Chapter XIII: Part 13

We are satisfied that the types used by the first printers were not cast or founded in a mode at all approximating to the modern method. The question is, not who was the first type-founder in the modern style, but who was the first printer with movable types, no matter whether of wood, pewter, or tin; and we agree with the judicious Isaiah Thomas in the opinion that Koster was that man.

See _Haarlem the Birthplace of Printing, not Mentz_, by J. H. Hessels, Cambridge, England, 1887: an emphatic confutation of the Gutenberg legend.

[5] Two copies of Bradford’s Almanac are known to be in existence. We give the Address of

THE PRINTER TO THE READERS.

Hereby understand that after great charge & Trouble, I have brought that GREAT ART & MYSTERY OF PRINTING into this part of America; believing it may be of great service to you in several respects; hoping to find encouragement, not only in this Almanack, but what else I shall enter upon for the use & service of the Inhabitants of these Parts. Some irregularities there be in this Diary, which I desire you to pass by this year; for being lately come hither, my materials were misplaced & out of order, whereupon I was forced to use Figures & Letters of various Sizes: but understanding the want of something of this nature, & being importuned thereto, I ventured to make public this; desiring you to accept thereof; & by the next (as I find encouragement) shall endeavour to have things compleat. And for the ease of Clarks, Scriveniers, &c., I propose to print blank Bills, Bonds, Letters of Attorney, Indentures, Warrants, etc., & what else presents itself, wherein I shall be ready to serve you; and remain your friend.

W. BRADFORD.

Philadelphia, the
10th month, 1685.

[6] Mr. Horatio Gates Jones, of Philadelphia, in his introduction to Frame’s Short Description of Pennsilvania, gives further interesting particulars. See, also, Munsell’s Chronology, &c. of Paper and Paper Making, Albany, N. Y., 1876.

[7] The remainder of this article was mostly furnished by the late Mr. George Bruce, of New York.

[8] After the retirement of Binny & Ronaldson, Richard Ronaldson carried on the business of this foundry until 1833, when he in turn was succeeded by Lawrence Johnson and George F. Smith. Mr. Johnson, a man of great energy and enterprise, had (contemporaneously with Jedediah Howe) introduced stereotyping into Philadelphia, and now both callings were incorporated. Ten years afterward, Mr. Smith retired; and in the year 1845 Mr. Johnson associated with him Thomas MacKellar, John F. Smith and Richard Smith, who had, as it were, grown up with the business. The foundry now quickly grew in importance, and won a wide reputation. Mr. Johnson died April 26, 1860, and was succeeded by his three partners, who, with Peter A. Jordan, constituted the firm known as MacKellar, Smiths & Jordan, under whose management the establishment was brought to rank equal with and excel most of the type foundries in the world. Mr. Jordan died March 25, 1884. In 1885 Wm. B. MacKellar, G. Fredk Jordan and C. F. Huch were associated with the remaining partners, and a corporation was formed under the name of The MacKellar, Smiths & Jordan Company. Their “Typographic Advertiser” (begun in 1855) and Specimen Books are regarded as unique mechanical and literary productions. The height and body of the Pica of this Company have been universally adopted in the United States as the standard of size for the American Point System of type.

[9] Chambers’s Encyclopædia.

[10] Wilson’s _Treatise on English Punctuation_ is a full and explicit work on this subject, and should be studied by every printer and author. It is worthy of adoption as the standard authority.

[11] Wilson, in his _Treatise on English Punctuation_, says, very judiciously,—

The hyphen is employed in words in such a manner as is best calculated to show their origin, composition, or import, and to exhibit the syllables in their neatest form. Agreeably to this rule,—

1. Compound and derivative words are resolved into their primitives; as, _school-master_, _hand-writing_, _pen-knife_, _snuff-box_, _looking-glass_; _arch-angel_, _geo-logy_, _theo-cracy_, _ortho-graphy_.

2. Prefixes, affixes, and grammatical terminations are separated; as, _dis-continue_, _en-able_, _trans-port_; _shear-er_, _load-ed_, _print-ing_; _king-dom_, _false-hood_, _differ-ence_, _command-ment_.

3. One consonant between two vowels is to be joined to the latter syllable; as, _ta-lent_, _fa-tal_; _me-lon_, _le-ver_; _spi-rit_, _si-lence_; _cy-nic_, _ty-ro_; _le-ga-cy_, _mo-no-po-ly_. Except _x_, and single consonants when they belong to the former portion of a derivative word; as, _ex-ile_, _ex-ist_, _ex-amine_; _up-on_, _dis-ease_, _circum-ambient_.

4. Two or more consonants belong to the latter syllable, when they are capable of beginning a word; as, _ta-ble_, _sti-fle_, _lu-cre_, _o-gle_, _mau-gre_, _stro-phe_, _de-stroy_.

5. But when the consonants cannot begin a word, or when the vowel preceding them is short, the first should be separated; as, _ab-bey_, _ac-cent_, _vel-lum_, _ab-ject_, _gar-den_, _laun-dry_, _pam-phlet_; _blas-pheme_, _dis-tress_, _min-strel_.

It is desirable that compound and derivative words should, at the end of lines, be divided in such a manner as to indicate their principal parts. Thus, _school-master_ is preferable to _schoolmas-ter_, _dis-approve_ to _disap-prove_, _resent-ment_ to _re-sentment_, _ortho-doxy_ to _or-thodoxy_; though, as regards the analysis of words into syllables, the latter mode is unobjectionable. From the narrowness of the printed line, however, in some books, the principle recommended cannot always be adhered to.

The terminations _tion_, _sion_, _cial_, _tial_, and many others, formerly pronounced as two syllables, but now only as one, must not be divided either in spelling or at the end of a line.

A syllable consisting of only one letter, as the _a_ in _cre-ation_, should not commence a line. This word would be better divided _crea-tion_; and so all others of a similar kind.

A line of print must not end with the first syllable of a word when it consists of a single letter; as, _a-bide_, _e-normous_; nor begin with the last syllable when it is formed of only two letters; as, _nation-al_, _teach-er_, _similar-ly_. For regard should be had to the principles of taste and beauty as well as to the laws of syllabication.

[12] The Hebrew alphabet is almost identical with the Phœnician.

[13] Chambers’s Encyclopædia, published by J. B. Lippincott & Co., Philadelphia.

[14] Bell’s Greek Grammar.

[15] See pages 318-332.

[16] The following epitaph was no doubt written by a printer after performing the most disagreeable task attendant on his profession:—

No more shall copy bad perplex my brain,
No more shall type’s small face my eyeballs strain;
No more the proof’s foul page create me troubles,
By errors, transpositions, outs, and doubles:
No more my head shall ache from author’s whims,
As overrunnings, driving-outs, and ins;
The sturdy pressman’s frown I now may scoff,
Revised, corrected, finally wrought off.

[17] We are indebted to a friend for the following sketch of the origin, progress, and present condition of the world-famous house of R. Hoe & Co.

Robert Hoe, the founder of the present house of R. Hoe & Co. of New York, was born at Hose, in Leicestershire, England, in 1784. His father was a well-to-do farmer in that pleasant, sequestered district; but, as the family was large, Robert was apprenticed to a carpenter in a neighbouring town. His attention was early attracted and his mind impressed by the prosperity of the people of the United States; and, being a republican at heart, and conscious that the institutions of his own country presented almost insurmountable obstacles to the advancement of the working classes, he purchased his indentures from his employer, and in 1803 emigrated to New York.

On his arrival he made the acquaintance of Grant Thorburn, who, becoming interested in him, received him into his family, and with great kindness nursed him with his own hands through an attack of the yellow fever, which was then raging in the city. He soon established himself in his trade, and, by his industry, integrity, and enterprise, became advantageously known to the public. At the age of twenty he married the daughter of Matthew Smith, of Westchester Co., New York, by whom he had three sons and six daughters. For a time he was in partnership with his brother-in-law, Matthew Smith, Jr., a carpenter and printers’ joiner, who, on their separation, associated with himself his brother, Peter Smith, who was educated at Yale College, and was the inventor of the well-known hand-press bearing his name.

On the decease of these two brothers, Robert Hoe, in 1823, succeeded to the business, which was then in its infancy, giving employment to only a handful of men, and being conducted in the middle of the block bounded by Maiden Lane, Pine, William, and Pearl Streets, in some old buildings to which access was gained by an alley running from Maiden Lane to Pine Street. Here the business, under the style of Robert Hoe & Co., grew rapidly; but the extension of Cedar Street made necessary its removal to the present location in Gold Street. About this time, the flat-bed cylinder press, for newspaper printing, was introduced into England; and Mr. Hoe sent an intelligent mechanic there to examine it, and it was soon brought into use here, with valuable improvements. In 1832, Mr. Hoe’s failing health obliged him to relinquish the business to his eldest son, Richard M. Hoe, and Matthew Smith, son of his first partner. In the following year he died. Shortly after his decease, the firm erected extensive buildings in Broome Street, in the eastern part of the city, where the greater part of their manufacturing has since been carried on. They also commenced making cast-steel saws, which had previously been exclusively imported from England; and this branch has steadily increased in importance.

Matthew Smith, a man of uncommon ability and business talents, died in 1842. The business was then continued by Richard M. Hoe, with his two brothers, Robert Hoe and Peter Smith Hoe,—the eldest, as before, taking charge of the mechanical department, in which his industry and fertility of invention are attested by the number and value of his patents. In 1837, he patented here and in England his method of grinding circular saws, by which the thickness of any part of a saw can be regulated with accuracy. In 1846, he brought out the so-called “Lightning Press,” or Type-Revolving Printing Machine, described in the text,—the greatest innovation on the routine of the printing craft since the days of Gutenberg. This press entirely superseded all others for fast printing, and was introduced into the principal offices, not only in this country, but in England, Scotland, Ireland, and Australia.

In 1858, the firm purchased of Isaac Adams, of Boston, Massachusetts, his entire patent-rights, together with his establishment for the manufacture of his bed-and-platen book printing presses, and various machines for binders’ use, which they continue to conduct there, though with increased facilities and many improvements. Their works in different places now cover thirty-five city lots, or about two acres, and give employment to nearly six hundred hands. The office and warerooms of the house in England are at 13 Salisbury Square, Fleet Street, London, one of the partners, being a resident in that city, attending to the business there.

[18] While publisher of a paper in Catskill, he produced within a week, aided by some village mechanics, a press for his own use. With the exception of a stone bed, the principal parts were made entirely of wood. It was a flat-bed press, having a series of impression cylinders connected by an endless chain, by means of which they passed over and around the bed continually. He called it the Chain-running Press. It was employed by Frank Leslie to print an edition of his _Illustrated Newspaper_.

[19] R. Hoe & Co.’s Catalogue.

[20] Adapted from Savage.

[21] Adapted from Savage.

[22] Mostly from the _Paper and Printing Trades Journal_, London.

[23] For other words beginning with _im_, _in_, _ir_, or _un_ negative, look for the simple word.

[24] Incapable of suffering.

[25] Capable of suffering.

[26] Published by E. C. Markley & Son, Philadelphia. An excellent book.

_ESTABLISHED, 1796._

_MacKellar, Smiths & Jordan Foundry,
LETTER FOUNDERS,
Nos. 606-614 Sansom Street, Philadelphia._

_This establishment, the oldest in America, has kept even pace with all the improvements in type-founding; and its productions at the present day, in beauty of style, accuracy of standing, and durability of material, are all that skill, ingenuity, and long experience have been able to effect. Neither pains nor expense will be withheld to maintain its reputation._

Book and Newspaper Faces.

Some are of light and dainty face, others of medium, and others again of broad and massive character. THE LIGHTFACE SERIES; the FRENCH-FACE SERIES; the celebrated SCOTCH-FACE SERIES, introduced by us many years ago; the BOOK SERIES; the LARGE-FACE SERIES; the CLASSIC SERIES; the NEWS SERIES; the BROADFACE SERIES; the MODERN SERIES; the ORIGINAL OLD STYLE SERIES; the BRADFORD SERIES; the BINNY SERIES; the RONALDSON SERIES; the MACKELLAR SERIES, and all others introduced by us, are kept constantly on hand, in large and small founts.

German Book and Newspaper Faces,

Of various styles, also kept on hand or furnished to order.

Elegant Scripts and other Note and Circular Types,

In great variety of styles, for all kinds of Notes, Blanks, and Circular Printing.

Greek, Hebrew and Music Type.

MUSIC TYPE without an equal in America, or a superior in the world. The sizes are Excelsior, or half-Nonpareil, Diamond, Agate, and Nonpareil. GREEK and HEBREW of all practical sizes.

Fancy and Ornamental Type,

Unrivalled for beauty, originality, extent, and variety. In this department, native and foreign genius and inventive skill are alike laid under contribution, and no other foundry in the world can furnish so complete and beautiful an assortment.

Borders, Flourishes, Corners and Ornaments,

For finest artistic and ornamental printing, to meet every requirement of the printer.

Cuts and Ornaments,

For general use, from more than three thousand subjects, many of them very fine.

Office Furnishings.

CABINETS of various kinds and prices. STANDS, double or single, or made in different styles to order, of walnut or poplar. CASES of all kinds. IMPOSING STONES of regular sizes constantly on hand; special sizes and styles got up to order. GALLEYS of all kinds, either wood or brass. STEREOTYPE BLOCKS, with or without rule borders. CHASES of wrought or cast iron. COMPOSING-STICKS of all kinds, large and small. RACKS for cases. INK STONES. Card, Paper, Lead and Rule Cutters. Labour-Saving Wood Rule. Labour-Saving Wood Furniture. Labour-Saving Curvatures. Furniture, Quoins, Mallets; Shooting-Sticks of brass, iron or dogwood; Planers, Bodkins, Ley and Washing Brushes, &c.

Eureka Cabinets.

Size to fit in space at left of double stand. Stained in
imitation of cherry.

SORT-CASE CABINET.—Contains eight drawers, each divided into
sixteen compartments. It will be found useful as a receptacle
for quads, leaders or sorts.

HANDY CABINET.—Contains five drawers, arranged to hold twenty
different sizes of spaces and quads, and eight blank drawers,
for cuts or large type.

GALLEY CABINET.—No. 1, for twenty-four single and fourteen
double column galleys. No. 2, for forty-eight single galleys.
No. 3, for thirty-four double galleys.

INK CABINET.—Contains four compartments for ink, &c., and
marble slab 18 × 20 inches on top, for mixing inks.

CHASE CABINET.—Arranged to contain one-eighth, one-quarter, and
one-half medium chases. With or without ink stone.

COMBINATION CABINET.—No. 1, contains four blank drawers, three
sort-case drawers, and four quad drawers. No. 2, contains four
sort-case drawers and six quad drawers.

QUAD CABINET.—Contains twelve drawers, each divided into two
compartments, suitable for quads or leaders.

Labour-Saving Leads and Slugs.

Two and three point (six and four-to-Pica) LEADS, from 48 to 300 points (4 to 25 ems Pica) in length; put up in any useful quantity. Six and twelve point (Nonpareil and Pica) SLUGS, cut to same lengths. Cases arranged specially for Labour-Saving Leads and Slugs.

Labour-Saving Quotation Furniture.

Accurately cast, and equally valuable either as furniture or as quotations. The pieces range from 48 to 240 points in length, and from 24 to 48 points in width, quadrate height, with suitable spaces.

Reversible Metal Furniture,

For imposition of forms and general blank-work. Cast to our standard 12 point body.

Labour-Saving Rule,

(Matching our standard type bodies,) Single, Double, Parallel, Dotted, and Triple faces. Cut accurately of various lengths. It will be found of vast utility in tabular and job work, rendering the use of shears and file entirely unnecessary. Cases furnished specially adapted to it.

Brass Circles and Ovals,

Of various sizes and faces, for label and stamp borders.

Slotted Brass Corners,

Of beautiful original patterns, matching our brass rules.

Hollow Quadrates,

For the easy formation of Circles, Ellipses, &c., made in sizes to suit our Brass Circles and Ovals, from Nos. 1 to 13.

Corner Quadrates,

On 12 point and 6 point Metal and 2 point Brass bodies.

Printing Presses and Ink.

Presses of the most celebrated makers in the United States, as well as all varieties and colours of American and Foreign PRINTING INKS, SIZES, BRONZES, VARNISHES, &c. at manufacturers’ prices.

Roller Composition.

Glue for Rollers, and the various Patent Compositions, furnished to order at manufacturers’ prices.

Electrotyping

Of Almanacs, Jobs, Wood-Cuts, Labels, Binders’ Stamps, &c.

Wood Engraving.

Cuts designed and engraved to order in the finest style of art.

Outfits for Printing Offices.

Estimates given in detail (with the cost) of all the materials required for either Newspaper or Job Offices.

_MACKELLAR, SMITHS & JORDAN FOUNDRY,
Nos. 606-614 Sansom Street,
Philadelphia._

PRINTERS’ TEXT-BOOKS.

A Manual of Typography, containing Practical Directions for Managing all Departments of a Printing Office, as well as Complete Instructions for Apprentices. Eighteenth Edition. Revised and Enlarged. Price, $2.00. By mail, $2.10.

“Most successful of the books of this class known to
me.”—_Correspondent of the Archiv für Buchdruckerkunst_,
Leipzig.

“Any intelligent person will find this work a serviceable
companion.”—_Journal of Commerce_, Chicago.

“A neat volume, beautifully printed.”—_L’Imprimerie_, Paris.

“The most complete work on the subject.”—_Daily Free Press_,
Atchison, Kansas.

“A great amount of curious information, historical and
illustrative.”—_Evening Post_, New York.

“The result of intelligent research and considerable personal
experience.”—_The Nation_, New York.

“This is taken as the standard American treatise on practical
printing, and is eminently worthy the high reputation it has
attained.”—_Springer’s History and Mystery of Printing._

Wilson’s Punctuation.

A Treatise on Punctuation, designed for Printers, Letter-Writers, Authors, and Correctors of the Press. Price, $1.50. By mail, $1.60.

“It is an excellent work for schools and academies, and for
those who would become self-taught.”—_Christian Freeman._

“We have never before met with any work on Punctuation which
gave us so great satisfaction as this.”—_The Student._

“This is a useful and valuable work on English Punctuation, and
every one can read it with profit and pleasure.”—_Boston Daily
Atlas._

“It contains all the necessary directions for self-taught
writers and editors.”—_American Whig Review._

American Encyclopædia of Printing.

Comprising (with plates) 550 imperial octavo pages, giving more than sixteen hundred definitions, descriptions, and articles relating to the History, Implements, Processes, Products, and auxiliary Arts of Printing; splendidly Illustrated by more than two hundred Chromo-Lithographs, Lithographs, Wood Engravings, Imitations of Water-Marks, Embossed and Ruled Pages, etc. Edited by J. Luther Ringwalt. Price, $6.00.

Typographic Advertiser.

Elegantly printed, and furnished free to all Printing Offices. Needful to those who desire to keep up with the improvements in Typography.

“This grand journal, the oldest in the country, maintains its
place in the van against all comers. Its typographic appearance
is unequalled in the world of printing, and a careful study
of its peerless specimen pages will do more to advance the
beautiful in job composition and presswork than all the tawdry
imitations of lithography, and badly designed and worse
executed rule work that has been thrust upon a suffering art
from Caxton to to-day. Its editorial management is as good as
its typography is handsome and artistic.”—_Springer’s History
and Mystery of Printing._

Money spent for good books is well invested; and in this day of typographical progress, no active-minded printer can really afford not to have the above works in his office library. Address all orders to

_MACKELLAR, SMITHS & JORDAN FOUNDRY,
Nos. 606-614 Sansom Street,
Philadelphia._

Transcriber’s Note

List of changes made to the text:

Page 273, “pressman” changed to “pressmen” (Many pressmen take
a dozen proofs)

Page 358, “Felonius” changed to “Felonious” (Felonious intent.)

Letter sounds in the alphabet tables were usually but not
always italicised—italic font has been added where it seemed
needed to standardise.

Inconsistent use of hyphens and old-fashioned spelling are left unchanged.

ന is used to represent a symbol described as “the Gothic M”. ⊏ and ⊐ are used to represent the primitive square-cornered forms of the Roman numeral Ⅽ and its reverse Ↄ.

₰ is used for the proofreader’s “dele” mark, which inexplicably still doesn’t have its own Unicode codepoint.

[symb] is used for characters which have no sufficiently close Unicode equivalent, and these are included as illustrations in the HTML version.