus a compositor, when he collects the right letters for the purpose of correcting a form, is said to _Gather the Corrections_.

CORRECTOR.

Moxon uses this word to designate the person whom we now call a Reader. The word is not now used. _See_ READER.

COUNTING OFF COPY. _See_ CASTING OFF COPY.

COWPER, EDWARD. _See_ MACHINES.

CRAMPED.

In composing, when it is necessary to get in a given quantity of matter into a certain number of pages, which are hardly sufficient to contain it, whites are used sparingly, short pages are avoided, and the matter is spaced closer than common; it is then said to be cramped. A compositor is also said to cramp his matter when he does not put whites proportionate to the openness of the work, or to the size of the letter when there is no restriction.

CRAMP IRONS.

Short pieces of iron, polished on their face, fastened to the under side of the plank, to run the carriage in and out upon the long ribs. They are frequently called the Short Ribs. The two at each end are turned again at the outer ends, to guide the carriage, and prevent any lateral motion, and are called _Guide Cramps_. I have seen them made of bell metal, as having less friction than iron running upon iron.

CROSS.

Long Cross and Short Cross; two bars of iron crossing each other at right angles and dovetailed into the rim of the chase, dividing it into four quarters. The short cross is the broadest, and has a groove for the points to fall in, for the purpose of making holes in the sheet to work the reiteration in register.

CROTCHETS

or Brackets [ ] serve to enclose a word or sentence, which is to be explained in a note, or the explanation itself, or a word or a sentence which is intended to supply some deficiency, or to rectify some mistake.--_Murray._

CUFIC. _See_ KOOFEE.

CULL PAPER.

To examine the cording quires, and select the best sheets out from those that are so much damaged as to be unfit for use.--_M._

CURRYING IRON.

A square bar of iron, bent so as to make the middle part of it project from the post or upright to which the ends are fastened; the ends are flatted out, turned again at right angles, with screw holes, and the middle of the projecting part is twisted. Its use is to curry pelts.

CURRYING THE PELT.

Putting it half round the currying iron, or a post, and taking hold of both ends, drawing it backwards and forwards to make it more supple, and to take part of the moisture out. _See_ BALLS.

CURVILINEAR PRINTING.

In the year 1805, a Mr. Zach. Allnutt published proposals for “a New Mode of Universal Linear Printing, named by me Curvilinear Printing, being a neat, expeditious, and cheap Method of printing Plans of Rivers, Canals, Roads, Estates, Encampments, Mathematical Figures, and all other Sketches required to illustrate any Subject.”

“The Time required in executing such Plans, and on which a Calculation of their Expence may be easily made, would be,

“For an Octavo Plan of Demy or Foolscap paper not very much crouded, Time one person one day.

“For a Quarto Demy or Foolscap paper not much crouded, or for an Octavo much crouded, Time two days.

“For a Folio Foolscap not much crouded, or Quarto much crouded, Time three days.”

He then proceeds to say, that he had published a small pamphlet, in which he had inserted some specimens of Maps of Rivers and Canals, and a Plan of a Building; and executed various Plans of Estates; and of Military Positions (but not with Soldier or Tent Types purposely cast), and a Sketch of a Machine, &c.; and that these specimens were composed with common printing types (except the Trees, Houses, Churches, and Compass, which were cast so as to be moveable,) and printed with a common letter-press.

He proposed to “discover and explain” “the precise Method of such Curvilinear Printing, with a full and particular Description,” “if a sufficient Number of Persons, to answer his Expectations, engage as Subscribers of Ten Guineas each.” “But if there should not be a sufficient Number of Subscribers hereto according to the Inventor’s Expectations, He will be ready to treat with any Person, or Persons collectively, for the sole Use of this New Method or Invention.”

I never knew of any person subscribing, or of any printer practising this particular manner of printing; and I believe that Mr. Allnutt’s discovery would have sunk into utter oblivion, but for a few of his Proposals, one of which is now lying before me.

CUT-IN NOTES.

Side notes that are not arranged in the front margin down the side of the page, but are inserted in the text, the lines of which are shortened to admit the note, as if a piece of the text were cut out, and the note inserted in the vacancy.

CUTTING THE FRISKET.

Cutting those parts of the paper away so as to allow the types to print on its own paper, and to keep the margin clean.--_M._

CYLINDRICAL PRINTING. _See_ MACHINES.

D.

DAGGER. _See_ OBELISK.

DANCES. _See_ FORM DANCES.

DANISH.

The Danish alphabet consists of twenty-seven letters.

_Remarks on the Alphabet._

Q, q, (Ku, pronounced _coo_) is here omitted, being not merely superfluous and useless, but even prejudicial to a faithful representation of the language, by observing the origin and affinity of words, for instance, _Kvinde_, woman, is derived from _Kone_, wife; _bekvem_, convenient, from _komme_, to come (Fr. venir); _Kvartér_, a quarter of an hour, is also called _Kortér_; _Kvast_, tuft, is originally the same word as _Kóst_, broom; and _kvæle_, suffocate, the same as the English _kill_. The Q is therefore justly rejected by the celebrated grammarian P. Syv, as also by the learned Prof. S. N. J. Bloch in his _Danske Sproglære_, Odense 1817. It is however still used by some, but always followed by _v_, never by _u_ in any Danish book, as, _Qvinde_, _beqvem_, _Qvarter_, &c.

_The Alphabet._

+----------------+----------+-----------------------------------+
| Figure. | Name. | Power. |
+------+---------+----------+-----------------------------------+
| A a | ~A a~ | A | a in _father_, _part_. |
| B b | ~B b~ | Bé | b. |
| C c | ~C c~ | Cé | s and k as in English. |
| D d | ~D d~ | Dé | d hard, and th flat. |
| E e | ~E e~ | E | French _é fermé_, and _è ouvert_. |
| F f | ~F f~ | Ef (eff) | f. |
| G g | ~G g~ | Gé (ghe) | g in _go_, _give_. |
| H h | ~H h~ | Hå (hô) | h aspirated. |
| I i | ~I i~ | I (ee) | ee in _bee_, i in _bill_. |
| J j | ~J j~ | Jé (jod) | y consonant. |
| K k | ~K k~ | Kå (ko) | k. |
| L l | ~L l~ | El | l. |
| M m | ~M m~ | Em | m. |
| N n | ~N n~ | En | n. |
| O o | ~O o~ | O | o in _more_, _for_. |
| P p | ~P p~ | Pé | p. |
| R r | ~R r~ | Er | r. |
| S s | ~S s~ | Es | s hard. |
| T t | ~T t~ | Té | t. |
| U u | ~U u~ | U (oo) | oo in _fool_, u in _full_. |
| V v | ~V v~ | Vé | v in _vein_, w in _howl_. |
| X x | ~X x~ | Ex (eks) | x hard. |
| Y y | ~Y y~ | Y | French _u_ in _pure_, _nul_. |
| Å å | [#] [#] | Å (ô) | a in _warm_, oa in _broad_. |
| Æ æ | [#] [#] | Æ (ai) | a in _sale_, ai in _said_. |
| Ø ø | [#] [#] | Ø | French _eu fermé_ in _peu_. |
| Ö ö | [#] [#] | Ö {| French _eu ouvert_ in _veuve_, |
| | | {| œu in _cœur_, _œuf_. |
| |([#] [#])| | |
| |([#] [#])| | |
| |([#] [#])| | |
| |([#] [#])| | |
| |([#] [#])| | |
| | ([#]) | | |
+------+---------+----------+-----------------------------------+

Z, z, (Zet, pronounced _sett_) has crept from the German orthography into a few words, which should be written by _s_, according to the true pronunciation; as, _Zobel_, sable; _Zire_, to adorn; better _Sobel_, _sire_.

Å has been, till the beginning of this century, commonly represented by _aa_, according to the old Low German orthography, but _å_ is found in ancient Danish and Norwegian manuscripts: its reintroduction, proposed by the celebrated Danish grammarian Höjsgård 1743, later by Schlegel, Baden, Nyerup, Schrejber, Thonboe, &c. has, in the last decennium, been realized in about thirty separate books or pamphlets by Prof. A. Gamborg, Mr. H.J. Hansen, Mr. N.M. Petersen, and also by E. Rask, and several anonymous writers. At all events the sound is simple, and continually interchanging with other simple vowels (_a_, _æ_, _o_,) in the inflection and derivation of words, for instance, _tæller_, to count, in the past tense _talde_ or _tålde_, counted; _gå_, to go, _Gang_, gait, _gængse_, current, common; from _Får_, sheep, is derived _Færøerne_, the Farroe islands. Thus even in kindred dialects; as, _Vingård_, vineyard; _Tåre_, tear, German Zähre; _Måned_, month, German Monath; _åben_, open, &c. Whereas _aa_ is sometimes long _a_, sometimes even to be read in two syllables as: _Haarlem_, _Aaron_, _Kanaan_, _Knud Danaast_, the name of a Danish prince. The learner however will find _aa_ for _å_ in most printed books hitherto published.

Æ, like Å, represents a simple vowel sound, and must never be separated or resolved into _ae_, which make distinct syllables, for instance, _bejae_ (be-ya-e), affirm.

Ø and Ö are commonly confounded, so that Ø is used for both sounds in books printed in the Gothic type, Ö in those in the Roman character.