,early ,typography4 ,,printed ,,at ,,colombo1 ,,by ,,william ,,skeen1 ,,government ,,printer1 ,,ceylon4 ,,early ,,typography4 ,,by ,,william ,,skeen4 ,,colombo3 ,,ceylon4 #ahgb4 ,the accumulation of materials in the writer's hands in the course of the last twelve months1 has induced him to depart from his original intention of limiting his labours to a single book4 ,a sketch of the history of the spread of the ,art1 after the sack of ,mentz in #adfb1 with notices of the most material improvements and recent inventions connected with it1 will1 consequently1 form the subjects of a separate volume4 ,it only remains for him now thankfully to acknowledge his obligations to ,mrs4 ,j4 ,ferguson1 and ,messrs4 ,iliff1 ,ronald1 and ,paatz1 of ,colombo1 for their most kindly rendered assistance1 by which he has been enabled to complete this portion of his work much earlier than he otherwise could have done4 ,january #bj1 #ahgb4 ,,inventors of the ,art ,sublime ,which ,knowledge spreads thro' every clime2 ,who far the fabled god excell'd1 ,prometheus1 from heaven expell'd4 ,material fire he brought to earth1 ,they flames of a diviner birth ,drew from the seven-fold source of light ,seen in the ,patmos vision bright1 ,when1 the celestial portals raised1 ,man1 on the ,godhead's glories gazed4 ,majestic ,truth they thus reveal'd1 ,by powers of ,darkness long conceal'd2 ,ope'd ,freedom's doors to fetter'd ,thought ,and forces into conflict brought-- ,mind against mind--an eager fray ,that shall not cease till ,time's last day2 ,that keener as the contest grows1 ,truth greater1 purer1 mightier shews4 ,thus ,knowledge each successive age ,advances1 wins an onward stage1 ,and gathers in one focus bright ,each fresh struck spark1 each ray of light1 ,and clears the mists that still are found ,historic names and deeds around4 ,this light1 that truth reveals1 t' impart1 ,i seek1 ,disciple of the ,art2 ,that to the famed ,teutonic three ,just meeds of praise may given be2 ,that all aright the men may know ,to whom ,,typography we owe2 ,the men whose names immortal ring1 ,whose gifts transcendent blessings bring1 ,whose monuments in every land ,by wisdom rear'd1 heart-honor'd stand1 ,inscribed in tongues of every clime-- 8,,inventors ,,of ,,the ,,art ,,sublime60 ,w4 ,s4 ,,contents4 ,,page4 ,,preface #i ,,chapter ,i4--,introductory4--,letter-press ,printing the 8,divine and ,noble0 ,art--why so termed4--,freedom of the ,press--where first proclaimed4--,printing known in ,china from time immemorial4--,method of ,chinese ,printing4--,bibliography and ,palotypography4 #aa ,,chapter ,,ii4--,date of the ,origin of ,typography in ,europe4--,alleged ,early ,engravings4--,playing ,cards4--,block-books4--,mr4 ,f4 ,holt's ,hypothesis4--,evidence of ,costume4--,german 8,brief-malers40--,decree of ,government of ,venice4--,state of ,europe in the ,middle ,ages4--,cultivation of ,classical ,literature at the close of the ,fourteenth and commencement of the ,fifteenth ,century4 #ce ,,chapter ,,iii4--,john ,gutenberg4--,first attempts at ,typography in ,strasburg4--,difficulties4--,invention of the ,press4--,lawsuit4--,return to ,mentz4--,connection with ,faust4--,success4--,mazarin ,bible the first ,book printed from ,separable ,metal ,types4--,second ,lawsuit4--,forfeiture of ,plant to ,faust4--,peter ,schffer4--,invention of ,type-founding4--,faust and ,schffer4--,the ,gutenberg 8,printing-house40--,gutenberg attached to the ,court of the ,elector of ,mentz4--,his ,death4 #fh ,,chapter ,,iv4--,the claims of ,coster and ,haarlem considered1 as opposed to those of ,gutenberg and ,mentz4--,claims based upon ,tradition4--,no ,contemporary ,authorities in their favor4--,abundance of such testimony in favor of ,gutenberg and ,mentz4--,probable ,origin of ,tradition4--,block-books4--,speculum ,human ,salvationis4--,evidence of the ,types3 wood or metal2 cut or cast8--,books 8,jettez en molle40--,age of the ,paper4--,date of ,costume4--,fraternity of ,brethren and ,clerks of the ,common ,life4 #bja ,,chapter ,v4--,the works of ,faust and ,schffer4--,legend of the ,printer's ,devil4--,monuments in ,germany to ,gutenberg1 ,faust and ,schffer4--,separable ,letters first invented in ,china4--,characteristics of ,ancient ,printed ,books4--,the 8,composing-stick0 and 8,setting-rule40--,early ,bindings4 #cdi ,,appendix4 ,i4--,account of the ,origin of ,printing1 by ,j4 ,f4 ,faust of ,aschaffenberg #cic ,,ii4------------------------------by ,hadrian ,junius #djd ,,iii4--,dr4 ,van ,der ,linde's ,haarlem-,coster-,legend #djh ,,iv4--,cut ,wooden1 versus ,cast ,metal ,types #dae ,,errata #dbd ,,preface4 ,the germ of the present work was a ,lecture delivered by the writer before the ,members of the ,colombo ,athenum1 on the #bdth ,february #ahec4 ,that ,lecture was fully reported at the time in the ,colombo ,observer1 and a few copies were subsequently printed for private distribution4 ,these having been disposed of1 the writer's attention was directed to the preparation of a more extended essay upon the subject4 ,the result of his labours is now submitted to the public4 ,the work makes no pretension to the character of an exhaustive treatise2 it is1 in fact1 but little more than a broad outline of the subject which it ventures to describe2 but it is hoped1 that a fresh interest may have been imparted to some of the topics touched upon1 and that they will be found placed in a light which1 if not wholly new1 is at any rate somewhat clearer than that in which they have hitherto been exhibited4 ,w4 ,s4 ,colombo1 ,ceylon1 ,april #bi1 #ahga4 ,early ,typography4 ,,chapter ,i4 ,,introductory4--,,letter-,,press ,,printing ,,the 8,,divine ,,and ,,noble0 ,,art--,,why ,,so ,,termed4--,,freedom ,,of ,,the ,,press--,,where ,,first ,,proclaimed4--,,printing ,,known ,,in ,,china ,,from ,,time ,,immemorial4--,,method ,,of ,,chinese ,,printing4--,,bibliography ,,and ,,pal,,otypography4 ,printing is the art of producing copies of engraved writings or designs1 by pressure1 either upon the inked surfaces of characters raised in relief1 or on metal plates1 the upper surfaces of which are polished1 and the sunk engravings charged with colour4 ,the most important1 if not the oldest branch of this art1 is that of ,,typography1 or ,,letter-,,press ,,printing4 ,to this ,art1 as it was invented and perfected in ,europe in the ,fifteenth century1 the epithets ,,divine and ,,noble have not untruly been applied4 ,it is ,noble1 not merely because it is one of those arts or professions1 the practice of which was permitted to the nobility of the ,german ,empire1 but because it is the nurse and preserver of all other arts and sciences2 and is unquestionably the most important as well as the most beneficial invention the world has ever seen4 ,it is the disseminator of every other discovery2 the commemorator of all other inventions3 it hands down to posterity every important event2 immortalizes the actions of the great and good2 and requires1 moreover1 in all who would thoroughly excel in its practice1 the highest attainable combination of mental alacrity1 educated intelligence1 and expert manual dexterity4 ,it is ,divine1 inasmuch as it is one of the grand instruments in the hands of ,providence for the regeneration of fallen humanity4 ,by it the mightiest movement the world has ever seen since the days when the ,apostolic ,twelve went about 8turning it upside down10--the ,great ,reformation of the ,sixteenth century1--was mainly effected4 ,without it the ,word of ,god could not have been diffused1 as it has been1 is being1 and will continue to be1 to every nation and tribe and people and tongue throughout the world3 while but for it ,england and the ,anglo-,saxon race1 who owe it so much for the stability and uniformity it gave to their language1#a would never have attained their present proud pre-eminence amongst the nations of the earth4 ,religion1 ,arts1 ,sciences1 ,commerce1 and ,civilization1 have had the greatest scope1 and been most fully developed1 wherever the ,press has been the least restricted4 ,its free action is as necessary to the well being of a ,state1 as the free action of the lungs is to the well being of the human body4 ,this is well illustrated in the history of unhappy ,poland1 where the ,liberty of the ,press was first proclaimed in the ,sixteenth century4 ,but the narrow-minded bigots who succeeded the monarch who proclaimed it1 beheld in it a portent foreboding evil to themselves2 and they not only speedily abrogated it1 but followed up that step with measures destructive of the most cherished privileges of the ,polish nation4#b ,the result was fatal1 as well to the country as to the kings who misruled it4 ,corrupted1 crushed1 enslaved1--every vent for the expression of patriotic feeling choked up1--and the voice of the people stifled by the stern gripe of the strong hand of the despot1--the doom went forth1 and the record against her was written as against ,great ,babylon of old1--8,,mene1 ,,mene1 ,,tekel1 ,,upharsin40 8,god hath numbered thy kingdom and finished it4 ,thou art weighed in the balances and found wanting4 ,thy kingdom is divided and given to the ,medes and ,persians40 ,the ,freedom of the ,press is the birthright of the ,anglo-,saxon race1--the hard-won palladium of all other rights2 and yet1 while there are few amongst that race who do not rightly appreciate the blessings flowing therefrom1 the great majority are ignorant of the origin or the history of the ,art1 the privileges of which they so highly prize1 and over which1 with watchful jealousy1 they guard against every thing that bears the semblance of encroachment4 ,this ignorance is doubtless1 in the main1 owing to the expensive nature and technical character of many of the works in which such information has been published4 ,these works1 forming of themselves a distinct class of literature1 are neither few in number1 nor wanting in interest4 ,some of the more important are indeed hardly procurable2 and in the far ,east1 where works of the kind must be imported for individual use1 writing upon special subjects of ,european lore is beset with difficulties from which authors in the mother country are happily relieved4#c ,acting however1 on the maxim of ,lord ,bacon1 8that every man is a debtor to his profession1 from the which as men do1 of course1 seek to receive countenance and profit1 so ought they1 of duty1 to endeavour themselves by way of amends to be a help thereunto10 ,i have spared no pains in this endeavour2 and am not without hope of imparting to my readers some interesting particulars concerning the origin and history of the ,noble ,art 8,that stamps1 renews1 and multiplies at will1 ,and cheaply circulates through distant climes ,the fairest relics of the purest times10-- thus creating 8a moral atmosphere which is1 as it were1 the medium of intellectual life1 on the quality of which1 according as it may be salubrious or vicious1 the health of the public mind depends40#d 99 99 99 99 99 ,printing from surfaces of wood1 engraved in relief1 is an art which appears to have been known in ,china from time immemorial4 ,its origin there is hidden in the obscurity of bye-gone ages3 it may have been practised by the ,chinese from the very commencement of their empire2#e or the idea may have been derived at a later period from blotting-paper impressions of writings1 or from tracings or rubbings of inscriptions1 which travellers from #8the flowery land' may have taken1 in foreign countries1 on sheets of paper1 such as are known to have been manufactured in ,china from times of a very remote antiquity1 and which are to this day better adapted for such purposes than any papers elsewhere made4 ,such rubbings1 forming a kind of papier-mch castings1#f would naturally suggest1 not only the idea of stereo-blocks1 whereon writings in reversed characters could be engraved in relief1 but also the mode of printing1 which1 to the present day1 prevails throughout the ,chinese empire4 ,with the fact before us1 that the ,chinese were1 up to a certain period in their history1 far ahead of all other nations1 not even excepting the ,egyptians1 in the development of inventions which could only be the product of an advanced state of civilization1 it is not unreasonable to conclude1 7especially in the absence of positive information to help us in our researches71 that the art of printing from blocks originated in ,china in the manner above stated4 ,whether such were the case or not1 ,du ,halde1 in order to establish its great antiquity1 cites the following proverb1 quoted by an old author as written by the ,emperor ,van ,vong1 who flourished #aabj years before ,christ--8,as the stone ,me 7a word signifying ink in the ,chinese language7 which is used to blacken the engraved characters1 can never become white1 so a heart blackened with vices1 will always retain its blackness40 ,this quotation1 however1 not being very conclusive on the subject1 he fixes the invention at fifty years before the ,christian era4 ,father ,couplet1 ,klaproth1 and others1 ascribe it to a much later date4 8,under the reign of ,mint-song10 writes ,klaproth1 8in the second of the years ,tchang-hing 7#icb7 the ministers ,fong-tao and ,li-yu proposed to the ,academy ,koue-tseu-kien to review the nine king or canonical books1 and to have them engraved upon blocks of wood1 that they might be printed and sold4 ,the emperor adopted the advice2 but it was only in the second of the years ,kouan-chun 7#ieb7 that the engraving of the blocks was completed4 ,they were then distributed and circulated in all the cantons of the empire40 ,but that the art was known and practised by the ,chinese at a period still more remote1 we learn from the #cith volume of the ,chinese ,encyclopdia1 where we are informed1 that on the eighth day of the twelfth month of the thirteenth year of the reign of ,wen-ti1 founder of the ,sou dynasty 7#eic7 it was ordered by a decree to collect the worn out drawings and inedited texts1 and to engrave them on wood and publish them4 ,this fact is confirmed by various ,chinese writings2 and this1 continues the work quoted1 was the commencement of printing upon wooden blocks4 ,under the ,thang dynasty1 from #fah to #ijg1 it grew much into use2 made still greater progress during the five lesser dynasties1 from #ijg to #ifj2 and reached its perfection and greatest development between #ifj and #abgh4 ,but as block-printing was only for the first time imperially ordered in the year #eic1 it is very probable that the art was known long before that date4 ,had it then been a new invention1 something surely would have been said about its origin and author4 ,the following particulars relative to ,chinese printing are given by ,du ,halde4 ,illustration3 8,the work intended to be printed is transcribed by a careful writer upon thin transparent paper3 the engraver glues each of these written sheets1 with its face downwards1 upon a smooth tablet of pear or apple tree1 or some other hard wood2 and then with gravers and other instruments1 he cuts the wood away in all those parts upon which he finds nothing traced as in the fac-simile#g in the margin2 thus leaving the reversed characters ready for printing4444 ,when once the blocks are engraved1 the paper is cut1 and the ink is ready1 one man with his brush can1 without fatigue1 print ten thousand sheets in a day4 ,the block to be printed must be placed level1 and firmly fixed4 ,the man must have two brushes2 one of them of a stiffer kind1 which he can hold in his hand1 and use at either end4 ,he dips this into the ink1 and rubs the block with it2 taking care not to wet it too much1 nor to leave it too dry4444 ,the second brush is used to rub over the paper with a small degree of pressure1 that it may take the impression3 this it does easily1 for not being sized with alum1 it receives the ink the instant it comes in contact with it4 ,it is only necessary that the brush should be passed over every part of the sheet with a greater or smaller degree of pressure1 and repeated in proportion as the printer finds there is more or less ink upon the block40 ,the number of copies which1 according to ,du ,halde1 a ,chinese workman can print in a day1 is greatly exaggerated4 ,about four thousand1 or four hundred an hour1 is the utmost that the most expert workman would be able to throw off4 ,to the above account it may be added1 that the blocks1 each containing two pages1 are frequently engraved on both sides2 that the sheets printed are small1 and impressed on one side only2 and that each sheet when dry is folded back1 so as to present the appearance of a leaf impressed on both sides4 ,the history of printing in ,china1 and the productions of the ,chinese press1 are subjects which ,oriental bibliographers have more or less touched upon4 ,interesting as they are1 there will probably be no occasion to allude to them in these pages more than once again4 ,but the history of books in ,europe1 the productions of the early printers in the various countries to which they carried their art1 is one to which our subject is most closely allied2 and ,european bibliography is a study to which many men of great ability have devoted themselves during the last three centuries1 in ,germany1 ,holland1 ,england1 ,spain1 ,france1 ,italy1 ,belgium1 and other countries4 ,to their labours all later writers on the subject are under manifold obligations4#h ,but in attributing various undated books to one or other of the earliest established presses1 guess-work1 and the bias of national prejudice1 have largely prevailed amongst even the most painstaking of ,european bibliographers4 ,this unscientific method1 long felt to be a reproach to learning and literature1 has of late years been attempted to be remedied by a more close and critical examination of the ,incunabula1 or books printed in the ,fifteenth century4 8,the method of arranging these early books under the countries1 towns1 and presses at which they were produced10 says ,mr4 ,henry ,bradshaw1 the ,librarian of the ,university of ,cambridge1 8is the only one which can really advance our knowledge of the subject4 ,this is comparatively easy with dated books1 though there is no safeguard against the misleading nature of an erroneous date4 ,but the study is of little use unless the bibliographer will be content to make such an accurate and methodical study of the types used and habits of printing observable at different presses1 as to enable him to observe and be guided by these characteristics in settling the date of a book which bears no date on the surface4 ,we do not want the opinion or dictum of any bibliographer1 however experienced2 we desire that the types and habits of each printer should be made a special subject of study1 and those points brought forward which shew changes or advance from year to year1 or where practicable1 from month to month4 ,when this is done1 we have to say of any dateless or falsely dated book1 that it contains such and such characteristics1 and we therefore place it at such a point of time1 the time we name being merely another expression for the characteristics we notice in the book4 ,in fact each press must be looked upon as a genus1 and each book as a species1 and our business is to trace the more or less close connection of the different members of the family1 according to the characters which they present to our observation40 ,the study thus defined is designated ,palotypography2 and concerning it ,mr4 ,bradshaw further says1 8except ,mr4 ,blades's monograph of ,caxton's press1#i the ,hague ,catalogus#aj and ,monumens ,typographiques#aa are the only books existing in any literature1 so far as ,i know1 which render the study of palotypography in any way possible upon a proper basis4 ,germany1 ,italy1 ,france1 and ,spain1 are at present perfectly impracticable fields of work1 and are1 ,i fear1 likely to remain so for some time to come40#ab ,respecting ,mr4 ,bradshaw's own labours in this field of investigation1 ,mr4 ,frederick ,mller of ,amsterdam1 an enthusiastic bibliographer of rare power1 bears the following testimony3#ac--8;,hardly anybody in ,england takes an interest in foreign bibliography--the only exception being that excellent bibliographer1 ,henry ,bradshaw1 ,fellow of ,king's ,college1 ,cambridge1 who is examining with great enthusiasm the ,incunabula ,typographica1 and who has lately arrived at most surprising and important results in this department4444 ,i do not know which most to admire--the acumen of the conjectures about the places where some of the works were printed1 or the clearness with which the writer treats several very difficult subjects4444 ,this method of ascribing a work solely from the appearance of the types used1 he carries to the utmost point of application4444 ,mr4 ,bradshaw is the first who turns to advantage the excellent lessons of the ,french and ,german bibliographers1 and through him a new light will probably arise in ,english bibliography40 ,to the researches of ,mr4 ,bradshaw and ,mr4 ,blades1 and to the labours of ,mr4 ,ottley#ad and ,mr4 ,humphreys1#ae in their last published works1 ,i am greatly indebted4 ,the interesting information they have accumulated ,i have freely made use of in the preparation of this volume1 although ,i differ considerably from some of the conclusions which one or other of them has arrived at4 ,,footnotes3 #a 8,the multiplication of printed books and the consequent still greater multiplication of readers1 created1 what may be termed a literary public throughout ,england1 and when the printed copies of a book from ,caxton's press were spread throughout this public1 each member of it used a copy that was uniform with the copies used by all the rest4 ,but before printing was known1 and while copies of a book could be made in manuscript only1 the transcribers were apt to introduce changes of spelling1 of syntax1 and of phrase1 according to the dialect of the part of the country to which each copyist belonged4 ,and the dialects of different parts of ,england differed then from each other in a far greater degree than any amount of variation which can at present be detected by the most zealous philologist4 ,moreover1 each author wrote in his own dialect1 or to speak more correctly1 in the pure native ,english of his own part of ,england4 ,hence the diction of an author of those times in many cases appears to us more archaic than the diction of his contemporaries1 or even of some of his predecessors4 ,but in proportion as men of letters became familiar in their reading with the nearly uniform ,english language of printed books1 they followed or approached that uniform ,english in their own writings4 ,the language continued to receive changes by the introduction of new words and phrases1 and by the zeal for imitating ,latin models1 which grew to excess in many of our prose writers not long after the close of the ,fifteenth century4 ,many more modifications of etymology1 and some of syntax1 took place before the modern ,english language can be said to have been substantially established throughout the country2 but that amount of uniform establishment never could have been effected at all1 without the intervention and the extended use of the art of printing40--,sir ,edward ,s4 ,,creasy's ,history of ,england4 #hvo4 #ahgj4 vol4 ii4 pp4 #eef-g4 ,what the ,art of ,printing did in this respect for ,england1 it likewise did in all other countries to which it was carried1 in greater or lesser degrees1 according to the amount of freedom it enjoyed1 or of restriction to which it1 and the people to whom it spoke1 were subjected4 #b ,vide ,reformation of ,poland1 by ,count ,v4 ,,krasinski1 #b vols4 #hvo4 ,nisbet1 #ahch-dj4 #c ,for assistance in this matter1 ,i am much indebted to my father1 ,mr4 ,,robert ,,skeen1 under whose able teachings ,i was thoroughly instructed in1 and made a master of my craft--the ,art of ,printing4 ,i have also to acknowledge1 with thanks1 the material aid received from ,mr4 ,h4 ,w4 ,,caslon1 the eminent ,type-founder1 as well as from my publishers1 ,messrs4 ,,tr,,bner and ,co41 of ,paternoster ,row4 #d ,,southey',s 8,colloquies40 #e ,a reference can scarcely be avoided1 in connection with this subject1 to the exclamation of the patriarch ,job 7ch4 xix4 #bc1 #bd71 8,oh that my words were now written6 ,oh that they were printed in a book6 ,that they were graven with an iron pen1 and lead1 in the rock for ever60 ,the book of ,job is commonly supposed to have been written either by ,moses1 when residing amongst the ,midianites about #aebj years before the commencement of the ,christian era1 or by ,elihu1 one of the speakers in the book1 which would probably carry its antiquity a century and a half or two centuries further back4 ,the word translated #8printed' does not1 however1 bear the meaning in the original1 which is now generally attached to it4 ,it evidently refers to the method of inscribing records on rolls1 made of the skins of animals1 for the purpose of preserving them for the benefit of future generations1 or on such other substances as were then used for that purpose2 and in the texts quoted the modes of writing and the instruments for inscribing are expressly referred to4 ,plates of metal1 and prepared leaves of the talipot palm1 are to this day engraved and inscribed on1 in ,eastern countries1 with iron #8styles1' for purposes of record4 ,books of the laws of ,buddha exist on plates of gold1 as well as on the more common olas2 and although we do not know upon what material ,,moses transcribed the ,law1 which ,,god himself commanded him to write1 and to place in the side of the ,ark of the ,covenant1 we may be certain that it would be written on the most imperishable1 as well as the most portable of substances adapted for such a purpose1 ,moses being learned in all the wisdom of the ,egyptians1 and having for his assistants the most skilful artisans of the age4 ,the ,ten ,commandments we know were graven on tablets of stone hewn out of the rock4 ,from tablets such as these1 and from engraved plates1 as well as from inscribed olas1 copies and fac-similes might have been easily made by a process analogous to that of copper-plate printing2 the only drawback being that in all such copies the printed characters would have been reversed4 ,that the ,hebrews must have been familiar with books1 such as were referred to by ,job1 is clear4 ,in ,egypt1 during the time of their residence in that country1 ,public ,libraries existed3--8,over the mouldering door which led to the bibliothetical repository of the ,memnonium1 said to have been built about the time of ,moses1 ,champollion read1 written over the heads of ,thoth and ,safkh1 7who were the male and female deities of arts1 sciences1 and literature71 the remarkably appropriate titles of #8,president of the ,library1' and #8,lady of ,letters4'0 7,kitto's ,cycl4 of ,bibl4 ,literature1 ,art4 ,,writing74 ,the ,egyptians probably derived their knowledge of writing from ,misraim the son of ,ham1 as did the ,canaanites from ,canaan the brother of ,misraim1 from whom they were descended4 ,there is proof in the sculptured pictures and inscriptions in the oldest ,egyptian monuments1 of about the same age as the ,great ,pyramid1 that #bbjj years ,b4 ,c41 writing was an art well known at that early period4 8,whatever the employment1 or whatever the produce being brought to be laid at the prince's feet1 there were always scribes in attendance to take down the exact amount in writing on the property rolls40 7,vide ,life and ,work at the ,great ,pyramid in #ahfe1 by ,c4 ,,piazzi ,,smyth1 ,astronomer ,royal1 ,scotland2 and article in ,good ,words1 ,part ,,vii1 #ahfg1 by the same author1 p4 #dec47 ,when the ,israelites took possession of the land of ,canaan1 among other great and walled cities which they captured was ,debir1 whose original name was ,kirjath-sepher1 or the ,city of ,books1 or ,kirjath-sannah1 the ,city of ,letters1 7,joshua xv4 #di2 ,judges i4 #aa74 ,this word 8sannah0 is evidently the same as 8sannas10 the name given to oblong copper-plates1 on which are engraved the record of the grants of lands1 c41 made from very ancient times by the kings of ,ceylon1 to temples1 chiefs1 and others2 and which are frequently1 under that name1 received in evidence in the law courts in disputes regarding landed property4 ,they are1 in fact1 the title-deeds under which most of the ,sinhalese gentry of ancient family hold their estates4 ,these royal grants are sometimes on plates of silver1 and occasionally cut in the solid rock or on massive stone tablets4 #f ,plaster casts of inscriptions might also have suggested the same idea4 ,the use of plaster1 for the purposes of inscriptions1 dates back to a very ancient era4 ,it seems to have been as old as the art of writing itself4 ,we learn from the book of ,deuteronomy 7xxvii4 #b-d71 that while the ,children of ,israel were yet wandering in the desert1 after their exodus from ,egypt1 it was ordained1 that when they had passed into ,canaan1--the land which should be given them1--great stones1 plaistered over with plaister1 should be set up1 on which stones should be written 8very plainly0 all the words of the law4 #g 8,sy-chong-ngn-pon10 the name of a ,chinese ,song-book4 #h ,the following alphabetical list includes the most distinguished of these writers3--,andrs1 ,antonio1 ,baillet1 ,bayle1 ,blount1 ,bouterwek1 ,brucker1 ,brunet1 ,buhle1 ,chalmers1 ,collier1 ,corniani1 ,de ,bure1 ,de ,vries1 ,dibdin1 ,ebert1 ,eichhorn1 ,falkenstein1 ,fischer1 ,foppens1 ,frere1 ,gesner1 ,gingun1 ,goujet1 ,graesse1 ,greswell1 ,hallam1 ,hain1 ,heeren1 ,horne1 ,kstner1 ,mallinckrot1 ,maittaire1 ,maitland1 ,meiners1 ,mendez1 ,montucla1 ,naud1 ,niceron1 ,panzer1 ,portal1 ,santander1 ,sismondi1 ,sprengel1 ,sotheby1 ,tennemann1 ,tiraboschi1 ,vanderhaeghen1 ,van der ,meersch1 ,van ,iseghem1 ,van ,praet1 ,watt1 ,wolf1 ,wrdtwein1 ,zapf4 #i ,the ,life and ,typography of ,william ,caxton1 by ,,william ,,blades4 #b vols4 #dto4 with #eg fac-simile illustrations4 ,london1 #ahfa-fc4 #aj ,catalogus ,librorum ,sc4 ,,xvi4 impressorum1 in ,bibliotheca ,regia ,hagan asservatorum1 #hvo4 ,hagae1 #ahef4 #aa ,monumens ,typographiques des ,pays ,bas au ,x,ve ,sicle1 #bj livraisons1 imp4 #dto4 #abj plates of fac-similes4 ,la ,haye1 #aheg-ff4 ,of this magnificent work only #bjj copies were printed4 #ab ,classified ,index of ,fifteenth ,century ,books in the ,collection of the late ,m4 ,j4 de ,meyer of ,ghent4 #hvo4 ,london1 #ahgj4 pp4 #ae-af4 #ac ,,tr,,bner',s ,american and ,oriental ,literary ,record1 ,july1 #ahgj4 #ad ,inquiry concerning the ,invention of ,printing1 by ,w4 ,y4 ,,ottley4 #dto4 #cg plates1 and other engravings4 ,london1 #ahfc4 #ae ,a ,history of the ,art of ,printing3 ,its ,invention and ,progress to the ,middle of the ,sixteenth ,century1 by ,h4 ,noel ,,humphreys4 imp4 #dto4 #aje photo-lithographic fac-similes4 ,london1 #ahfi4 ,early ,typography4 ,,chapter ,,ii4 ,,date ,,of ,,the ,,origin ,,of ,,typography ,,in ,,europe4--,,alleged ,,early ,,engravings4--,,playing ,,cards4--,,block-,,books4--,,mr4 ,f4 ,,holt',s ,,hypothesis4--,,evidence ,,of ,,costume4--,,german 8,,brief-,,malers40--,,decree ,,of ,,government ,,of ,,venice4--,,state ,,of ,,europe ,,in ,,the ,,middle ,,ages4--,,cultivation ,,of ,,classical ,,literature ,,at ,,the ,,close ,,of ,,the ,,fourteenth ,,and ,,commencement ,,of ,,the ,,fifteenth ,,century4 ,it has been a question much debated1 whether the ,art of ,printing was not introduced to ,europe from the ,east at a much earlier period than that generally assigned as the date of its invention2 and we are informed by ,klaproth1 that it might have been known in ,europe a hundred and fifty years prior to its discovery by the ,germans1 if ,europeans had been able to read and translate the ,persian historians1 as the ,chinese method of printing is clearly explained in the ,djemm'a-et-tewarikh1 by ,rachid-,eddin1 who finished this immense work about the year #acaj4 ,on this subject1 ,mr4 ,william ,savage1 a well-known printer1 and a gentleman to whom the public and the profession are indebted for several valuable works on the art1 states1 in the preface to a volume published in #ahda1--8,the dates given of the introduction of the practice into ,europe by previous writers1 are unquestionably erroneous1 as we have conclusive evidence of its being followed as a profession for nearly a century before the earliest date they give30--and he announced his intention of embodying the facts and information he had been for a long period collecting1 in another work1 as hitherto1 he declares1 there has in reality been but little said on the ,history or ,practice of ,printing1 the numerous works on the subject being chiefly copies from one or two of the earlier writers4 ,this is true enough4 ,from the very nature of the case it can scarcely be otherwise1 until and unless the discovery of fresh facts1 or the investigations of fresh inquirers lead to conclusions different to those which had previously been generally received4 ,it is possible1 nay probable1 that a knowledge of the art1 as practised in ,china1 may have been carried to ,europe by the ,venetian travellers1 or traders1 at a very early date2 but1 as no account is known to exist that such really was the case1 so no certain conclusion on the subject can be arrived at4 ,whether it was so or not1 there is little difficulty in supposing that on many occasions attempts might be made similar to that contained in the much disputed account given by ,papillon of the discovery at ,bagneux1 a village near ,mont-,rouge1 in the library of ,m4 ,de ,greder1 a ,swiss ,captain1 of a work1 lent to ,m4 ,de ,greder by ,m4 ,sperchtvel1 another ,swiss ,officer1 supposed to have been printed in #abhd or #abhe4 ,this work1 which has never since been seen1 is said to have borne the following inscription in old ,italian4 8,the heroic actions1 represented in figures1 of the great and magnanimous ,macedonian king1 the bold and valiant ,alexander2 dedicated1 presented1 and humbly offered to the most holy ,father1 ,pope ,honorius ,,iv1 the glory and support of the ,church1 and to our illustrious and generous father and mother1 by us ,allessandro-,alberico ,cunio1 ,cavaliere1 and ,isabella ,cunio1 twin brother and sister3 first reduced1 imagined1 and attempted to be executed in relief with a small knife on blocks of wood made even and polished by this learned and dear sister1 continued and finished by us together1 at ,ravenna1 from the eight pictures of our invention1 painted six times larger than here represented2 engraved1 explained by verses1 and thus marked upon the paper to perpetuate the number of them1 and to enable us to present them to our relations and friends1 in testimony of gratitude1 friendship1 and affection4 ,all this was done and finished by us when only #af years of age40 ,interesting as this statement is1 and correct as it possibly may be1 it can scarcely be accepted as an historical fact1 inasmuch as no one but the alleged discoverer appears ever to have seen the originals4 ,illustration3 ,copy of an ,inscription on the first leaf of the 8,speculum ,human ,salvationis40 ,besides the preceding doubtful account we have notices of a print in the ,library of ,lyons with the date #achd4 ,specimens of engravings of playing cards1 as well as of saints1 said to have been produced in the years #acij and #adjj are also extant4 ,from the year #adjj to #addj other and more elaborate engravings1 of a devotional character1 are likewise to be met with4 ,one of the most curious1 representing ,st4 ,christopher carrying the infant ,saviour across the sea1 is in the possession of ,earl ,spencer1 and bears the date #adbc4 ,a few years later we find similar prints accompanied with explanatory inscriptions or texts of ,scripture placed beneath them2 next came whole series of these prints published together as a book2 and lastly1 the small ,latin ,grammars of ,donatus1 the common school-books of the day1 engraved and printed in like manner4 ,these productions are distinguished by ,bibliographers as ,block-books1 and nine or ten different specimens are known to exist4 ,of these the most remarkable are the ,biblia ,pauperum1 or ,poor ,man's ,bible1#af a book containing #dj pages of quarto1 or small folio prints1 with several engravings with inscriptions upon each page1 supposed to have been executed 7most probably at ,zwolle#ag in ,holland7 between the years #adbj and #adce2 and the ,speculum ,human ,salvationis1#ah or ,mirror of ,salvation1 a book containing #fc leaves in the two ,latin1 and #fb in the two ,dutch editions1 7each in small folio71 #eh of which are ornamented with engravings representing stories from the ,old and ,new ,testaments1 beneath which are more copious explanatory inscriptions than those in the 8,biblia ,pauperum40 ,these editions are supposed to have been published between the years #adcj and #adeg4 ,mean as these books would seem if issued from the press at the present day1 they were wonderful productions for the age in which they appeared2 and although the first named was called the #8,poor ,man's ,bible1' or #8,book of the ,poor1' it was only in comparison with the cost of a written copy of the ,holy ,scriptures1 which was worth the1 in that day1 enormous sum of #ajj4ai ,as very few copies are now in existence1 7and those generally in an imperfect state71 they have literally become worth more than their weight in gold3 a copy of the ,biblia ,pauperum having been bought by the ,duke of ,marlborough1 after a keen competition at an auction sale in #ahac1 for the almost fabulous sum of #beg4 ,it was from these early ,block-books1 or ,donatuses1 that ,gutenberg1 as we learn from the statement of ,ulric ,zell1--a contemporary1 and working printer at ,mentz with the original inventors while the art was yet a secret1--derived his idea of printing as at present practised4 ,in the words of ,mr4 ,charles ,knight1 in his interesting biography of the venerable ,caxton1 the ,father of the ,art in ,england1--8,to seize upon the idea1 that the text or legend might be composed of separate letters1 capable of re-arrangement after the impressions were taken off1 so as to be applied without new cutting to other texts and legends1 was to secure the principle upon which the printing art depended4 ,it was easy to extend the principle from a few lines to a whole page1 and from one page to many1 so as to form a book40 ,such1 according to the almost universally adopted belief1 were the successive steps which led to the invention of ,,typography4 ,and for nearly a century no one had ventured to doubt that either images of saints1 or characters for playing cards1 were first printed from engraved wooden blocks1 as cheap substitutes for the works of the draftsman and painter2--that these were succeeded by subjects of sacred history with explanatory legends cut in wood1 imitative of the art of the illuminator1 and the caligraphy of the scribes or professional writers2--that these again were followed by ,donatuses2--and that from these ,donatuses1 printed from solid blocks1 ,gutenberg obtained his first idea of the ,typographic ,art4 ,but in #ahfh an altogether new hypothesis was propounded at the annual congress of the ,british ,archological ,association1 held that year at ,cirencester4 ,it was there maintained1 in a paper read by ,mr4 ,henry ,f4 ,holt1 that printing from moveable types1 as practised in ,europe1 preceded in point of time that of printing from engravings on wood4 ,after a careful inspection of the celebrated print of ,st4 ,christopher1 in ,earl ,spencer's library at ,althorp1 he contended1--8that the date #adbc is not that of the engraving1 but of the legend beneath it1 which had been copied by the engraver1 and has reference to the jubilee year of the ,saint2 that it has been printed by a press1 and with printer's ink2 and1 what is more important1 upon paper which exhibits the well-known water-mark of the bull or heifer's head1 with a flower issuant between the horns1 which was used by ,faust1 and supposed to have been made for him4#bj ,he has shewn1 that the discovery of this supposed early engraving instigated the fabrication of several similar1 which were stained with coffee to give them the appearance of age4 ,he further maintains1 that the block-books1--originally1 in his opinion1 produced by the celebrated painter and engraver ,albrecht ,durer1--were cheap substitutes for the highly-priced productions of the ,printing press40 ,and he challenges literature 8to prove1 that a copy of the block-book known as the #8,biblia ,pauperum1' was actually in any known library1 public or private1 prior to #adhe1 or known then to be in existence40#ba 8,all this has10 as ,mr4 ,planch observes1 8naturally aroused a host of antagonists1 who have more or less courteously contradicted1 without convincing ,mr4 ,holt1 by the production of any incontrovertible fact1 which would refute the evidence he adduces in support of his arguments4 ,alone and undismayed1 he still gallantly defies all comers40 ,guided by the test of costume1--8a test which he has never known applied in vain1 when called to the assistance of the critical inquirer10--,mr4 ,planch1 while abstaining from the expression of an opinion upon the principal point in dispute1 shews1 as a matter of fact in regard to playing cards1 that 8with the exception of those by the ,master of #adff an engraver only known by that designation1 and a set of 8tarots10 called the ,mantegna ,cards1#bb on one of which is the date #adhc1 all the specimens of printed playing cards that he has met with display the unmistakeable character of the fashions of ,germany1 ,france1 and ,england1 during the latter half of the ,fifteenth century1 and the greatest portion those of the very latest part1--,louis ,,xi1 ,charles ,,viii1 of ,france2 ,edward ,,iv1 and ,henry ,,vii1 of ,england2 and ,maximilian ,i1 ,emperor of ,germany40#bc ,so far1 then1 the evidence of the playing cards seems to support the hypothesis of ,mr4 ,holt4 ,illustration3 ,the ,knave of ,bells1 #acij4 ,most of the early prints are certainly of an extremely rude type1 consisting chiefly of mere outlines of figures2 in the one case of saints1 copied from the illuminated ,missals1 and in the other1 of characters for playing cards similar to the foregoing fac-simile1 afterwards coloured in imitation of paintings4 ,very probably they may have been made1 in the first instance1 by means of stencil plates2 if not1 the impressions were obtained from the engraved blocks by friction1 after the ,chinese manner4 ,whichever was the method adopted1 the #8,brief-malers' or card painters of ,germany seem to have run their ,italian brethren hard in the race of competition in the first half of the ,fifteenth century1 as we learn from a decree of the ,government of ,venice1 bearing date the #aath ,october #adda2 which1 after stating that the art and mystery of making cards and printed figures had fallen into decay1 from the numbers printed out of ,venice1 ordains--8,that it be ordered and established1 according to that which certain masters had supplicated1 that from this time in future no work of the said art that is printed or painted#bd on cloth or on paper1 that is to say1 altar pieces1 images1 and playing cards1 and whatever other work of the said art is done with a brush and printed1#be shall be allowed to be brought or imported into this city under pain of forfeiting the works so imported1 and xxx livres and xii soldi1#bf of which fine one-third shall go to the state1 one-third to ,signor ,giustizieri ,vecchi1 to whom the affair is committed1 and one-third to the accuser40 ,the worthy magistrates of ,venice were excellent ,protectionists in their day and generation2 but this antique method of printing1 either from engraved wooden blocks1 or with stencilling plates and brushes1 had soon to give way to the newer art of ,typography2 and twenty-eight years after the promulgation of this decree we find printed works issuing from the press of ,john and ,vandeline of ,spire1 established in ,venice in the year #adfi4 ,it is a moot point among antiquarians when playing cards were first printed4 ,the commonly received opinion of their invention in #acib for the amusement of the insane ,king1 ,charles ,,vi of ,france1 is decidedly erroneous4#bg ,on this subject ,mr4 ,planch writes1--8,there is plenty of evidence to prove that cards1 drawn1 painted1 and gilded by the hand1 like those of ,jacquemin-,gringonneur1 and to which the name of #8,tarot cards' has been given1 found their way into ,europe from the ,east in the ,fourteenth century1 or perhaps earlier2 but they had nothing in common with those to which we are accustomed1 although they might have suggested them1 and the fact in no wise affects the question of printing by means of wood-blocks only40#bh ,that this art--the art of printing by pressure to obtain copies1 in ink1 from separable types or letters--had not been attempted to be carried into effect at a much earlier period than the time when ,gutenberg made his first essay at ,strasburg1 about the year #adce1 has been a subject of wonderment with certain writers4 ,but the truth is1 that prior to that period the world was not ripe for the invention1 neither had the time arrived for the development of those grand designs of ,providence1 in the effecting of which the ,press and ,printing were destined to be mainly instrumental4 ,otherwise1 it is inconceivable how for ages previous1 while the germ of the art1 as ultimately perfected1 was in common use among men1--in seals and signets2#bi in stamped records on bricks and tablets of clay in ,babylon2 in chiselled inscriptions on rocks and pillars in ,india2 and in irons with letters cut in relief upon them for branding cattle with their owners' names1 7known among the ,romans in the days of ,virgil72--no one discovered the way to this method of multiplying documents for general distribution1 or for the promulgation of edicts through the length and breadth of the ruling empires of the world4 ,it may be well1 therefore1 before entering upon the ,history of ,,printing1 popularly so called1 to take a rapid glance at the state of ,europe1 both as regards ,religion and ,literature1 in the ages immediately preceding that at which we have now arrived4 ,from the ,sixth to the ,fifteenth century the ,western world may be said to have been covered with moral darkness4 ,on the fall of the ,roman ,empire1 ignorance1 barbarism1 and superstition spread in dense and heavy clouds over the nations of the ,west4 ,learning so rapidly declined1 that it was almost wholly lost2 and the light of ,religion1--that light 8which lighteth every man that cometh into the world10--appeared well nigh entirely quenched4 ,here and there1 however1 in different countries and in successive ages1 a ray of light shot forth2 ,schools and ,universities were established1 and a few bright names shine out like stars amid the thick darkness which surrounded them4 ,the number of these was somewhat increased towards the ,tenth century4 ,about this time ,paper made from cotton or linen rags began to come into use4 ,the importance of this invention must at once have been felt1 and by decreasing the expense of manuscripts1--hitherto written on parchments1 or the perishable papyrus1--have greatly enlarged the demand for such documents4 ,this enlarged demand induced more to follow the occupation of ,scribes1 or ,caligraphers4 ,in the ,eleventh century the ,benedictine ,monks exercised themselves in copying manuscripts2 and to their industry we owe almost all we possess of ,classic ,latin ,literature at the present day4 ,the light of learning in this century shone brightest in ,france and ,england2 in ,italy but faintly1 while in ,germany its glimmerings were scarcely perceptible4 ,in the ,twelfth century a slight improvement may be traced2 ,john of ,salisbury and ,william of ,malmesbury being distinguished writers in this age4 ,in the ,thirteenth however1 darkness prevailed again2 and few1 if any1 were capable of appreciating the master-mind of ,roger ,bacon1 who shone like a beacon in the realms of literature and science1 but who was looked upon by his mole-eyed contemporaries as a magician whose lore was derived from unholy sources4 ,the ,church grew more and more corrupt4 ,ignorance and fanaticism every where abounded2 and true ,religion was scarcely to be discerned amid the prevailing superstitions of the age4 ,it was in the moral world as in the physical3 the darkest hour is that which precedes the dawn4 ,darkness at this period covered the earth and gross darkness the people4 ,the mind of man had become1 as it were1 without form and void2 and in that state1 humanly speaking1 it was long likely to remain4 ,but such was not the will of ,,god4 ,as in the creation of the world1 ,,god said1 ,let there be ,light1 and ,light was2 so now the command went forth--8,arise1 shine1 for thy light is come1 and the glory of the ,lord is risen upon thee40 ,and the light of truth burst forth2 not indeed at first with noontide splendour2 but there came from the ,east a dawn1 and a day-spring thence arose1 which announced the coming of that light which will only cease to shine when time shall be no more4 ,the ,fourteenth century was to that which followed it like the morning star that ushers in the dawn4 ,the love of learning revived2 and polite letters were restored in the person of ,petrarch4 ,universities were established in ,rome and ,fermo1 in ,perugia1 ,treviso and ,pisa1 in ,pavia and ,florence1 in ,sienna1 ,lucca and ,ferrara4 ,in ,england1 ,richard ,aungerville1 ,bishop of ,durham and ,chancellor of ,edward ,,iii1 but better known to fame as ,richard of ,bury1 gave his library to the ,university of ,oxford1 with special injunctions that his valuable manuscripts should be lent out to scholars4#cj ,these1 and like agencies elsewhere at work1 paved the way for the era then about to commence4 ,as the dangers which menaced the ,eastern ,empire at the close of the ,fourteenth century increased1 the most learned of the ,greeks fled to the ,west1 carrying with them the treasures of their language4 ,amongst the first of these was ,emanuel ,chrysoloras1 who settled in ,florence in #acie as public teacher in ,greek4 ,he had been previously known as an ,ambassador from ,constantinople to the ,western powers1 his mission being to solicit aid against the ,turks4 ,from ,florence he proceeded to various ,italian ,universities1 and became the preceptor of several early ,hellenists4 ,in #adbc1 #bch manuscripts of ,greek authors were brought into ,italy by ,john ,aurispa of ,sicily1 who thus put his country in possession of authors hardly known to her by name4 ,by means of these1 and the labours of ,philelfo and other collectors1 an ardent thirst for ,classical and especially ,grecian ,literature began to make itself manifest1 which about the year #addj was completely developed4 ,the kings of ,france and the ,dukes of ,burgundy were at this period the most munificent patrons of learning and literature4 ,the fashion they set was followed by their chief nobles1 and many celebrated libraries were formed in their dominions4 ,the ,library of the ,louvre was founded by ,king ,john of ,france in #acej4 ,his third son1 ,jean1 ,duc de ,berri1 formed one at his ,chateau de ,bictre1 near ,paris1 only inferior to that of his father4 ,philippe le ,hardi1 the youngest son1 who became ,duke of ,burgundy1 was also addicted to the collection of fine books1 8and spared no expense in the employment of artists to adorn his library1 and in the purchase of their most choice productions40 ,his son1 ,jean sans ,peur1 inherited his father's tastes and added to the collections already made4 8,but all previous patronage sinks into comparative insignificance before the encouragement given to everything connected with literature by ,philippe le ,bon1 who succeeded ,jean in #adai4 ,at ,bruges where he kept his ,court1 he gave continual employment to multitudes of authors1 translators1 copyists1 and painters1 who were constantly enriching his library with their best productions40 ,in an account of the ,duke's library1 nearly two thousand works are enumerated1 8the greater part being magnificent vellum folios beautifully illuminated1 bound in velvet1 satin1 or damask1 studded with gems1 and protected by gold clasps jewelled and chased40 8,the passion for books thus displayed was not confined to ,france or the ,french princes4 ,in ,italy1 ,germany1 ,england1 and other countries1 the same taste spread4 ,in ,england ,henry ,,vi had a valuable library2 many books written and illuminated for him being still among the royal ,,mss4 in the ,british ,museum4 ,the ,duke of ,bedford1 whose love of literature was probably greatly stimulated while ,regent of ,france1 was surpassed by none of his countrymen in his patronage of the ,fine ,arts2 and the celebrated ,missal executed for him still remains as one of the choicest productions of his age4 ,humphrey1 ,duke of ,gloucester1 the ,protector of ,henry ,,vi1 was also greatly attached to his library1 and bequeathed many hundreds of volumes to the ,university of ,oxford1 and to ,king's ,college1 ,cambridge40 8,owing to these causes the various ,artists connected with book-writing and book-binding1 as well as the trades necessary to them1 received great encouragement1 while to ensure speed as well as excellence of workmanship1 division of labour was carried out to a great extent4 ,indeed1 so important a branch of commerce had the manufacture of books now become1 and so numerous were the various classes of craftsmen employed in this way at ,bruges1 that there sprang up in that city a ,guild1--#8,the ,guild of ,st4 ,john the ,evangelist1' the patron ,saint of ,scribes1--which in #aded had a formal charter and privileges granted it by the ,duke40 ,other cities also had similar corporations4 ,thus1 at ,antwerp the ,society of ,st4 ,luke was formed in #adej1 and at ,brussels there was a guild of ,writers called #8,les ,frres de la plume4' ,the ,guild of ,st4 ,john the ,evangelist contained members of both sexes1 and consisted of ,book-binders1 ,book-sellers1 ,boss-carvers1 ,cloth-shearers1 ,curriers1 ,figure-engravers1 ,illuminators1 ,letter-engravers1 ,painters1 ,painters of ,vignettes1 ,parchment and ,vellum-makers1 ,printers1 ,print-sellers1 ,school-masters1 ,school-mistresses1 and ,scriveners and copyers of books4#ca ,coincident with this development of a thirst for classical learning1 and a passion for literature amongst the great and wealthy1 was the invention of ,printing in the ,western world4 ,,footnotes3 #af ,this is shewn1 in the history of wood-cutting by ,mr4 ,j4 ,,jackson1 not to have been the original title of the work1 which was rather1 says the writer1 a book for the use of preachers than the laity1--8,a series of skeleton sermons1 ornamented with woodcuts to warm the preacher's imagination1 and stored with texts to assist his memory40 #ag ,the blocks of the original ,biblia ,pauperum re-appeared in this city on the revival of wood-engraving in ,holland2 and it is the opinion of ,mr4 ,,bradshaw1 that it was here the earliest of the block-books was produced4 ,this opinion has additional importance attached to it1 from the fact that ,zwolle was1 in the early part of the ,fifteenth century1 celebrated as a seat of learning4 8,thomas ,kempis1 according to ,meiners1 whom ,eichhorn and ,heeren have followed presided over a school at ,zwoll1 wherein ,agricola1 ,hegius1 ,langius1 and ,dringeberg1 the restorers of learning in ,germany1 were educated40--,,hallam',s ,introduction to the ,literature of ,europe1 #hvo4 #ahcg4 vol4 i4 p4 #adi4 #ah ,some writers consider that the whole of the text of what are considered the first and last editions1 and a large portion of the text of the other two1 were printed from moveable wooden letters2 others again assert1 that these letters were made of cast fusile metal4 ,no positive proof1 however1 has been1 or can be given that they were the latter4 ,that the texts were separately printed1 is evident1 from the different inks employed1 the burnished appearance of the paper at the back of the cuts1 and the indentations at the back of the lines of type4 ,these last1 differing considerably in different specimens1 give rise to differences of opinion as to whether the impressions were produced by an ordinary printing press1 or by some other method of imparting pressure4 ,the presumption is that all1 or nearly all1 the impressions of the oldest specimens of the art1 printed only on one side of the paper or vellum1 were taken in the ,chinese way4 ,before the press was invented1 there certainly was a possibility1 but that was all1 of printing otherwise2 but after its invention1 impressions could most easily be taken on both sides of the paper1 without the risk of spoiling the first1 while #8perfecting' 7i4 e4 printing7 the reverse or blank side of the sheet4 ,as the press was not an essential in block-printing1 it was probably not thought of in that embryonic state of the art4 ,but after separable1 and especially metallic1 letters were made1 the press could no longer be dispensed with2 types would be all but useless without it2 for although impressions might still be taken by careful rubbing1 the paper being sufficiently damped1 that process would be attended with much additional trouble1 owing to the precautions rendered necessary to avoid cutting through the paper1 or otherwise spoiling it by blacking the margins on the inked coffin or chase in which the types1 when formed into a page1 were screwed or quoined or wedged together4 ,the date of the invention of the ,,letter press1 by the adaptation of the screw to the purposes of book-printing1 is thus an important element in the consideration of questions relating to the origin of ,typography4 #ai ,about #ajjj1 or #abjj1 of current ,english money4 #bj ,paper with the same water-mark was also used by the ,first ,printer in ,england4 ,vide ,plate ,,ix in vol4 ii4 of ,the ,life and ,typography of ,william ,caxton4 #ba ,letter in ,builder1 ,nov4 #bf1 #ahgj4 #bb ,so called after ,andrea ,mantegna1 a celebrated ,italian painter and engraver1 born in ,padua #adca1 died #aeje4 ,cards designed and coloured by this artist are very highly prized4 #bc ,builder1 ,nov4 #ai1 #ahgj4 #bd 8,the word which has been translated printed is #8stampide' 7#8,carte e figure depinte e stampide'71 and the question arises as to the meaning of that word in #adda4 #8,stampide1' according to ,florio1 signifies #8to print1 to presse1 to stampe1 to form1 to figure2' and #8stampe' in like manner1 besides a print or impression1 is said to be #8a marke1 a shape1 a figure4' ,the word existed before printing1 in its modern sense1 had been heard of1 and the natural application of it to the new art1 does not in the least determine the question of when that art was invented4 #8,stampide' in #adda1 might simply mean formed1 figured1 or shaped1 by the means of the stencil1 a process which we know was adopted at that period1 and which being much more rapid than drawing and coloring by hand1 would doubtless affect very seriously the art of the card illuminator1 similarly as photography1 at the present day1 has the art of the miniature painter40--,j4 ,r4 ,,planch4 ,builder1 ,nov4 #ai1 #ahgj4 #be ,this phrase seems specially to refer to the method of stencilling4 #bf ,equivalent to about #e #aes4 sterling4 #bg ,st4 ,louis of ,france1 after his return from the ,crusade1 ,a4 ,d4 #abed1 interdicted the use of all playing cards throughout his dominions4 ,they were also forbidden by the ,council of ,cologne in the year #abha4 ,these prohibitions most probably arose from their being used for purposes of fortune-telling4 #bh ,gringonneur was paid for the cards drawn and painted for ,charles ,,vi in #acib1 fifty-six sous of ,paris1 which is calculated to be about #g #as4 #h;d4 of our present money1 and a single pack of 8tarots10 admirably painted about #adae by ,marziano1 ,secretary to the ,duke of ,milan1 cost the enormous sum of #a1ejj golden crowns 7about #fbe72 but in #aded a pack of cards intended for the ,dauphin of ,france1 cost only five sous of ,tours1 about #aas4 or #abs4--,the ,arts in the ,middle ,ages1 by ,m4 ,paul ,,lacroix4 #bi ,several ancient specimens of ,greek and ,roman signets are still extant4 ,the most remarkable of these is a brass sigillum of ,c4 ,j4 ,ccilius ,hermias1 in the ,duke of ,richmond's collection4 ,it was found near ,rome1 and is supposed to belong to the ,fourth century4 ,the characters are reversed1 engraved in relief1 the back metal being cut away to a considerable depth and left in a rough state4 ,the inscription is surrounded with a border1 as shewn below4 -------------- ,c ,i ,,caecili ,,hermiae4 ,,sn4 -------------- ,the size of the signet is two inches long by one inch wide4 ,at the back is a ring4 ,if used for printing1 its application was no doubt the same as that of the blocks used by the ,paper ,stainers of the present day4 ,coloured pigments would be applied to the face of the letters1 and the signet would then be stamped on whatever substance was to be marked4 ,it might1 in this way1 have been used for stamping on the covers of letters or parcels1 to mark the name of the party from whom they were sent1 in the same way as engraved fac-simile signatures are officially used for franking such documents through the post at the present day4 ,it may1 however1 have been the receipt stamp of a man in trade2 or a trade-mark1 used1 for instance1 to stamp the wares while in a semi-plastic state1 of a baker or brick-maker4 ,after the above was in type1 the writer was informed by ,dr4 ,j4 ,d4 ,m4 ,coghill1 ,superintendent of the ,convict ,establishment at ,wlikaa1 near ,colombo1 that the probability of the first of the purposes to which the signet is supposed to have been applied1 was much strengthened by the somewhat similar practice1 though not for an exactly similar object1 which prevails in parts of ,china1 in the use of chops1--8house-signs10--by professional men1 traders1 c4 ,these chops are small blocks of box or other hard wood1 on the upper surfaces of which the name and profession of an individual or firm are cut by itinerant engravers1 at the rate of thirty for a ,mexican dollar4 ,to meet the requirements of business and to facilitate intercourse between ,europeans and native ,chinese1 each foreign house1 or firm1 or professional man1 furnishes all those with whom he or they have transactions1 with his #8chop1' on the sides of which his name and address are also written in ,roman characters4 ,whatever letter1 document1 packet or parcel is thenceforth sent to him or them1 besides the address written with ordinary ink and in ,roman characters1 a red ink impression of the chop is stamped on the envelope or cover4 ,this any native can read1 and the addressee is without difficulty found4 ,to this information ,dr4 ,coghill kindly added the gift of the accompanying original chop1 which belonged to his brother1 ,dr4 ,sinclair ,coghill1 when practising as a physician with his partner1 ,dr4 ,bell1 in ,shanghai4 ,the characters represent the words #8,peh-i-sang1' the nearest equivalent the ,shanghai dialect of the ,chinese language gives to #8,bell1 ,physician4' ,it is a small block1 an inch and a quarter long1 three-eighths of an inch broad1 and was one inch and three-eighths high4 ,it has1 however1 been reduced to an inch in height to suit the size of the type and allow of its being herewith printed4 ,illustration3 #cj ,for1 says the ,bishop in his #8,philobiblon1' 8,books are masters who instruct us without rods1 without hard words and anger1 without clothes and money4 ,if you approach them they are not asleep2 if investigating you interrogate them1 they conceal nothing2 if you mistake them they never grumble2 if you are ignorant they cannot laugh at you40 #ca ,vide vol4 i4 of ,the ,life and ,typography of ,william ,caxton1 from the second chapter of which the two preceding paragraphs have been abridged4 ,early ,typography4 ,,chapter ,,iii4 ,,john ,,gutenberg4--,,first ,,attempts ,,at ,,typography ,,in ,,strasburg4--,,difficulties4--,,inventi on ,,of ,,the ,,press4--,,lawsuit4--,,return ,,to ,,mentz4--,,connection ,,with ,,faust4--,,success4--,,mazarin ,,bible ,,the ,,first ,,book ,,printed ,,from ,,moveable ,,metal ,,types4--,,second ,,lawsuit4--,,forfeiture ,,of ,,plant ,,to ,,faust4--,,peter ,,sch,,ffer4--,,invention ,,of ,,type-,,founding4--,,faust ,,and ,,sch,,ffer4--,,the ,,gutenberg #8,,printing ,,house4'--,,gutenberg ,,attached ,,to ,,the ,,court ,,of ,,the ,,elector ,,of ,,mentz4--,,death4 ,until the publication in the ,hague of ,meerman's ,origines ,typographic 7#agfe71--;a work based upon the traditions inserted in ,hadrian ,junius's ,batavia1 first published in #aehh1--the man to whom the whole of ,europe1 with hardly a dissentient voice1 ascribed the honor of the invention of the ,art of ,typography1 was ,john ,gutenberg4#cb a native of ,mentz4 ,he was of honorable descent2 his family being included among the junckers and nobility1 the equestrian order of the country1 and possessing a small estate situated in the neighbourhood of ,mentz1 called ,sulgeloch1 on which estate he was born1 about the year #acii4 ,his father1 ,frielo1 had besides him1 an elder son1 ,conrad1 who died some time previous to the year #adbd1 and ,frielo1 a younger1 who was living in #adei2 and two daughters1 ,bertha and ,hebele1 both of whom became nuns in the ,convent of ,st4 ,clair at ,mentz4 ,in addition to the above-mentioned estate1 the family owned two houses in the city of ,mentz1 one of which was called #8,zum ,gansfleisch1' and the other #8,zum ,gutenberg4' ,the latter of these formed part of the property of his mother1 ,elsy of ,gutenberg4 ,john ,gutenberg1 junior1#cc left ,mentz in early life for ,strasburg1 where he settled and obtained rights of citizenship1 and established himself in business as a polisher of precious stones1 and a mirror and looking-glass manufacturer1 in both which arts he is said to have shewn considerable skill4 ,the precise date of his arrival and settlement in ,strasburg has not been ascertained1 but that it was prior to #adbd is known from a letter written to his sister ,bertha1 on the #bdth ,march of that year2#cd probably it was about the year #adbj1 and may have been occasioned by the political disturbances of the time4 ,his name frequently appears in the city documents and registers1 and he occasionally visited ,mentz4 ,he left ,strasburg finally about the year #addd4 ,of great natural sagacity1 gifted with an inventive genius1 and of indomitable perseverance1 the increasing thirst for knowledge which at this period was every where manifesting itself1 arrested his attention1 and convinced him of the desirability1 as well as the profitableness1 of devising some method for its more ready and abundant supply4 ,the problem of the mechanical multiplication of manuscripts had already been partially solved in the block-books which were manufactured in ,holland4 ,in the study of these1 ,gutenberg perceived the immense advantages which would follow from having every letter made separate1 with sufficient quantities of each to allow of their being combined into words1 sentences1 and pages1 instead of continuously engraving whole series of lines in solid blocks as in the specimens before him4 ,that idea once clearly seen1 time and patience1 with the ability to engrave1 were all that were required for its realization1 so far at least as concerned the mere making of the types or letters4 ,the first experiments would naturally be1 as indeed we are informed they were1 on wood4 ,and one can well imagine the flush of triumph that mantled on his brow1 when1 after having engraved a few continuous sentences1 or sets of alphabets1 with spaces between each line and letter2 and after having sawn each line asunder1 and separated each letter from the one adjoining1 and trimmed and squared the whole to his mind1 ,gutenberg recomposed the letters into words1 and other words1 which differed from the original1 and saw his cherished thought worked out complete before him4 ,but1 while thus on the very threshold of success1 obstacles and difficulties began to present themselves1 which taxed his ingenuity and tried his perseverance to an extent which it was scarcely possible for him to have foreseen4 ,in the first place1 whatever plan he may have adopted to produce impressions in his earliest experiments1 he could not fail to find out in a very short time that the ,chinese method1 adopted by the block-book printers1 would not answer for his separable types2 and moreover1 that the fine strokes and edges of his wooden letters were liable to damage and destruction from other causes besides those arising from the amount of pressure it was necessary to subject them to in order to ensure a clear readable impression4 ,it was necessary therefore to resort to metal4 ,this was1 in itself1 a serious matter to begin with1 for engraving on metal is a much more difficult1 tedious1 and expensive process1 than engraving on wood4 ,with separable types1 and direct perpendicular pressure to produce impressions1 a different kind of ink or pigment to that hitherto used by scribes1 or stencillers1 or block-book printers1 also became necessary1 as well as a different method of applying it to the face of the types2 and many an experiment must have been made1 and much time and money lost1 before these difficulties were overcome1 and success attained in these as in the preceding step4#ce ,the chief difficulty--the greatest obstacle in the way of putting to a practical use the ,types as now designed1 and thus bringing the ,,typographic ,,art before the world1--was the want of the ,,letter ,press4 ,to overcome this obstacle1 to conquer this difficulty1 was ,gutenberg's great task4 ,there was1 in point of fact1 no particular ingenuity or inventive faculty required in making separable letters4 ,the keen perception which saw the advantages to be gained from such separation1 was1 no doubt1 a sure indication that ,gutenberg was a man of mark1--one whose mental gifts transcended those ordinarily possessed by his fellow-men4 ,but the realization of the idea of separating the letters was a task which mainly depended on the amount of manual and mechanical dexterity brought to bear upon its execution4 ,the higher efforts of genius1 and the development of the inventive faculties were displayed in the subsequent steps1 and in none more notably than in the invention of the ,,press4 ,the question--,who invented the ,printing ,press8--has never yet1 it is believed1 been thoroughly considered or satisfactorily answered4 ,a writer in the ,encyclopdia ,britannica says1 8,it is probable that one of the difficulties which ,gutenberg found insuperable at ,strasburg was the construction of a machine of sufficient power to take impressions of the type or blocks then employed4 ,nor is it at all wonderful that even the many years during which he resided at that city should have been insufficient to produce the requisite means2 for what with cutting his type1 forming his screws1 inventing and compounding his ink1 and constructing the means for applying the ink when made1 his time in the ,alsatian capital must have been fully occupied40 ,and he goes on to argue that the ,press was probably the joint production of ,gutenberg1 ,faust and ,schffer1 during the time of their association in ,mentz4 ,but for such a belief there is no real ground whatever4 ,mr4 ,hansard1 although he devotes #aff pages of his voluminous work#cf to an account of ,presses and ,printing machines1 strangely enough heads his first chapter on the subject 8,construction of the ,original ,printing ,press by ,blaew of ,amsterdam40 ,but ,blaew lived two centuries after the original invention1 and was only an improver of certain of its parts4 ,of the original inventor he says not a word4 ,mr4 ,m#8,creery1 a contemporary of ,hansard1 in his poem the 8,,press10#cg reprinted in the ,typographia1 apostrophises ,gutenberg and ,mentz in the following terms3-- 8,,sire of our ,,art1 whose genius first design'd ,this great memorial of a daring mind1 ,and taught the lever with unceasing play1 ,to stop the waste of ,time's destructive sway6 99 99 99 99 99 ,o ,,mentz6 proud city1 long thy fame enjoy1 ,for with the ,,press thy glory ne'er shall die2 ,still may thy guardian battlements withstand ,the ruthless shock of ,war's destructive hand1 ,where ,,gutenberg with toil incessant wrought ,the imitative lines of written thought2 ,and1 as his ,art a nobler effort made ,the sweeping lever his commands obeyed30-- ,but although1 poetically1 ,mr4 ,m#8,creery thus ascribes the invention to the man and place to whom it rightfully belongs1 ,i do not know 7not having the original edition to refer to7 whether he intended anything more4 ,i suspect not1 since otherwise ,mr4 ,hansard would scarcely have failed to have made use of any information in the notes to the poem which tended to throw light on a subject of so much historical importance4 ,other writers pass the subject by with the remark1 that 8,of the mechanical construction of these presses there is little or no record40 ,one of the latest authorities1 ,mr4 ,blades1 the able palotypographist1 thus dismisses it3--8,the method of obtaining an impression by a direct pressure downwards is generally supposed to have been synchronous with the use of moveable types4 ,mr4 ,ottley1 however1 describes several of the earliest wood blocks1 which he had no doubt were printed by means of a press4 ,of one he states #8,i am in possession of a specimen of wood engraving1 printed in black oil colour on both sides the paper by a downright pressure1 which ,i consider to have been1 without doubt1 printed in or before the year #adde4' ,there can be no question therefore that the earliest type printers found a press ready to their hands40#ch ,but this is a very unconvincing method of reasoning2 and a positive conclusion founded upon a mere opinion given in regard to the supposed age of an old engraving--a subject upon which the ablest experts differ--is one which is open to very considerable question4 ,it has already been stated1 7pp4 #db-dc7 that before the invention of the press1 impressions were usually taken on one side only of the paper or vellum2 although the possibility of their being taken on both sides is admitted4 ,mr4 ,ottley says 8the best proof that the printer knew how to print on both sides of his paper1 is that he did so20#ci and he mentions two instances where1 on a single leaf1 the text of the ,speculum is so printed4#dj ,the inference which these writers intended should be drawn from the above statements is1 that the press used by the printer of the ,speculum was essentially the same as that subsequently used by the printers at ,mentz4 ,but what is the evidence in the case8 ,all that can be brought forward is the nature of the ink1 and the appearance of the printed pages4 ,as regards the ink1 it differed from that used at a later period in ,germany1 and was certainly much more fluid2 this is shewn by its spreading over the edges1 and filling up the loops of the letters4 ,by itself1 however1 the ink proves nothing as to how the types were impressed2 that is to be learnt from the appearance of the pages2 and this shews that impressions were taken by a rolling process4 ,a wooden or metallic roller1 #g inches long1 with a diameter of not less than #c inches1 and covered with two or three folds of fine woollen cloth1 rolled1 with a sufficient amount of pressure1 over the back of the paper when it was laid upon the types after they had been inked1--or an uncovered roller1 if two or three folds of woollen cloth were laid over the paper1--would do all that was needed1 and be quite sufficient to account for the practice of printing on one side of the paper only4 ,the statement how such an impression might be taken1 is not however a proof that such was in reality the method adopted4 ,that proof lies in the fact1 that the capital letters of the columns of text on the left hand margin1 and the end letters of the lines on the right1 are all more or less blurred1 and choked with ink1 in a way which only such a cylindrical method of printing would effect2 that effect being caused by the first and last contact of the roller with the outer edges of the types4 ,in cylindrical machine printing at the present day1 where care has not been taken to guard the edges and ends of the types by #8bearings1' similar blurrings may at any time be seen4 ,in the admittedly rude appliances of the earliest printers such appearances would under such a process be at least as plainly shewn4 ,and in the absolute fac-simile which ,mr4 ,humphreys gives1 on plate #aj of his work1 of the page of the ,speculum printed from separable letters with black oleaginous ink1 those appearances are most plainly visible4 ,of course it was possible to print sheets of paper in this way on both sides2 but care would have to be taken to guard the first printed side by interposing between it and the roller a waste or setting-off sheet1 before the process was repeated4 ,and1 as already hinted1 by the use of #8bearings1' the blurring might be avoided4 ,the difference however between such a process and that invented and put in practice by ,gutenberg1 is as great as that which exists between the battering rams and catapults of the ancients1 and the siege trains of modern artillerists4 ,admitting then that impressions from type could be taken on both sides of a sheet1 the mere fact that a single leaf was so printed in two editions of the same ancient work1 is no proof whatever that the said impressions were made with a press such as was used by the printers at ,mentz1 the invention of which became a necessity in order to complete the ,typographic ,art4 ,what it does prove1 is1 that the printer of the ,speculum1 with the appliances then at his command1 preferred the easier1 simpler1 and safer method of printing on one side only4 ,but in the consideration of this subject there are other questions which ought not to be overlooked2--e4 g4 ,for what special purposes1 and for whom1 were the ,donatuses and ,block-books printed8 ,certainly not for the public at large4 ,the ,donatuses1--small elementary ,latin grammars1--would be for a few of the superior monastic schools of the day2 and the ,biblia ,pauperum1 ,ars ,memorandi1 ,speculum ,salutis1 c41 were avowedly for 8the assistance of poor preachers10--8propter pauperes predicatores40 ,editions of these works would therefore be small in number1 and the time taken in their production would not be an object of much account4 ,mr4 ,ottley supposes 7p4 #bhc7 that they would not exceed #bj1 #dj1 or #fj copies each4 ,the market for them1 consequently1 might very easily be overstocked4 ,now as regards the most ancient ,speculums printed in ,holland1 it is by no means improbable1 that1 as two editions in ,latin and two in ,dutch followed one another in quick succession1 the printer did overstock the market1 and had to cease work in consequence4 ,it is at any rate certain1 that the cuts were laid aside for a length of time1 and were not reprinted until #adhc1 when ,veldener1 then printing at ,culembourg1 issued an edition in small #dto41 sawing the pictorial headings in two in order to suit his purpose4 ,this branch of the subject is of some importance in its bearings on the question of the origin of block printing in ,holland1 and will be more fully considered in a subsequent chapter4 ,gutenberg we may fairly presume1 7relying upon documentary evidences for the presumption71 aware of the nature and extent of the demand that existed for such productions1 foresaw how a new public want might be created by means of new inventions for further developing the new-born art4 ,separable types with the then known methods for making use of them1 were but as acorns in comparison with stately full grown oaks1--but sickly stunted bushes1 instead of luxuriant vines1 from whose wide-spreading boughs the thickly clustered bunches of ripe1 refreshing1 life-giving fruit should be sought for far and near4 ,how to excite and satisfy this want was the problem constantly revolving in his mind4 ,it soon became evident1 that a machine capable of rapidly striking off copies of works that were to be set up in types1 was a necessity of the case2 and to meet that necessity all his energies were bent4 ,the time and money spent in working out his ideas1--in constructing the original ,,letter-,,press1--is shewn in the evidence which has been preserved1 the bearing of which seems to have been hitherto strangely misapprehended4 8,the earliest printing press0 says ,mr4 ,charles ,knight1 8was nothing more than a common screw-press1--such as a cheese press1 or a napkin press40 ,he gives no authority for the assertion1 but he immediately adds1 thereby largely qualifying it1--8with a contrivance for running the forme of types under the screw after the forme was inked40#da ,in this #8contrivance1' with some few others1 which were its necessary adjuncts1--however simple the matter may seem now-a-days to eyes accustomed to look upon machinery and mechanical appliances of all kinds and varieties1--lay the chief difficulty4 ,the screw1 from its power and adjustability1 would naturally suggest itself as the appliance best suited to effect the purpose aimed at4 ,but how to contrive to make the screw an effective agent in producing impressions from types1 was the question which ,gutenberg had to consider4 ,his separable letters were ready to his hand2 but without the press1 which he had yet to make1 and to find out how to make1 they were as useless to him as unstrung harp-strings are unmusical until they are keyed and stretched and tuned1 and made to emit soul-thrilling harmonies at the master touch of the fingers of the finished harpist4 ,satisfied with the result of his experiments as to types1 a new series of experiments had to be entered upon before he could hope to realize his expectations in regard to them4 ,these he carried on in his residence at ,st4 ,arbogaste1 in the suburbs of ,strasburg4 ,in his business as a stone polisher1 we learn1 from his own declarations1 that several years previous to #adcf1 he had taught that art to one ,andrew ,dritzehen4 ,subsequently1 8a long time afterwards10 he engaged in the manufacture of looking-glasses1 along with ,johan ,riffe1 the prefect or mayor of ,lichtenow4 ,andrew ,dritzehen1 learning this1 requested ,gutenberg to teach him that art as well2 and a similar request was at the same time made on behalf of ,andrew ,heilman1 by his brother ,anthonie4 ,upon their entering into an agreement1 whereby they bound themselves to pay him certain premiums for so doing1 ,gutenberg complied with their requests4 ,but one year1 after making preparations for attending the fair held at the time of the pilgrimages to the shrines at ,aix-la-,chapelle1 the journey was suddenly put off until the year following1 owing to the postponement of the fair4 ,deprived of the opportunity of increasing their gains1 the two ,andrews1 with enforced unprofitable leisure upon their hands1 made an unexpected visit to ,st4 ,arbogaste1 where they found ,gutenberg busily engaged upon matters1 the secret of which he seemed determined to keep to himself4 ,after much importunity1 however1 he consented to reveal to them1 upon certain conditions1 8all the wonderful and secret arts that he knew1 without any exception40 ,the conditions were1 that they on the one side1 and he and ,riffe on the other1 should cancel the existing agreement1 and enter into a new one2 that they should conjointly pay to him the sum of #bej florins1 making1 with #afj previously paid for being taught the art of making looking-glasses1 #daj in all2 that #ajj was to be paid immediately1 and the remainder at stated periods2 and that their share of the profits was to be one-third1 the remaining two-thirds being divided between ,gutenberg and ,riffe4 ,it was further agreed1 that the partnership for carrying on 8the wonderful art10 should be for a term of five years2 but that if any one of the partners died before the expiration of that period1 the survivors should1 at its expiration1 pay to the representatives of the deceased the sum of one hundred florins1 retaining in their own hands 8all the utensils and implements of the art1 and all works perfected by the instruments40 ,this partnership was entered into about the year #adcf4 ,upon the completion of the agreement the implements and materials for the new art were removed from ,st4 ,arbogaste to the house of ,andrew ,dritzehen1 with whom1 as perhaps the ablest mechanic in the association1 ,gutenberg thenceforth carried on his experiments4 ,these seem to have nearly approached completion1 when ,dritzehen was unfortunately seized with an illness which ended fatally4 ,his death took place in #adch1 before the expiration of the term allotted for the partnership1 and while he was still indebted to ,gutenberg in the sum of eighty-five florins4 ,gutenberg1 as soon as he heard of his death1 sent his servant ,laurence ,beildeck1 to ,nicholas ,dritzehen1 the brother of the deceased1 and requested that no one might be admitted into the workshop1 lest the secret should be discovered1 or the materials be stolen4 ,but they had already disappeared2 and this fraud1 as well as the claims of ,george and ,nicholas ,dritzehen to succeed to their brother's share1 produced a lawsuit with the surviving partners4 ,in the prosecution of this lawsuit1 out of a large number of witnesses summoned1 the depositions of sixteen were taken2 and in the following extracts from the evidence of the most material1 we may gather what the secret was which ,gutenberg was so desirous to preserve4 8,john ,schultheissen deposed1 that ,laurence ,beildeck came to his house1 to see ,nicholas ,dritzehen1 when ,andrew ,dritzehen was lying dead1 and that the said ,laurence ,beildeck thus spoke to the said ,nicholas ,dritzehen3--#8,your brother1 ,andrew ,dritzehen1 now happy1 had four 8stcke0 lying underneath in a press4 ,therefore ,john ,gutenberg desires that you will take them therefrom1 and thoroughly separate them one from the other1 and lay them on the press1 so that it may not be seen what it is4' ,then ,nicholas ,dritzehen went and looked for the #8stcke1' but found nothing40 8,item1 ,hannsz ,schultheisz hatt geseit das ,lorentz ,beildeck zu einer zit heim inn sin husz kommen sy z ,claus ,dritzehen als diser gezuge jn heim gefrt hette1 ,als ,andres ,dritzehen sin bruder selige von todes wegen abgangen was1 und sprach da ,lorentz ,beildeck zu ,claus ,dritzehen1 ,andres ,dritzehen uwer bruder selige hat iiij stcke undenan inn einer pressen ligen1 da hatt uch ,hanns ,gutemberg gebetten das ir die darusz nement und uff die presse legent von einander so kan man nit gesehen was das ist1 ,also gieng ,claus ,dritzehen und suchete die stcke do vant er nutzit40 8,conrad ,sahspach deposed1 that ,andrew ,heilman came to him in ,kremer street and said1 #8,my dear ,conrad1 as ,andrew ,dritzehen is departed1 and as you made the presses1 and know about the matter1 do you go thither and take the 8stcke0 from the presses1 and disjoin them from one another1 so that no man may know what it is4' ,but when this witness wanted to do so1 and looked for them on the morrow of ,st4 ,stephen's day1 the whole was gone40 8,item1 ,cunrad ,sahspach hatt geseit das ,andres ,heilman zu einer zit zu jme komen sy inn ,kremer gasse und sprach zu jme lieber ,cunrad als ,andres ,dritzehen abgangen ist da hastu die pressen gemaht und weist umb die sache do gang dohin und nym die stcke usz der pressen und zerlege s von einander so weis nyemand was es ist1 da nu diser gezuge das tun wolte und also suchete das were uff ,sanct ,steffans tag nehst vergangen do was das ding hinweg40 8,laurence ,beildeck declared1 that he was sent by ,gutenberg to ,nicholas ,dritzehen1 after the death of ,andrew his brother of happy memory1 to tell him1 that he should shew the presses he had under his care to no man2 and this the witness stated1 he did4 ,he said moreover1 that ,gutenberg told him to take good care to go to the press1 and to open the two #8wurbelin1' so that the #8stcke' should be separated from one another1 and that he should place the #8stcke' upon the press1 so that no man seeing might understand them40 8,lorenz ,beildeck het geseit das ,johann ,gutenberg in zu einer zit geschickt het zu ,claus ,dritzehen1 nach ,andres sins bruders seligen dode und det ,clausen ,dritzehen sagen das er die presse die er hnder jm het nieman oigete zoigete1 das ouch diser gezug det1 und rette ouch me und sprach er solte sich bekumbern so vil und gon ber die presse und die mit den zweyen wrbelin uff dun so vielent die stcke voneinander1 dieselben stcke solt er dann in die presse oder uff die presse lege so kunde darnach nieman gesehen noch ut gemercken40 8,herr ,anthonie ,heilman deposed1 that being aware that ,gutenberg was about to take ,andrew ,dritzehen as a third partner into the society for the manufacture of looking-glasses for the ,aix-la-,chapelle market1 he earnestly begged of him to admit therein his brother ,andrew1 as he wished to serve him40 ,after some demur this was agreed to4 ,witness supplied his brother with money to the extent of #ij pounds1 but at last said1 8,what can you want with so much money1 seeing that the sum agreed upon was only #hj florins8--to which ,andrew answered1 #8that he must have money for other purposes2 and that two or three days before the vigil of the ,annunciation1 he was to pay #hj florins to ,gutenberg1 which he1 witness1 must advance to him4'444 ,gutenberg afterwards said to witness1 that in acknowledgment of what he had received1 they 7the partners7 should be upon the same footing in every thing1 and that in future nothing should be concealed from any of them respecting the remaining work40444 8,a long time afterwards ,gutenberg repeated this40 ,after which1 a document was drawn up by ,gutenberg for the other partners to sign1 which they did after considerable deliberation1 ,gutenberg1 before their doing so1 telling them1 8there is as much stuff in the concern as quite equals your money2 so that1 in fact1 the knowledge of the art is given you for nothing40 ,the terms of the agreement with ,gutenberg were1 that in this matter they were to consider themselves beholden to him alone1 and not to ,john ,riffe2 and 8that in case any one of them should be removed from the partnership by death1 that then it should be well understood--and so it was--that the matter should be so arranged with his heirs1 that1 for all things done or undone1 for money advanced by or belonging to the share of such person1 for the value of the stock1 the forms1 and all other implements and materials not excepted1 they 7the surviving partners7 should1 after the expiration of five years1 pay to his heirs #ajj florins4 ,so that he1 ,gutenberg1 as he observed1 gave them a great advantage2 for were he himself to die1 after he had once admitted them into the partnership1 his heirs1 notwithstanding the sums previously expended by him1 would only have to receive #ajj florins for his share1 like those of any of the others4 ,all this was done1 to the intent that whosoever of them should die1 the surviving partners should not be obliged to make known1 or to shew to his heirs1 any thing concerning the art2 which article was approved by every one of them40 ,this witness also said1 8that he well knows that ,gutenberg1 not long before ,christmas1 sent his servant to both the ,andrews 7,dritzehen and ,heilman7 to fetch all the #8formen1' that they might be taken out1 and that he should see it done1 as he was dissatisfied1 and wished to renew alter or change them40 ,there is an obscurity in the original of this last passage which makes it difficult to translate2 but it is believed that the meaning intended to be conveyed is that given above4 ,oberlin1 who thought the passage referred to metal types1 renders it 8,gutenberg sent his servant to bring together all the different forms1 which were to be pulled to pieces before him1 because there were some with which he was not satisfied40 ,santander1 taking the same view as ,oberlin1 renders the last clause of the sentence 8parce qu'il avait des choses a corriger3--because there were things to be corrected40 ,this ,i believe to be an accurate translation1 although ,i am satisfied that the #8formen1' to be corrected were not pages of type4 ,the old ,german runs thus3-- 8,dirre gezuge hat ouch geseit das er wol wisse das ,gutenberg unlange vor ,wihnahten sinen kneht sante zu den beden ,andresen1 alle formen zu holen und wrdent zur lossen das er ess sehe1 und jn joch ettliche formen ruwete40 ,mydehart ,stocher1 after deposing to what he knew of the facts of the partnership and the illness and death of ,andrew ,dritzehen2 said that he had heard the deceased say 8that ,god helping them1 the work when completed1 would find its way with the public1 and that then he hoped and trusted1 he would be delivered from his difficulties40 ,john ,niger von ,bischovissheim deposed1 8that ,andrew once came to him and said that he wanted money 444 this witness then asked him what he was making8 and he answered he was a looking-glass maker40 ,barbara von ,zabern deposed1 8that conversing once with ,andrew ,dritzehen1 about bed time1 she asked him1 why he did not at last go to bed1 and that he answered1 #8,i must first finish what ,i have in hand4' ,when she continued #8,but1 ,god help me6 what a sum of money you seem to be spending2 why all these things must have cost at least #aj florins4' ,and he replied1 #8,you are a simpleton1 ,zabern6 you think these things have cost #aj florins4 ,listen2 if you had all they have cost above #cjj florins1 you would have enough to last you all your life4 ,why1 they have cost over #ejj florins6 and they would be good for nothing1 if they were not to cost still more2 and that is the reason why ,i have sunk both my own and my expected inheritance in the matter4' #8,but1' said she1 #8if it should all turn out badly1 what would you do then8' ,and he answered1 #8,that can never be2 before a year is over we shall have back again all our capital1 and be well off for ever2 unless indeed1 it should be the will of ,god to ruin us4'0 ,reimbolt von ,ehenheim said1 8that a little before ,christmas he went to ,andrew1 and asked him how he got on with the thing he was about8 ,andrew1 of happy memory1 replied1 that it had cost him more than #ejj florins1 but he hoped that1 when it should be finished1 he would make a great deal of money1 wherewith he would satisfy witness and others1 and relieve himself from his cares20 c4 ,fridel von ,seckingen said1 8that ,gutenberg had made a purchase1#db and that he became surety for the payment2 that ,gutenberg1 ,andrew ,heilman1 and ,andrew ,dritzehen1 had asked him to become their surety for #aja florins to ,stolz the son-in-law of ,peter2 which he did1 upon the condition that they three should give an acknowledgment of indemnity for the same2 that ,gutenberg and ,heilman signed and sealed the indemnity1 but ,dritzehen did not2 and that ,gutenberg afterwards paid all the money1 at the time of the last ,lent fair40 8,also1 ,john ,dnne1 goldsmith1 declared1 that about three years previous he had received about #ajj florins from ,gutenberg1 solely for materials relating to printing 7or presses407 8,item1 ,hanns ,dnne der goltsmyt hat geseit1 das er vor dryen joren oder doby ,gutemberg by den hundert guldin abe verdienet habe alleine das zu dem trucken gehret40 ,on the part of ,george and ,nicholas ,dritzehen it was shewn1 that their brother ,andrew1 when on his death-bed1 stated to his confessor that he had expended #bjj or #cjj florins in connection with the partnership1 and that he did not then possess a single obolus4#dc ,the suit lasted for nearly twelve months1 but was decided against the ,dritzehens2 the magistrates adjudging the surviving partners to pay to the heirs of ,andrew ,dritzehen1 the sum of #ae florins only1 which1 with the #he he was indebted to ,gutenberg at the time of his death1 made up the hundred they had bound themselves1 according to the contract of partnership1 to pay to the heirs of any of their number who chanced to die during the term for which it was to last4 ,neither in the evidence quoted1 nor in any portion of the rest of the depositions1 is anything said about #8types' or #8letters4' ,mr4 ,humphreys1 adopting the conjecture first made by ,m4 ,paul ,lacroix1 argues1 that the evidence about looking-glasses to be manufactured1 and the partners terming themselves looking-glass makers1 is to be understood as meaning that they purposely adopted that term as a ruse to conceal the true meaning of their work1 which was1 in fact1 the manufacture or printing of #8,mirrors of ,salvation4' ,but this view can hardly be considered tenable1 inasmuch as ,anthonie ,heilman shews1 that his brother first entered into the partnership to learn the ,art of making looking-glasses2 and that it was not until afterwards--8a long time afterwards0--that the new arrangement was entered into about the remaining work1--8,,the ,,art10--the secret1 in fact1 for which they were to consider themselves beholden to ,gutenberg alone1 and not to ,riffe4 ,and this was the view the magistrates took4 ,in their summing up of the case1 they very distinctly state1 that after having for several years taught ,andrew ,dritzehen the art of polishing stones1 ,gutenberg admitted him and ,andrew ,heilman as partners in a manufactory of looking-glasses1 which articles he and ,john ,riffe had before been accustomed to sell at the fairs at ,aix-la-,chapelle2 and that it was not until one year1 when the fair had been unexpectedly put off until the year following1 that ,gutenberg agreed to reveal to them all the wonderful and secret arts that he knew1 without any exception4 ,the magistrates also referred to the evidence adduced as to various purchases1 some or one of which was deposed to be of lead2 and from this it may be inferred that the lead was intended for the manufacture of type4 ,but there is nothing to shew that either ,riffe or ,dritzehen or ,heilman was entrusted with the secret of the separable letters4 ,if however1 metal types had been the secret to be preserved1 the fact of their being so would surely have somehow been more or less distinctly stated4 ,but it was the four #8stcke' under the press1--fixed or fastened by two #8wurbelin1' which1 when opened1 and the #8stcke' disjoined and separated one from the other1 no one would understand the meaning of1--as well as the #8formen1'--that were the cause of ,gutenberg and ,heilman's great anxiety4 ,these four #8stcke' were certainly not four pages1 or a forme of types1 fastened together by two screws1 which is the interpretation given1 with a note of interrogation attached1 by writers of repute1 whose minds appear to have been so filled with the importance of the separable types1 that they have failed to see how the word #8stcke' could apply to anything else in connection with printing4 ,had pages of type been meant1 their being separated1--either by being #8distributed' into type-cases1 or #8thrown into pye1' as it is technically called1--would not have effected the object of the direction given1 8that no man might know what it is20 for any one seeing sundry boxes full1 or heaps of small pieces of wood or metal1 all of the same height and depth1 and each with a letter engraved on its upper end1 would scarcely fail to conclude that they were in some way connected with printing1--especially if he knew of the existence of block-books1 which at that day were by no means uncommon2 nor would two screws have sufficed to fix or fasten a forme of four pages of type together4 ,meerman thinks the four 8stcke0 alluded to were parts of a press2 and ,koning#dd is much of the same opinion1 believing that ,gutenberg was1 at the time to which the evidence refers1 occupied in endeavouring to construct a printing press of a more perfect kind than had been before known4 ,ottley1 in his observations upon the evidence1 disagrees with these writers4 ,he says 7p4 #bd17 8,on the whole there is1 ,i think1 good reason to conclude that the press so often mentioned by the witnesses in the processes 7for it appears to be the same identical press that is spoken of throughout7 was not a screw-press4 ,what was its construction1 or what the use to which it was applied1 ,i cannot conjecture40--7p4 #ce47 8,we are led to suppose by all the depositions 444 that there was something about it1 which ,gutenberg feared might enable some clever person1 who should chance to see it1 to become possessed of one of his secret arts without the regular initiation2 and therefore upon the death of ,andrew ,dritzehen 444 he despatches thither his servant ,beildeck1 with directions to take all necessary precautions respecting it4 ,why in a matter of such moment1 and upon which he was so anxious1 ,gutenberg did not go himself1 it is difficult to conceive2 or why ,andrew ,heilman1 one of the partners1 did not go and do what was needful1 instead of deputing ,conrad ,sahspach4444 ,however1 ,lawrence ,beildeck was sent instead2 444 may ,i suppose that upon this occasion he did as ,gutenberg directed him8 ,if so1 then ,i should say that ,gutenberg's mode of proceeding was better calculated to awaken curiosity respecting his secret art1 than to prevent any dreaded discovery of it2 and that although he might be determined that no one1 if he could help it1 should have become acquainted with it for nothing1 there was mixed up with this feeling a secret wish1 that his mysterious acquirements should be talked of2 in the hopes of getting a fresh addition of monied partners capable of paying good premiums40--,very impartial this of ,mr4 ,ottley6 8,but0 he goes on 7p4 #cg7 8we will suppose this press to have existed2 and briefly remark upon what is said of it4444 ,the term #8wurbelin' used in ,beildeck's testimony has already been spoken of4 ,the two #8wurbelin' were not screws1 but must have been some other kind of fastening1 or mode of pressure1 with which the press was provided4 ,what the construction of the press was1 or how these fastenings or modes of pressure were applied1 ,i pretend not to say3 but all the depositions1 if we except that of ,and4 ,heilman1 7which speaks as if it were the press itself which was to be taken to pieces17 describe it as having within it some pieces1 which in some way were connected with each other1 and which ,gutenberg desired should be separated or disjoined1 7for there is nothing said of dividing the pieces into pieces7 in order that people might not be able to guess the use for which they were intended4 ,two of the witnesses1 namely1 ,schultheiss and his wife1 inform us that these pieces were four in number1 and that ,nic4 ,dritzehen was desired to take them out of the press and separate them from each other4444 ,this1 according to the natural meaning of the words1 is all that can be made of these depositions2 and it is probable that no one would ever have attempted to make more of them1 had not the name of ,gutenberg appeared in connection with them2 for there can be no doubt that presses of different kinds were known1 long before the invention of typography1 and applied to many other purposes1 either of stamping or of continued pressure2 and the word #8stcke1' employed in this process to describe the things contained in the press1 is as applicable to pieces of one kind whether of shape or material as of another40 ,but this is begging the question completely2 for the discussion is not1 whether presses of different kinds were already known2 but whether the ,letter press1--the press for taking impressions from types1--was previously known or not2 and in discussing this question1 the meanings of the words 8stcke10 8formen10 and 8wurbelin10 are most important points4 ,what then were the #8stcke1' the #8formen1' the #8wurbelin'8 ,what do the words mean8 ,the ,german dictionary gives us the answer--8,pieces1 parts1 bits1 fragments10 c3--8forms1 figures1 shapes1 frames1 patterns1 models10 c3--8turning joints1 tourniquots1 twirls1 convolutions1 pulley rolls1 pegs 7in musical instruments710 c4#de ,and as the ,german for types is 8lettern10 for pages 8seiten10 and for screws 8schrauben10 instead of looking to the types for the true interpretation of the terms1 we look to the press1 and especially to that portion of it which ,gutenberg was contriving1 in order to utilize the mechanical power of the screw for the purposes of book-printing4 ,as yet this contrivance was incomplete1 for no books had been printed1--no impressions taken from either blocks or types4 ,the invention1 in fact1 had not been perfected3--there were parts which needed to be changed1 altered1 corrected4 ,under such circumstances it is easy to understand that ,gutenberg would reserve the secret of his separable types1 until the completion of the press should enable him to introduce them as the crowning triumph of his ingenuity4 ,within the frame-work of the press then1 were fixed1--first1 the screw2 underneath the screw1 second1 the platten1 7the impression block or plate17 to be brought down by the screw upon the types2 third1 the carriage1 on which the types were to be placed2 and fourth1 the table or slide-rest supporting the carriage1 with its rounce1 or spindle with crank-handle1 drum1 and connecting girths to run the carriage in and out before and after impressions were made4 ,these1 or their original substitutes1 were the #8pieces1 parts1 or bits' that formed the four #8stcke' spoken of4 ,but what were the #8wurbelin'8 ,they were two stout screw-bolts1 working through nuts in a cross-head1 and fixing1 immoveably1 the cross-block in which the centre screw of the press was wormed4 ,they were variously made1 but the object was invariably the same2 to resist1 by a counter pressure1 the upward thrust of the screw1 when1 by the working of the bar or lever1 it was brought down upon the platten1 and met the resistance of the forme at the moment the impression had to be taken4 ,illustration ,examine now the figure of the press in the accompanying engraving1 copied from woodcuts of presses used as printers' emblems as early as #adih and #aeaa2 and observe how easily its component pieces could be separated by removing or opening 7unscrewing7 the two long wurbelin fixed above the working parts1 which were probably merely morticed and tenoned together4 ,in the following diagram1 outlined from an engraving of the date of #aebj1 an older fashioned press seems to be shewn1 in which the two wurbelin are differently shaped1 while their special use is still more plainly to be seen4 ,these unscrewed1 the inner portions of the press taken to pieces1 and the parts separated or laid aside1 no one1 unacquainted with the secret1 would be able to guess for what object they were designed2 or1 in the words of the evidence1 8know what it is40 ,it may perhaps be said1 that so apparently simple a matter could surely not have taken so long a time to contrive1 nor have cost so much as has been implied1 in the way of preliminary experiments4 ,but the printing press1 in its origin1 was an entirely novel invention4 ,the whole contrivance1--although the idea1 as we learn from ,arnold de ,bergel1 7#aeda71 was first suggested to ,gutenberg's mind by the wine-press1#df--;had to be thought out by its inventor1 step by step1 unhelped by any adventitious aid4 ,gutenberg1 versatile genius as he was1 may not have been an expert mechanic2 he was certainly unable to avail himself of the many appliances which modern inventors find ready to their hand at every turn1 for they were non-existent1 and he had therefore to realize his designs the best way he could1 without revealing their object to those whom he employed to carry them into execution4 ,his partners indeed might know that a new kind of block or book printing was intended1 but yet be ignorant of the real purpose for which the costly and still unfinished machines were meant2 for it is evident1 judging from the depositions of ,anthonie ,heilmann1 concerning the formen1 7#8frames or models'71 and of others who speak of presses 7pressen7 in the plural1 that more than one had been planned4 ,unless such knowledge had been imparted to them1 and was further supported by specimens of block ,alphabets1 school ,grammars1 and ,vocabularies1 it is difficult1 if not impossible1 to understand how their faith in the ultimate success of 8the wonderful art10 could have been so long sustained4 ,now1 bearing in mind that three hundred and seventy years later1 it cost a practical printer and engineer1 aided by other men's ideas1 and by every facility which science could give for the quick and accurate production of whatever his ingenuity designed1--no less than seven years of labour1 and an outlay on the part of his employers of #af1jjj1 before he achieved success in the first cylindrical printing machine2#dg a machine which was merely required to print off sheets more rapidly than could be done by the hand-press2--the marvel is1 not that ,gutenberg's invention cost him the time and labour and money it did2 but that in realizing his ideas1 he perfected them so thoroughly1 that the principles of his hand-press have not to this day been improved4 ,different adaptations of leverage power may have been tried to produce the same effects1 and different materials made use of in the manufacture of the machinery1 but the hand-press of to-day is essentially the same as that with which the first ,typographer printed his first book4 ,the greater therefore is the honor due to its inventor4 ,the annexed sketch represents a press in its completed form1 with tympans attached to the end of the carriage1 and with the frisket above the tympans4 ,the tympans1 inner and outer1 are thin iron frames1 one fitting into the other1 on each of which is stretched a skin of parchment or a breadth of fine cloth4 ,a woollen blanket or two with a few sheets of paper are placed between these1 the whole thus forming a thin elastic pad1 on which the sheet to be printed is laid4 ,the frisket is a slender frame-work1 covered with coarse paper1 on which an impression is first taken2 the whole of the printed part is then cut out1 leaving apertures exactly corresponding with the pages of type on the carriage of the press4 ,the frisket when folded on to the tympans1 and both turned down over the forme of types and run in under the platten1 preserves the sheet from contact with any thing but the inked surface of the types1 when the pull1 which brings down the screw and forces the platten to produce the impression1 is made by the pressman who works the lever1--to whom is facetiously given the title of 8the practitioner at the bar40 ,illustration ,one of the consequences that ensued on the termination of the lawsuit with the ,dritzehens1 was a stoppage of the progress of the invention4 ,very probably ,gutenberg1 an impoverished if not a disappointed man1 felt compelled to lay his projects aside1 and to devote himself1 for a time at least1 to other and more remunerative pursuits4 ,nothing more at any rate is heard of the partnership1 or of types or presses1 until after his return to ,mentz4 ,and as printing was not practised at ,strasburg until after ,mentelin set up a press there1 this silence is pretty conclusive as to the correctness of the surmise1 that neither ,dritzehen nor ,heilmann nor ,riffe had been entrusted with the secret of the separable types4 ,the inference which writers adverse to the claims of ,gutenberg draw from the silence in the evidence in regard to types or letters1 is1 that he had not then invented them4 ,but if the press was not designed1 and made1 for taking impressions from types1 for what else could it have been invented8 ,gutenberg must have had types in his possession1 before he commenced experiments in connection with the press4 ,now these experiments commenced some time before #adcf2 how long cannot be ascertained2 but it is clear that the original making of the types must necessarily have preceded the first attempt at making a press4 ,but when once a small stock of metal letters had been engraved1 7in itself a work of years for a single individual17 and it was found that they could not be availed of by what was then the ordinary method of producing prints1 further progress with them would be stopped1 until the press1 which was to make them profitable1 had been made4#dh ,the mere making of the types1 however tedious and time-eating a work1 was1 as has already been shewn1 by no means so wonderfully ingenious as some have stated it to be4 ,a period of ten years now passed by4 ,gutenberg1 true to his convictions1 resumed his typographic labours1 and perfected 8the mightiest engine of human intellect--the great leveller of power--the ,demiurgus of the moral world--,the ,press40#di ,the statement made by ,wimpheling1#ej in his ,epitome ,rerum ,germanicarum1 written in #aejb1 that in the year #addj the art of printing was invented by ,john ,gutenberg in ,strasburg1 though afterwards brought to perfection in ,mentz1 affords ground for believing that between the year #adci and the date of his leaving ,strasburg1 ,gutenberg actually printed a work or works in that city4 ,it also gives colour to the conjecture of ,m4 ,bernard#ea that a 8,donatus1 printed in characters very closely resembling those of the ,bible afterwards printed by ,gutenberg at ,mayence1 may possibly have been printed by him at ,strasburg40 ,if ,m4 ,bernard be right in his conjecture1 ,mr4 ,humphreys is of opinion1 7p4 #gd17 8that it would tend to prove that the characters used were of lead1 as in the #8,donatus' in question the types show such symptoms of spreading and blurring1 as would be sufficient to deter a man of ,gutenberg's taste and ambition from undertaking the printing of a more important work40 ,other works may also have been printed1 of which no trace remains1 as in the case of the ,tracts of ,peter of ,spain1 alleged by ,junius to be one of the two works first printed at ,mentz in the year #addb4 ,of the other1 the ,doctrinal of ,alexander ,gallus1 there is a supposed fragment preserved in the public ,library at ,treves1 part of which is figured by ,wetter1 in ,tab4 ,,xii4 of the fac-similes accompanying his work2#eb but it is plainly the production of the printers of the ,speculum ,human ,salvationis1 whoever they were1 and of whom more will be said hereafter4 ,the lines are irregular1 the letters appearing to be of wood1 strung together with a thread1 a practice known to have been adopted by the first printers1 and to which allusion is made by ,theodor ,bibliander 7#aedh71 ,heinrich ,spiegel 7#aedi-afab71 and other writers4 ,illustration ,angelo ,rocca1 in the ,appendix to the ,account of the ,vatican ,library printed at ,rome in #aeia1 states1 from personal knowledge1 that 8the types used by the inventors of printing were perforated1 and connected together by a thread which was passed through them1 of which he remembered to have seen specimens at ,venice40#ec ,these perforations were no doubt the origin of the #8nicks' in the shanks of the types1 which now enable compositors to place them in their proper positions1 without examining their faces4 ,but the threading of the letters by means of such perforations must have proved a great obstacle to progress in printing1 and the perforations must also have greatly weakened the letters themselves4 ,this will be at once understood from the annexed figures1 shewing the sides of the shanks of two types1 one perforated and the other nicked as at present4 ,obviously it was a great improvement to nick the type instead of perforating it4 ,the object in view1 that of keeping the letters in line1 would be better secured by laying a thin wire in and along the nicks1 than by stringing them together with a thread4 ,time in composing and correcting would also be saved by the alteration4 ,as soon however as ,type-founding was established as a scientific art1 and types were made to adjust together with mathematical accuracy1 neither threads nor wires were longer wanted2 but the nicks still served as a useful aid to the compositor1 in the speedier execution of his work2 while the type-founder1 by multiplying their number and varying their positions1 enabled him at once to distinguish the differently-faced founts of the same class of types4 ,however occupied in the five years after #adci1 ,gutenberg's means became exhausted2 and having been obliged1 in order to extricate himself from his difficulties1 to part with a portion of his paternal property to the ,church of ,st4 ,thomas1 he resolved to leave ,strasburg and return to ,mentz1 his native city4 ,this he did about the year #addd1 taking up his residence in the #8,zum ,jungen1' the house of his uncle on the ,platz of the ,franciscans4 ,here1 still busily engaged in the work to which he had now exclusively devoted himself1 he again ran out of funds1 and had to borrow #aej florins from ,reinhart ,brmser and ,johan ,rodenstein1 for which sum his kinsman1 ,arnulphus ,gelthus1 became security4 ,his first business transaction with ,john ,fust or ,faust1 the banker and money-lender1 seems to have been in #addh1 ,faust's name appearing as a witness to a deed of purchase made by ,gutenberg in that year4#ed ,two years later a contract was entered into between them1 which from that date has made their names inseparable in the annals of the origin of ,typography4 ,in the year #adej1 ,gutenberg1 having already completed three1 perhaps four1 small founts of type1 as well as presses that fully answered his expectations1 designed a work1 the magnitude of which necessitated a large preliminary outlay4 ,to enable him to execute his design1 he had recourse to ,faust4 ,faust1 having convinced himself of the worth of his inventions1 and the value of the project in contemplation1 agreed to 8advance to ,john ,gutenberg #hjj florins in money1 as a fixed sum1 with which he was to perform the work in question10 on condition 8that the utensils were to be considered as security to the said ,john ,faust1 and that he 7,gutenberg7 was to give six florins per cent4 interest for these #hjj florins40 ,with this money ,gutenberg was bound 8to prepare and make utensils0 to be employed for their joint use4 ,faust also agreed to pay #cjj florins annually 8for expenses1 as well as for the wages of servants1 rent1 firing1 parchment1 paper1 ink1 c40 ,it was moreover stipulated1 8that if in future they should disagree1 ,gutenberg was to give back to ,faust his #hjj florins1 and that his utensils were then to be released40#ee ,supplied with funds1 ,gutenberg set actively to work4 ,several assistants were at once engaged1 and amongst the rest ,peter ,schffer of ,gernszheim4 ,their principal occupation would be in connection with the work for which ,faust made the advance of #hjj florins2 but while that was progressing1 several small matters were printed1 for which there would be a steady though probably only a limited demand4 ,the ,abbot ,trithemius states1 in his ,chronicon ,hirsaugiense1 that 8a vocabulary called the ,catholicon10#ef was the first work printed1 8with the characters of the letters carved in wooden tablets in a series1 and composed in forms3--imprimis agitur characteribus litterarum in tabulis lignis per ordinem scriptis formisque compositis40 ,other writers make mention of an ,alphabet1 engraved on a single page1 and two editions of ,donatuses1 also cut in solid blocks4 ,these were most likely brought by ,gutenberg from ,strasburg1 and would be his earliest efforts4 ,but besides these1 there were ,donatuses in cut metal types1 and1 as some consider1 8,an ,appeal against the ,turks10 and 8,letters of ,indulgence10 printed in the years #aded and #adee4eg ,all these were doubtless the #8pot-boilers' of the establishment for the time being4 ,at length the magnum opus1--the celebrated ,biblia ,latina ,vulgata1--made its appearance4 ,this work is commonly known as the 8,,mazarin ,,bible10 from a copy having been discovered in the ,bibliotheque ,mazarin at ,paris1 about the middle of the eighteenth century4 ,it was recognised by the book-seller and bibliopole ,de ,bure1 who gave a minute description of it in the ,bibliographie ,instructive1 7vol4 i4 pp4 #cb-dj47 ,there can hardly exist a doubt that this is the work to which ,ulric ,zell refers in his account of the origin of ,printing1 where he says--8,and in the year ,m4,,cccc4,l4 which was a jubilee1 they began to print2 and the first book printed was the ,bible in ,latin40#eh ,being without a date1 the exact year of its publication cannot be ascertained2 but a copy exists in the ,royal ,library in ,paris1 printed on paper1 and bound in two volumes1 on each of which is an entry1 stating the date when its binding and illuminating was completed3 and as the second entry gives the information that this was finished at ,mentz on the ,feast of the ,assumption1 #adef1ei the work itself could not have been issued from the press later than the year preceding1 #adee1 which secures to it an unimpeached priority in the records of bibliography4 ,strange to say1 the existence of this work was unknown until the discovery of the ,mazarin copy2 since then about twenty copies have been traced in various libraries1 some on vellum1 and some on paper3 twelve of these are now in ,england1 and in every place where they are deposited1 they are justly considered the most precious of bibliographical treasures4 ,the type is of a large handsome ,gothic character1 fine and square and sharp1 imitative of the best manuscripts of the time1 the first letters of each chapter being painted in by hand4 ,the book consists of #fcg leaves1 with two columns each containing forty-two lines printed upon each page4#fj ,it is beautifully executed1 and remarkable for the blackness and brilliancy of the ink made use of4 8,it is a very striking circumstance10 says ,mr4 ,hallam1 8that the high minded inventors of this great art1 tried at the very outset so bold a flight as the printing an entire ,bible1 and executed it with astonishing success4 ,it was ,minerva leaping on earth in her divine strength and radiant armour1 ready at the moment of her nativity1 to subdue and destroy her enemies4 ,the ,mazarin ,bible is printed1 some copies on vellum1 some on paper of choice quality1 with strong1 black and tolerably handsome characters1 but with some want of uniformity1 which has led1 perhaps unreasonably1 to a doubt whether they were cast in a matrix4#fa ,we may see in imagination this venerable and splendid volume1 leading up the crowded myriads of its followers1 and imploring as it were a blessing on the new art1 by dedicating its first fruits to heaven40 ,whatever may have been the precise date of the publication of this ,bible1 it is evident that some short time before1 a disagreement took place between ,faust and ,gutenberg4 ,the first advance of #hjj florins made by the former1 not having sufficed for bringing out the work1 a second advance had been made to the same extent1 and for five years no interest had been paid4 ,principal and interest1 or the forfeiture of the security1 were then demanded2 and the demand enforced by an action at law4 ,why ,faust waited so long1 and then1 when the work was all but ready for publication1 made his demand1 amounting in all to #bjbj florins1 it may not be difficult to determine as the narrative proceeds4 ,gutenberg did not appear in person at the final hearing of the case1 but empowered 8the respectable ,sieur ,henry ,gunther1 late curate of ,st4 ,christopher's at ,mentz1 ,henry ,keffer1 and ,bertolff of ,hanau1 his servant and domestic10 to hear and see what was done in the matter4 ,he did not deny the fact of the advances1 but pleaded against the demand for immediate payment1--8that it was well understood that he was to complete the work with the money which he 7,faust7 had lent to him upon his pledges1 but that he considers he was not obliged to employ these #hjj florins in the making of books2 and although it be stated in the letter of agreement1 that he was to give six per cent4 interest2 nevertheless ,joh4 ,faust promised that he would not ask him for this interest2 and1 further1 that these #hjj florins were not paid to him1 according to the tenor of the agreement1 all at one time1 as he pretends in the first article of his demand2 and that with regard to the last #hjj florins he is willing to render an account4 ,he 7,gutenberg7 does not admit that he ought to pay either interest or usury1 and he hopes he will not be obliged to do so by the ,court2 all which has appeared in the demand1 the answer1 the reply1 the rejoinder1 and in various other written papers1 c40 ,but the magistrates gave judgment against him in the following terms3--8,that when ,joh4 ,gutenberg shall have rendered an account of all his receipts1 and of the sums expended by him for their joint advantage1 whatever further moneys he may have received1 over and above1 shall be counted in the #hjj florins2 but that if it shall appear by the account1 that ,faust has advanced to him any money beyond the #hjj florins1 which has not been employed for their joint advantage1 he 7,gutenberg7 shall repay it to him2 and if ,joh4 ,faust shall prove by oath or other good evidence1 that he borrowed the said money at interest1 and that he did not advance it out of his own funds1 then ,joh4 ,gutenberg shall also pay to him the said interest1 according to the tenor of the letter of agreement40 ,whereupon the said ,joh4 ,faust declared upon oath as follows3 8,i1 ,joh4 ,faust1 did borrow fifteen hundred and fifty florins which were delivered to ,joh4 ,gutenberg1 and have been employed for our joint advantage4 ,i have been obliged annually to pay interest and usury for the same1 and ,i still owe a part2 therefore ,i charge him1 for each hundred florins that ,i have borrowed1 as is said above1 six florins annually for the money borrowed1 which he has received1 and which has been employed upon our joint work1 as appears in the account2 ,i demand of him the interest1 according to the tenor of the judgment2 and in proof that such is the fact1 ,i am willing to abide1 as is just1 by the tenor of the judgment given upon the first count of the demand which ,i have made against the said ,joh4 ,gutenberg40 ,this closed the proceedings1 which were duly attested by ,ulric ,helmasperger1 clerk of the ,bishopric of ,bamberg1 by ,imperial authority ,notary ,public1 and sworn ,notary of the ,holy ,see at ,mentz1 on the sixth day of ,november #adee4 ,the persons present as witnesses were ,pieter ,grantz1 ,joh4 ,kilsen1 ,joh4 ,knopff1 ,joh4 ,iseneckh1 ,jaques ,faust1 ,burgher of ,mentz1 and ,pieter ,gernszheim and ,joh4 ,bonne1 ,clerks of the city and ,bishopric of ,mentz4 ,gutenberg1 not being able to meet the demand1 the mortgage on the materials was foreclosed1 and ,faust thus became possessor of types and presses in his own right4 ,these1 with 8the stock of partially complete ,bibles1 were removed from ,gutenberg's residence1 and taken to the house of ,faust in the ,schuster ,gasse1 7,shoemaker's street7 which was eventually styled #8,the ,printing ,office1' as the house of ,gutenberg had previously been40#fb ,before proceeding further it will be well to ascertain what there was in the plant of the printing establishment at the ,zum ,jungen which could occasion so great an outlay4 ,we have already seen how much time and money had been spent in the experiments at ,strasburg4 ,it is not recorded how ,gutenberg arranged with his partners there2 but it may be fairly assumed1 that in #addd he brought with him to ,mentz his original blocks1 and types1 as well as apparatus for setting up presses4 ,the making of new founts of type would therefore be his chief concern4 ,if the small works attributed to him by ,fischer1 ,van ,praet1 and others1 really issued from his press1 7and there is no reason to doubt the fact17 three founts of type were already made1 before the one for the ,latin ,bible was commenced4 ,now supposing that these three founts consisted of #aj1jjj letters in all1 an equal number would1 at least1 be required to complete four pages of the ,bible2 for the printing of such a work could hardly have been begun with less type than would suffice for two formes of two pages each4 ,how then were these letters made8 ,the answer to this question is given in the statement of the ,abbot ,trithemius1 who says1 that to the engraved letters on solid blocks 8succeeded a more ingenious invention1 for they found out a way of stamping the shapes of every letter of the ,latin alphabet in what they called matrices1 from which they afterwards cast their letters in copper or tin1 hard enough to be printed upon1 which they first cut with their own hands40#fc ,this information was given to the ,abbot by ,peter ,schffer of ,gernszheim1 one of ,faust's witnesses in the lawsuit with ,gutenberg1 the same who invented the art of type-founding as at present practised1 and who moreover added1 8that before the third quaternion 7twelve sheets7 of the bible was completed1 no less a sum than #djjj florins had been expended40#fd ,from this statement it is clear that the matrices consisted of a number of small troughs of uniform length1 each one the size1 in regard to depth and thickness1 of the shape of a letter2 that these shapes were stamped into a prepared mould of clay or plaster2 that the fused metal was poured into these matrices2 and that a considerable number of small ingots1 or cast #8blanks' might thus be made at each pouring of the metal4 ,the accompanying diagram1 in which the border represents the rim of the mould1 and the inside figures the matrices1 renders further explanation unnecessary4 ,on one end of each of these cast #8blanks1' a letter would be cut or engraved by hand1 while the sides would be #8dressed' 7with perhaps a greater amount of labour17 in the same way as ordinary type now-a-days4 ,it is not at all unlikely that this method1 called by some the fuso-sculpte1 may have been suggested by the goldsmith ,john ,dnne1 the friend of ,gutenberg at ,strasburg2 or if not1 by ,faust himself4 ,illustration ,with a ready method at hand for preparing his blanks1 let us now see how long the engraving of the letters would take4 ,assuming that one1 or say two1 small founts had been finished at ,strasburg1 comprising about #djjj letters1 and that #fjjj were completed at ,mentz before the contract was made with ,faust1 what length of time would be required to complete them8 ,an expert modern punch-cutter can complete1 in one day1 two steel types for striking matrices with4#fe ,supposing that with softer metal ,gutenberg engraved his blanks at the rate of four a day2 and that deducting ,sundays and ,saints' days1 he worked three hundred days a year2 five years would be occupied in completing two founts of #cjjj letters each2 which1 when finished1 might weigh about one hundred pounds4 ,with the additional funds placed at his command by ,faust in #adej1 ,gutenberg would most probably engage another engraver2 and supposing that the two engraved eight letters a day1 #aj1jjj letters would keep them both fully occupied upwards of four years4 ,with the making of presses1 type-cases1 ink1 and all the remaining paraphernalia of a printing office1 supposing ,gutenberg employed two or three assistant engravers instead of one1 and that the bible was begun with type for one page only1 while the engravers still went on cutting fresh supplies1 his time would be amply taken up2 and the amount of money that would thus be sunk would come in the long run to something enormous4 ,no wonder that ,faust at last grew impatient1 and was ready to foreclose his mortgage over the plant1 as soon as he saw his way clear to something in the shape of a return for his advances4 ,it is however not a little singular1 that ,ottley1 who published all the documents in the case1 and avowed his desire to treat the subject with the impartiality of an umpire1#ff should have allowed his ,costerian proclivities to develope themselves in the following terms3--8,on the whole ,i confess that after perusing and re-perusing the above document 7the law process7 with all the attention ,i am master of1 the impression it leaves upon my mind1 and indeed the only idea ,i can form of the transaction it refers to1 that seems at all probable1 is1 that ,fust1 after four or five years' patient trial1 found that ,gutenberg was incompetent to perform the task he had undertaken1 whatever it was1 or that from indolence he had neglected it2 that his money was going very fast1 and there was little to shew for it2 and that he had discovered1 as is hinted in the sentence10#fg how or where8 8that no small portion of it had been applied by ,gutenberg to his own private purposes20 especially when he wrote immediately after1--8it is by no means improbable 444 that1 some years before the date of the above agreement1 ,fust had assisted with his wits and hands1 as well as with his money1 in perfecting the art and bringing it into operation40 ,improbable it may not have been1 but there is nothing whatever to shew that1 in fact1 such was the case2 on the contrary1 such facts as do appear lead to an opposite conclusion4 ,we have now arrived at a point in the narrative where ,peter ,schffer comes to the fore-front in the history of the art4 ,born in ,gernszheim1 after completing his education at the ,university of ,paris1#fh and adopting1 it would seem1 the profession of a scribe1--a craft in which the more expert members combined with the art of writing that of illuminating the manuscript works they copied1--he betook himself to ,mentz1 where he was engaged by ,gutenberg to assist in the printing operations at the ,zum ,junghen4 ,as the first printed books were imitations of1 and avowedly sold as1 manuscripts1 three reasons for this engagement may be seen1--the preparation of the ,,ms4 copy2 the designing of the characters for the types2 and the illuminating of the books when printed4 8,the afore-mentioned ,peter ,schffer10 says the ,abbot ,trithemius1 8being a person of great ingenuity1 discovered an easier method of casting letters1 and perfected the art as we now have it40#fi ,this 8easier method0 was that of casting metal types complete1 instead of cutting the letters on the ends of cast blanks2 and in its success1 he perfected an invention which formed the climax to the ,art of ,typography--an invention which has immortalized his name as the last1 though not the least1 of the associated ,three to whom alone belong the title of the ,fathers of the ,typographic ,art4 ,the eloquent author of an article upon ,printing in the ,encyclopdia ,britannica1 writes as follows regarding this invention3--8,it is very likely that the combination of character and qualifications of the three men1 ,john ,gutenberg1 ,john ,faust1 and ,peter ,schffer1 may afford a good clue not only to the wonderful taste and beauty which distinguished the works issued from their press1 but also to the general improvement of the art during their connection with it4 ,the ingenuity of ,gutenberg 7the inventor of the new mode of printing7 would readily suggest a novel and expeditious method of manufacturing types2 the practical skill of ,faust as a worker in metals 7for the working of gold and silver had at that time attained a most extraordinary nicety and cunning71 as well as his large pecuniary resources1 would promptly provide the necessary appliances2 while the taste of ,schffer1 would give all possible grace and missal-like excellence to the new forms4 ,for ,schffer1 it should be borne in mind1 was a scribe1--one of that ancient and honorable craft whose occupation was destined to fall before the new art1--a transcriber and perhaps an illuminator of the manuscript works in use before books2 and those who have had the happiness of viewing the exquisite specimens of skill which beguiled our ancestors into study and devotion1 will readily conceive that ,schffer's eye was already schooled for the conception1 and his hand for the execution1 of all the beauty which the trammels of a new art and limited skill would allow4 ,aided by his own taste1 ,schffer1 it is said1 proceeded to a new enterprise--viz4 the casting of type4 ,the entire conception and execution of this invention has generally been attributed and allowed to ,schffer4 ,it seems most probable1 however1 that where three ingenious men are bound together by art and interest1 none of them can lay exclusive claim to any invention or undertaking1 executed in the workshops for the benefit of all4 ,allowing therefore to ,schffer the honor of having suggested some such plan 7as the design of the types to be used7 the other two may fairly put in a claim for their portion of the approbation attached to the invention1 on the score of their practical suggestions in carrying it out2 especially since ,faust1 as a worker in metals1 would have been the party whose function it was to engage the workmen necessary to carry out the particular design40 ,mr4 ,mayhew1 in his elaborate work upon the ,trades and ,manufactories of ,great ,britain says1--8,the only evidence as to the origin of fusile types appears to shew that ,gutenberg1 ,faust1 and ,schffer1 had for some time practised a method of taking casts of types in moulds of plaster4444 ,we are told1 though we know not what is the proof of the assertion1 that it was ,schffer1 who after the failure of casting types in plaster moulds1 suggested the process which still continues in operation4 ,schffer is said1 therefore1 to have an undoubted claim to be considered as one of the three inventors of printing2 for it is asserted 7but upon what evidence we have yet to discover7 that he first suggested the cutting of punches1 whereby not only could the most beautiful form of letter which the taste and skill of the artist could suggest1 be truthfully transferred to the matrix1 but a degree of sharpness and finish be given to the face which was quite unattainable in type cut in wood2 whilst to the shank of the type the mould would serve to give the nicety of angle requisite to enable any number of such separate letters to be locked up into one solid mass4 ,add to this1 that the punch1 being once approved of1 could be kept ready to stamp a new matrix with precisely the same form1 and with the very same nicety as the first1 whenever another might be wanted1 and we have a full sense of the benefits which the first inventors of the means of casting fusile types from matrices stamped with punches1 conferred upon humanity40 ,the writer in the ,encyclopdia ,britannica seems to have been unaware of all the known facts of the case1 and to have allowed his imagination full play when writing upon what he considered its possibilities4 ,mr4 ,mayhew1--misunderstanding the statement of ,trithemius about the shapes of the letters being stamped into moulds so as to form matrices1 in which similar shapes were then cast in metal1 to be afterwards engraved or cut into letters1--is inclined to be sceptical in regard to ,schffer's claims1 although he does not venture to deny them4 ,neither of these writers1 nor any other with whose works ,i am acquainted1 has succeeded in tracing1 in a satisfactory manner1 the steps by which ,schffer attained to the realization of his idea4 ,it is no doubt difficult to do so in the absence of positive statements by ,schffer or his contemporaries2 but the following considerations1 fairly and reasonably deducible from well established facts1 may help to a better understanding of the subject than has hitherto been arrived at4 ,that attempts would be repeatedly made to take complete casts of type1 and that such attempts led the way to the goal ultimately reached1 is extremely probable4 ,the labour of continually cutting separate letters as they were required1 must have seemed to ,schffer1 a most irksome and unprofitable toil4 ,faust was undoubtedly of the same opinion4 ,it would appear from various authorities that ,schffer looked upon him as his master4 ,faust certainly was the paymaster to the establishment at the ,zum ,junghen1 and very probably placed ,schffer there1 not merely as an acquisition on account of his abilities1 but as a man whom he could trust to look after his interests4 ,well aware of the position in which ,gutenberg and ,faust stood toward each other1 in respect to the advances made for completing the costly work they had in hand2 and knowing what heavy expenses were incurred1 and how much delay#gj was occasioned by their method of proceeding1 ,schffer's mind would be constantly brooding over the possibility of obviating1 by some simple process1 the difficulties which perpetually beset them4 ,every thing he saw which seemed likely to lead to the attainment of the desired end would be eagerly scrutinised and applied to what might at this time be considered the set purpose of his life4 ,wealth and fame awaited success2 and a desire to rival ,gutenberg as an inventor1 and the hope of contracting a family alliance with ,faust1 the influential money-lender1 may have acted as spurs to quicken his ambition and animate the resolution that determined his course4 ,it is to be remembered that ,faust was a member of a family of goldsmiths1 and that in their business1 punches1 dies1 and moulds1 would be in frequent use4 ,and although the goldsmith's art1 as all other arts then were1 would be conducted as a mystery1 to which none but the regularly initiated had access1 ,schffer1 in the opportunities for intimacy with ,faust which his position afforded him1 could hardly fail1 sooner or later1 to observe such appliances4 ,these once observed1--and opportunities for observation1 in his capacity of illuminator 7an art in which gold and silver were sometimes largely used7 would not be wanting1 especially when eagerly watched and waited for1--he would not rest until he had ascertained the uses to which they were put2 and that information gained1 the practical application would quickly follow4 ,the punches he needed were ready to his hand4 ,each letter then in use1 made of hard cut metal1#ga was1 in fact1 a punch4 ,to strike a matrix in a softer metal1 or in clay or plaster1 which could be subsequently hardened1 and to adapt a mould to cast a type with a shank or body of uniform height and accurately squared1 were the two steps that were required4 ,the mould would be his chief difficulty4 ,this he had to devise so that it could be adjusted to the varying widths of the different letters and characters required for a complete fount#gb of types2 and this could scarcely be effected otherwise than by making it in corresponding halves1 with a provision for leaving in their centre1 when closed together1 a small quadrangular channel or chamber1 made of hard metal1 the width of which could be regulated by a slide and screw4 ,the stamped part of the matrix placed at the end of this channel1 would form the bottom of the mould2 and when this was fixed1 it would be ready for the pouring in of the fused metal1 which setting almost instantly1 a quick and slight opening of the halves of the mould1 enabled the operator to shake out the cast type4 ,the type-founder could thus rapidly repeat the process until he had cast as many letters as he required4 ,a little careful trimming and dressing was all that was further needed on his part before he handed them over to the printer ready for use4 ,no doubt it required much thought1 and many experiments1 before the mould was finished to the satisfaction of its inventor4 ,but as soon as it was completed1 the ,type-founder's art commenced4 ,from the foregoing considerations it becomes apparent that as ,faust found money to enable ,gutenberg fully to realise his ideas as to ,letter-press printing1 so in all likelihood did the business which was the source of ,faust's wealth1 furnish to ,schffer the clue which enabled him to complete the invention1 without which ,typography could never have achieved the results that were effected by it with such marvellous rapidity within the lifetime of those by whom it was invented4 ,that ,schffer really originated the ,type-founder's art is further proved by the account given of him by ,john ,frederick ,faust of ,aschaffenberg1#gc who after attributing the origin of printing to his relative1 ,faust of ,mentz1 and describing the difficulties experienced with the ink in the earlier attempts2 as well as the trouble and delay occasioned by the want of a suitable press to obtain impressions from the separable letters1 proceeds as follows3--8,he ,faust had however1 some people who actively assisted him in printing1 composing1 making ink1 and so forth4 ,amongst these was a certain ,peter ,schffer of ,gernszheim1 who entering into his master's views1 and being himself ardently desirous to improve the art1 found out1 by the good providence of ,god1 the method of cutting 7incidendi7 the characters in a matrix1 that the letters might easily be singly cast instead of being cut4 ,he privately cut matrices for the whole alphabet2 and when he showed his master the letters cast from those matrices1 ,faust was so pleased with the contrivance1 that he promised ,peter to give him his only daughter grand-daughter ,christina in marriage1 a promise which was in due time fulfilled4 ,but there were as many difficulties at first with these letters1 as there had been before with those of wood2 the metal being too soft to support the force of the impression2 but this defect was soon remedied1 by mixing the metal with a substance which sufficiently hardened it40#gd ,this sets the matter at rest1 and shews that neither to ,gutenberg nor to ,faust was ,schffer indebted for suggestions which in their estimation were likely to lead to so important an invention--the fourth grand step in the newly-discovered ,art1--the method of rapidly casting fac-simile types in fusile metal4#ge ,giving then to ,schffer all the honor to which he is entitled1 it may still be asked1 ,why did he reveal the secret to ,faust alone1 and not to ,gutenberg as well8--and the answer to this question may possibly throw some light upon the motives which actuated ,faust in prosecuting the lawsuit against ,gutenberg4 ,schffer was at the time in a subordinate position in the printing office1 and hardly likely to be able to command1 from his own resources1 sufficient funds to establish himself as a printer on his own account4 ,he would consequently look rather to ,faust than to ,gutenberg for his reward4 ,in the next place1 if1 as it is but reasonable to suppose1 he had made use of ,gutenberg's letters as his punches1 7for it is by no means clear that he cut punches for himself1 and he was not1 like either ,gutenberg or ,faust1 a worker in metals71 he might well expect that ,gutenberg would object to the terms he was resolved upon demanding2 and moreover1 resent the use of his letters for the purpose to which1 without his permission1 they had been applied4 ,such an unauthorised use of his original invention either was1 or might be deemed to be1 injurious to ,gutenberg2 and it is not exactly in accordance with the average standard of human nature for one man who has injured another1#gf--;especially in stealing a march upon him in the matter of an important invention1--to reveal to the party injured what he has been doing detrimental to his interests4 ,schffer at any rate was determined that ,gutenberg should be kept in ignorance of his secret4 ,the proceedings of the lawsuit shew1 that at the time it was pending1 ,schffer was not in any way concerned in the profits or losses attending the business2--in fact1 his name does not appear in connection with it1 except as a witness on behalf of ,faust4 ,what more likely then1 than that knowing the heavy advances made by ,faust1 for which no returns had as yet been received1--knowing1 too1 how changed the aspect of affairs would be by the application of his invention1--he insisted upon ,faust ousting ,gutenberg1 as one of the stipulations for the revelation of his secret4 ,whether it was so or not1 it is certain1 that after ,gutenberg was got rid of1 ,faust took ,schffer into partnership1 placed him in charge of the printing establishment1 betrothed him to his grand-daughter1 and conjointly with him1 imposed an oath of secresy upon all to whom a knowledge of the new invention was entrusted4 ,this view of the case completely meets an objection which has been raised by ,mr4 ,ottley4 8,if10 says he1 8,faust had been brought up as a goldsmith1 he may reasonably be supposed to have possessed acquirements applicable to the art printing which now engaged his attention1 and among others1 the arts of carving1 chiselling1 and casting4 ,if we suppose ,faust not to have busied himself at all with the various details and processes of the new art1 during the above five years' partnership1 but that he left the entire direction and management to ,gutenberg 7as these writers would have us to believe71 he must1 one would think1 have been but ill able to do without him1 when in #adee1 he brought the above action for the recovery of the monies he had advanced2 and this objection to their system1 appears to me to be worthy of consideration1 nay to be almost decisive40 ,the objection thus raised so far from being decisive1 is not only not so1 but it has no solid foundation in fact4 ,nothing in the law-process shews that ,faust had anything whatever to do with the management and working of the printing establishment4 ,it was entirely in ,gutenberg's hands2 ,faust merely contracting with him to find the money to carry it on1 7pay wages1 c471 for which he was to receive usury at the rate of #f per cent1 and1 in addition1 a share of the profits1 whatever they might ultimately be4 ,as a partner1 he would have had to bear his share of the losses1 as well as to be a participator in the gains of the undertaking2 but against the contingency of loss he took good care to guard himself4 ,it is evident therefore1 that to have foreclosed his mortgage over the materials before he was in a position to entrust them to some one who could work them to his advantage1 would have been an act of folly which he was far too shrewd a man of business to commit4 ,but as soon as ,schffer revealed his invention1 and stipulated his terms1 all objections to a foreclosure were removed4 ,the money was demanded2 the action brought2 and we have seen with what results4 ,but whatever were the motives which actuated either ,faust or ,schffer in their treatment of ,gutenberg1 the immediate effect of ,schffer's invention would be1 to cheapen and facilitate the production of types1 as much as1 if not more than1 the effect of the original invention by ,gutenberg in cheapening and facilitating the multiplication of copies of works previously only attainable in manuscript4 ,printing was thus rendered at once1 what it was scarcely possible to have been before1 a profitable1 if not a highly remunerative pursuit4 ,but with the success which resulted from ,schffer's invention1 came the downfall of the venerable ,guild of ,writers2 and the ancient copyists laid down their pens in despair1 intuitively feeling that thenceforth the occupation of the scribe was gone4 ,disastrous as was the lawsuit with ,faust1 it was not so utterly ruinous in its results to ,gutenberg as most writers have supposed4 ,in the first place1 ,faust had1 at the outset1 security for his advances4 ,gutenberg had exhausted his own means in perfecting the art before he sought assistance1 and ,faust was not the man to lend him money without having money's worth to guard against loss2 secondly1 the advances were for a specific object1--for the joint advantage of both1--but that object was likewise pledged to ,faust as a collateral security2 and had been partially1 if not wholly accomplished1 before ,faust made his demand4 ,in the lawsuit1 it was to ,faust's claim for interest that ,gutenberg principally demurred1 his plea being1 that although the letter of the agreement between them might justify the claim1 ,faust had verbally promised not to press it4 ,the magistrates however decided according to the terms of the agreement1 and their judgment was not inequitable4 ,they ordered an account to be rendered of all moneys spent and received in connection with the work which was undertaken for the joint advantage of the litigants2 ,gutenberg to be credited with what was fairly his due1 and ,faust to be repaid the principal and interest to which he was entitled4 ,now it by no means follows that the whole of the types1 presses1 and plant of the printing establishment at the ,zum ,junghen was absorbed in the discharge of ,faust's claim4 ,doubtless it was no small share that went for that purpose1 including as it did all that was printed of the folio ,bible of #fcg leaves1--sufficient of itself1 supposing the edition did not exceed two hundred copies1 to meet a large proportion of the debt4 ,the rupture1 although it broke up the establishment1 left ,gutenberg with men and materials still at command4 ,faust1 as we have seen1 removed the stock that had been made over to him to his premises in the ,schuster ,gasse2 and ,gutenberg went with the remainder to his dwelling at the ,zum ,gutenberg1 where he opened a #8printing house' on his own account4#gg ,gutenberg's position in ,mentz was certainly one of influence1 if not of wealth4 ,it is highly probable that at this time ,dr4 ,conrad ,homery1#gh the syndic of the city1 advanced him funds for the replenishment of his stock of materials1 since they were claimed by1 and made over to him1 on ,gutenberg's death4 ,with or without such aid he was speedily at work again1 and palotypographists have recognised the products of his press in the 8,tractatus de celebratione ,missarum20 the 8,hermani de ,saldis ,speculum ,sacerdoti20 a treatise in the ,german language on ,councils2 the 8,dyalogus inter ,hugonem ,cathonem et ,oliverium super ,libertate ,ecclesiastica10 and a ,kalendar or ,almanack for the year #adfj1 consisting of a few leaves in #dto4 printed in characters resembling those used in the first of the above-named works4 ,a sheet ,almanack for #adeg1 the first printed with a date1 has also been attributed to him4 ,independently of the special value of this document as a relic of early printing1 it proves that in the neighbourhood of ,mentz the year then commenced with the month of ,january1 according to the ,roman system1 and not at ,easter as was the case in ,france and other countries1 or at ,christmas as in some other places4 ,strange to say ,gutenberg attached his name to none of his works4 ,it has been suggested that this was owing to his patrician pride4 ,whether so or not he was well known to his contemporaries both as a printer1 and the inventor of ,printing4 ,the ,typographer ,philip de ,lignamines1 in his 8,history of the ,pontiffs0 printed at ,rome in #adgd1 writing of the events of the year #adeh--three years after the lawsuit1 says--8,jean ,gutenberg of ,strasburg1 and another1 named ,fust1 skilful in the art of printing with characters of metal1 on parchment1 each print three hundred sheets per day at ,mentz40 ,and in a document preserved in the ,library of the ,arsenal at ,paris1 it is stated1 that on 8the #crd ,october1 #adeh1 the ,king 7,charles ,v71 having learnt that ,messire ,gutenberg1 chevalier1 residing at ,mentz1 in ,germany1 a man dexterous in the engraving of letters and punches1 had brought to light the invention of printing by means of such characters2 and being curious concerning such valuable knowledge1 the ,king ordered the masters of his ,mint to name to him persons well skilled in such kind of engraving1 that he might despatch them to the aforesaid place1 in order secretly to inform themselves of the said invention1 and to understand1 conceive1 and learn the art1 c40 ,whereupon1 it was directed that ,nicholas ,jenson1 an expert engraver1 should be forthwith despatched to ,mentz1 to learn the art in question1 for the purpose of introducing it to ,paris4 ,it is believed by some writers1 that ,gutenberg continued to the end of his career as a ,typographer to print with cut metal types4 ,oaths of secresy were imposed by ,faust and ,schffer upon all whom they employed1 by which means they hoped to secure the knowledge of the art of type-founding to themselves4 ,but in the year #adfb1 when ,mentz was sacked by the troops of the ,elector-,archbishop1 ,count ,adolphus of ,nassau1 their workmen were dispersed1 and the arts of printing and type-founding were generally made known all over ,europe4 ,gutenberg however must have seen at once1 upon an examination of the works that were issued from ,faust and ,schffer's establishment1 that they were producing types in some extraordinarily rapid manner2 and acute as he was1 it is not likely that he would remain long in ignorance of the method adopted4 ,there were no doubt intimacies among the workmen of the rival establishments1 who had at first worked all together2 and among whom the secret would sooner or later ooze out4 ,the science of ,johann ,nummeister1 7whose name occurs in a document associated with that of ,gutenberg71 may also have been especially called in to assist in a competing method of type-founding4 ,certain it is1 that two or three years before #adfb1 ,albrecht ,pfister1 and the brothers ,henry and ,nicholas ,bechtermuntze1 with ,wyngardum ,spyes de ,otherberg1 printed works with types so evidently the same as those cut by ,gutenberg1 that they have not unfrequently been attributed to his press4 ,various suppositions have been made1 to account for this1 but no one appears to have thought of that which seems to be the most obvious2 namely1 that sets of matrices or types were sold by ,gutenberg to these early printers1 who with ,keffer and ,sensenschmidt and others1 were taught the art at his establishment4 ,where suppositions must be resorted to in order to account for facts1 those which are the most natural ought surely to be chosen in preference to others which are less or least so4 ,about the year #ahjj1 some interesting documents relating to ,gutenberg and his family were said to have been discovered by ,m4 ,bodman the archivist of ,mentz4 ,the following1--the seals to which were copied by ,fischer in his 8,essai sur le ,monumens ,typographiques de ,jean ,gutenberg10 is entitled3-- 8,agreement between ,gutenberg and his brothers1 c41 and the ,nuns of the ,convent of ,st4 ,clair1 at ,mentz1 ,a4,d4 #adei4 8,we1 ,henne 7,john7 ,genszfleisch of ,sulgeloch1 called ,gudinberg1 and ,friele ,genszfleisch1 brothers1 affirm and publicly declare by these presents1 and make known to all1 that with the counsel and consent of our dear cousins ,johann and ,friele and ,pedirmann ,genszfleisch1 brothers in ,mentz1 we have renounced and do renounce by these presents1 for us and our heirs1 singly1 together and at once1 without fraud or reserve1 all the property that has passed by our sister ,hebele to the ,convent of ,st4 ,clair at ,mentz1 in which she has become a nun2 whether the said property has been received by her on the part of our father ,henne ,genszfleisch1 or been given by himself1 or in whatsoever other manner1 whether in grain1 money1 furniture1 jewelry1 or of whatever kind it may be1 which the respectable nuns1 the ,abbess and sisters of the said convent have received1 whether as a body or individually1 or which other persons of the convent may have received from the said ,hebele1 be it great or small2 and we have promised and do promise by these presents1 in good faith for us and our heirs1 that neither we nor any person on our part1 nor our above named cousins nor their heirs1 nor any person on their part1 shall demand back or reclaim from the said convent1 or from the ,abbess1 or from the convent as a body1 or from any persons who reside there individually1 the said property1 be it what it may1 either in whole or in part1 and that we will never demand it back1 whether by the ecclesiastical or civil judge1 or without the assistance of the judge1 and that neither we nor our heirs1 will ever molest the said convent by word or deed1 either secretly or publicly1 in any matter whatever4 ,and1 with respect to the books which ,i1 the above named ,henne1 have given to the library of the convent1 they are to remain there always1 and in perpetuity1 and ,i the above-named ,henne1 purpose to give also1 and without fraud1 to the said convent for its library1 for the use of the nuns present and future1 for their religious services1 whether in reading or singing1 or in whatever manner they may please to make use of them1 according to the rules of their order1 the books which ,i1 the above-named ,henne1 have already printed up to the present hour1 or that ,i may print in future1 so far as they shall be pleased to make use of them2 and in consideration of this1 the above-mentioned ,abbess and the nuns of the said convent of ,st4 ,clair1 have for themselves and their successors1 declared and promised1 that they will absolve me and my heirs from the claim which my sister ,hebele had to #fj florins1 which ,i and my brother ,friele had promised to pay and deliver to the said ,hebele as her dower1 and as the share1 coming from the estate of ,henne our father1 which he assigned to her as her portion1 in virtue of a certain instrument drawn up for that purpose1 without fraud or deceit4 ,and in order that this 7agreement7 may be held firmly and fully binding by us and by our heirs1 we have given to the said nuns1 and to their convent and order1 the present letters sealed with our seals4 ,signed and delivered1 the year of the birth of ,j4 ,c4 #adei1 on the day of ,st4 ,margaret40 7,july #bj74 ,to this document four seals were attached inscribed-- ,s3 hans genszfleisch vo ,sorgeloch ,s3 friele genszfleisch vo444444loch ,s3 hen444444444444sch vo ,sulgeloch frile genszfleisch4 ,contradicting1 as this agreement does1 the views held by ,mr4 ,ottley1 he says1 8,i confess ,i have great doubts of its genuineness1 though perhaps they are ill-founded40 ,m4 ,ph4 ,berjeau1#gi in his introduction to ,mr4 ,ottley's work asserts that it is a forgery2 and on the authority of ,m4 de ,laborde says1 8that ,bodman1 the ,archivist of ,mentz1 bothered by ,oberlin1 ,fischer1 and all the bibliographers of his time1 who wanted him to discover some new information about ,gutenberg1 thought it worth his while to forge two documents1 which just helped them to fill the two gaps which occur in his history1 one from #adbj to #adcj1 the other from #adee to #adfj40 ,the other document referred to by ,m4 de ,laborde is that already given in the note on pages #ga and #gb4 ,but it has already been shewn from contemporary authorities in ,italy and ,france1 that ,gutenberg was known in those countries to be still printing at ,mentz in #adeh4 ,the motive imputed to ,m4 ,bodman as an inducement to the criminal act charged against him by ,,mm4 ,laborde and ,berjeau1 cannot therefore be correct4 ,writers on both sides1 in their eagerness to confute their opponents1 are much too apt to cry out 8forgery60 when documents are quoted which are fatal to their pre-conceived views4 ,there is however one point in this agreement which needs explanation4 ,a certain ,henne 7,john7 ,gensefleisch is referred to as the father of the brothers ,john and ,friele4 ,but it is well known that their father's name was ,frielo1 and not ,henne4 ,how then is this discrepancy to be accounted for8 ,even supposing that ,m4 ,bodman was tempted to forge a document like the one in question1 he would surely not have so worded it that it should bear upon its face the proof of its falsity4 ,the property to which ,hebele the nun was entitled1 and the reclamation of which the two brothers and the three cousins renounced1 must have been a portion of the ancestral patrimony1 to a share of which each member of the family had a well defined claim4 ,now their common ancestor was a certain ,henne ,gensefleisch1 whose son ,frielo was ,rathsherr or councillor of ,mentz in the year #accb1 and played a very prominent part when the great rising of the guilds against the patricians took place in that year4 ,the preservation of the patrimony of a family being an object in which all its members were interested1 no portion could be alienated without the consent of all concerned4 ,this frequently led to the female members of a family being placed in convents1 for which provision might be made in the original entailment of the property4 ,it also limited marriages among the males2 since forfeiture of his share of the patrimony was one of the penalties inflicted upon any who married without the family consent4 ,there does not therefore appear to be any solid reason for rejecting the document as spurious4 ,moreover1 in a copy of the 8,tractatus de celebratione ,missarum10 originally in the library of the ,chartreux of ,mentz1 and afterwards in the city library1 ,m4 ,fischer the curator discovered the following memorandum in ,latin3--8,the ,chartreux of ,mentz possesses this book through the liberality of ,johann called ,gutenberg1 the production of his art1 and the science of ,johann ,nummeister1 completed 7confecta7 on the #aith of the kalendar of ,july in the year #adfc40 ,so that it is plain that ,gutenberg was printing in that year2 and this memorandum further proves1 that he made presents of his works to the ecclesiastical establishments of the city2 a fact which confirms1 in that respect at least1 the authenticity of the previously cited agreement4 ,in #adfe1 the ,elector ,adolph appointed ,gutenberg a gentleman of his ,court2 and by a public decree1 dated the #ahth ,january1 bestowed upon him an annual grant of twenty 8malters0 of corn1 two barrels of wine for his household2 and an official court suit2 the honor was thus by no means an empty one4 ,he did not however long enjoy it4 ,after an active and eventful life1 he died in the year #adfh4hj ,the exact date of his decease is not recorded1 nor are there any particulars known of the circumstances attending his death4 ,but that he was in possession of a printing office up to the very last1 is proved beyond doubt by the following acknowledgment of the receipt of the materials by the ,syndic ,homery4 8,i1 ,conrad ,homery1 doctor1 make known by this letter that his ,highness my gracious and well-beloved ,prince ,adolph1 ,archbishop of ,mayence1 has graciously caused to be delivered to me the #8forms1' characters1 tools1 and other objects relating to printing1 which ,johann ,gutenberg left at his death1 and which belonged to me1 and belong to me still2 but for the honor and for the pleasure of his ,highness1 ,i have bound myself1 and am so bound by this letter1 never to use them in any other place than in ,mayence2 and moreover1 only to sell them1 in preference1 to a citizen of this place1 who shall offer an equal price with any other4 ,in faith of which declaration1 ,i have appended my seal to this present4 ,given in the year #adfh1 the ,friday after the festival of ,st4 ,matthew 7#bfth ,february470 ,thus ended the life of ,,john ,,gutenberg2 the first maker of separable metal ,,types2 the inventor of the ,,letter ,,press2 the ,founder of the ,,typographic ,,art4 ,his remains were interred at the church in the convent of the ,franciscans near the house ,zum ,junghen1 where1 not long after1 one of his kinsmen erected a tablet1 the inscription on which ran as follows3-- ,d4 ,o4 ,m4 ,s4 ,,ioanni ,,genszfleisch ,,artis ,,impressorie ,,repertori ,,de ,,omni ,,natione ,,et ,,lingua ,,optime ,,merito ,,in ,,nominis ,,sui ,,memoriam ,,immortalem ,,adam ,,gelthus ,,posuit4 ,,ossa ,,ejus ,,in ,,ecclesia ,d4 ,,francisci ,,moguntina ,,feliciter ,,cubant4 ,about forty years later1 another tablet was set up at the house ,zum ,gutenberg1 in the inner court of the ,college of ,lawyers1 by ,ives of ,witigen or ,venza1 doctor of laws1 and professor of that ,university1 on which was the following inscription3-- ,,jo4 ,,gutenbergensi ,,moguntino ,,qui ,,primus ,,omnium ,,literas ,,aere ,,imprimendas ,,invenit1 ,,hac ,,arte ,,de ,,orbe ,,toto ,,bene ,,merenti ,,ivo ,,witigisis ,,hoc ,,saxum ,,pro ,,monumento ,,posuit ,m4,d4,,viii4 ,the learned ,wimpheling1 his contemporary1 also commemorated his memory in the following eloquent epigram3-- 8,flix ,ansicare1 per te ,germania flix1 ,omnibus in terris prmia laudis habet4 ,urbe ,moguntina1 divino fulte ,joannes ,ingenio1 primus imprimis aere notas4 ,multum relligio1 multum tibi ,grca ,sophia ,et multum debet lingua ,latina tibi40#ha 99 99 99 99 99 ,the study of the life of such a man1 who in his own person embodied1 in a pre-eminent degree1 the leading characteristics of the ,teutonic race--,sense of ,duty1 ,courage1 ,diligence1 and ,perseverance1--so ably portrayed by ,professor ,max ,mller in his oration at the ,german ,festival on the #ast of ,may #ahga2 is one of deep and abiding interest4 ,his sense of duty to his convictions was manifested in his boundless faith in the ultimate success of his inventions2 his courage was dauntless1--no difficulties could deter him from following the path he was resolved upon pursuing2 his diligence was unwearied2 his perseverance indomitable4 ,in spite of numerous failures1 or what seemed such to men less hopeful than himself1 he constantly attracted new friends and supporters1 as old ones fell away4 ,losses1 lawsuits and ingratitude dogged each step of his career2 but he triumphed over every difficulty2 saw the ,art he had invented become the means of bringing fortunes to men who had at different times been his associates and opponents2 and died esteemed and honored by the sovereign of his native city4 ,well did he realize the truth of the inspired proverb of the ,royal ,hebrew sage1--8,seest thou a man diligent in his business1 he shall stand before kings2 he shall not stand before mean men40 ,great and noble by nature1 his fame as an original inventor has always stood deservedly high2 but should the hypothesis of ,mr4 ,holt be established as a fact by the production of further evidence1 his fame henceforth will stand much higher than it has hitherto done4 ,the genius with which he was gifted will1 in such case1 prove to be of the same order as that which first led to the representation in visible symbols of the sound of spoken thoughts2 and the pinnacle of glory on which the memory of his name is raised for the admiration of posterity must be elevated to the same level as that of the yet unknown but divinely inspired originator of the immortal art of writing4 ,not less interesting than the study of the life of ,gutenberg1 is the contemplation of the effects which the ,art he invented almost immediately produced4 ,these can scarcely be more eloquently or succinctly stated1 than in the words of the distinguished historian ,sir ,,edward ,s4 ,,creasy1 ,chief ,justice of ,ceylon4 ,after speaking of the excitement occasioned throughout ,europe by the maritime discoveries of the ,portuguese1 and other causes of intellectual movements in the ,fifteenth century1 he adds3--8,still more strongly was the advancement of intellectual activity aided during the last half of the fifteenth century1 by the discovery and rapid progress of the art of printing4 ,the power of swiftly and cheaply multiplying copies of a book1 in a more conveniently transmissible1 and a more easily legible form1 than that of the best manuscript1 gave now to an author an increase of mental and moral authority over his fellow men1 somewhat resembling the increase in importance1 and the extension of operations1 which the steam engine has in our age given to invention in mechanics and manufactures4 ,the circulation of printed books created hosts of readers1 who otherwise would have remained ignorant of any kind of literature1 ancient or modern4 ,it gave an immeasurable increase to the weight of public opinion4 ,it stimulated discovery4 ,it promoted discussion4 ,it made the suppression of opinion difficult1 and generally impossible4 ,it shook to the very base every institution that was founded on fraud1 or upheld by unjust force4 ,it gave also weapons to those who seek violent changes merely from the love of innovation and violence4 ,among the numerous causes which co-operated in giving ,european history the altered character which we discover in it during and after the close of the fifteenth century1 none have been more operative than the invention of moveable types40#hb combined1 we take the liberty of adding1 with the invention of the printing press4 ,,footnotes3 #cb ,variously named in contemporary documents1 ,johannes ,gutenberg2 ,johannes de ,moguntia1 dictus ,gutenberg2 ,johannes dictus ,gensefleisch1 junior1 dictus ,gutenberg2 ,johannes ,gansefleisch1 dictus ,sulgeloch vel ,sorgenloch2 ,henne ,gensfleisch1 genant ,sulgeloch2 ,hans ,genzefleisch von ,mentz1 genant ,gutenberg4 ,in ,english ,gansefleisch would be written ,gooseflesh2 in ,latin1 ,ansicarus4 #cc ,,meerman1 and a few other writers1 make mention of two ,john ,gutenbergs1 brothers1 both of whom are spoken of as inventors of ,typography2 the elder1 known as ,john ,gansfleisch1 dying1 so it is stated1 in #adfb4 ,the reason of this seems to be1 that some one was wanted to fill the position of the thief1 who1 according to the tale of ,junius1 stole from ,janssoen1 the ,coster of ,haarlem1 the moveable types he had recently invented4 ,as ,john ,gutenberg1 junior1 could not be fixed upon1 and there was no other method of bringing discredit upon his claim1 and as the alleged thief was a ,john somebody1 ,john ,gansfleisch1 senior1 assumed to be elder brother to ,john junior1 was thought of2 and from him1 it is asserted1 the younger brother obtained his knowledge of the art of printing4 ,the authority on which ,meerman relied appears to be a document first published by ,khler 7,ehrenrettung ,guttenberg's71 in which it is stated1 that in #addc ,john ,gansfleisch the elder hired a house at ,mentz1 his birthplace4 ,santander says1 the phrase was used because ,john ,gutenberg's uncle having died about this time1 he had in reality become the elder4 ,later writers agree with ,santander that the elder ,gansfleisch here referred to was an uncle to ,gutenberg junior1 but they do not admit his death at this time4 ,being named after him1 he was probably his godfather1 and may have been living with him in ,strasburg in #addc4 ,it was to his house that ,gutenberg junior went1 on his return to ,mentz4 #cd 8,to the worthy nun ,bertha1 in the ,convent of ,st4 ,clair1 at ,mentz1 health and fraternal good wishes4 ,my dear sister1 with respect to what you say of the rents and money which were left to you by our brother ,conrad1 whom ,god bless1 by his last will2 that often and for a long time past1 they have not been paid to you1 and that they are still owing to you1 and amount as you say to a considerable sum2 ,i have to inform you1 that1 upon giving a receipt1 you may receive the sum of twenty florins 7of gold7 out of my rents and revenues1 coming as you know1 from ,mentz1 and other places2 by applying to ,joh4 ,dringelter1 the wax chandler2 ,veronica ,mystersen1 at ,seilhoven2 or at ,mentz1 and various other places1 of which ,pedirman can inform you2 as at ,lorzwiller1 ,bodenheim1 and ,murminheym4 ,i purpose1 if it please ,god1 to have the pleasure of seeing you before long1 and to arrange the matter with ,pedirman1 so that your property may be promptly delivered to you1 according to the terms and intention of the will4 ,i await your answer upon this subject4 ,given at ,strasburg2 feri quint post dominicam 7the #bdth ,march7 ,m4,,cccc4,,xx4,,iiii40 7,signed7 8,,henne ,,gensfleisch1 called ,sulgeloch40 --,santander1 from ,oberlin's 8,essai d',annales de la ,vie de ,j4 ,gutenberg10 pp4 #c1 #d4 #ce ,linseed oil1 rosins1 shellac1 pitch1 mundick1 varnishes1 nutgalls1 turpentine1 and vitriol1 were made use of by the early printers in manufacturing their ink4 ,in applying it1 a small quantity was first taken up on a pair of balls or dabbers made of sheepskins padded with wool2 these were then well beaten together until finely and evenly covered1 after which they were beaten on the types until the pages were considered sufficiently inked4 #cf ,typographia3 ,an ,historical sketch of the ,origin and ,progress of the ,art of ,printing4 ,by ,t4 ,c4 ,,hansard1 #ahbe4 #hvo4 #ajjj pp4 #cg ,the ,press3 a ,poem2 by ,,john ,m#8,,creery4 ,the original edition1 printed by the author1 was beautifully illustrated with wood engravings by ,mr4 ,hole1 a pupil of the ,bewicks4 ,mr4 ,m#8,creery's establishment was celebrated for the excellence of its printing4 #ch 8,life and ,typography of ,william ,caxton40 vol4 ii4 p4 xlv4 #ci 8,inquiry concerning the ,invention of ,printing40 p4 #bed4 #dj ,these occur in what is known as the fourth edition1 of which only three copies exist1 two in ,haarlem1 and one in ,lille4 ,it is in the copy at ,lille that a leaf is printed on both sides4 ,mr4 ,humphreys1 in his noble work1--the greatest boon ever conferred in any age or country on students of early ,typography1--says1 7p4 #fc7 this leaf has 8an appearance of being printed on both sides1 from the existence of a strong set off40 ,but if the lines of the supposed #8set-off' read in the usual way1 they must have been set-off from a set-off1 or the impression would appear reversed4 ,most probably the back of the original impression was printed on by an accidental oversight4 #da 8,the ,old ,printer and the ,modern ,press40 p4 #ajb4 ,london1 #ahed4 #db ,other witnesses also deposed to purchases1 and in the judgment given on the suit1 some of these are referred to as having been of lead4 #dc ,the documents containing an account of the trial1 and the sentence of the magistrates of ,strasburg1 are dated ,december #adci4 ,they were originally published with a ,latin version1 by ,schpflin1 in his ,vindici ,typographic1 #agfj1 and have since been repeatedly printed with ,french1 ,english and ,dutch translations4 #dd ,in his 8,dissertation sur l',origine1 l',invention1 et le ,perfectionnement de l',imprimerie10 printed at ,amsterdam in #ahai4 ,this work was the one which obtained the prize offered by the ,dutch ,society of ,arts and ,sciences at ,haarlem1 about the year #ahad1 for the best ,dissertation in support of the ancient tradition that the ,art of ,printing was invented in that city4 #de ,in certain parts of the north of ,scotland augers and high-pitched screws are to this day called #8wommels' or #8wombels1' by old folk4 ,the word is no doubt the same as the antiquated ,german #8wurbel4' #df 8,quid1 si nunc justos1 aeris ratione reducta1 ,tentarem libros cudere mille modis8 ,robora prospexit dehinc torcularia ,bacchi1 ,et dixit1 preli forma sit ista novi40 ,encomion ,chalcographi1 v4v4 #fe-fi4 #dg ,k,,nig',s cylinder machine1 erected for ,mr4 ,,bensley the eminent printer1 and first set in operation in ,april #ahaa1 at the manufactory in ,whitecross-street1 ,london2 when it printed #cjjj sheets of the ,annual ,register1 to the admiration of all who saw it at work4 #dh 8,the thing that hath been1 it is that which shall be2 and that which is done1 is that which shall be done2 and there is no new thing under the sun4 ,is there anything whereof it may be said1 ,see1 this is new8 it hath been already of old time which was before us40--,ecclesiastes1 i4 #i1 #aj4 ,some days subsequent to that on which ,i had printed the description of the process1 which1 after a careful examination of ,mr4 ,humphreys' fac-simile1 ,i felt convinced was the one which had been adopted for taking impressions of the moveable types used in the ,speculum ,human ,salvationis1 ,i received an illustrated advertisement sheet of ,francis ,donnison and ,son1 ,printers' ,engineers of ,newcastle-on-,tyne1 in which is an engraving of an 8,improved ,galley ,proof ,press10 which exactly realises the idea ,i attempted to convey to my readers on pages #hc and #hd4 #di 8,the ,pilgrims of the ,rhine10 by ,,bulwer1 7,lord ,,lytton71 p4 #cac4 #ej 8,wimpheling1 one of the most learned men of his time1 who narrowly escaped persecution for the ,protestant tendency of his writings1 and who among other things which proved him to have been a thinker in advance of his time1 founded a literary society at ,strasburg1 which soon became celebrated1 and the tendencies of which were afterwards praised even by the critical ,erasmus40--,,humphreys1 p4 #hb4 #ea 8,de l',origine de l',imprimerie40 ,paris1 #ahec4 #eb 8,kritische ,geschichte der ,erfindung der ,buchdruckerkunst durch ,johann ,gutenberg zu ,mainz40 von ,j4 ,,wetter4 ,mainz1 #ahcf4 #hvo4 pp4 xvi4 #hjh1 with #ac ,tables of fac-similes4 #ec 8,characteres enim a primus illis inventoribus non ita eleganter et expedite1 ut a nostris fieri solet1 sed filo in litterarum foramen immisso1 connectebantur1 sicut ,venetiis id genus typos me vidisse memini40 #ed ,the family of the ,fusts was one of great respectability4 ,it consisted at this time of three brothers2 ,john the banker and money-lender2 ,james1 the city architect1 and subsequently a goldsmith as well2 and ,nicholas1 a judge in one of the ,courts of law4 ,john married his wife ,margaret about the year #adbj2 one son1 ,conrad1 was the only issue of the marriage4 ,conrad married in #adde1 and his daughter1 ,christina1 was1 in #adfe1 bestowed in marriage upon ,peter ,schffer of ,gernszheim4 ,it appears from some accounts that ,john ,faust was also a goldsmith2 a business with which banking and money-lending were usually combined4 #ee ,there is another version of the circumstances attending the connection of ,gutenberg with ,faust4 ,gutenberg senior1 say the claimants of the honor of the invention for the first printer at ,strasburg1 returned to ,mentz in #addj1 having stolen the knowledge of the art from ,mentelin1 their countryman1 who they assert was the original inventor4 ,dutch authorities however say1 that ,gutenberg's return to ,mentz1 in #addj1 was after he stole the types1 c41 from ,coster1 the original inventor at ,haarlem4 ,like ,sir ,boyle ,roche's bird1 he was thus in two places at one and the same time4 ,after his return he printed1 in #addb1 the two school-books #8,alexandri ,galli ,doctrinale1' and #8,petri ,hispani ,tractatus1' and then1 in #addc1 took the house #8,zum ,jungen1' when he was joined in partnership by ,faust1 ,j4 ,meidenbachius1 ,j4 ,petersheimius1 and others1 whose names have not been recorded1 and in #addd by ,gutenberg junior1 who then quitted ,strasburg for that express purpose4 ,that in #adej this partnership was dissolved1 when ,faust and ,gutenberg junior entered into a new partnership1 the senior being no longer heard of4 ,these statements are at best but conjectural1 and have been made with the view of affording support to the systems of writers who deny to ,gutenberg the honor of having invented the ,typographic ,art4 ,the quotations in the text are from the record of legal proceedings taken by ,faust against ,gutenberg in #adee4 ,this record was printed in ,german by ,,seckenburg in 8,selectis ,juris et ,historiarum10 tom4 i4 pp4 #bfi-bgg2 by ,,wolfius1 in his 8,monumenta ,typographica10 tom4 i4 p4 #dgb et seq41 and by ,,wetter1 pp4 #bhd-bij4 #ef ,trithemius derived his information direct from ,schffer the grand son-in-law of ,faust2 but did not write his chronicle until thirty years after4 ,the work usually referred to as the ,catholicon1 is one of some magnitude4 ,it was written by the monk ,john ,balbi1 or ,john of ,genoa1 and consists of a ,latin ,grammar followed by a ,vocabulary4 ,gutenberg probably printed only the latter portion1 and perhaps but an abridgment of that4 ,as the earliest production of his press1 after his connection with ,faust1 a copy would now be of immense value2 but as is the case with the ,tracts of ,peter of ,spain1 no bibliographer has yet had the good fortune to identify it1 and possibly it may have passed out of existence4 ,there is no reason however to doubt the correctness of the ,abbot's statement on that account4 ,there can be no question but that multitudes of works1 issued from the presses of the early printers1 have been utterly destroyed4 ,it is marvellous that so many single1 unique copies1 have been preserved to the present time4 #eg ,these have been fully described by ,fischer1 ,van ,praet1 ,wetter1 ,leon de ,laborde1 and other writers4 #eh ,see post for ,zell's account in full4 #ei ,the entry at the end of the first volume is--8,et sic est finis prime partis biblia ,scz4 veteris testamenti1 ,illuminata seu rubricata ligata per ,henricum ,albch alias cremer4 ,anno dni ,mo,c,c,c,co,l,v,i festo ,bartholomei apli--,deo gratias--,alleluja40 ,that on the end of the second volume3--8,iste liber illuminatus1 ligatus completus est per ,henricum cremer vicari ecclesie collegiate sancti ,stephani maguntini sub anno dni ,millesimo quatringentisimo quinquagesimo sexto1 festo ,assumptionis gloriose virginis ,marie1 ,deo gracias4 ,alleluja1 c40 #fj ,with the exception of the first ten or eleven pages1 which contain but forty or forty-one lines in each column4 #fa ,the doubt was not only natural1 but there is an almost absolute certainty that the letters could not have been cast at the time4 ,schffer's invention of cast fusile types did not take place1--or at any rate was not made use of1--until after the lawsuit between ,gutenberg and ,faust4 #fb ,,humphreys1 p4 #hd4 #fc 8,post hc inventis successerunt subtiliora1 inveneruntque modum fundendi formas omnium latini alphabeti litterarum1 quas ipsi matrices nominabant ex quibus rursum aeneos sive stanneos caracteres fundebant1 ad omnem pressuram sufficientes1 quas prius manibus sculpebant4 ,et revera sicuti ante ,,xxx4 ferme annos ex ore ,petri ,opilionis de ,gernsheim1 civis moguntini qui gener erat primi artis inventoris1 audivi1 magnam a primo inventionis su hc ars impressoria habuit difficultatem4 ,impressuri namque ,bibliam1 priusquam tertium complessent in opere quaternionem1 plusquam #djjj florenorum exposuerunt40 #fd ,this statement no doubt included ,gutenberg's personal outlay1 in addition to the moneys advanced by ,faust4 #fe 8,most of the punch-cutters at present belonging to the type-founding trade are ,english1 and their earnings depend in a great measure upon the abilities they display in the work4 ,a first-rate cutter will earn from #e4 to #f4 weekly1 and even more4 #8,when ,i first came to the trade1' said a man to ,mr4 ,mayhew1 #8the punch-maker who worked for my old master1 had #e4 a week for producing two punches a day4 ,this was all he was expected to do for his wages2 but for every punch he turned out over and above that number he had his regular premiums4'0--,,mayhew',s ,trades and ,manufactories of ,great ,britain1 p4 #bej4 #ff 8,i shall use my best endeavours to detect and expose false or exaggerated statements and deceitful arguments1 come from whom they may2 leaving such good proofs and reasonable grounds of belief1 on the one side or the other as may then remain1 to be incorporated afterwards with such further proofs as have resulted from my own researches4 ,lastly 444 ,i shall strive to merit the praise of not overstating the evidence one way or the other1 and of not pressing an argument further than it will fairly go2 it being my sole object to come if possible1 at the truth1 in this long disputed question40--,inquiry concerning the ,invention of ,printing1 p4 #e4 #fg ,inquiry1 pp4 #di-ea4 #fh ,in a book of notes1 left with one ,gerlach1 and afterwards purchased by ,johan ,rot1 the brother in all probability of ,berthold ,rot1 the first printer at ,basle1 there occurs the following memorandum1 in ,schffer's own handwriting3--8,hic est finis omnium librorum tam veteris quam nove logice1 completi per me ,petrum de ,gernszheim1 alias ,moguncia1 anno ,m4,,cccc4,,xlix1 in gloriosissima ,universitate ,parisiensi40--7,,humphreys1 p4 #hd47 ,his name1 variously spelt as ,schffer1 ,schffer1 ,schoiffer1 and ,schoiffher1 and signifying in ,english1 ,shepherd1 is sometimes printed in its ,latin form1 ,opilio4 #fi 8,petrus autem memoratus ,opilio 444 homo ingeniosus et prudens1 faciliorem modum fundendi caracteres excogitavit1 et artem ut nunc est complevit40 #gj 8,john ,schffer says1 at the conclusion of the ,historia ,francorum1 printed in #aeae1 that the inventor did indeed commence the art of printing in #adej2 but did not perfect and bring it to the stage when the use of the press was required until #adeb40--vide ,,wetter1 p4 #cej4 ,referring the date #adej to the original contract with ,faust1 this statement shews that at least two years1 possibly nearly three1 were spent in the preparatory arrangements1 casting and cutting the letters1 c4 before a single page of the ,latin ,bible was printed4 #ga ,letters made of copper or tin alone would scarcely be hard enough to use as punches1 except for plaster moulds2 but a mixture of metals forming brass1 of which several writers say the first cut metal types were made1 would answer the purpose1 and could be struck into blocks of soft copper or tin without the slightest difficulty4 ,at a pinch1 however1 ,benjamin ,franklin has shewn that even with ordinary types1 matrices of lead can be made and used with success3 8,our printing house10 he writes1 8often wanted sorts1 and there was no letter-foundry in ,america2 ,i had seen types cast at ,james's in ,london1 but without much of attention to the manner2 however1 ,i contrived a mould1 and made use of the letters we had as puncheons1 struck the matrices in lead1 and thus supplied in a pretty tolerable way the deficiencies40 #gb ,the word fount1 here used to indicate a complete set of types1 was originally fund1 and signified a casting or founding of type4 ,hence also the terms founder and foundry1 derived1 like the former1 from the ,latin fundo4 #gc ,this ,faust1 whose ancestors came from ,mentz1 was a son of the councillor and judge of the imperial tribunal at ,frankfort1 who died in #afai4 ,writing from family papers and traditions1 ,j4 ,f4 ,faust 7inheriting the jealousy against ,gutenberg which was engendered by the lawsuit1 his opposite politics1 and the honours bestowed upon him by the ,elector-,archbishop7 attributes the origin of ,typography to ,faust of ,mentz1 but admits that ,gutenberg was his assistant4 ,with the exception of this change of persons1 the account he gives of the origin of the art accords in its main facts with the statements made by ,trithemius1 ,zell1 ,wimpheling1 ,arnold de ,bergel1 and other early writers on the subject4 ,he mentions the block ,alphabet and ,donatus1 and the separate wooden types made by cutting the engraved tablets into single letters1--which were all for a long time preserved in ,faust's house at ,mentz2 where his grandfather ,dr4 ,johan ,faust1 had seen them4 ,this ,dr4 ,faust also left with the family a written description of these first beginnings of the art4 ,j4 ,f4 ,faust's account1 taken from ,,wetter1 with some remarks by that author1 will be found in the ,appendix4 #gd ,various metals were used in the manufacture of types4 ,mr4 ,,blades1 at pages xx4 and xxiv4 of his second volume of the ,life and ,typography of ,caxton1 gives extracts from the 8,cost ,book0 of the ,directors of the ,ripoli ,press at ,florence1 #adgd-adhc1 a document still extant in the ,magliabechi library at ,florence1 and printed in the 8,notizie ,storiche sopra la ,stamperia di ,ripoli1 la quali possono servire all' illustrazione della ,storia ,tipografica ,fiorentina4 ,raccolta e pubblicate dal ,p4 ,vincezio ,fineschi4 #hvo4 ,in ,firenze ,,mdcclxxxi40 ,from this it seems that for the steel required 7probably for punches7 the price paid per lb4 was equivalent to #is4 of present current money2 for metal 7not otherwise described7 #bs4 #j;d42 brass1 #bs4 #c;d42 copper1 #as4 #c;d42 tin1 #as4 #f;d42 lead1 #e;d42 and iron wire1 #as4 #f;d4 #ge ,eight great inventions may be enumerated in the history of ,typography4 ,these are1 first1 the block books2 second1 the separable types2 third1 the printing-press2 fourth1 type-founding2 fifth1 stereotyping1 7taking plaster moulds of whole pages of type1 and from them castings in solid metal plates72 sixth1 composition inking rollers2 seventh1 cylindrical printing machines1 to be worked by steam-power2 and eighth1 steam type-setting machines4 ,as the four last are of modern date1 they do not come within the scope of the present work4 #gf ,that ,gutenberg considered himself an injured man is clear from statements which occur in both ,j4 ,f4 ,,faust',s and ,,arnold ,,de ,,bergel',s accounts4 ,the former states that ,gutenberg was greatly angered by the lawsuit1 and not only refused to be present at the close of the proceedings1 but afterwards left ,mentz for ,strasburg1 where he established a printing office of his own4 ,this is not exactly correct2 but as it shews the belief that existed in the ,faust family1 it is probable that he may have supplied ,mentelin1 the first printer there1 with types and material to commence with4 ,bergel states1 that when the originator of the contract 7,faust7 began to see some hopes of gain1 he raised a discord which led to a rupture3 that ,gutenberg protested the strife was unjust1 but the upshot was a separation1 each one trusting to himself and his own press4 ,the following lines shew this1 and hint also at the belief that the tribunal before which the lawsuit was tried1 was under influences adverse to ,gutenberg2 the old grudge of ,burgher versus ,noble1 still making itself manifest4 8,hic dum cernebant raras procedere merces1 ,sanxerunt dextris foedera pacta suis3 ,qu ,deus1 aut fortuna dabit1 communia sunto1 qualis nostrum sitque laboris onus4 ,foedera sed lucri raro concordia nutrit1 ,indiga sunt pacis dissidioque patent4 ,sit postquam autores qustus spes cepit habendi1 ,ad lites vertunt pectora capta leves4 ,in partes abeunt1 sinceraque pacta resolvunt1 ,et promissa cadunt1 irrita fitque fides2 ,cuilibet ut propriis serviret pergula prelis1 ,et sibi multijugas quisque pararet opes4 ,non tulit injustas mens ,gutenbergica rixas1 ,testatur ,superos foedera rupta ,deos4 ,caussa fori tandem pavidi defertur ad ora2 ,scribitur ac illis dica nefanda fori4 ,tempore sed longo res est tractata dicaci ,lite1 hodie pendet judicis inque sinu40 ,encomion ,chalcographi1 v4v4 #bde-bfc4 #gg ,the division of the plant seems to have been made with judicial fairness4 ,a portion of the original implements or utensils were assigned to ,faust1 and according to the testimony of ,j4 ,f4 ,faust of ,aschaffenberg1 they remained for a length of time in the possession of the family 7see note1 p4 #afg74 ,bergel1 or ,bergellanus1 who published his ,encomion ,chalcographi in #aeda1 and was for fifteen years a corrector of the press in a printing establishment at ,mentz1 states1 in the ,dedication of his work to the ,archbishop ,albert of ,brandenberg1 that 8several very old instruments were seen by him at ,mentz1 which the citizens informed him had been used by ,gutenberg in the art20 from which it may be inferred1 that they were either preserved among the muniments of the city1 or by some of ,gutenberg's family connections4 #gh ,also spelt ,hombracht1 and ,hoemborch4 #gi ,author of 8,speculum ,human ,salvationis4 ,le plus ancien ,monument de la ,xylographie et de la ,typographie runis reproduits en fac-simile1 avec ,introduction ,historique et ,bibliographique40 ,londres1 #ahfa4 fol4 #hj ,authorities differ in respect to ,gutenberg's age1 the year of his birth not having been precisely ascertained4 ,it is broadly stated by ,,wetter1 that he was born between the years #acic and #adjj4 ,he must therefore have been at least #fh years of age1 and he may have been #ge1 at the time of his death4 #ha ,published at ,heidelberg in #adii4 #hb ,history of ,england1 vol4 ii4 pp4 #ebf-g4 ,early ,typography4 ,,chapter ,,iv4 ,,the ,,claims ,,of ,,coster ,,and ,,haarlem ,,considered1 ,,as ,,opposed ,,to ,,those ,,of ,,gutenberg ,,and ,,mentz4--,,claims ,,based ,,upon ,,tradition4--,,no ,,contemporary ,,authorities ,,in ,,their ,,favor4--,,abundance ,,of ,,such ,,testimony ,,in ,,favor ,,of ,,gutenberg ,,and ,,mentz4--,,probable ,,origin ,,of ,,tradition4--,,block ,,books4--,,speculum ,,human ,,salvationis4--,,evidence ,,of ,,the ,,types3 ,,wood ,,or ,,metal1 ,,cut ,,or ,,cast8--,,books 8,,jettez ,,en ,,molle40--,,age ,,of ,,the ,,paper4--,,date ,,of ,,costume4--,,fraternity ,,of ,,brethren ,,and ,,clerks ,,of ,,the ,,common ,,life4 ,clear and convincing as the evidence appears to be1 that the ,art of ,typography originated in ,germany1 and that the honor claimed for ,gutenberg as its inventor is rightly his2 both positions are stoutly contested by the ,dutch1 who assert that the ,art originated at ,haarlem1 and was the invention of one ,laurence ,janssoen1 the ,coster or ,sacristan of the great church of that city1 who according to some of their writers1 was not only the first engraver of block-books1 and cutter of separable letters1 but also the first who cast fusile metal types4 ,it is necessary therefore1 before proceeding further1 to examine the grounds upon which these assertions are based1 and to ascertain what amount of truth they contain4 ,the claim on behalf of ,haarlem was first made by ,jan ,van ,zuyren1 7b4 #aeag2 d4 #aeia71 between the years #aedi and #aefa1--7upwards of a century1 at least1 after the appearance of the first printed book in ,germany71--in 8,a ,dialogue on the first ,invention of the ,art of ,typography10 of which only a part of the ,dedicatory ,preface remains4 ,in this fragment1 reprinted by ,scriverius1 the writer says3-- 8,it is from the love of my country alone1 that ,i undertake this work1 and that ,i institute further inquiries upon the subject of it2 as ,i cannot consent that our claims to a portion of this glory2--claims which are even at this day fresh in the remembrance of our fathers1 to whom1 so to express myself1 they have been transmitted from hand to hand from their ancestors1 should be effaced from the memory of men1 and be buried in eternal oblivion2 claims of which it is our duty to preserve the memorial1 for the benefit of our latest posterity4 8,the city of ,mentz1 without doubt1 merits great praise1 for having been the first to produce and publish to the world in a becoming garb1 an invention which she had received from us2 for having perfected and embellished an art as yet rude and unformed4 ,who indeed1 7although it be less difficult to add to an invention already made1 than to originate a new one7 would withhold the praises and honor due to a city1 to which all the world considers itself in a particular manner indebted for so great a benefit8 8,for the rest1 excellent ,sir1 you may consider it as certain that the foundations of this splendid art were laid in our city of ,haarlem1 rudely1 indeed1 but still the first4 ,here 7be it understood without offence to the people of ,mentz7 the art of ,typography was born and saw the light1 with all her members formed1 so that she might hereafter increase in strength and stature4 ,here1 she for a long time received the treatment and the cares1 which it is customary to use towards tender infancy1 and for a long series of years was confined within the walls of a private dwelling house1 which1 though somewhat dilapidated1 is still standing2 but which has long since been despoiled of its precious contents4 ,the art of printing1 indeed1 was here brought up1 nourished1 and maintained at small expense1 and with too great parsimony2 until at length1 despising the poor and confined appearance of her humble abode1 she became the companion of a certain stranger1 and leaving behind her native meanness1 shewed herself publicly at ,mentz1 where after having become enriched1 she in a short time rose to eminence40#hc ,theodore ,volckart ,coornhert1 an engraver1 having in company with ,van ,zuyren established a printing office in ,haarlem1 published on the year #aefa1 a ,dutch translation of ,cicero's ,offices4 ,in the ,dedication of this work to the ,burgomasters1 ,judges1 and ,senators of the city1 he writes3-- 8,most honorable and revered ,sirs2 it has often been related to me1 bon fide1 that the most useful art of ,typography was originally invented in our city of ,haarlem1 although in a somewhat rude manner2 for it is easier to perfect by degrees an art already discovered1 than to invent a new one4 ,this art1 having been afterwards carried to ,mentz by an unfaithful servant1 was there perfected1 and as it was also first promulgated there1 that city has so generally acquired the reputation of having first invented it1 that our citizens can obtain but little credence1 when they assert themselves to have been the real inventors2 a fact generally believed by the greater number of them1 and especially considered as undoubted by our most ancient citizens4 ,i am aware1 that in consequence of the blameable neglect of our ancestors1 the common opinion that this art was invented at ,mentz1 is now so firmly established1 that it is in vain to hope to change it1 even by the best evidence1 and the most irrefragable proof4 ,but truth does not cease to be truth1 because it is known only to a few2 and ,i for my part1 believe this to be most certain2 convinced as ,i am1 by the faithful testimonies of men1 alike respectable from their age and authority2 who not only have often told me of the family of the inventor1 and of his name and surname2 but have even described to me the rude manner of printing first used1 and pointed out to me with their fingers the abode of the first printer4 ,and therefore1 not because ,i am jealous of the glory of others1 but because ,i love truth1 and desire to pay that tribute to the honor of our city which is justly her due1 ,i have thought it incumbent upon me to mention these things40 ,in #aefg1 ,ludovico ,guicciardini printed at ,antwerp1 a description of the ,low ,countries4 ,the work was in ,italian1 and writing of ,haarlem1 he says3-- 8,according to the common tradition of the inhabitants1 and the assertion of the other natives of ,holland1 as well as the testimony of certain authors and other records1 it appears that the art of printing and stamping letters and characters on paper1 in the manner now used1 was first invented in this place4 ,but the author of the invention happening to die1 before the art was brought to perfection and had acquired repute1 his servant1 they say1 went to reside at ,mentz2 where1 giving proof of his knowledge in that science1 he was joyfully received2 and where1 he having applied himself to the business with unremitting diligence1 it was brought to entire perfection1 and became at length generally known1 in consequence of which1 the fame afterwards spread abroad and became general1 that the art and science of printing originated in that city4 ,what the truth really is1 ,i am not able1 nor will ,i take upon me1 to decide2 it sufficing me to have said these few words1 that ,i might not be guilty of injustice to this town and country40 ,eytzinger1 in his work on the topography of the ,low ,countries1 printed in #aehc1 and ,braunius of ,cologne1 in his ,civitates ,orbis ,terrarum1 printed in #aegj-aehh1 assign to ,haarlem the origin of the art4 ,these authors had before them the statement already quoted from ,coornhert1 as well as that of ,ulric ,zell1 which says that ,block-book ,donatuses were originally printed in ,holland2 and they assume that to be a fact which ,guicciardini will go no further than to repeat as a tradition1 for the truthfulness of which he will not vouch4 ,we now come to the account given by ,hadrian ,junius1#hd in his work entitled ,batavia1 printed in #aehh1 thirteen years after his death4 ,this account#he is supposed1 from the context1 to have been written in the year #aefh1 and in it the name of ,coster appears for the first time4 8,about a hundred and twenty eight years ago10 he says1 8,laurentius ,janssoen ,coster inhabited a decent and fashionable house in the city of ,haarlem1 situated in the market place opposite the royal palace4 ,the name of ,coster was assumed1 and inherited from his ancestors1 who had long enjoyed the honorable and lucrative office of ,coster or ,sexton to the church4 ,this man deserves to be restored to the honor of being the first inventor of printing1 of which he has been unjustly deprived by others1 who have enjoyed the praises due to him alone4 ,as he was walking in the wood contiguous to the city1 which was the general custom of the richer citizens and men of leisure1 in the afternoon and on holidays he began at first to cut some letters upon the rind of a beech tree2 which for fancy's sake1 being impressed on paper1 he printed one or two lines as a specimen for his grand-children 7the sons of his daughter7 to follow4 ,this having happily succeeded1 he meditated greater things 7as he was a man of ingenuity and judgment72 and first of all with his son-in-law ,thomas ,peter 7who by the way left three sons1 who all attained the consular dignity71 invented a more glutinous writing ink1 because he found the common ink sunk and spread2 and then formed whole pages of wood1 with letters cut upon them2--of which sort ,i have seen some essays in an anonymous work1 printed only on one side1 entitled ,speculum nostr salutis3 in which it is remarkable1 that in the infancy of printing 7as nothing is complete at its first invention71 the back sides of the pages were pasted together1 that they might not by their nakedness betray their deformity4--,these beechen letters he afterwards changed for leaden ones1 and these again for a mixture of tin and lead1 as a less flexible and more solid and durable substance4 ,of the remains of which types1 when they were turned to waste metal1 those old wine-pots were cast1 that are still preserved in the family house which looks into the market-place1 inhabited afterwards by his great-grandson ,gerard ,thomas1 a gentleman of reputation1 whom ,i mention for the honor of the family1 and who died a few years since4 ,a new invention never fails to engage curiosity4 ,and when a commodity never before seen excited purchasers1 to the advantage of the inventor1 the admiration of the art increased1 dependents were enlarged1 and workmen multiplied2 the first calamitous incident6 ,among these was one ,john4 ,whether1 as we suspect1 he had ominously the name of ,faustus--unfaithful and unlucky to his master1--or whether he was really a person of that name1 ,i shall not much inquire2 being unwilling to molest the silent shades1 who suffer from a consciousness of their past actions in this life4 ,this man1 bound by oath to keep the secret of printing1 when he thought he had learned the art of joining the letters1 the method of casting the types1 and other things of that nature1 taking the most convenient time that was possible1 on ,christmas eve1 when every one was customarily employed in lustral sacrifices1 seizes the collection of types1 and all the implements his master had got together1 and1 with one accomplice1 marches off to ,amsterdam1 thence to ,cologne1 and at last settled at ,mentz1 as at an asylum of security1 where he might go to work with the tools he had stolen4 ,it is certain that in a year's time1 viz4 in #addb1 the ,doctrinale of ,alexander ,gallus1 which was a grammar much used at that time1 together with the ,tracts of ,peter of ,spain1 came forth there1 from the same types as ,laurentius had made use of at ,haarlem4 ,these were the first products of his press4 ,these are the principal circumstances that ,i have collected from credible persons1 far advanced in years1 which they have transmitted like a flaming torch from hand to hand4 ,i have also met with others who have confirmed the same40#hf ,junius's principal informant was1 he says1 his tutor1 ,nicholas ,galius1 an old gentlemen of very tenacious memory1 who related that when a boy1 he 8had often heard one ,cornelius1 a bookbinder 7then upwards of eighty years of age1 who had when a youth1 assisted at the printing office of ,coster71 describe with great earnestness the numerous trials and experiments made by his master in the infancy of the invention4 ,when he came to that part of his narrative touching the robbery1 he would burst into tears1 and curse with the greatest vehemence those nights in which he had slept with so vile a miscreant1 declaring that were he still alive1 he could with pleasure execute the thief with his own hands40 ,junius states1 that he received a similar account from ,quirinus ,talesius1 the ,burgomaster1 who asserted that it was recited to him by the said ,cornelius3 the latter died in #aeae4hg ,of ,laurent ,janssoen ,coster1 it seems to be satisfactorily proved1 that he belonged to the most distinguished and wealthy class of the inhabitants of the city4 ,he was born1 it is supposed1 about #acgj1 or #acga2 and notices of him appear in official records as an officer of the city guard1 a member of the great council1 sheriff1 sheriff-president1 and treasurer1 from #adag to #adcd4 ,from the treasurer's accounts he seems to have enjoyed a rent-charge upon the city from #adbb to #adce4 ,in #addj an entry is made of the payment of a similar charge to one 8,ymme1 widow of ,laurent ,janssoen02 and as ,haarlem was visited by a contagious malady in #adci1 the probability is that ,laurent was one of its victims4 ,of his family the following particulars have been handed down4 ,his daughter ,lucetta married ,thomas the son of ,pieter2 and bore him two daughters and three sons1 ,pieter1 ,andr and ,thomas1 all of whom filled important public office4 ,pieter the son of ,thomas1 had a son called ,thomas the son of ,pieter1 whose son ,gerard1 died before ,junius wrote his work4 ,the last descendant of the family was ,william the son of ,cornelius ,kroon1 who died the #bdth ,march1 #agbd4hh ,as the account inserted in ,junius's ,batavia is the groundwork upon which all subsequent writers base their arguments in behalf of the claims they advance for ,coster1 it behoves us to note how far it agrees with the statements previously made by others4 ,it is alleged that ,coster 7#a17 first cut letters on the bark of a beech tree for his amusement2 7#b17 then1 with letters so cut1 he made words and sentences for the instruction of his grand-children2 after which he 7#c17 invented1 with the assistance of his son-in-law1 a more glutinous ink1 whereupon he 7#d17 cut whole pages of letters on wood1 and printed them4 ,he next 7#e17 made letters of lead1 and pewter1 to supersede those of wood2 7#f17 becoming known as a printer1 and a public demand arising for his productions1 he 7#g17 engaged numerous workmen1 one of whom 7#h17 stole all his materials1 and carried them off to ,mentz4 ,neither ,van ,zuyren1 nor ,coornhert1 give particulars on the first five points1 and in regard to the #fth and #gth1 their statements are opposed to those of ,junius4 ,they say the art1 as invented at ,haarlem1 was rude and imperfect1 and was not made public there2 and although ,coornhert says he had often been told of the family of the inventor1 his name and surname1 of the rude manner of printing first used1 and had even had shewn to him the abode of the first printer2 he neither gives his name nor describes the method adopted4 ,guicciardini gives his statement1 as a matter of hearsay1 for the truth of which he will not vouch2 but in it there is this difference from those of ,van ,zuyren and ,coornhert1 that the author of the invention happening to die before the art was brought to perfection and had acquired repute1 his servant1 they say1 went to reside at ,mentz4 ,here then are three writers1 living at the same time with ,junius1 all making inquiries upon the same subject1 and deriving their information from a common source1 who differ from him on almost every point1 and in some of the most material plainly contradict him4 ,with reference to the #eth point1 the invention of metal types1--whether cut or cast ,junius does not say1--,henry ,spiegel1 senator of ,amsterdam 7b4 #aedi1 d4 #afab71 states in his ,dutch poem ,hertspiegel4 8,thou first1 ,laurentius1 to supply the defect of wooden tablets1 adoptedst wooden types1 and afterwards didst connect them with a thread1 to imitate writing4 ,a treacherous servant surreptitiously obtained the honor of the discovery3 but truth itself1 though destitute of common and wide spread fame1 truth ,i say1 still remains40 ,this ,spiegel was a personal friend of ,coornhert1 and it may be presumed consulted him respecting ,junius's account of the origin of printing at ,haarlem4 ,of metal types he makes no mention2 but if the traditions of ,haarlem at that time gave ,laurentius the credit of their invention1 it is altogether unaccountable why ,spiegel omitted so noteworthy a circumstance4 ,he probably rejected1 on ,coornhert's authority1 what ,junius had written on that part of the subject4 ,junius's story of the theft of ,coster's types and implements is confused and contradictory4 ,for supposing for a moment that ,coster was the printer of the ,mirror of ,salvation1 and that the types were made of pewter2 if all that had been cast for printing1 7at the most not more than two pages at a time71 had been carried away1 together with the punches1 matrices1 c41 how came the wine-pots1 alleged to be still in existence when ,junius wrote1 to be made of them when they became waste metal8 ,these wine-pots afford grounds for the assertion1 by later writers1 that the art continued to be practised by the ,coster family after the alleged theft2 but that assertion is contradicted by the statements elsewhere made4 ,of the theft itself there is no proof4 ,the records of the city have been searched in vain for evidence of any such robbery4 ,and the search has been equally fruitless for evidence of any such invention4 ,as to the latter1 the wine-pots are the chief witnesses4 ,they were said to be kept in the house inhabited by ,laurent ,coster's great-grandson ,gerard ,thomas2 they could be appealed to2 but what then8 their evidence is not even as valuable as that adduced by the school boy who claimed to be the carver of a certain piece of wood-work1 8and here10 said he1 8is the very knife with which ,i did it40 ,in the boy's case it could at least be shewn1 that the knife was one with which the carving might have been executed2 but it would be utterly impossible to prove1 without other and more reliable evidence than the appearance of the pots themselves1 that they had been the original prototypes of the art of ,typography4 ,meerman1 however1 insists upon it that the ,costers carried on the printing business at ,haarlem until about the year #adgb1 when a better method having been introduced by disciples of the ,mentz school1 they sold off their stock and retired4 ,but all these allegations are based upon suppositions2 there is no proof whatever that such was the case3 only1 it is evident that some such story must be contrived1 in order to account for the pewter wine-pots being manufactured out of the waste and worn-out types4 ,but then the part of the narrative of ,junius where the wine-pots are alluded to1 does not tally with that other part1 wherein it is stated that the thief and his accomplice decamped with 8the collection of types1 and all the implements his master had got together40 ,for ,junius does not say1 that ,laurentius ,janssoen ,coster got together fresh implements1 and made new types2 nor does he intimate that his family did so after his decease4 ,on the contrary1 he speaks of the theft as an irreparable loss1 the thought of which made the old book-binder ,cornelius1 curse with the greatest vehemence4 ,this irascible garrulous old man is the same who1 when a boy1 is said to have been employed in ,coster's printing office1 and who1 when upwards of eighty years old1 told the story to ,nicholas ,galius the old gentlemen of tenacious memory1 who in his turn told it to his pupil ,junius4 ,it is plain that the sole object of the original tellers of the story of the stranger1 servant1 or thief1 was to account for the otherwise inexplicable fact1 that the world was persuaded that printing originated at ,mentz1 instead of1 as the tradition-mongers would have it1 at ,haarlem4 ,it is singular that ,van ,zuyren and ,coornhert make no mention of ,coster and the wine-pots4 ,they had had the house pointed out to them1 where printing was said to have been invented and first practised in private and in a very rude and imperfect form2 and if that house really belonged to the family of ,laurent ,janssoen1 copies of the books printed1--the old types themselves1--the original prototypes of the art of ,typography--ought surely to have been the pride and glory of the house1 rather than pewter wine-pots1 a common enough article of household furniture4 8,but10 says ,van ,zuyren1 8the house has long since been despoiled of its precious contents40 ,in his days then1 and he is the earliest writer on the subject1 the wine-pots did not exist2 or if they did1 and if they were known to be the re-shaped relics of the original metal types1 how is his ignorance of their existence to be accounted for8 ,he and ,coornhert were both living and writing in the city at the same time with ,junius1 with whom1 as one of the learned literati of the day1 they could not but have been well acquainted1 if not on intimate and friendly terms4 ,after a long absence1 ,junius returned to the city where the others were born and bred1 and where one of them1 ,van ,zuyren1 filled the office of ,scabinus from #aedi to #aefa1 when he was advanced to the dignity of ,burgomaster1 7in which year his partner dedicated his work to him and the other officials of the city74 ,how then came ,junius alone to learn the history of ,laurent ,janssoen's invention8 and how is ,van ,zuyren and ,coornhert's silence to be accounted for1 in regard to such important matters affecting ,laurent the son of ,jans1 who filled the lucrative office of ,coster of the great church2 who was member of the great council1 sheriff1 sheriff-president1 and finally treasurer of the city2--whose portrait was engraved1 7or supposed to have been71 along with those of ,ouwater1 ,hemsen1 ,mandin1 and ,volkert1 all eminent ,haarlemese painters of the fifteenth century2--and whose history must have been well known to both1 when they wrote1 the one declaring 8for the love of his country alone10--and the other1 8not because ,i am jealous of the glory of others1 but because ,i love truth08 ,where then was the love of country and the love of truth1 if they omitted1 or suppressed1 the name of the man who invented the art1 the glory of which they 8could not consent should be effaced from the memory of men1 and be buried in eternal oblivion2 claims of which it is our duty to preserve the memorial1 for the benefit of our latest posterity08 ,there can be no doubt but that considerations of this nature have led older writers to express suspicions in regard to the authenticity of ,junius's narrative1 and to believe that his manuscript was tampered with between the time of his death1 and the publication of the work in which it appears2 as well as to induce 8misgivings0 in the minds of learned ,dutchmen of the present day 8as to the ultimate result of full inquiry into the subject40#hi ,admitting with the writers on the ,haarlem side1 that the ,coster family was one of wealth and influence1 how comes it1 on the one hand1 that the thief who stole the types and implements was not pursued1 exposed and punished8 or at any rate stripped of his stolen plumes1 when so early as #adeg works were published in ,mentz by printers who ascribed the whole merit of the invention to themselves8--and on the other1 that having replaced the stolen types and other implements by new ones1 and continuing to print until #adgb1 the descendants of ,laurent never claimed the honor of the invention for themselves or their sire1 although they must have known all along of what was taking place at ,mentz1--where ,faust and ,schffer were yearly publishing books with their names attached8 ,how comes it that the family possessed no documents that in any way referred to the invention8--that they never kept by them copies of the works they are said to have printed8--that none of such works were known or found in ,haarlem until #afed or #affj1 when a chestfull of old books without date or printer's name was bought by the city authorities at a sale at the ,hague--two centuries later1 and at once attributed to them8 ,how is it that no ,dutch writer or printer1 from #adda to #aehh1 claimed the honor of the invention for his countryman ,coster8--that neither ,nicholas the son of ,peter of ,haarlem1 who printed at ,padua in #adgf1 and at ,vicenza in #adgg2 ,henri of ,haarlem1 who printed from #adhb to #adii in different cities2 and ,gerard of ,haarlem1 who exercised the art at ,florence in #adii1 never claimed it for their brother citizen and birthplace8 ,how comes it that the earliest known printers in ,haarlem itself1 ,john ,andriesson and ,jacob ,bellaert1 whose books are dated #adhc and #adhe1 are silent upon the subject8--that the first printers in ,utrecht in #adgc--;and between that date and #adih1 those of ,alost1 ,antwerp1 ,bruges1 ,brussels1 ,culembourg1 ,delft1 ,deventer1 ,ghent1 ,gouda1 ,hertogenbosch1 ,leyden1 ,louvain1 ,st4 ,maartensdyk1 ,niemegen1 ,oudenarde1 ,schiedam1 ,schoonhoven1 ,zwolle1 and elsewhere in ,holland and the ,low countries1 make no mention of it8--and that nothing whatever is known of any of the 8multiplied workmen10 and 8dependents10 whom ,laurent ,janssoen ,coster1 it is alleged1 was obliged to employ to meet the demands made upon him by purchasers for copies of the products of the newly invented art8 ,how1 finally1 is it to be accounted for1 that while ,coster's descendants were living in ,haarlem1 when ,van ,zuyren1 ,coornhert1 and ,junius1 were writing their works1 those writers omitted to make inquiry of any member of the family on a subject respecting which the family were the parties most interested1 and could have given the most authentic information8 ,perhaps they did2 and when they asked for the story of the invention1 discovered that the family had1 like ,canning's knife-grinder1 8no story to tell40 ,to the objections1 that no printed book bears the name of ,coster or his descendants1 and that neither he nor they ever entered their protest against the pretensions of ,mentz1 ,koning replies3#ij--8,we agree that no such book has been found2 but neither is any book to be found bearing the name of ,gutenberg4 ,must we1 on this account1 strike his name out of the list of the first printers8 ,the aim of the first printers was to imitate manuscripts1 and to make their printed books pass for such2 and therefore1 lest their art should be found out1 it behoved them to keep their names a profound secret4444 ,the first inventor could have no idea of the astonishing influence which his art would have in the world in future ages2 and no person can feel surprise that he did not affix his name to his first essays4 8,besides1 the printers of the fifteenth century very commonly omitted to put their names to the editions printed by them4 ,the number of books existing of this century1 without either the name of the printer or the place of their publication is prodigious4 ,ulric ,zell1 for example1 according to ,santander1 printed eighty books1 and1 out of this number1 has only put his name to two or three4 ,with what appearance of reason is it insisted1 that the works1 which are attributed to ,laurent ,janssoen ,coster1 are not his1 because they are not signed with his name8 8,but it is said1 that neither ,coster nor his descendants ever vindicated their claims1 against the pretensions put forth by the ,mentz printers4444 ,neither did ,gutenberg vindicate his1 against ,faust and ,schffer2 who1 in the colophon of the ,psalter of #adeg1 and in the subscriptions of numerous other books1 took all the honor to themselves1 making no mention of him whatever2 although it is not doubted that ,gutenberg set up a printing office of his own in #adee1 and he is regarded by the writers on the side of ,mentz as the inventor and perfector of the art of printing40 ,as to the inventor having no idea of the astonishing influence which his art would have in the world in future ages1 it is plain from the evidence given in the ,strasburg law-suit1 that ,gutenberg and his partners were fully persuaded1 that the work they had undertaken was one by which they would make their fortunes4 ,and1 although it is asserted that ,gutenberg never vindicated his claim against ,faust and ,schffer1 yet it is certain that his merit as the inventor of printing was known to the ,elector of ,mentz1 and the ,king of ,france1 and it is also expressly admitted1 not only by his contemporaries1 in ,germany1 ,italy1 and elsewhere1 but by ,peter ,schffer himself1 who besides the detailed account of the origin of the invention which he gave to the ,abbot ,trithemius in the year #adhd1 allowed the insertion of the following among other ,latin verses at the end of the 8,institutes of ,justinian10 printed by him in #adfh3-- ,hos dedit eximios sculpendi in arte magistros1 ,cui placet en mactos arte sagire viros1 ,quos genuit ambos urbs moguntina ,johannes ,librorum insignes protocaragmaticos2 ,cum quibus optatum ,petrus venit ad polyandrum1 ,cursu posterior1 introeundo prior2 ,quippe quibus prstat sculpendi lege sagitus ,a solo dante lumen et ingenium4 ,these lines are thus translated by ,humphreys1--8,he who is pleased to create high talents has given us two great masters of the art of engraving1 both bearing the name of ,john1 both being natives of the city of ,mayence1 and both having become illustrious as the first printers of books4 ,peter advanced with them towards the desired goal1 and1 starting the last1 arrived first1 having been rendered the most skilful in the art of engraving by him who alone bestows light and genius40 ,there can be no doubt but the two ,johns and the ,peter here referred to were ,john ,gutenberg1 ,john ,faust1 and ,peter ,schffer4#ia ,up to the date of ,junius's publication1 #aehh1 no writer had claimed the honor of the invention for ,coster2 and but three1 who wrote between #aedi and #aefg1 had asserted ,haarlem to have been its birthplace2--and one of these1 as we have seen1 expressly declines to vouch for the accuracy of the tradition4 ,on the other hand1 we learn from the researches of ,dean ,mallinckrot1#ib that up to the date of ,junius's publication no less than sixty-two writers had awarded the honor of the invention to ,gutenberg1 and fixed its birthplace1 and the place of its promulgation to the world at the cities of ,strasburg and ,mentz4 ,although abundant proof has already been given upon these points1 the following selection from contemporary and historic evidence is added1 in order to shew the strength and solidity of the basis upon which those claims rest1 and how thoroughly it outweighs all that has been brought forward by writers on the opposite side4 ,in #adeg1 on the publication of their ,psalter1 ,faust and ,schffer ascribed to themselves the merit of the new invention4 ,after ,faust's death1 ,schffer inserted in the imprint or colophon on the last page of his works1 the words 8in nobili urbe ,magenti ejusdem 7i4 e4 artis imprimendi7 inventri elimatriceque prima40 ,in #adhj1 ,william ,caxton1 in his continuation of ,higden's ,polychronicon1 printed at ,westminster1 says 8,about this time #adee the craft of imprynting was first found in ,mogunce in ,almayne40#ic ,in the ,fasciculi ,temporum printed by ,quentel at ,cologne in #adgh and #adha1 it is stated that the art of printing originated at ,mentz4 ,in the ,black book or ,register of the ,garter1 it is said with reference to the #ceth year of the reign of ,henry ,,vi1 anno #adeg1 8,in this year of our most pious king1 the art of printing books first began at ,mentz1 a famous city of ,germany40 ,and in ,fabian's ,chronicle1 the writer1 a contemporary of ,caxton1 says1 8,this yere 7#ceth of ,henry ,,vi17 after the opynyon of dyverse wryters1 began in a citie of ,almaine1 namyd ,mogunce1 the crafte of empryntynge bokys1 which sen that tyme hath had wonderful encrease40 ,it was in this year #adeg1 that the first book appeared which has the printer's name1 date1 and place of printing1 affixed4 ,this is the celebrated ,psalter printed by ,faust and ,schffer4 ,in #adhf1 ,berthold1 ,archbishop of ,mentz1 in a mandate which will be quoted at length in a subsequent chapter1 states1 8this art1 printing was first discovered in this city of ,mentz40 ,a single testimony similar to either of the above in favor of ,haarlem1 would have been hailed with delight by any of the writers in the latter half of the sixteenth century1 and their tribe of followers who advocate the claims of that city2 but what follows is much more forcible and decisive4 8,of all the authors to whom the world is indebted for a particular account of the discovery of printing10 says1 ,mr4 ,palmer1#id 8,abbot ,trithemius justly claims pre-eminence2 both upon account of his living nearest to the time when the art originated1 which he tells us was in his younger years2 as well as his care to derive his intelligence on the subject from the purest sources4 ,we have two noble testimonies out of his chronicle2 one from the first part entitled ,chronicon ,spanheimense1 wherein1 speaking of the year #adej1 he says3 #8,that about this time1 the art of printing and casting single types was found out anew in the city of ,mentz1 by one ,john ,gutenberg1 who having spent his whole estate in this difficult discovery1 by the assistance and advice of some honest men1 ,john ,faust and others1 brought his undertaking at length to perfection2 that the first improver of this art1 after the inventor1 was ,peter ,schffer de ,gernsheim1 who afterwards printed a great many volumes2 that the said ,gutenberg lived at ,mentz1 in a house called ,zum-junghen1 but afterwards known by the name of the printing house4' 8,the next passage1 which is fuller1 and for its singularity and decisiveness deserves to be set down at length1 is taken out of the second part of ,trithemius's chronicle1 entitled ,chronicon ,hirsaugiense3--#8,about this time 7anno #adej7 in the city of ,mentz in ,germany upon the ,rhine1 and not in ,italy1 as some writers falsely affirmed1 the wonderful and till then unknown art of printing books by metal types 7characterizandi7 was invented and devised by ,john ,gutenberg1 citizen of ,mentz1 who1 having almost exhausted his whole estate in contriving of this new method1 and labouring under such insuperable difficulties1 in one respect or other1 that he began to despair of and to throw up the whole design2 was at length assisted with the advice and purse of ,john ,faust1 another citizen of ,mentz1 and happily brought it to perfection4 ,having therefore1 begun with cutting characters of the letters upon wooden planks1 in their right order1 and completed their forms1 they printed the vocabulary called the ,catholicon2 but could make no further use of those forms1 because there was no possibility of separating the letters1 which were engraven on the planks1 as we hinted before4 ,to this succeeded a more ingenious invention1 for they found out a way of stamping the shapes of every letter of the ,latin alphabet1 in what they called matrices1 from which they afterwards cast their letters1 either in copper or tin1 hard enough to be printed upon1 which they first cut with their own hands4 ,it is certain that this art met with no small difficulties from the beginning of its invention1 as ,i heard thirty years ago from the mouth of ,peter ,schffer de ,gernsheim1 citizen of ,mentz1 and son-in-law to the first inventor of the ,art4 ,for when they went about printing the ,bible1 before they had worked off the third quire it had cost them already above #djjj florins4 ,but the afore-mentioned ,peter ,schffer1 then servant1 7famulus17 and afterwards son-in-law1 to the first inventor ,john ,faust1 as we hinted before1 being a person of great ingenuity1 discovered an easier method of casting letters1 and perfected the art as we now have it4 ,these three kept their manner of printing very secret for some time1 until it was divulged by their servants1 without whose help it was impossible to manage the business1 who carried it first to ,strasburg1 and by degrees all over ,europe4 ,thus much will suffice concerning the discovery of this wonderful art1 the first inventors of which were citizens of ,mentz4 ,these three first discoverers of printing1 viz4 ,john ,gutenberg1 ,john ,faust1 and ,peter ,schffer his son-in-law1 lived at ,mentz1 in a house called ,zum-junghen1 but ever since known by the name of the printing house4'0#ie ,equally clear and to the point1 if not more so1 as well as the first published in point of time1 is the statement given by ,johan4 ,koelhoff1 who in #adii printed the following particulars in the ,cologne ,chronicle1 on the authority of ,ulric ,zell of ,hainault1 by whom the art of printing was first introduced to ,cologne4 ,zell learned the art directly from the first ,mentz printers2 and in the colophons of two small works printed in the years #adff and #adfg1 he styles himself a clerk of the diocese of ,mentz4 ,the statement is as follows3-- 8,of the printing of ,books1 and when and by whom1 this ,art was discovered1 of which the utility cannot be too highly appreciated1 c4 8,item3 ,this most important art was first found out in ,germany1 at ,mentz on the ,rhyne4 ,and it is a great honour to the ,german nation that such ingenious men were found in it4 ,this took place about the year of our ,lord ,m4,,cccc4,,xl41 and from that time to the year ,l41 this art and whatever appertains to it were rendered more perfect4 ,and in the year ,m4,,cccc4,l4 which was a jubilee year1 they began to print2 and the first book that was printed was the ,bible in ,latin1 and it was printed with larger characters than those which are now used for printing ,missals4 ,item3 ,although this art1 as we have said1 was found out in ,mentz in the way in which it is commonly used2 nevertheless the prototype of it 7#8vurbildung1' prfiguratio7 was found in ,holland1 in the ,donatuses 7den ,donaten7 which had been before printed there2 and it is from and out of these1 that the beginning of this art was taken4 ,and this manner has been found much more masterly and subtle than that which before existed1 and it has become more and more ingenious4 ,item3 ,a person named ,omnibonus writes in the preface to ,quinctilian1 and in other books1 that a certain ,frenchman1 called ,nicholas ,genson1 first discovered this important art2 which is clearly not true4 ,for there are persons now living1 who can attest1 that books were printed at ,venice before ,nicholas ,genson went there1 and began to sculpture and set up type4 ,but the first inventor of printing was a citizen of ,mentz1 born at ,strasburg1 called ,johan4 ,gudenburch1 ,gentleman4 ,item3 ,from ,mentz the said art was first carried to ,cologne1 then to ,strasburg1 and then to ,venice4 ,the commencement and progress of this art has been told me expressly by word of mouth1 by the revered master ,ulrich ,tzell of ,hainault1#if the printer1 still living at ,cologne in the present year ,m4,,cccc4,,xcix41 by whom the art was first brought to ,cologne4 ,item3 ,there are ill-informed persons who say that books were printed in more ancient times2 but that is contrary to the truth1 as in no country are books to be found printed in those times40 ,zell's account is confirmed by the writer of the ,nurimberg ,chronicle1 printed by ,koburger in #adic1 who states that in the year #adej1 the noble art of typography was first invented by ,john ,gutenberg at ,mentz4 ,to the like effect is the testimony of ,marc ,ant4 ,coccius ,sabellicus 7b4 #adcf2 d4 #aejf17 in the sixth chapter of his ,universal ,history1 printed at ,venice in #aejd4 ,in #aejb1 ,wimpheling1 the earliest writer in favour of the pretensions of ,strasburg1 states1 in his ,epitome ,rerum ,germanicarum1 that ,gutenberg was 8the inventor of a new art of writing 7ars impressoria71 which might also be called a divine benefit1 and which he happily completed at ,mentz40 ,in #aeje1 ,john ,schffer1 eldest son and successor to ,peter1 ,faust's son-in-law1 declares in a ,dedication to the ,emperor ,maximilian of an edition of ,livy1 printed that year1 that the admirable art of ,typography was invented at ,mentz in the year #adej1 by ,john ,gutenberg1 and afterwards improved and perfected by the study1 perseverance and labour of ,john ,faust and ,peter ,schffer4#ig ,this work was edited by the learned ,dr4 ,ivo ,wittig1 the same who in #aejh erected the memorial tablet in front of the house ,zum ,gutenberg1 the inscription on which is given at page #aih4 ,about #aeaj1 ,mariangelus ,accursius1 a ,neapolitan scholar of distinction1 wrote on the first page of a ,donatus1 printed on vellum1 8,johan ,faust1 a citizen of ,mentz1 the maternal grandfather of ,johan ,schffer1 first found out the art of printing with types of brass1 for which he afterwards substituted those of lead2 his son-in-law1 ,peter ,schffer1 greatly assisting him in perfecting the art4 ,but this ,donatus and ,confessionalia was first of all printed in the year #adej4 ,it is certain that he took the idea from a ,donatus which had been before printed from engraved wooden blocks in ,holland40 ,the ,donatus in which this was written was in the possession of the younger ,aldus1 who shewed it to ,angelo ,rocca1 by whom the memorandum was copied1 and printed in the year #aeia4 ,erasmus of ,rotterdam1 who was intimate with the most learned men and principal printers of ,germany1 ,holland1 ,italy1 and ,france1 and whose inquisitive mind led him to obtain information on every possible topic2 who had beside him for many years in the capacity of ,secretary1 the same ,quirinus ,talesius from whom ,junius obtained the confirmation of the story of ,nicholas ,galius2 who greatly eulogised the productions of the ,fleming1 ,jodocus ,badius1 a printer in ,france1 and moreover wrote the epitaph over his friend ,theodore ,martens1 the first printer in ,belgium1 and who was as jealous of the honor of his fatherland as any ,hollander could be2 nevertheless repeatedly declared ,faust to be the earliest printer1 and ,mentz the city where printing was first practised4 ,this he did in #aeah1 in his dedicatory ,epistle to an edition of ,livy1 published by ,john ,schffer1 and again in his own edition of the ,epistles of ,st4 ,hieronymous1 published at ,leyden in #aecj4 ,arnold de ,bergel1 in his ,encomion ,chalcographi1 previously referred to1 describes the first printing of books by ,john ,gutenberg at ,mentz in the year #adej4 ,the idea originated1 he says1 by ,gutenberg observing while at ,strasburg the impression made by his signet ring in soft wax4#ih ,sebastian ,munster1 in his ,universal ,cosmography1 printed in #aega1 states that in the years #addj to #adej the art of printing was invented and first practised in ,mentz by ,john ,gutenberg1 afterwards assisted by ,john ,faust and ,john ,medinbach4 ,peter ,van ,opmer1#ii a fellow-countryman and contemporary of ,junius1 and a writer of repute1 says with reference to the sudden outburst of learning at the commencement of the fifteenth century3--8,this was effected by the assistance of that art1 which from metal characters of letters ingeniously cast1 disposed in the order in which we write1 spread over with a convenient quantity of ink1 and put under the press1 has ushered into the world books in all languages1 and multiplied their copies like a numerous offspring1 and has obtained the name of ,,typography4 ,this ,art of ,printing was most certainly invented and brought to light by ,john ,faust in the year #addj4 ,it is amazing that the author of so important a discovery1 and so generous a promoter of divine and human learning1 should be unworthily forgotten1 or only casually remembered as a mere artist4 ,surely such a person deserves a place amongst the greatest benefactors of mankind40#ajj ,a goodly number of similar testimonies might easily be collected1 in not one of which is any reference made to either ,coster or ,haarlem4 ,not a single ,dutch or ,flemish annalist or chronicler or historian1 previous to #aefj1 ever makes the slightest allusion to the man or the place in connection with the art of printing4 ,even ,jan ,gerbrant1 ,prior of the ,carmelite ,order at ,haarlem1 who died there in #aejd1 knew nothing of the matter4 ,yet he is the compiler of the ,chronicle of the ,counts of ,holland and ,bishops of ,utrecht2 and if printing had been the invention of his contemporary ,coster1 and practised in the city of ,haarlem1 he could not have been ignorant of the facts1 nor would he have failed to record them in his ,chronicle4 ,meerman and his followers vainly try to evade the force of this fatal silence2 all their learning and ingenuity are brought to bear1 but without effect2 for if1 as they maintain1 the historians of that time considered the attempts made at ,haarlem so crude and imperfect1 as not to be worthy their notice1 what is to be made of the statement of ,junius1 that the invention attracted notice2 that the works printed were publicly sold1 and the business increased so much1 that numerous workmen and assistants had to be engaged8 ,the number of works said by ,koning and others to have issued from the ,coster press1 indicates anything but a crude and imperfect state of the art2 and if those works had been printed by the sacristan of the great ,church of ,haarlem1 the ,prior of the ,carmelites1 living in the city at the same time1 must have known of their existence4 ,how then is his silence to be accounted for8 ,the only rational conclusion to which one can arrive1 is1 that the tradition1 which1 after the growth of a hundred years was moulded into historic narrative by ,junius1 had neither existence nor foundation in the days of ,prior ,gerbrant4 ,as an aid to history1 in the elucidation of facts otherwise obscure1 tradition is a valuable auxiliary2 but as opposed to history and well known facts1 there is no more unreliable source of information4 ,every one is aware how witnesses of the same occurrence will differ in their statements of the particulars of what they saw2 and all who have taken the pains to unravel old traditions well know how wholly unlike their origin they ultimately and all but invariably prove to be4 ,there is no reason for supposing that the traditional account of the origin of printing in ,haarlem is an exception to the rule4 ,the age was one prone to the invention of legends2 and in the early days of printing in that city1 and after ,ulric ,zell had published his account at ,cologne1 and attributed to ,gutenberg the taking of the idea from the ,donatuses first printed in ,holland1 it is by no means unlikely that an old printer1 or an old book-binder1 in ,haarlem1 who had when a boy seen a specimen of a ,biblia ,pauperum or a ,donatus1 in the hands of the ,sacristan of the ,church1 would say1 first1 that he had seen the proof that printing originated in ,holland1 there1 in that city2 then1 stretching a point1 that printing originated there2 others1 repeating this1 would assert that the proof that such was the fact existed2 that it had been seen in the hands of the ,coster2 that the ,coster printed it2 that there was the house he lived in2 that it was a shame the ,germans1 who stole the idea of the separable types from the ,dutch1 should get all the credit2 that they had robbed ,coster of his fame2 nay robbed him of his types2 that it must have been one of the ,johns of ,mentz who was the thief2 and so on1 varying and amplifying the tale1 until the time of ,junius1 who finding the poem of ,arnold de ,bergel imparting a fresh halo of glory to ,mentz and her three first printers1 adopted and embellished the tradition1 and borrowing certain ideas from ,virgil as well as from ,bergel1 gave in his ,batavia an account of the first conception and ultimate realization of the idea1 which should stand as a rival to the account given in the ,encomion ,chalcographi4 ,the documents upon which the ,haarlemese mainly rely1 prove of themselves that the tradition grew within the space of a few years almost as rapidly as the pillar-like flower-stalk of the gigantic ,american aloe1 and effloresced as abundantly in the narrative of ,junius--the prolific progenitor of a host of subsequent writers3--for first1 7in say #aeee17 the art only 8became the companion of a certain stranger20#aja--then 7#aefa7 it 8was carried to ,mentz by an unfaithful servant20#ajb--next1 7#aefg7 8the author of the invention happening to die before the art was brought to perfection and had acquired repute1 his servant they say went to reside at ,mentz30#ajc--;finally1 7#aefh7 the foresworn workman1 the thief ,john1 while his master was still alive 444 seizes the collection of types1 and all the implements his master had got together 444 marches off to ,amsterdam1 thence to ,cologne1 and at last settled at ,mentz2--and ,coster1 lamenting his losses1 tells his woes to the little boy ,cornelis1 who used to help the book-binder2 and ,cornelis is so powerfully affected by the tale1 that seventy-two years after1 whenever he was asked to repeat it1 he would fall into passionate weepings1 and curse and execrate the miscreant ,john1 and vow nothing would please him more1 were he but alive1 than with his own hands to hang him outright4#ajd ,these are the bases upon which are built 8the accumulated and still accumulating evidence in favour of ,coster10--the 8vast mass of unanswerable evidence in his favour10--in presence of which 8the advocates of ,gutenberg's claim to priority are slow to give way20 and for which slowness they are accused of 8closing both eyes and ears to testimony of every kind1 refusing to acknowledge that there is the slightest ground for the claims of ,holland as against the1 asserted1 overwhelming evidence in favour of ,germany40#aje ,with such writers1 the array of facts on the ,gutenberg side of the question goes for naught4 ,pinning their faith to ,junius they 444 8with power 7their power was great7 ,hovering upon the waters what they met ,solid or slimy1 as in raging sea ,toss'd up and down1 together crowded drove ,from each side shoaling40 ,labouring thus1 they from ,meerman to ,van ,meurs#ajf 444 8following his track ,paved after him a broad and beaten way ,over the dark abyss1 whose boiling gulf ,tamely endured a bridge of wondrous length40 ,and patriotic ,dutchmen in the nineteenth century1 with a full reliance on the stability of the structure thus raised1 have struck medals1 put up tablets1 and erected monuments1 commemorative of the memory of the 8immortal and incomparable ,laurent ,janssoen10 and the art he is alleged to have invented1 with an enthusiasm strangely at variance with their utter ignorance of the man and his invention for upwards of a century after his death4#ajg ,of a very different opinion however was ,erasmus1 who1 it may fairly be presumed1 was not left unacquainted by his secretary1 ,talesius1 with the tradition which assigned to ,haarlem and ,coster the origin of printing2 but who shewed1 by his public declarations assigning that honor to ,mentz1 that he deemed the tradition unworthy of belief1 and destitute of even a basis of truth4 ,of a different opinion too1 was ,van ,opmer1 who must have been aware of the statements put forth in ,coornhert's edition of ,cicero's ,offices1 and had opportunity of judging of their truth2 although ,spiegel1 living at the same time and in the same city with ,opmer1 adopted them1 and asserted ,laurentius to be the inventor of separable wooden types4 ,carl ,van ,mander1 however1 a later writer1 pursuing his investigations in the city of ,haarlem1 while preparing the materials for his ,history of the ,lives of ,painters and ,engravers1 which was printed there about #afje1 is as silent on the subject of ,coster1 as ,prior ,gerbrant4 ,notwithstanding all this1 ,meerman and the multitude who follow in his wake1 cling to their faith in ,junius4 ,his assertions1 contradictory as they have been shewn to be1 to those of writers immediately preceding him1 outweigh with them all other evidence4 ,enough for them the support he receives in the testimony of ,ulric ,zell and ,mariangelus ,accursius4 ,the reader has that testimony before him1 and can form his own estimate of its weight on the ,costerian side of the balance4 ,zell is the only authority for the statement that ,block-book ,donatuses were first printed in ,holland4 ,accursius but recapitulates ,zell's words1 upon a ,donatus which he states was printed by ,faust at ,mentz in #adej4 ,zell was a ,fleming1 and although he learned the art of printing at ,mentz and carried it thence to ,cologne1 he had without doubt his national partialities2 his account is not however borne out by that of ,schffer1 given to ,abbot ,trithemius in #adhd1 although the two statements are not contradictory4 ,neither do they contradict the account of the origin of the art as stated by ,bergel4 ,each may supplement the other4 ,the first idea of printing may have occurred to ,gutenberg from the impressions made in wax by his signet ring1 and his cogitations upon the subject have been further confirmed by ,block-books bought at ,aix-la-,chapelle4 ,it may therefore be admitted1 that ,block-book ,donatuses were printed and sold in ,holland1 prior to #adcf4 ,but what then8 ,haarlem is not ,holland1 any more than ,liverpool is ,england4 ,and to argue that if such books were printed in ,holland1 they must therefore have been produced at ,haarlem2#ajh and if the work of a ,hollander1 why not of ,coster8#aji is simply to attempt to cut through a difficulty which has defied every other effort to penetrate or solve2 and moreover it leaves untouched the question1 whether separable types were first made in ,germany or ,holland1 which is the hinge whereon the whole controversy in regard to the origin of ,typography turns4 ,but ,junius specifies the 8,mirror of ,human ,salvation10 as a work1 the like of which1 or of which sort1 was the work which had been printed by ,coster3--a work with wood-cut figures and descriptive text below1 and printed on one side only4 ,there were several works of this kind known2 and although some have been alluded to in the previous chapters1 a more extended notice of them may here be given4 ,temptationes ,demonis2 a large block covering one side of an entire sheet of paper1 and containing texts of ,scripture1 with figures of angels and devils4 ,donatus1 de ,octo ,partibus ,orationis4 ,biblia ,pauperum1 consisting of forty leaves of small folio2 each leaf contains a central design of three scriptural subjects1 with two half-length figures of prophets or holy men both above and below2 on either side of these are explanatory descriptions1 while beneath are their names1 with additional inscriptions on scrolls4 ,historia ,sancti ,johannis ,evangelist1 ,ejusque ,visiones ,apocalyptic2 folio designs of scenes from the ,apocalypse1 two subjects on each page1 with labels and scrolls containing descriptive matter4 ,historia seu ,providentia ,virginis ,mari1 ex ,cantico ,canticorum1 or the ,book of ,canticles2 consisting of eight blocks1 each containing four designs1 with ,latin inscriptions on scrolls interspersed among the figures4 ,historia ,beat ,mari ,virginis ex ,evangelistis et ,patribus excerpta et per ,figuras ,demonstrata4 ,defensorium inviolat ,virginitatis ,mari ,virginis4 ,der ,entkrist1 or the ,book of ,antichrist2 consisting of thirty-nine cuts with text4 ,ars ,memorandi2 a quarto work of fourteen pages1 consisting of whole page engravings of symbols of the four ,evangelists1 with accompanying pages of explanations4 ,ars ,moriendi2 a series of quarto cuts1 exhibiting the deaths of good and bad men1 with descriptive pages of text opposite the cuts4 ,a quarto work of thirty-two cuts1 containing subjects of ,sacred writ2 under each cut are fifteen verses in the ,german language4 ,speculum ,human ,salvationis2 fifty-eight leaves1 each containing two designs1 mostly from the ,old or ,new ,testament2 each design has a ,latin inscription of one line engraved on it4 ,beneath is placed the descriptive text4 ,in the ,latin edition there are five leaves of preface1 and in the ,dutch four4 ,die ,kunst ,cheiromantia2 a work treating of palmistry4 ,planetenbuch2 treating of the influence of planets on human life4 ,mirabilia ,rom2 a guide to the principal shrines in ,rome4 ,opera nova contemplativa4 99 99 99 99 99 ,of the above1 ,koning ascribes all those printed in italics to ,coster1#aaj together with the ,catonis ,disticha1 and ,horarium1 the latter a book of eight small pages discovered by ,m4 ,ensched of ,haarlem1 containing the letters of the ,alphabet1 the ,lord's ,prayer1 the ,ave ,maria1 the ,apostles' ,creed1 c41 printed with moveable characters4#aaa ,including separate editions1 ,koning gives ,coster the credit of printing seventeen works4 ,now the time1 as well as labour1 involved in designing and engraving these works must have been very great4 ,in the ,biblia ,pauperum there are #bjj designs1 besides the text2 in the ,book of ,canticles1 #cb2 in the ,speculum ,human ,salvationis1 #aaf2 besides those in the ,ars ,moriendi1 and the ,apocalypse4 ,these are among the very earliest specimens of design and engraving on wood that are known to exist4 ,if then these were executed1 as alleged1 by ,coster in ,haarlem1#aab how came it1 that his contemporaries knew nothing of them2 that ,van ,mander1--himself an artist and an engraver1 who describes in his ,history1 written and printed at ,haarlem1 the works of ,flemish and ,dutch artists living both before and after ,coster's time1--is silent in regard to both the man and his works8--although he says that the city of ,haarlem 8dares to pretend to the glory of having invented printing40 ,by this expression it is contended by ,coster's advocates1 ,van ,mander 8intended to say1 that the claims of ,haarlem were well founded40 ,and furthermore1 that his silence is to be accounted for from the fact1 that 8none of these wood engravings bear the initials of the artists who designed or engraved them1 and that he may have been uncertain as to their names40 ,but what a lame and impotent conclusion is this to arrive at4 ,van ,mander1 it is plain1 knew of the tradition about the origin of printing in ,haarlem4 ,his own work was carried down to the year #afjd1 and ,junius's ,batavia was printed in #aehh--sixteen years previously4 ,he could not therefore have been ignorant of what was said in that work about ,coster1 and his printing works with woodcuts similar to those of the ,mirror of ,salvation4 ,knowing that1 he must have made inquiry concerning both1 and have arrived at the same conclusion as ,erasmus and ,van ,opmer4 ,otherwise1 how is his silence to be accounted for8 ,the very fact of the woodcuts being without initials should have stimulated inquiry4 ,they are the work of an artist of no mean skill2 and to suppose that he passed them by without notice1 or without an attempt to discover their designer1 engraver1 or printer1 who was alleged to have been a wealthy and influential burgher of the city in which he was writing1 is to cast a slur on ,van ,mander's reputation as an historian which he does not appear to deserve4 ,even as the works of an unknown artist they demanded1 and would have received1 notice1 had they been printed and sold in the manner described by ,junius1 and those who have subsequently amplified his narrative4 ,with regard to the engravings in the 8,poor ,man's ,bible10 ,ottley says 7p4 #hg17 8the style of these cuts has considerable resemblance to that of the two ,van ,eycks10 and he considers that the designs in this work1 together with those in the ,book of ,canticles1 and the ,mirror of ,salvation1 were1 with the exception of the last ten cuts of the latter1 the production of the same artist1 or at any rate of artists of the same school2 all the others being of a different style1 and of inferior merit4 ,he regrets his inability to speak with certainty upon their age1 but relies upon the following note in ,dr4 ,dibdin's ,bibliotheca ,spenceriana1 7vol4 i4 p4 #d47 8,mr4 ,horn1 a gentleman long and well known for his familiar acquaintance with ancient books printed abroad was in possession of a copy of the ,biblia ,pauperum1 of the ,ars ,moriendi1 and of the ,apocalypse1 all bound in one volume1 which volume had upon the exterior of the cover1 the following words stamped at the extremity of the binding1 towards the edge of the squares3--#8,,hic ,,liber ,,relegatus ,,fuit ,,per ,,plebanum ,,ecclesie--,,anno ,,domini #adbh4' ,mr4 ,horn having broken up the volume and parted with its contents1 was enabled to supply me with the foregoing information upon the strength of his memory alone2 but he is quite confident of the three following particulars3--#a1 ,that the works1 contained in this volume1 were as have been just mentioned3--#b1 ,that the binding was the ancient legitimate one1 and that the treatise had not been subsequently introduced into it3--and #c1 ,that the date was #adb444odd--but positively anterior to the year #adcj40 ,this testimony ,mr4 ,ottley considers it ungracious to question2 but 8with all this10 he says1 8,i wish that the volume still existed entire1 or that1 at least1 the cover had been preserved4444 ,but1 whatever the antiquity of the first block-books1 which almost all writers are of opinion preceded the first attempts to print with moveable characters1 it is certain1 that for many years after the invention of typography1 the engravers in wood continued to publish works of this kind40#aac ,the most interesting of these works is the ,speculum ,human ,salvationis1 which in one of its four folio editions has the text partly in block1 and thus forms a connecting link between ,xylographic and ,typographic printing4 ,the whole of these four editions are thought by many to have been printed previous to ,gutenberg's first production at ,mentz4 ,they are attributed to ,coster and his descendants solely on account of the obscure passage in reference to them which occurs in the narrative of ,junius2 and because of that reference1 and their manifest superiority over others of the same class1 all those which resemble them in general appearance and style of types1 and that have neither initial1 date1 name or place1 to indicate by whom and when and where they were printed1 are in like manner claimed as the product of ,coster's ,press1 by every writer who from the days of ,meerman to the present1 has advocated the pretensions of ,haarlem in opposition to those of ,mentz to be the seat of the origin of the ,typographic ,art4#aad ,of these four editions1 the first and third1 says ,ottley1 are those in the ,latin language2 the second and fourth those in ,dutch4 ,the engravings are the same in each2 but differences exist in the texts2 and it is on the assumption that the text was printed previous to taking the impressions of the cuts1 that he deduces the order of the editions from the condition and appearance of the cuts4 ,according to this arrangement1 the text of the second edition is printed with the same type that was used in the first1 with the exception of two pages containing cuts #de and #ef1 the type of which is inferior to that of the rest of the book4 ,in the third edition 7the second ,latin7 twenty pages of the text are engraved on solid blocks4 ,the types of the text of the fourth edition1 although similar in appearance to those of the three preceding1 are somewhat smaller and coarser4#aae ,to account for these differences1 ,mr4 ,ottley has framed a theory which exactly fits the narrative given by ,junius1 viz3--that while the second edition 7the first ,dutch7 was in progress and nearly finished1 the original printer died and his types were stolen1 which compelled his successor1 who was unable to replace the original types1 either to use some older discarded ones1 or to avail himself of a supply of an inferior description in order to finish it2 that while the first ,dutch edition was in progress a second ,latin one was demanded1 to meet which1 and to bring both the ,dutch and the ,latin out as quick as possible1 the wood engraver was employed to make fac-similes of the texts of #bj pages2 and that for the fourth edition1 an old inferior fount was used4 ,and upon this theory he says1 7p4 #bih17 8,i am of opinion that the concluding passage of his 7,junius's7 narrative1 wherein1 upon the authority of ,nicholas ,galius and ,quirinus ,talesius1 he relates the story of the robbery which they had formerly more than once heard from the mouth of ,old ,cornelius the book-binder1 who in his youth had lived in the service of the printer who was robbed1 merits to be considered as one of the best attested accounts that we possess respecting the early history of typography406 ,but ,messrs4 ,berjeau1 ,bernard1#aaf ,paiele1#aag and ,humphreys1 who have also made the ,speculum a special subject of study1 do not admit the assumption that the text was printed before the cuts2 they adduce good arguments to shew that the impressions of the cuts might have been1 and probably were1 rubbed off before the text was printed2 and the character of the ,gothic framework of the cuts that surmount the pages with solid text1 being much plainer than that in those where moveable type is used1 affords strong ground for the belief that the edition in which they occur was the first instead of the third2 the first1 that is1 that was issued in a completed form2 for there can be no doubt but that the splendid copy owned by the late ,j4 ,b4 ,inglis1 ,esq41 was the first as regards the impression of the cuts1--the body of some of the scrolls in that copy having been left untouched by the wood engraver1 while in all others it is cut away4 ,this peculiarity it was that led ,mr4 ,ottley to the belief that it was the first completed edition1 both as regards cuts and texts2 while ,mr4 ,humphreys1 with more reason on his side1 considers that the edition with the twenty pages of xylographic text was the first4 8,the execution of the subjects10 he says1 7p4 #fj17 8is not equal to those of some of the pages with the typographic text1 and there is no foliage in the architectural spandrils4 ,this may serve to prove that the entirely xylographic pages were older than the typographic ones2 and that only a few of the best of them were used in the edition which has typographic texts to most of the illustrations40#aah ,the conclusion to which these writers have come1 upsets ,mr4 ,ottley's theory1 and renders nugatory his opinion1 that ,junius's story of the thief 8is one of the best attested accounts that we possess respecting the early history of typography40 ,the weight which is attached to ,mr4 ,ottley's deliverances on the subjects upon which he has written1 7and particularly in regard to the ,speculum1 to which four chapters of his work are devoted17 makes it necessary to consider with care whatever he advances upon matters wherein he is largely quoted as an authority by those who have not had similar opportunities for examining the documents upon which he bases his conclusions2 and as he does not scruple to denounce those as sophists whose arguments run counter to his own1 and to triumphantly expose any slips or inconsistencies which he can detect in the writings of those to whom he opposes himself1 it will be well to see whether he is himself free from the failings he so ruthlessly exposes in others4 ,on the question of the separable types which were used in the various editions of the ,speculum1 ,i shall therefore give his argument entire4 ,he first says--8this type appears to have been formed upon the exact model of the genuine black letter1 commonly used from an early period in ,holland1 and which is of almost constant occurrence in old ,dutch manuscript ,missals1 and other books of prayer4 ,it is similar1 in the forms and joinings of the letters1 and in the contractions used in it1 to what we often find in the most highly embellished books of devotion of the fourteenth century 444 this broad-faced type1 this genuine black-letter1 is a characteristic of early ,dutch typography4 ,this1 indeed1 is now so generally acknowledged by ,bibliographers1 that it is unnecessary to insist upon it further2 as every judge of old printing will at once declare1 upon looking at the ,speculum1 that the type it is printed with1 is ,dutch type40 ,to all which a ready assent may be given4 ,he proceeds as follows3-- 8,any person at all conversant with printing1 upon first viewing the ,speculum1 naturally determines that1 except the twenty pages of block-printing1 so often noticed1 in one of the ,latin editions1 it was printed with cast metal types4 ,upon an attentive examination of a page1 however1 he discovers small1 but yet1 sometimes1 very evident variations of form in different specimens of the same letter1 which it appears difficult to account for3 he finds1 perhaps1 by measurement1 that the same word1 although spelt exactly in the same manner1 does not always occupy the same space2 he is induced perhaps1 to hesitate as to the correctness of his first judgment1 and to suspect that the type was prepared by the painful and tedious operation of cutting each individual character on a separate piece of metal by the hand4 8,if he embrace the latter opinion1 he finds1 in the work before him1 ample cause to admire the invincible patience1 the skill1 and the exactness of the artist1 who could succeed1 not only in giving to the sculptured characters that general uniformity of appearance1 which at first occasioned him to consider them as cast type2 but even so strict a resemblance between perhaps a dozen specimens of the same letter in the first six lines of a page1 as to baffle the exertions of the most correct eye to detect any sensible difference between them1 except such as must necessarily occur even in the ordinary method of printing with cast type2 either in consequence of one letter happening to have been more used and worse than another1 more charged with printing ink1 or from an irregularity not unfrequent in ordinary presswork1 forced deeper into the paper than the rest40 ,having been 8conversant with printing0 for more than forty years1 during thirty-two of which ,i have been constantly engaged in superintending the passing of works through the press1 and in the general management of extensive private and public printing establishments1 and having besides a practical knowledge of the arts of wood-engraving1 stereotyping1 and type-founding1 ,i must own1 that the impression made on my mind upon examining the fac-similes of the ,speculum given in ,wetter's1 ,ottley's1 and ,humphreys' books1 was1 that the separable types used in printing that work were cut in wood1 and were not made of cast metal2 and the longer ,i have studied the subject1 the more satisfied ,i am1 that ,meerman was right in rejecting the opinion of ,ensched1#aai who was strenuously opposed to the idea of wooden types having been used4 ,the eye that has been trained to trace out and instantly detect the most minute differences in the shapes of letters of different founts of the same sized types1 from the largest of those ordinarily used in book-work to the smallest employed in newspapers1--to mark out for correction n's and p's and q's that have been turned upside down in order to serve for u's and d's and b's1 and vice vers1 as well as to reverse turned s's and o's--all common enough occurrences with careless compositors1 and which only practised eyes can detect2--the eye of a 8reader0 who has had only a few years' experience of such work cannot but note the multitudinous differences1 the variations in shape externally and internally1 of specimens of the same letters which occur in every line of the fac-simile pages of the ,speculum given in the books quoted2 and which cannot be accounted for by one being more worn than another1 or more or less charged with ink1 or more deeply pressed into the paper than the rest4 ,such imperfections are of a totally different character1 and produce appearances altogether dissimilar to those which distinguish the different specimens of the same letters in the same lines of the ,speculum one from the other4 ,looked at through a magnifying glass1 these differences are of course much more easily discernible1 and as they are of precisely the same kind that are found in the letters in the solid xylographic blocks1 the conviction finally forces itself upon the mind1 that such types could not have been cast1 but must have been cut1 and cut in wood4 ,in an examination of this nature1 the letters of a single page1 or at the most those of the two pages of a single sheet1 are all that can be attended to2 for in their early efforts1 the oldest printers usually printed but one small folio page1 and seldom if ever more than two such pages at a time2 and when as many copies as were wanted were struck off1 the types were broken up for the next page1 or two1 and so on until the work in hand was completed4 ,the types therefore that were used in the two pages first printed would constantly recur in all the following pages2 and it is principally owing to this recurrence of particular letters bearing on their faces some special peculiarity1 that the fact is detected that such ancient books as the ,speculum are printed with moveable letters4 ,mr4 ,ottley goes on3-- 8,but let him 7the person at all conversant with printing7 turn from the page which he has been examining1 to one of those printed from a wooden block2 ,,and ,,he ,,will ,,soon ,,be ,,convinced1 by the comparison1 that the uniformity of appearance which he witnessed in the characters of the former1 could not have been produced by means similar to those used in the execution of the latter2 for in the page printed from the engraved block he will discover1 throughout1 a sensible difference of form1 as well as dimensions1 between the various repetitions of the same letter3 and in the capital letters especially1 he will find this difference so material1 as to render it easy for him to trace with a point the precise variations of form by which1 for example1 each of a dozen letters1 ,s1 is to be distinguished from all the others4 ,it will then occur to him1 that it must have been a task of less difficulty to preserve uniformity in the shapes and dimensions of the letters1 in a page of text engraved upon a plain block of wood1 which would have afforded the artist not only the means of a constant comparison1 but also a convenient and steady rest for his hand during the operation of engraving1 than it could have been to cut the numerous characters required1 with so strict a resemblance to each other1 on small separate pieces of wood or metal2 and he will perceive his second opinion to be untenable40--7pp4 #beg-bei47 ,the means of such a comparison are afforded in the absolute fac-similes in ,mr4 ,humphreys' book1 and the differences of form and dimensions in the various repetitions of the same letter are not by any means so material as ,mr4 ,ottley intimates4 ,he moreover assumes1 that if the separate letters were cut by hand1 they must have been cut on 8separate pieces of wood or metal10 and therefore1 he argues1 there could not have been preserved the same uniformity 8in the shapes and dimensions of the letters10 as in a page of text engraved upon a plain block of wood1 because there would be lacking 8the means of a constant comparison10 as well as 8the convenient and steady rest for the hand during the operation of engraving40 ,but this assumption is utterly uncalled for4 ,what was to hinder the engraver1 after calculating the probable number of each kind of letter he required1 to trace the whole in alphabetical order on his blocks of wood1 and to engrave them all1 before he cut them into separate pieces8 ,he would thus have the best possible means for constantly comparing every specimen of the same letter1 as he proceeded with his task1 and be able to preserve a steady and convenient rest for his hand until all were sculptured out1 leaving the minor operation of separating the letters for use in combination to the very last moment4 ,but ,mr4 ,ottley forgets himself2 for in the next chapter1 after pointing out sundry differences in the orthography of the pages printed with moveable types in the two ,latin editions1 he writes 7p4 #bid73-- 8,if the pages printed from engraved blocks1 in the ,second ,latin ,edition1 be compared with same pages in the ,first ,edition1 we shall not find these changes4 8,although1 when ,i wrote upon this subject twenty years ago1 ,i was fully satisfied1 as ,i then said1 that the twenty pages of block printing in the ,second ,latin ,edition1 were of later date than the rest of the work1 and that they had been engraved for the express purpose of completing the copies of this edition2 still ,i was not then aware that such undeniable evidence existed of the fact1 as ,i afterwards discovered4 ,suffice it to say1 that1 upon an opportunity being afforded me of comparing this edition with the ,first ,latin1 ,i immediately perceived 7and ,i was rather gratified than surprised at the discovery7 that those twenty pages in the ,second ,latin are no other than fac-simile imitations of the same pages1 as printed with type in the first edition4 8,the printer1 or his successor1 as has been said1 having been deprived of the type hitherto used in the work1 printed the two pages wanting to complete his ,dutch edition with the remains of some old type1 a little different1 which had previously been thrown aside1 as no longer fit for use4 ,but in doing it1 he experienced1 perhaps1 more trouble than he anticipated2 and as twenty pages1 instead of two1 were wanting to complete the second ,latin edition1 he now bethought himself of another mode of procedure4 ,having taken from a copy of the first ,latin edition the ten sheets containing the twenty pages wanting to complete the second edition1 and having corrected with a pen a letter here and there misprinted1 he delivered those sheets to a wood engraver1 with directions to copy them exactly2 and the engraver executed the commission1 by first glueing these ten sheets with their face downwards upon ten prepared blocks of wood 7according to the method then used71 then1 rendering the paper transparent by oil or otherwise1 and lastly1 by cutting away the wood around the letters40 ,the whole of the last of these paragraphs1 it is to be remembered1 is purely conjectural2 there is not the slightest foundation for it1 beyond the necessity for thus accounting for a certain fact1 and making that fact dove-tail in with the writer's theory that the edition with twenty-pages of xylographic text was the second1 and not the first2 a theory which equally able writers1 writers too on the ,costerian side of the controversy1 deny2 maintaining1 with a better show of reason on their side1 that the xylographic edition was the first4 ,but apart from this consideration1 if the twenty pages engraved on blocks1 are fac-simile imitations of the twenty corresponding pages in the other ,latin edition1 what are we to think of ,mr4 ,ottley's previous assertion1 that in these identical pages1 there is 8throughout1 a sensible difference of form as well as dimensions between the various repetitions of the same letter2 and in the capital letters especially1 this difference is material408 ,both statements cannot be correct2 and how they are to be reconciled ,i know not4 ,after confessing that the changes of opinion he had previously described were those which had taken place in his own mind1 ,mr4 ,ottley proceeds3-- 8,at length the following mode occurred to me of accounting satisfactorily1 as ,i still think it does1 for the dissimilarities above noticed in the type of that work4 ,the type of the ,speculum was1 ,i conceive1 made by pouring melted lead1 pewter1 or other metal1 into moulds of earth or plaster1 formed1 whilst the earth or plaster was in a moist state1 upon letters cut by the hand in wood or metal2 in the ordinary manner used1 from time immemorial1 in casting statues of bronze and other articles of metal1 whether for use or ornament4 ,the mould thus formed could not be of long duration like a matrix1 cut or stamped in metal1 since it was obviously subject to fracture2 nor could it be equally true and perfect in other respects1 as it was liable to warp in drying4 ,from moulds thus constructed1 but a small number of specimens of each letter could be taken1 before they would require to be renewed4 ,this it is reasonable to suppose1 was effected by forming new moulds upon the various pieces which had been cast out of the old ones4 ,those characters however1 before they could have been fit for use1 it had been necessary to clear1 by means of the graver1 from certain small particles of extraneous metal left upon them by the process of casting2 so that the small accidental dissimilarities in different specimens of the same letter1 originally occasioned by this imperfect mode of casting them1 were necessarily augmented by the after process of finishing or clearing them with a sharp instrument1 7the marks of which are very clearly to be perceived in the type of the ,speculum72 and thus the renewed moulds1 formed upon the letters thus prepared1 would necessarily differ1 and in some cases very materially1 from the former moulds1 and also 7for these moulds could be multiplied at pleasure7 from each other4 ,that a book1 printed with type thus manufactured1 should present a never ending variety in the forms of the different specimens of the same letter1 is therefore not surprising2 it is rather a subject for our admiration that the dissimilarity in the characters in the work before us is not greater and more immediately apparent40 ,the above mode of accounting for the discrepancies in the appearances of the different specimens of the same letter1 is opposed to that put forward by ,koning1 who takes it for granted that the types were cast by the printer of the ,speculum in the same way1 and with the same kind of apparatus1 as that now used by type-founders1 only that the punches were made of hard wood1 and the matrices of lead or pewter2 and he accounts for certain peculiar fractures he had perceived in several instances on the top of the capital ,e as well as in a number of the capital ,m in which a part of the central upright stroke was broken in the middle1 by supposing that some of the punches had been continued in use after they had received small injuries4 ,on the supposition that the types of the ,speculum really were of cast metal1 ,koning's idea is much more reasonable than that of ,ottley2 but he is wrong in his notion that matrices could be struck in lead or pewter1 from punches of hard wood on which letters of the size and character of those used in the ,speculum had been engraved4 ,a few indifferent matrices might indeed be struck from some of the larger letters1 say the letter m1 but of the smaller ones1 and those which had fine hair strokes1 both capitals and minuscules1 the fine strokes and faces of the letters would invariably be crushed4 ,that1 at any rate1 is the result of a series of experiments made by the writer1 with the view of ascertaining whether with letters so engraved on wood and with the softest procurable sheet lead1 matrices could be struck from which types might be cast2 and in which he was not successful in a single instance4 ,admitting1 however1 for the moment1 that the printer of the ,speculum succeeded in striking a complete set of matrices2 it has been proved by experiments1 that from matrices of soft lead as many as from #abj to #aej letters can be cast1#abj before they are rendered useless2 only after #ej or #fj had been made1 the fine strokes would begin to thicken4 ,now it has already been shewn1 that the oldest printers did not put to press more than a single page1 or at most two pages1 at a time1 in their earliest attempts in the new art4 ,this is a fact1 acknowledged by every one who has made the ,incunabula of the ,fifteenth century a subject of special study4 ,admitting then that two pages of the ,speculum were printed together1 what amount of type1 and how many of each letter would be required for those two pages8 ,an analysis of the fac-simile given in ,mr4 ,humphreys' work yields the following results4 ,about #adcj separate types in the one page gives #bhfj as the number required for two4 ,the following figures 7twice the number occurring in the specimen page7 shew the numbers required of each of the letters most commonly used1 a #dd1 e #abb1 i #ahb1 o #adf1 u #gd1 d #dd1 h #bh1 m #fj1 n #ajj1 s #hd1 t #hb2 there are1 besides1 the following duplicate and triplicate characters1 of which no other printed work shews so large a number1--an1 ca1 c1 cc1 ce1 ch1 ci1 c1 co1 c1 ct1 cti1 cu1 c1 cp1 cy1 da1 d1 de1 d1 do1 du1 d1 e1 et1 ect1 fa1 f1 fe1 ff1 fi1 fl1 fo1 fr1 fu1 ga1 ge1 g1 gi1 go1 gu1 g1 gp1 gr1 gy1 ii1 ib1 in1 la1 le1 l1 li1 ll1 lle1 llz1 1 ori1 no1 n1 nu1 pe1 pp1 ra1 r1 re1 r1 ri1 ro1 r1 ru1 r1 ria1 sa1 se1 si1 so1 ss1 st1 ssi1 ssz1 ste1 ta1 t1 te1 t1 ti1 to1 tu1 t1 tri1--varying in the frequency of their occurrence from twice to twenty-two times1 leaving but #ajhb other letters for the rest of the alphabet1 including the capitals3 and of these last from #f to say #dj would be the utmost of each required4 ,it is thus shewn1 that out of the whole number of matrices1 upwards of #cjj1 which would be required for a complete fount1 not more than eight would be used up to or beyond the point where the fine strokes 7supposing the matrices to have been of soft lead7 would begun to thicken2 and of these it would be a most easy matter to provide duplicates or triplicates1 in order to preserve the uniformity of character aimed at by the first printers1 in imitation of the manuscripts they intended their works to supersede4 ,all the letters thus cast1 would moreover1 be fac-similes of each other1 and would not1 nay could not1 present those dissimilarities of appearance observable in specimens of the same letter occurring in every line of the ,speculum4 ,koning's idea is thus proved to be erroneous4 ,but ,ottley's is much more so4 ,types of the size of those used in the ,speculum could no doubt be cast in the way he describes1 either in plaster1 or in the fine prepared sand or earth used by workers in metal4 ,the original letter cut by hand would be the pattern type1 from which every mould for that description of letter would be made2 but the mould so made would suffice for but one specimen of that one letter2 for after it had dried1 and the fused metal had been poured in and cooled1 the cast letter could only be extracted by breaking away the earth or plaster in which it had been moulded2 and if the mould had been made with ordinary care by an expert workman1 the letter would turn out an exact fac-simile of the pattern on which the mould had been made4 ,there would not be the slightest necessity for clearing off particles of sand or plaster adhering to the face of the letter1 so as to leave upon it marks of the graving tool1 nor yet of continually re-casting new types in moulds made from others so disfigured4 ,from the one pattern type first made of each letter1 as many moulds as were wanted for the whole supply of every letter could be made1 before the operation of casting a single type was commenced2 and whatever defect was observed in any of the types after the casting1 could be much more satisfactorily remedied by a fresh cast in a mould from the original pattern1 than by graving the face of the letter and so altering its appearance4 ,the main object of casting the types was to make every letter the exact counterpart of its fellow2 and if the mode of casting was so imperfect1 that each one had to be touched up and cleared out with a graver1 before it could be used1 that object was defeated4 ,but for so complicated a process there was no need1 for wooden types can be cut and completed in much less time than would be occupied by the moulding1 drying1 casting1 clearing and touching up1 necessitated by the ,ottley-method of producing metal types4 ,this has also been proved by actual experiment3 and my previous conviction that the separable letters used in the ,speculum were1 and could only be1 hand-cut wooden types1 was thus still further confirmed4 ,the marks of the graver1 which1 as ,mr4 ,ottley points out1 8are very clearly to be perceived in the type of the ,speculum10 are just those that were produced by the 8letter-snyder0 in the course of cutting out his letters1 which1 as they were finished1 were sent direct from his hands to those of the printers4#aba ,the extraordinary number of duplicate and triplicate 7logographs7 as well as ligatured letters1 that are made use of in the ,speculum1 has already been referred to4 ,mr4 ,ottley considers that they are a proof of the antiquity of that work2 but in that direction they only exhibit a peculiarity which is not observable in other works3 they furnish however a strong argument in proof of the types of the ,speculum having been cut in wood4 ,for1 taking into account the limited number of letters required for that work 7printed but two pages at a time71 to cut ninety separate punches1 and to strike the same number of matrices1 when one-third of that number would suffice1 was a gratuitous waste of labour2 whereas1 in cutting wooden types sufficient for the composition of two pages1 a great saving of time would be effected by duplicating and triplicating as many characters as possible2 and not only would time and labour be thus saved1 but the types themselves1 by being double or treble the thickness of single letters1 would be so much the stronger and more durable4 ,but1 say certain writers1 amongst whom is ,wetter3 8,it is impossible to print with such small wooden types0 as those used in the ,speculum4#abb ,now ,wetter's object was to shew that the ,speculum was of a much later date than is attributed to it by ,dutch authorities1#abc and he argues that the types used must have been metal1 although ,meerman insists upon it that they were of wood4 ,it is singular that ,wetter should have committed himself to such a statement1 when in ,tab4 ,,ii4 of his work he has printed a whole column from wooden-types1 some of which are of the same size as those in the ,speculum4 ,possibly he considered that the numerous hair strokes1 and particularly those which front the capital ,a and the minuscule t1 7peculiarities found only in letters of the ,speculum school7 were too fragile to withstand the pressure of printing4 ,baron ,heinecken1#abd from whom ,wetter in all probability borrowed some of his ideas1 is of opinion that all the separable letters used in the four folio editions of the ,speculum were of cast metal1 and that they were printed by ,germans who imitated the ,gothic style of type first used by ,gutenberg at ,mentz4 ,in one place he writes3--8,it is almost certain that the ,speculum ,salvationis in ,latin was first printed in ,germany2 and that it was afterwards translated and printed in the ,low ,countries40 ,elsewhere he says1 8,i come at last to the new edition of the ,speculum1 which the printer ,johan ,veldener published in #adhc1 with his name1 in the ,flemish language4 ,the vignettes which are placed at the head of each discourse1 are the same as those we see in the ancient editions4 ,he cut the engraved blocks1 which represented always two sacred or historical subjects1 sawing through the middle of the central pillar which divided them1 so as to make them into two pieces1 in order to insert them in this new edition1 which is in small #dto40 8,it was probably ,theodore ,martens10 he remarks further on1 8that brought these vignettes with him from ,germany1 or from ,france4444 ,we may also conjecture that ,johan of ,westphalia was the printer of the first ,flemish editions1 and that ,veldener received the blocks from him4444 ,veldener1 after having learned ,typography at ,cologne1 went to live at ,louvain1 where he printed in #adgf1 among other books1 the ,fasciculus ,temporum in ,latin1 with figures engraved in wood4 ,this same printer afterward went to ,utrecht1 where in #adhj1 he published the same work in ,flemish1 introducing also the same cuts which he had brought with him from ,louvain4444 ,nothing seems more natural than that he should have brought with him from ,cologne the ancient moulds or matrices1 from which the rude type of the two first ,flemish editions of the ,speculum already spoken of was cast2 nothing more reasonable1 than that he should afterward abandon that type at ,louvain or at ,utrecht1 or rather at ,culemborch1 after having made better2 for he was certainly a man of enterprise and genius40 ,heinecken concludes this part of his argument by saying1 8,i trust that this extravagant notion of finding books1 and sometimes even large volumes1 printed with these moveable characters of wood1 will by degrees cease1 and that able printers may be found1 who will shew the impossibility of it40 ,there is not however1 any impossibility in the matter4 ,box wood will bear printing from better than soft lead2 and ,mr4 ,blades has demonstrated that types of unhardened lead can be used at an ordinary printing press1--the half of plate ,,ix4 ,b1 in the #b;d volume of his ,life and ,typography of ,william ,caxton being printed from such types4 ,argument however is needless in the presence of a fact1 and in the word ,art here given1 each of the three letters is separately engraved on a piece of box-wood1 the shanks of the letters being two sizes smaller than those of the ,speculum1 while a portion of the upper part of the capital overhangs its shank2 each letter is also perforated and nicked1 and is therefore altogether weaker than a letter of the same size as in the ,speculum would be4 ,as a proof that it was perfectly possible for such works as the ,speculum to have been printed with wooden types1 three such letters are as good as three thousand2 and letters with the finest strokes most exposed to damage have been purposely selected1 in order to demonstrate the fact4 ,the existence in the middle of the ,fifteenth century of ,guilds or confraternities of trades connected with book-making1 in ,antwerp1 ,bruges1 and ,brussels1 amongst whom were included #8,prenters1' #8,letter-1' and #8,form-snyders1' and #8,beelde-makers2'--,letter and ,form and ,figure engravers1 and those who printed them2--is brought forward as a part of the 8vast mass0 of so-called 8unanswerable evidence10 which sustains the claims of ,coster and ,haarlem to be the man and the place by whom and where the ,art of ,typography was invented4 8,the #8figure engravers' 7writes ,mr4 ,blades17 were doubtless the artists of the playing cards1 the images of saints1 and the block-books1 then manufactured to a great extent in ,holland and ,flanders4 ,the term #8letter engraver' may have been applied to the sculptor of the legends on the block-books1 when not executed by the same artist as the figure itself1 but of this there is no evidence1 and it seems far from impossible that the term was used to denote artists employed to produce moveable types4 ,the #8printers' were doubtless workmen who took the impressions1 whether by friction or a press1 from the engraved blocks delivered to them2 but there is no reason to restrict the meaning of the word1 and the same term was from the commencement always applied to printers from moveable types4 ,there is therefore1 prim facie1 evidence to support the supposition that at a very early period there were workmen in ,bruges who employed themselves1 albeit in a very rudimentary way1 in printing from moveable types40 ,but if moveable types were at this date in use at ,bruges or elsewhere in ,holland1 and if these were of cast fusile metal1 how comes it that 8,letter-zetters0 and 8,letter-geiters10--compositors and type-founders1--are not included among the crafts incorporated by the ,guilds8 ,how comes it1 too1 that no mention is made of the 8,drukker10 and the 8,drukkers-maker0--the press and press-maker8 8,printer0 is a common enough term applied to pressmen now-a-days1 but as late as #aded it had an exclusive reference to the producer of prints--the printers of the figures sculptured by the 8,beelde-makers0 on the solid blocks2 and it may safely be inferred that these prints were produced after the ,chinese manner1 by friction1 seeing that the term 8,drukker10 is that which is applied amongst the ,dutch to letter-press printers1--the pressmen of modern days4 ,if1 moreover1 from the mention of 8letter engravers0 and 8printers0 in the records of the ,dutch ,guilds referred to1 we are to understand that there is 8prim facie evidence to support the supposition that at a very early period there were workmen 444 who employed themselves in working from moveable types10--typographic printers in fact1--then1 upon the same ground1 it must be admitted that there is prim facie evidence for admitting the priority of the art in various parts of ,germany1 for as early as #adbh we find a record of a 8letter-printer10 one ,wilhelm ,kegler1 at ,nrdlingen1 besides card-makers at ,augsburg in #adah4 ,and in #addj there is found a record of ,henne ,cruse of ,mayence1 one of the fraternity1 on the roll of the citizens of ,frankfort4#abe ,but so far from there being any such prim facie evidence1 the inference to be drawn lies1 ,i think1 in an opposite direction2 and the absence of all mention of 8,letter-zetters10 8,letter-geiters10 8,drukkers10 and 8,drukker-makers10 is rather to be considered a proof that they were not then known2 that moveable types and presses had not at that time been introduced2 and that 8,letter-snyders10 and 8,prenters0 were wholly and solely engaged upon block-books1 just as much as the 8,beelde-makers10 the figure-engravers were4 8,the general opinion of late writers10#abf ,mr4 ,blades continues1 8is1 that the art was first perfected at ,mentz 444 but that nevertheless the earliest use of moveable types must be recognized in the rude specimens attributed to ,laurence ,coster of ,haarlem4 ,coster died in #addj1 and nothing is known to have issued from his press between that period and #adhc2 but what became of his assistants8 ,did they1 after gaining some insight into the curious effects of ,coster's trials1 resign all further attempts1 or did they seek to imitate him1 some in one town1 some in another80 ,these are very pertinent questions1 inasmuch as if they are asked in reference to the assistants of ,gutenberg1 ,faust and ,schffer1 they can be answered in the affirmative1 and their respective movements traced4 ,but asked with reference to ,coster1 the disappointing answer is1 8,,no ,,one ,,knows20 yet it seems more than probable that experiments in the direction of printing from moveable types were making about this period in every city where wood engraving and block-printing were practised4444 ,the idea was simple enough1 in the execution was the difficulty4 ,nor need the opinion that at ,bruges there existed at a very early period rude printers1 be based on the notice of #8letter-snyders' and #8prenters' only2 there has fortunately been preserved in the ,archives at ,lille an original manuscript1 containing a diary of ,jean le ,robert1 ,abb de ,s4 ,aubert de ,cambrai1 among the entries in which the two following are especially worthy of notice3-- 8,item pour 4j4 doctrinal gette en molle anuoiet querre a ,brug4 par ,marquet 4j4 escripuain de ,vallen4 ou mois de jenuier xlv4 pour ,jaq4 xx4 s4t40 8,item enuoiet ,arras 4j4 doctrinal pour apprendre ledit d4 ,girard qui fu accatez a ,vallen4 et estoit jettez en molle et cousta xxiiij4 gr4 ,se me renuoia led4 doctrinal le jour de ,touss4 lan4 4lj4 disans quil ne falloit rien et estoit tout faulx4 ,sen anoit accate 4j4 x patt4 en4 papier40#abg 8,item4 ,for a printed ,doctrinal 7doctrinal gette en molle7 that ,i have sent for to ,bruges1 by ,marquet1 a writer of ,valenciennes1 in the month of ,january1 #adde 7i4 e4 #addf7 for ,jacquet1 xx sous tournois40 8,item4 ,sent to ,arras a ,doctrinal for the instruction of dom4 ,gerard1 which was purchased at ,valenciennes1 and was printed 7jettez en molle7 and cost xxiiij4 gros4 ,the same ,doctrinal he returned to me on ,christmas ,day #adea1 saying #8it was worthless1 and full of errors2' he had bought one on paper for xx patards40 ,in these memoranda1 says ,mr4 ,humphreys1 7pp4 #ff-fg7 8we have positive proof that printed ,doctrinals were commonly sold in ,flanders in #adde2 and ,m4 ,bernard was the first to elucidate the full value and bearing of this passage1 of which ,m4 ,van ,praet1#abh who had already mentioned it1 failed to see the drift1 from not understanding the meaning of the term gette1 or rather jette1 en molle1 which simply means cast in a mould1 in reference to the metallic types1 which were so cast4 ,that ,m4 ,bernard is correct in his explanation of the term1 is clearly proved by many passages having reference to the same subject1 in which the term is used as one well understood4 ,for instance1 in the letters of naturalization accorded to the first printers with moveable types established in ,paris1 a document dated #adgd 7old style7 the terms ecriture en molle or writing by means of moulds1 or moulded letters1 is used4 ,also1 in #adif1 on the occasion of the purchase of two books of prayer by the ,duke of ,orleans1 the ,constable describes them as both escrites en moule4 ,also1 in the list of furniture and books of ,anne of ,britanny about the same time1 books are mentioned #8tant en parchemin que en papier1 la main1 et en molle2' that is1 both on vellum and on paper1 both manuscript and printed40 ,commenting upon these memoranda1 ,mr4 ,blades exclaims1 8,jettez en molle6--,cast in a mould6 ,what can this expression mean1 except that the #8,doctrinals' were printed from cast types8 ,as applied to manuscripts1 or to stencilling1 or to block-printing1 #8jettez en molle' has no meaning whatever40 8,drowning men10 it has well been said1 8will clutch at a straw10 and surely a consciousness of the peril in which their argument stood1 must have made the above writers clutch at ,abb ,jean le ,robert's memoranda in the way they have4 ,it may be admitted1 that the phrase 8 la main1 et en molle10 means 8both manuscript and printed20 but upon what fair principle of philology ,m4 ,bernard and ,mr4 ,humphreys make out that the words 8jettez en molle10 8ecriture en molle10 and 8escrites en moule10 mean 8cast in a mould1 in reference to the metallic types which were so cast10 and 8writing by means of moulds1 or moulded letters20 is more than ,i can make out4 ,they may certainly be understood in such a sense now1 but when originally used they could only have referred to the moulded appearance1--the indented impressions on the leaves of the book1 totally irrespective of the types or blocks by which such appearance was produced4 ,certainly1 as applied to manuscripts1 the phrase 8jettez en molle0 has no meaning4 ,but with all deference to ,mr4 ,blades1 whose 8,life and ,typography of ,william ,caxton10 is a work of the highest possible merit with reference to all that concerns the introduction of ,printing into ,england1--the words in question are pregnant with meaning in regard to both block-printing and stencilling4 ,every one acquainted with the ordinary processes of printing must know1 that freshly-printed paper has exactly the appearance of having been moulded2 the damped paper1 in fact1 is actually moulded on the type or wood-engraving1 by the forcible pressure brought to bear upon it1 and on being released from that pressure1 the paper cast that has been made brings away with it1 on removal1 the colouring matter with which the blocks or types have been inked4 ,in the old solid blocks1 when the hollows cut to leave in relief the characters used for the ,school-books--the ,donatuses and ,doctrinals--would be wider1 deeper1 and more irregular than in the more modern types1 this indented and moulded appearance would be much more apparent1 especially when impressions were taken by the ,chinese method of rubbing the back of the paper1 and the printer was careless about smoothing out and obliterating the evidences of indentation1 in the manner adopted by typographers now-a-days4 ,in stencilling too1 the perforated plate1 when laid upon the paper1 became to all intents and purposes a mould4 ,the bottom of the mould was the surface of the paper on which1 through the perforations in the plate1 the ink or pigment would be brushed1 the paper being thus made to take a coloured cast of the hollows in the plate4 ,with reference to either process therefore1 the phrase 8jettez en molle0 might most naturally be used to express on the part of any one ignorant of the process of printing1 the appearance of a book which he knew was not written1 but which bore upon its face the evidence of having1 in some way or other1 been cast or moulded4 ,as this evidence would appear the same1 or nearly so1 whether produced from engraved blocks1 or from separable letters1 the phrase would be just as applicable in the one case as in the other4 ,when thus examined1 the assertion that 8jettez en molle0 means1 and can only mean1 8printed from cast types10 is deprived of all its weight1 and the phrase itself is valueless as an evidence that cast types were in use at ,bruges1 or elsewhere in ,holland1 at the time when ,abb ,jean le ,robert wrote his diary4 ,xylographic and typographic productions1 as well as that edition of the ,mirror of ,human ,salvation which partook of the nature of both1 may therefore be described alike1 as books 8jettez en molle40 ,but in endeavouring to ascertain the time when this latter work was printed1 there are still two important points to be considered2 and these are1 the age of the paper1 and the date of the costume and armour of the figures represented in the vignettes4 ,on both of these points ,mr4 ,ottley's writings are most instructive4 ,as regards the first1 the only guides are the paper-marks1 and as the same marks continued to be used by manufacturers for many successive years1 it follows1 that although the ,speculum might possibly have been printed when peculiar marks were first made use of1 the printing may1 just as likely1 not have taken place till many years later3 the only certainty1 therefore1 that an undated paper-mark affords1 is1 that the work in which it appears could not have been printed prior to the time when it has been ascertained that that particular mark was originally introduced4 ,the marks observed in the paper on which the earliest edition of the ,speculum is printed1 consist of a fleur-de-lis 7or anchor7 an unicorn1 two keys side by side1 a hand1 a ,st4 ,catharine wheel1 a circle enclosing the letters ,m ,a with a coat of arms beneath2 and the letter ,p2 and in the later ,latin edition1 the letter ,y4 ,these three last are considered the most important1 and are dealt with as such by ,mr4 ,koning4 ,as to the circle with the letters and coat of arms1 he says1 the initials signify without doubt1 the initials of ,margaret1 widow of ,william1 ,count of ,holland1 and the mother of the ,countess ,jacqueline1 the arms being those of ,bavaria1 whence he concludes1 that the paper was manufactured during the reign of the ,countess ,jacqueline in ,brabant and ,hainault1 after her marriage with the ,dauphin1 and before the treaty of transfer made to ,philip of ,burgundy in #adcc1 it being the custom of manufacturers of paper in the fifteenth century to put the arms of their sovereigns in their marks4 ,mr4 ,ottley1 however1 points out1 that this usage was rare before the latter part of the century1 although afterwards the practise became common4 ,the letter ,p1 which ,koning considers to have been the initial of ,philip of ,burgundy 7who reigned in ,brabant from #adcj to #adfg17 was found by him1 he says1 in a memorandum of accounts of the date #adcb2 and he remarks further1 that 8a large proportion of the books printed in ,holland in the latter part of the fifteenth century1 have this paper-mark1 which will never be found in any book1 nor in any paper1 coming from ,germany or from ,italy40 ,this last assertion ,mr4 ,ottley disproves1 by citing several instances of its occurrence in various works of ,zell1 as well as the marks of the unicorn1 the two keys1 and the capital ,y1 c41 shewing1 as he says1 that ,koning has 8erred egregiously40 ,he also says 7note1 p4 #afj17 8,the supposed initial of ,philip the ,bold is very doubtful4 ,i have reason to believe that the paper on which it is found was made in ,italy40 ,and he moreover shews1 that he could not find it in any of ,mr4 ,koning's tracings1 earlier than #adec4 ,he himself saw it 8in company with other papers which he thought not to be older than #adch2 but in a dated book he did not find it earlier than #adde40 8,the letter ,y10 says ,mr4 ,koning1 8is1 without doubt1 the initial of ,ysabel of ,portugal1 who was married to ,philip le ,bon in #adcj40 ,mr4 ,koning sums up the third chapter of his book by saying1 8the paper-marks prove that the said works were published between the years #adbj and #addj2 since it appears from what has been said above1 that the paper of the first ,dutch edition 7of the ,speculum7 which is evidently the most ancient1 bears alone the marks which are the most ancient2 that is to say1 the arms of ,bavaria which were used by the paper-makers in the reign of the ,countess ,jacqueline1 and consequently1 before the year #adbh2 and that the paper of the second or third edition of the ,speculum bears the letter ,p1 the mark of the sovereign ,philip of ,burgundy1 which certainly was not in usage until the year #adbe40 ,upon all this ,mr4 ,ottley thus comments3--7pp4 #afc-afd74 8,now1 with respect to the ,gothic letter ,p1 which was so much used on paper1 from the middle of the fifteenth to the early part of the sixteenth century1 ,i shall not take upon me to deny ,mr4 ,koning's assertion1 that it is to be considered as the initial of ,philip of ,burgundy2 although1 as it appears to have been used in other parts1 as well as in his dominions1 and continued so long after his death 7as was the ,y also1 after that of ,ysabel1 the wife of ,philip71 the fact may be doubted4 ,as to ,mr4 ,koning's hypothesis1 concerning the two paper-marks with the arms of ,bavaria1 it is certainly ingenious3 and1 had he proved that the paper so marked1 was manufactured in the dominions of ,jacqueline1 or of her mother ,margaret1 at the early period he speaks of1 ,i should have thought it so strong a circumstance1 in favour of that edition of the ,speculum in which those paper-marks occur1 that ,i should have felt disposed to carry back the three preceding editions of that work 7for it certainly is the fourth7 to a very remote period indeed1 rather than have denied that it was printed at the early date he has assigned to it4 ,but first1 ,mr4 ,koning has brought no evidence to shew that the paper was made in ,brabant2 7for the circumstance1 supposing it true1 that all the paper used in those times1 at ,haarlem1 came from that great commercial dept1 ,antwerp1 proves nothing1 since paper coming from different parts1 was doubtless sold there72 and1 secondly1 we have no proof that it was made at that early period4 ,suffice it for me to add1 that neither of these paper-marks was to be found among the tracings1 made by ,mr4 ,koning from the ancient registers of ,haarlem1 which1 as ,i have said1 he was so good as to lend to me2 and that after a diligent search of several months in the extensive collections of original ,books of ,accounts1 from #aceb to about #adgj1 in the archives at the ,hague1 ,i was unable to discover either of them2 though at length ,i chanced to find them both1 in a book in sq4 fol4 obligingly lent to me by ,mr4 ,de ,jonge1 now the principal archivist at the ,hague2 viz4 the ,fasciculus ,temporum in ,dutch1 printed at ,utrecht1 by ,joh4 ,veldener1 in #adhj2 though perhaps the paper was not made from the same identical sieves or moulds1 as the paper that is found in the ,speculum40 ,thus then1 ,mr4 ,ottley1 who 8shews a determined inclination to favour the claims of ,laurent ,coster10#abi also shews1 that ,m4 ,koning1 who obtained the prize from the ,dutch ,society of ,arts and ,sciences at ,haarlem1 for the best dissertation in support of the ancient tradition that the ,art of ,printing was invented in that city1--is wrong in his assertions in regard to the paper-marks2 and that the earliest instances of the occurrence of those to which ,koning chiefly refers1 the ,gothic ,p1 and the arms of ,bavaria1 are in the years #adde1 #adec1 and #adhj4 ,it follows therefore1 from the evidence of the paper-marks1 that the printing of the ,speculum could not have taken place before #adde2 that most probably it was not printed earlier than #adec2 and that it may not have issued from the press before even #adhj4 ,consequently1 as the ,speculum was the first ,dutch work printed with separable types1 it cannot claim priority over the invention of ,gutenberg1 which1 as has been shewn in the preceding chapter1 must have been previous to #adcf4 ,as to the costume and armour of the figures in the vignettes of the ,speculum1#acj the following extracts from ,sir ,samuel ,meyrick's letter to ,mr4 ,ottley1 and the observations of the latter thereon1 are most pertinent4 ,sir ,samuel says3-- 8,next to actual dates1 there is no criterion of age so sure as ,costume1 which1 changing on an average within every ten years1 fixes the real period1 almost precisely2 especially1 as1 all its parts not varying at the same moment1 the one rectifies the vagueness of the other4 ,after costume1 ornament is a fair guide1 as is architecture2 and next to these1 the style of writing1 where the subject is a manuscript4 8,you are1 no doubt1 well aware that the designers of the middle ages1 until the latter part of the seventeenth century1 always dressed their figures from the objects before their eyes2 and those writers who would fabricate descriptions of what they wished should be supposed to have occurred before their times1 always used the terms of costume applicable to their own period40 ,then follow numerous illustrations and references1 in proof of the position laid down2 amongst which are the different articles of armour used from the reigns of ,edward ,i1 to ,henry ,,viii4 ,with reference to some of these articles1 ,sir ,s4 ,meyrick continues3-- 8,on comparing these with what appears in the woodcuts to the ,speculum1 the identity will be evident4 ,it is true that their use continued till the close of the fifteenth century2 but this authority shews that they were also known at its commencement4444 8,on a careful review and consideration of the whole1 ,i am inclined to think1 that the wood-blocks of the ,speculum cannot be of later date than #adce1 and that they may be a little earlier2 nor is this opinion in the least degree shaken on an examination of the rest1 besides that of which you more particularly asked it40 ,but ,mr4 ,ottley will not venture to assign to the woodcuts so early a date4 ,he says3-- 8,i believe all will agree with ,dr4 ,meyrick1 that the artists of the times we are speaking of1 and of earlier as well as much later periods1 were universally accustomed to dress their figures according to the fashion of their own day1 whatever the age of the subject they had to represent2 and that1 therefore costume 7and ,i might add1 the style of art7 affords1 next to actual dates1 the surest means of determining the age of an illuminated manuscript or other monument4 8,but1 ,i suspect1 if ,dr4 ,meyrick means to speak generally1 that he goes too far1 when he says that1 by such means1 the true date of a work of art is to be ascertained to within the short period of five or ten years4 8,in the early times we are speaking of1 the main articles of dress continued so nearly the same for great part of a century1 that the same suit of armour1 and the same gown1 descended from father to son1 and from mother to daughter1 and when altered1 perhaps1 in certain small details1 rendering them so far conformable to the particular fashion of the day1 served even for a third generation4 ,these small details1 ,i admit1 may in many cases greatly help us2 and will sometimes point to a period of very small duration4 ,but ,i suspect1 that the exact date when one fashion had its commencement1 and another went out1 is known but in very few instances2 and it can scarce be doubted but that in one country--nay in one part of the same country--certain fashions continued to prevail for some time after they had been discontinued in another4 8,in addition to this1 it seems probable1 from the great costliness of armour1 that when a suit1 or part of a suit1 had become too much out of fashion to be any longer worn by a man of rank1 it would1 instead of being thrown aside as useless lumber1 be often handed over to one of his dependents3 and in consequence1 in designs and illuminations done in these times1 it might happen that subordinate figures would here and there appear1 dressed in costume of a more ancient character than the principal personages4 8,again1 ,i think1 that an artist advanced in years1 when illuminating a manuscript1 or making designs to engrave from1 would often be likely1 from habit1 to represent his figures in costume more or less resembling that which had prevailed in his younger days1 when he made his studies2 and1 hence1 although he would scarcely fail to introduce also certain new changes of fashion1 too remarkable to be overlooked1 his work on the whole1 would savour more of the costume of former days1 than would be the case with the performance of a younger artist1 executed at the same time4 8,but our means of forming a correct judgment of the date of these cuts1 are not in all respects so complete1 as those which enable us to determine the country 444 ,holland has no monumental effigies of these times1 to which we may refer as authorities 444 still1 did ,holland herself furnish us with more numerous authorities1 we should1 ,i think1 be enabled to determine the date of the work in question1 with fuller confidence than we can do under the existing circumstances4 8,to conclude--,i have found nothing in the costume of the cuts of the ,speculum1 that appears to me to militate directly against the supposition that they may be of the early date ,dr4 ,meyrick has assigned to them1 and1 although the argument produced by that gentleman to shew that they cannot be later1 is not perhaps in all respects conclusive1 still1 considering all the circumstances1 ,i could with difficulty persuade myself that the work was not commenced1 at least1 within a few years of the period he has supposed1 and certainly1 ,i should say1 not later than #adej40 ,these reasons1 and the conclusion they lead to1 on the part of a writer so decidedly ,costerian as ,mr4 ,ottley undoubtedly is1 are very important in a controversy of the kind such as that with which we are dealing4 ,the #eh cuts of two designs each1 and their engraving on wood1 together with the twenty pages of texts1 similarly engraved1 must have taken a very considerable time to complete1 on the part of the artist 8,beelde-maker10 and 8,letter-snyder10 employed upon them4 ,supposing then the work of engraving the cuts was commenced in #adej1 and the whole work was completed in three years1 we are brought back to the same date for the earliest probable original printing of the ,speculum1 that we reached from a consideration of the paper-marks1 a few pages previous2 that is1 at least thirteen years subsequent to the death of the man1 whom ,junius calls the first printer1 and who1 all those who have adopted his narrative1 insist upon it1 was1 by the printing of that book1 the original inventor and first practiser of ,typography in ,europe2 but which1 as we have seen1 could not have appeared until more than seventeen years had passed away from the time when ,gutenberg first made his separable metal types at ,strasburg4 ,enough1 and more than enough1 has already been stated1 to prove that ,laurent ,janssoen ,coster was not the inventor1 nor ,haarlem1 the birthplace of the ,typographic ,art2 and that the ,speculum ,human ,salvationis1 the first ,dutch book printed with separable letters was not1 and could not have been1 printed at the place where1 and by the man to whom1 from #aehh to #ahga1 a host of writers1 following the lead of ,junius1 have attributed it4 ,but it may fairly be asked1--,if that work1 as well as the others which have been imputed to ,coster1 were not the products of his press1 by whom then were they printed8 ,this question1 although one of those seemingly more easily asked than answered1 is yet one that need not be shrunk from1 inasmuch as in the far-off vista of antiquity1 and amid the dim mists of uncertainty which encompass it1 certain ancient landmarks are perceivable1 which may serve to guide the inquirer1 and possibly help him to arrive at convictions capable of enduring the test of examinations as potent and searching as the touch of an ,ithuriel's spear4 ,reference has more than once been made to the impulse given to learning at the end of the fourteenth and the beginning of the fifteenth centuries4 ,this movement was helped forward by no one in ,holland and ,germany more than by ,gerhard ,groote1 or ,magnus1 of ,deventer1 7b4 #acbf1 d4 #acgj71 who after studying theology at ,paris1 became a canon of ,utrecht and ,aix-la-,chapelle1 and founded the ,order of the ,brethren and ,clerks of the ,common ,life1 generally known as the 8,gemeineslebens10 or 8,frres de la ,vie ,commune10 but sometimes confounded with the ,beghards and ,lollhards of an earlier time4 ,the headquarters of the ,brotherhood was at ,deventer1 where a ,college was built and inhabited by them in the year #adjj4 ,receiving the approval of the ,council of ,constance1 the ,order was propagated throughout ,holland1 ,lower ,germany1 and other provinces4 8,it was divided into the literary ,brethren or ,clerks1 and the unlearned ,brethren1 who lived in different houses1 but in bonds of the greatest friendship4 ,the ,clerks devoted themselves to transcribing books1 the cultivation of polite learning1 and the instruction of youth2 and they erected schools wherever they went4 ,the ,brethren laboured with their hands1 and pursued various mechanic trades4 ,neither were under the restraint of religious vows2 but still they ate at a common table1 and had a general community of goods4 ,the ,sisters lived in nearly the same manner1 and the time which was not employed in prayer and reading1 they devoted to education of female children1 and to such labours as were suitable for their sex4 ,the schools of these ,clerks of the ,common ,life were very celebrated in this century1 and in them were trained nearly all the restorers of polite learning in ,germany and ,holland2 and among others the great ,erasmus of ,rotterdam1 ,alexander ,hegius1 ,john ,murmelius and others40 ,thus far ,mosheim4 ,hallam1 in his 8,introduction to the ,literature of ,europe10 says1 8they were distinguished by their strict lives1 their community1 at least a partial one1 of goods1 their industry in manual labour1 their tendency to mysticism4 ,but they were as strikingly distinguished by the cultivation of knowledge1 which was encouraged in brethren of sufficient capacity1 and promoted by schools1 both for primary and for enlarged education4 ,these schools were1 says ,eichhorn1 #8the first genuine nurseries of literature in ,germany1 so far as it depended on the knowledge of languages2 and in them was first taught the ,latin1 and in the process of time the ,greek1 and ,eastern tongues4' ,some of them1 such as that of ,st4 ,edward's at ,groningen1 and the one at ,zwoll1 presided over by ,thomas ,kempis1 were of considerable reputation4 ,in the year #adcj they had established as many as forty-five houses in ,germany and the ,low ,countries1 and in #adfj they had more than thrice that number4 ,amongst other occupations1 they busied themselves in copying and binding books40 ,bound to live by labour1 and under a semi-ascetic discipline1 self-abnegation was a distinguishing characteristic of the ,frres de la ,vie ,commune2 while the instruction of youth1 and the promotion of piety1 were the objects to which they devoted their lives and labours4 ,the multiplication of books1 which formed a portion of their occupations1 could not but prove a powerful means for assisting them to the attainment of the objects which they had at heart4 ,these books were naturally divided into educational and devotional1 according to the classes of individuals for whose use they were designed4 ,among the former would be ,a ,b ,c ,dariums1 ,catonis ,disticha1 ,donatuses1 ,doctrinals1 and such like4 ,among the latter1 the ,poor ,man's ,bible1 the ,apocalypse of ,st4 ,john1 the ,book of ,canticles1 the ,history of the ,virgin1 the ,arts of ,memory and ,dying1 and the ,mirror of ,human ,salvation4 ,as the operations of the ,brotherhood extended1 and their schools increased1 the greater would be the demand for the above works1 and the more laborious the efforts of the copyists to meet that demand4 ,at their establishments1 whether at ,deventer1 ,bruges1 ,brussels1 ,zwolle1 or elsewhere1 artists and illuminators would be found among their ranks4 ,and as ,zwolle is known to have been a very early seat of the engraver's art1 such pictorial embellishments as these artists designed would speedily be transferred to wood4 ,that such was the case1 and that ,zwolle was the place where ,block-books were first produced1 seems to be certain1 from the fact that in #adhi the ,brethren there used the original blocks of the ,biblia ,pauperum in printing the work 8,passye ende dat ,leven van onsers liefs hern40 ,the silver cross and arms of ,zwolle are also to be found in the cuts of the ,book of ,canticles4 ,as the labours of the copyists increased1 and as scrolls and inscriptions were added to the engraved figures1 and the art of the #8letter-snyder' was called in to assist that of the #8beelde-maker1' and the #8formen-' and #8figure-snyder1' there can be no question but that it not unfrequently occurred to the minds of thoughtful copyists1 that whole texts of books could be so engraved4 ,a representation to that effect to the chief of the brotherhood would lead to an order to carry the idea into execution4 ,in the descriptive text of the ,ars ,moriendi and like works1 and in the twenty xylographic pages of the first ,latin edition of the 8,mirror of ,salvation10 we see the realization of the idea4 ,but in the course of continually cutting the letters on the wood1 an intelligent #8letter-snyder' would be struck by the constant recurrence of certain letters and combinations of letters1--a fact much more likely to attract his attention than a copyist's1--and he would find1 in counting over these letters1 that his future labours could be greatly abridged1 by merely cutting as many separate letters and combinations of each sort1 as would suffice for printing a page or two at a time2 the same letters answering again and again for the work in hand1 or for any other that might be required4 ,in the reduction of this idea to practice1 the reason may be seen why the first edition of the ,speculum is partly xylographic and partly typographic4 ,the success attending these first ,dutch efforts at printing with separable types would at once lead to further applications of the art in the production of elementary educational books2 and as the reputation of the ,brethren as schoolmasters was great1 and they were often invited and sent for by the magistrates of cities to open schools in ,germany as well as in ,holland1 they would carry such books with them4 ,the fact of fragments of early ,donatuses and ,doctrinals being found in ,germany is thus accounted for1 without any necessity for supposing1 with ,junius and his followers1 that the types from which they were printed were stolen from ,coster of ,haarlem1 and carried away to ,mentz3 while sets of types cut by different #8letter-snyders' would also account for the differences observed in the typography of the four folio editions of the ,speculum4 ,bearing in mind then1 the objects to which the ,brethren and ,clerks of the ,common ,life devoted themselves2--the classes of books1 educational and devotional1 of which the block-books consisted1 and their special adaptability to promote the objects of the fraternity3--the fact1 that ,zwolle was one of the earliest seats of the engraver's art1 as well as a central station of the brotherhood2--that the original blocks of the ,biblia ,pauperum were reproduced at the ,brethren's printing press there in #adhi2--that large editions of these works were never required1#aca and that therefore one printing establishment might suffice for the needs in this respect of the whole fraternity2--that the arms of the city were engraved on one of these books1 the ,song of ,songs2--that all those with pictorial embellishments1 claimed as ,costerian productions1 are1 in the opinion of so competent a judge as ,ottley1 the work of the same artist1 or at least of the same school1 as regards design and execution1 as the ,biblia ,pauperum2--and that from the paper-marks1 as well as the character of the costume and armour of the figures in the ,speculum1 that work could not have been printed until about the year #adec1 or later3--the conclusion seems reasonable1 that all the works which from #aehh have been traditionally attributed to ,coster and his alleged successors1 came in reality from the establishment of the ,brethren and ,clerks of the ,common ,life at ,zwolle3--and if so1 this satisfactorily accounts for there being neither name nor initial nor date1 to indicate either author1 designer or printer2 the principles of the fraternity being such as to merge the individual in the brotherhood1 and to make the work of one a portion of the common work of all4 ,setting aside1 therefore1 the conclusions of ,baron ,heinecken and ,wetter in regard to the party by whom1 and the date when1 the ,speculum was originally printed1 7which nevertheless are not without grounds for their support71 this view of the question gives to some unknown brother or brethren the merit of having independently worked out the idea of separable letters on wood about the years #adej-ec2 thus adding one more to the number of known instances1 when at certain historic periods the minds of individuals wholly unknown to each other1 and in widely different parts of the world1 have almost simultaneously worked out the same invention1 or made the same discovery4 ,instances of such coincidences will no doubt at once occur to the minds of intelligent readers2 ,i shall therefore only refer by way of illustration to the invention of ,photography by ,m4 ,niepce and ,mr4 ,fox ,talbot1 and the discovery of the planet ,neptune by the ,english and ,french astronomers1 ,adams and ,leverrier4 ,the rarity of copies of works in which the types used in the ,speculum have been recognised1 is accounted for by the fact of their speedy supercession by cast fusile metal types1 when a knowledge of the ,arts of ,typography and ,typefounding became spread throughout ,europe by the dispersion of the workmen at ,mentz1 on the capture and sack of that city in #adfb4 ,most1 if not all of the early printers1 were men of learning4 ,many of those who first practised the art in the ,netherlands would consequently have been educated by the ,brethren and ,clerks of the ,common ,life2 and amongst these some were very probably members of that fraternity4 ,it is certain that at ,brussels 7#adgf7 and at ,zwolle1 as well as at ,rheingau 7#adgd7 and ,rostock 7#adgf71 the ,brethren speedily practised the new art as first brought to perfection at ,mentz4 ,and at one or other of these places1 it is much more likely that ,veldener obtained the cuts of the ,mirror of ,salvation1 which he reprinted at ,culembourg in #adhc1 than that he purchased them from the descendants of ,coster at ,haarlem2--a statement which1 however much insisted upon by ,dutch1 and reiterated of late by ,french and ,english writers1 is purely suppositious1 and utterly void of the slightest foundation in fact4 ,,footnotes3 #hc ,schrijver1 ,p4 ,laurecrans voor ,laurens ,coster4 ,haarlem1 #afbh4 #dto4 #hd ,hadrian ,junius was born at ,hoorn1 in #aeaa1 and is said to have been educated at a classical school of repute at ,haarlem4 ,he also studied at ,louvain4 ,he soon shewed himself a person of ability2 and having embraced the medical profession1 was appointed physician to the ,duke of ,norfolk1 and afterwards to the ,king of ,denmark4 ,he is said to have taken up his abode in ,haarlem in #aefj1 and to have resided there till #aegb1 when he quitted the city on account of the siege that then took place4 ,according to ,lypsius1 he was the most learned man in ,holland after ,erasmus4 ,his work ,batavia was commenced late in life1 and completed in ,january1 #aege4 ,his death took place at ,middleburg1 on the #afth ,june of the same year4 #he ,the original will be found in the ,appendix4 #hf ,the above translation is taken from the article on ,printing in the ,edinburgh edition 7#ahae7 of the ,encyclopdia ,britannica1 supplemented by that given in ,stower's 8,printers' ,grammar0 7#ahjh47 ,both writers are strong pro-,costerians4 #hg ,galius is probably the same who is called ,claes ,lottynz1 ,gael1 ,scabinus ,haarlemi1 as it is in the ,fasti of that city1 in the years #aeca1 #aecc1 and #aece4 ,quirinus in the same ,fasti is called ,mr4 ,quiryn ,dirkszoon4 ,he was many years amanuensis to ,erasmus1 as appears from his epistle #bcrd ,july1 #aebi1 tom iii4 ,oper4 p4 #abbb4 ,he was afterwards ,scabinus in #aecg et seq41 and ,consul in #aeeb1 et seq4 ,but in the troubles of ,holland he was cruelly killed by the ,spanish soldiers1 ,may #bc1 #aefc4 #hh ,meerman's ,account of the family and descendants of ,laurent ,janssoen1 vol4 i4 p4 #ch1 et seq4 #hi ,,ottley',s ,inquiry1 p4 #cjh4 #ij ,vide ch4 xvii4 of his work4 #ia ,the writer of these verses was one of the correctors of the press employed by ,schffer1 though his name does not appear4 ,he concludes with the expression of a desire1 which to this day finds a responsive echo in the bosom of every author and printer whose soul has been vexed by the blunders of copyists and compositors3--8,oh60 is his pathetic exclamation1--8if they could succeed in purging the texts of all their faults6--those who arrange the characters1 as well as those who read the proofs2 the friends of literature would then infallibly award to them a crown of glory1 who thus come in aid by their books to thousands of seats of learning40 ,it is not at all unlikely that these verses were the origin of ,junius's assertion1 that the name of the workman who stole ,coster's types and implements1 and carried them off to ,mentz1 was ,john4 #ib ,,mallinckrot1 de ,ortu et ,progressu ,artis ,typographic4 ,coloni1 #afci4 #ic ,in order to evade the force of ,caxton's testimony1 ,costerian writers assert that he merely recorded the popular belief of the time4 ,but ,caxton1 as he himself tells us in one of his works1 had been residing from #adda to #adgf 8in the countries of ,brabant1 ,flanders1 ,holland1 and ,zealand40 ,during the greater portion of this time he was the ,governor of the ,company of ,merchant ,adventurers1 trading in ,brabant1 ,flanders1 c41 and his principal place of residence was ,bruges1 not far distant from ,haarlem4 ,the merchandise of those days was not confined to silks and woollens1 but included the manuscripts and books of the period4 ,caxton1 after his appointment to the household of the ,duchess of ,burgundy1 gave his mind to literary pursuits1 and practised the art of printing at ,bruges4 ,he was also well acquainted with ,ulric ,zell of ,hainault1 the first printer of ,cologne1 at which city some suppose1 on the authority of ,wynkyn de ,woorde1 his successor1 he also printed a book4 ,he could not therefore be ignorant of the facts of the case4 ,his position and pursuits gave him every opportunity for ascertaining them2 and he was not a man who neglected opportunities for acquiring knowledge4 ,he must consequently have known and been well satisfied of the accuracy of the statement he gave currency to4 ,had ,coster or any of his descendants been printing at ,haarlem from #adbh to #adgb1 as many of these writers allege1 ,caxton must have known of it1 and would not in such a case have asserted that the 8craft of imprinting was first found in ,mogunce in ,almayne40 #id ,a ,general ,history of ,printing1 by ,s4 ,,palmer1 #dto4 ,london1 #agcc4 ,this work1 although ostensibly written by ,mr4 ,s4 ,palmer1 a ,london printer of some eminence1 was in fact the production of the learned ,psalmanazar4 #ie ,as the ,chronicle in which this account is given1 is said to have been finished in the year #aead1 ,trithemius 7b4 #adfb2 d4 #aeaf17 would have heard the particulars from ,peter ,schffer1 about the year #adhd4 ,the abbot would then have been twenty-two years of age4--,meerman1 vol4 ii4 p4 #aja1 n4 ,the manuscript of the ,chronicle was not discovered until near the close of the seventeenth century1 when it was printed at ,st4 ,gall in the year #afij4 #if ,this fact is much overlooked by writers who invariably refer to ,zell as a ,german authority4 ,hainault is a province adjoining ,south ,brabant and ,west ,flanders1 in which provinces are situated the towns of ,haarlem and ,bruges1 where ,coster and ,caxton resided4 ,along with ,holland1 ,hainault was forcibly annexed by ,philip of ,burgundy in #adbf4 ,no doubt many of the families opposed to the annexation sought safety in flight1 and among these may be included that of the ,zells4 ,but it is hardly to be credited that ,ulric's love of ,fatherland was extinguished by his expatriation2 or that he would give to ,germany and ,mentz1 the honor that rightly belonged to ,holland and ,haarlem4 ,all that he says1 amounts to the statement1 that ,block-book ,donatuses were printed in ,holland1 before printing1 in the way it is commonly used1 was invented at ,mentz4 ,if1 as ,costerians contend1 8printing in the way it is commonly used0 was known and practised by ,laurent ,janssoen in ,haarlem from #adbh to #addj1 both ,caxton and ,zell must have known of it2 and would have stated it as a fact4 ,the only inference therefore that can be drawn from what they say1 as well as from what they do not say on the subject1 is1 that ,typography was invented at ,mentz1 and was not known at ,haarlem until after the advent of the first printer there in #adhc4 #ig 8,admiranda ars typographica ab ingenioso ,johanne ,guttenbergio1 anno a nativitate ,christi1 ,domini nostri1 #adej1 inventa1 et posthac studio1 sumtu et labore ,johannis ,fust et ,petri ,schfferi ,mogunti1 emendata et ad posteros propagata est40 #ih ,hic ubi postremo descendit gurgite ,moenus1 ,excipit et socias littore ,rhenus aquas ,hanc peperit captis antiqua ,moguntia muris ,horrida dum tristis fata canebat avis4 99 99 99 99 99 ,scula bis septem numerabant ordine fati ,christigen1 hinc illis lustra decemque dabant1 ,tertius ac orbis ,fridericus frena regebat1 99 99 99 99 99 ,clarus ,joannes en ,gutenbergius hic est1 ,a quo1 ceu vivo flumine1 manat opus4 ,hic est ,aonidum custos fidissimus1 hic est1 ,qui referat latices1 quos pede fudit equus1 ,quam veteres nobis ,argenti voce notarunt1 ,a puero fertur sustinuisse virum2 ,illa sed huic civi largita est munera grata1 ,cui clarum nomen ,mogus habere dedit4 ,primitias illic coepit formare laboris1 ,ast hic maturum protulit artis opus4 ,stemmate prstabat2 vicit virtute sed illud2 ,dicitur hinc ver nobilitatis ,eques4 ,annulis in digitis erat illi occasio prima1 ,palladium ut caelo sollicitaret opus4 ,illum tentabat molli committere cer1 ,redderet ut nomen littera sculpta suum4 ,respicit archetypos1 auri vestigia lustrans1 ,et secum tacitus talia verba refert3 ,quam belle pandit certas hc orbita voces1 ,monstrat et exactis apta reperta libris4 ,quid1 si nunc justos1 ris ratione reducta1 ,tentarem libros cudere mille modis8--v4v4 #ai-ff4 #ii ,van ,opmer was born at ,amsterdam in #aebf4 ,he studied the classics at the ,universities of ,louvain and ,delft2 and also made himself a proficient in painting1 engraving and architecture4 ,he was known to ,van ,zuyren in #aefa1 the year when ,coornhert published his edition of ,cicero's ,offices2 and was for some years a resident at ,leyden4 ,in #aegh he returned to ,amsterdam4 ,he is supposed to have died about the year #aeie4 #ajj ,i am indebted to ,hansard's ,typographia1 7p4 #fj7 for the above quotation2 it is there quoted from ,lemoine1 7p4 #ii7 without any further reference4 #aja ,van ,zuyren4 #ajb ,coornhert4 #ajc ,guicciardini4 #ajd ,dutch writers in accepting this tale of ,junius as a genuine historical fact1 have expended a vast amount of ingenuity in endeavouring to identify the workman and fix the date of the felony4 ,the result is curious4 ,scriverius1 writing in #afbh1 indicates ,john ,gutenberg1 in the year #adbh2 ,boxhorn1 in #afci1 says it was ,john ,faust1 in #adbj2 ,seiz1 in #agdj1 says it was ,john ,gutenberg1 between the years #adbh and #adfg2 ,meerman1 in #agfe1 says it was ,john ,gensfleisch the elder1 in #adcj2 ,westreenen1 in #ahji1 says1 about #adcf1 but does not give any name2 ,koning1 in #ahaf1 says it was ,frielo ,gensfleisch1 between #adbj and #adcf2 ,de ,vries1 in #ahbb1 says it was ,johan ,gensfleisch1 in #adbc2 and ,alb4 ,thijm1 in #ahfg1 says it was one ,hans1 in #adbc4 ,it is observable that all these writers decline to adopt the date which ,junius fixes upon1 antedating the occurrence from four to twenty years4 ,this1 however1 they were compelled to do1 in order to get rid of certain facts1 which proved that the date #addj was an impossible one1 if either ,faust or ,gutenberg was to be criminated4 #aje ,humphreys1 pp4 #de and #ej4 #ajf 8,de ,keulsche ,kroniek en ,de ,costerlegende van ,dr4 ,a4 ,van der ,linde1 te zamen getoetest door ,dr4 ,p4 ,van ,meurs40 ,haarlem1 #ahgj4 #ajg 8,the recently erected statue of ,koster at ,haarlem1 is one of the finest works of its class that ,i have ever had the good fortune to examine4 ,the dimensions are colossal1 the work of a ,french sculptor1 ,m4 ,rouger4 ,i could wish the artist were a ,dutchman4 ,the attitude of the statue1 nobly draped1 and wearing the head gear of the time1 is very impressive4 ,the left hand clasps a book1 while the right hand holds aloft1 with an air of triumphant satisfaction1 a 8type10 by means of which the book has been1 as it were1 magically produced40--,,humphreys1 p4 #baf4 #ajh 8,if10 says ,,santander1 8we examine all the authors without exception who have written in favour of ,haarlem1 we shall not find the smallest proof1 the least contemporaneous document1 in support of their pretensions2 all that we read in them1 all that they allege1 reduces itself to the narrative of ,junius1 which was itself composed from light hearsay evidence1 and which each writer comments upon according to his fancy40 c41 c4 8,what60 exclaims ,,ottley1 8are the fragments of ,donatuses1 found in ,holland1 and printed in the same type as the ,speculum1 to be considered as no evidence whatever of early printing in that country10 c41 c41 c4--,invention of ,printing1 p4 #aag4 8,coster was the first to use moveable cast metal types4444 ,this view is not only supported by one of the earliest writers on the subject1 but by 444 ,ulric ,zell10 who says 8,item3 although this art was discovered at ,mentz at first in the manner in which it is now commonly used1 yet the first example of it was found in ,holland10 c4--,,blades',s ,life1 c4 of ,w4 ,caxton1 vol4 i4 p4 #ei4 #aji ,after enumerating several works 8printed with what may be termed ,kosterian types10 ,mr4 ,,humphreys says3--8,thus it is proved1 not only that ,koster is not a myth invented by the ,dutch to glorify themselves1 and that the #8,speculum' is not an isolated and unauthenticated monument2 but that there was in all probability1 a ,koster 7and if not1 some other native of ,holland7 who was the printer of at least three out of the four editions of the #8,speculum1' and that his family successors1 or pupils and workmen1 continued to print in the same style after his death40--,hist4 of ,art of ,printing1 p4 #fe4 8,the third edition of the ,speculum has a much more important character than the second1 being a ,dutch translation in prose1 printed by the same double process as the preceding1 all the text being typographic1 and only printed on one side of the paper4 ,the issue of this edition 7evidently from the same establishment71 in the ,dutch language1 is an all sufficient proof of the celebrated #8,speculum' being beyond doubt1 the production of a ,dutch artisan1 or rather artist1 and if so1 why not of ,koster80--,ib4 p4 #fc4 #aaj ,baron ,heinecken1 ,santander1 and others1 assign a ,german origin to them4 #aaa 8,the ,horarium 7or more correctly ,a ,b ,c ,darium7 rendered so celebrated by the detailed notice of so many learned ,bibliopolists1 as one of the earliest efforts of ,koster1 and by some considered positively his first experimental work with moveable types1 either of bark 7871 wood 7871 or metal1 ,i have examined very closely1 and do not consider that it has any claim whatever to be so considered4 ,it is true1 that both type and printing are rude1 but that is no sufficient reason for assigning to it a strictly primitive character1 as many rudely executed works might be cited long after the practical establishment of the ,printing ,press4 ,the fact is1 that its being printed on both sides1 and the imposition for folding being arranged after the regular manner adopted when printing with moveable types was in general use1 induce me to believe that it was printed long after the #8,speculum1' probably by the successors of ,koster who used his types4 ,even the specimens of ,donatuses1 which ,i have examined in ,holland 7and elsewhere7 especially in the ,royal ,library of the ,hague1 under the learned guidance of ,dr4 ,holtrop and ,mr4 ,campbel1 lead me to the conviction that they were not essays by ,koster anterior to the production of the #8,speculum4' ,it is true1 that ,i was shewn a specimen of a ,donatus printed on vellum1 and on one side only1 which has been recovered from the binding of an old ,dutch book4 ,but ,i look upon it as a rough #8proof1' that was never completed1 and eventually used like ordinary waste to stiffen bindings40--,,humphreys1 p4 #bae4 ,this ,horarium was discovered in the binding of an old book1 forming in fact a portion of the binding4 ,the pages are printed on vellum on both sides2 and it has been pointed out that the letter i has a modern peculiarity in being dotted1 instead of having1 as in the ancient manuscripts and printed books1 a stroke above it1 thus1 4 ,ensched who discovered the work1 published a fac-simile of it in #agfh4 ,chatto1 who critically examined it1 says1 in ,jackson's ,treatise on ,wood-engraving 7#b;d edit4 #ahfa1 p4 #afb17 8,it is certainly such a one as he was most wishful to find1 and which he in his capacity of type-founder and printer would find little difficulty in producing4 ,i am firmly convinced that it is neither printed with wooden types1 nor a specimen of early typography4 ,i suspect it to be a ,dutch typographic essay on popular credulity40--,this ,i think a harsh judgment2 and1 of the two1 ,i prefer to believe1 with ,humphreys1 that ,ensched was mistaken in supposing the pages he found to be a work1 perhaps the earliest work1 of ,coster1 rather than with ,chatto1 to suspect that he forged it himself4 #aab ,the ,town-hall at ,haarlem possesses a collection of ,costerian relics1 but ,mr4 ,humphreys says 7p4 #bae7 8they are not1 as it seems to me1 so important as many writers have deemed them40 #aac ,inquiry1 pp4 #bjb-bjc4 #aad 8,the works which may almost to a certainty be ascribed to the ,costerian press after the death of the inventor1 and the publication of the ,speculum1 are various editions of the ,donatus1 ,catonia ,disticha1 ,laurentii ,vallensi ,facecie ,morales1 ,ludovici ,pontani de ,roma ,singularia in ,causis ,criminalibus1 ,gulielmus de ,saliceto de ,salute ,corporis1 ,horarium1 ,alexandri ,galli ,doctrinale1 ,petri ,hispani ,tractatus1 ,francisci ,petrarch de ,salibus ,virorum ,illustrium et ,faceciis ,tractatus1 c41 all of which are without date or name of printer1 but are issued from the same press1 and the types of which1 perfectly like those in the ,speculum1 cannot be attributed by any such similarity to any other printing office either in ,germany or even in ,holland and the ,low ,countries40--,p4 ,h4 ,,berjeau1 p4 xxxvi4 ,introd4 to ,,ottley',s ,inquiry4 #aae ,,meerman considered that this edition was the first1 and only one printed by ,coster1 between the years #adcj and #addj2 that the ,latin edition with twenty pages of block-printing came next2 then the other ,dutch1 and lastly the second ,latin4 ,,humphreys 7p4 #ef17 concludes that all four editions were printed by ,coster1 the first being the one with twenty pages of xylographic text4 ,,ottley allows him one1 and the greater part of another4 ,of the first edition 7following ,humphreys' classification71 ten copies are known--two in the ,bibliothque ,nationale at ,paris1 one in the ,british ,museum1 one in the ,bodleian library at ,oxford1 one in the ,spencer library1 and five in ,holland4 ,of the second edition there are six copies--one in the ,imperial library at ,vienna1 one in the ,palazzo ,pitti at ,florence1 the third1 without preface1 in the ,town ,hall at ,haarlem1 the fourth with but #dj pages1 in the library at ,hanover1 the fifth in the ,royal library at ,brussels2 and the sixth and most perfect1 the ,inglis copy in the possession of ,mr4 ,quaritch4 ,of the third edition 7the first ,dutch7 copies are in the libraries of ,lord ,spencer1 and ,mr4 ,westreenen ,von ,tiellandt at the ,hague2 the fine copy formerly in the ,ensched collection is now in ,england4 ,of the fourth edition1 only three copies are known--one in the ,town ,hall of ,haarlem1 the second in the public library of that city1 and the third in the library at ,lille4 ,it is possible there may have been a larger number of early folio editions1 as several of the above copies appear to have been made up from more than one4 #aaf 8,de l',origine et des ,dbuts de l',imprimerie en ,europe40 ,paris1 #ahec4 #aag 8,essai ,historique et ,critique sur l',invention de l',imprimerie40 ,paris-,lille1 #ahei4 #aah ,mr4 ,humphreys concludes from his examination of the ,dutch copy of the ,speculum1 formerly in the ,ensched collection at ,haarlem1 that this edition was 8by far the most finely executed40 ,it was sold1 on the dispersion of the ,ensched collection in #ahfg1 for #gjj guineas4 ,the purchaser1 ,mr4 ,quaritch of ,piccadilly1 it is understood has since resold it in ,england at a considerable advance4 ,the same spirited bibliographer bought the ,inglis copy 7sold in #ahga7--;a specimen of the ,latin edition with all the text in moveable types1 in the most fine and perfect condition1--for #ebe4 #aai ,from the fact that ,ensched was a printer and type-founder1 his opinion has had great weight with subsequent writers4 ,i have no doubt1 however1 but that his eagerness to secure for his own countryman and birth-place the honour of the invention of metal types1 blinded him to the evidence which the letters in the ,speculum present to the contrary4 #abj ,,prunelle1 au ,magazin ,encyclopdique de #ahjf4 #aba ,in plate #aj1 opposite page #bie in ,mr4 ,ottley's work1 fac-similes are given of the types of the ,speculum1 taken from the text beneath cuts #ag and #ah4 ,in these the capital ,d occurs twice1 ,o three times1 ,q three times1 ,s twice1 ,t thrice1 and ,v twice4 ,and in every instance the differences are such as to shew that it was impossible for the several specimens of each of these letters to have been cast from a mould taken from either a pattern or a touched-up-type4 ,what is true of the capitals is equally true of the smaller letters4 ,the word #8,tres' for instance1 occurs three times running1 repeated exactly one under the other1 thus affording the best possible condition for comparison4 ,each of the ,t's--each of the compounded re's1--and each of the s's differ2 they could not have been cast from the same matrix1 nor could any one of them have stood for the original of successive mouldings for the rest1 as suggested by ,mr4 ,ottley4 #abb 8,der ,heilsspiegel und alle andere ,druckwerke1 welche ,meerman dem ,laurens ,koster und seinen ,erben zuschreibt1 sind alle mit gegossenen ,typen gedruckt1 und zwar gar nicht schlecht4 ,es ist unmglich1 mit hlzernen ,buchstaben von solcher ,kleinheit zu drucken40--,krit4 ,gesch4 der ,erf4 der ,buchdruckerkunst1 p4 #eij4 #abc ,for the whole of his argument see pages #fbj-fib of his work4 ,his object is to shew the probability that all the four folio editions may have been the work of ,veldener at ,utrecht4 ,at page #fed he says1 8that almost all the types used in the ,netherlands have their original in those of the ,rhine 8,officinen10 is seen from the resemblance of the types of the ,brethren of the ,common ,life at ,marienthal on the ,rhine1 to those of ,therhoernen of ,cologne1 and the ,brethren at ,brussels4 ,witness the fac-similes #a1 #b1 and #c1 of ,tab4 #aa1 and especially all the fac-similes of ,tables #i1 #aj1 #aa1 and #ab1 7with the exception of ,nos4 #d and #h of ,tab4 #ab47 ,even the types of the ,speculum are nothing else than a diminution of the types of the #db-line 7,mazarin7 ,bible1 with sundry alterations in the capital letters4--,the ,dutch work of ,ludovicus de ,roma1 #8,singularia in causis criminalibus1' 7#adga17 is printed with types1 which1 with the exception of the capital letters1 are almost all such exact copies in size and shape of those of the ,mazarin ,bible1 that they could cover each other reciprocally40 #abd 8,ide ,gnrale d'une collection complete d',estampes40 #hvo4 ,leips4 #agga4 #abe ,see ,,wetter1 p4 #bc4 #abf ,m4 ,,bernard2 and ,p4 ,c4 ,,van ,,der ,,meersch1 in his 8,recherches sur la ,vie et les ,travaux des ,imprimeurs ,belges et ,nerlandais1 tablis a l'tranger40 #hvo4 ,gand1 #ahef3--;are here referred to4 #abg ,the manuscript from which these extracts are taken was brought to light by the ,abb ,ghesquiere of ,cambrai1 in the year #aggb4 ,see 8,esprit des ,journaux10 ,june #aggi1 ,nov4 #aggi1 and ,april #aghj4 #abh 8,notice sur ,colard ,mansion1 ,libraire et ,imprimeur de la ,ville de ,bruges40 #hvo4 ,paris1 #ahbi4 #abi ,m4 ,,berjeau1 in ,introduction to ,ottley's ,inquiry concerning the ,invention of ,printing1 p4 xxxvii4 #acj ,the discussion of this subject occupies the last #fe pages of ,mr4 ,ottley's work1 the careful perusal of which will well repay the student of this most interesting branch of archological research4 #aca ,see ante1 p4 #hf4 ,early ,typography4 ,,chapter ,v4 ,,the ,,works ,,of ,,faust ,,and ,,sch,,ffer4--,,legend ,,of ,,the ,,printer',s ,,devil4--,,monuments ,,in ,,germany ,,to ,,gutenberg1 ,,faust ,,and ,,sch,,ffer4--,,separable ,,letters ,,first ,,invented ,,in ,,china4--,,characteristics ,,of ,,ancient ,,printed ,,books4--,,the 8,,composing-,,stick0 ,,and 8,,setting-,,rule40--,,early ,,bindings4 ,the first book published by ,faust and ,schffer1 after their separation from ,gutenberg1 was a beautiful folio edition of the ,psalter1 finished on the #adth ,august1 #adeg4 ,this is the celebrated work1 so often alluded to1 the first to which the name of the printer was affixed1 as well as that of the place where1 and the date when1 it was printed4 ,it is from this circumstance that the origin of the ,art of ,typography has been by certain early writers attributed to ,faust rather than to ,gutenberg4 ,the fine large ,gothic type with which the book is printed1 7#bb lines to a foot17 is exactly double the size of that cut for the #8,mazarin' ,bible4 ,the initial capital letters1 of which there are in all #bhh1 are from four to six lines in depth1 printed in red and blue1 with ornamental flower-work and figures cut in the body of the letter1 and bordered with scroll-work running into the margins4 ,in the case of the commencing initial1 the letter ,b1 this scroll-work extends from the top to the bottom of the page4 ,the capitals commencing each sentence in the body of the work1 are also in red ink1 as well as whole lines interspersed here and there4 ,the music is on a staff of four lines instead of five1 the notes square-headed and diamond-shaped1 the words beneath being in roman characters4 ,these portions of the work are engraved on solid blocks4 ,at the end of the ,psalter is inserted the ,faust and ,schffer badge1 which thenceforth appeared in all their works4#acb ,this consisted of two shields 7on which were their coats of arms7 suspended from the branch of a tree4 ,beneath this was the following imprint or colophon3-- 8,presens spalmorum codex venustate capitalium decoratus ,rubricationibus que sufficienter distinctus1 ,adinventione artificiosa imprimendi et caracterizandi absque calami ulla exaratione sic effigiatus4 ,et ad eusebiam ,dei industrie est consummatus#acc ,per ,johannem ,fust ,civem moguntinum ,et ,petrum ,schffer de ,gernszheim4 ,anno domini ,millesimo ,,cccclvii4 ,in vigilia ,assumpcionis40 ,the declaration contained in this colophon seems incompatible with the truth1 as well as with the admissions of ,schffer himself1 on other occasions1 unless it be understood as applying to the exquisite initial letters1 these being printed wholly in colours1 instead of being sketched in by the hand of the rubricator or coloured by illuminators4 ,these very letters however1 it is believed by some1 including ,mr4 ,humphreys1 7see p4 #hf of his work17 were the work of ,gutenberg2 and ,m4 ,fischer in his interesting essay#acd has shewn1 that in several small works#ace which issued from ,gutenberg's press before the forfeiture of his plant to ,faust1 the identical letters 7the smaller initials7 used in the ,psalter1 as well as some of those printed in two colours1 and of which he has given fac-similes1 appear4 ,but if1 as there is abundant reason to believe was the case1 ,schffer was engaged as an assistant at the ,zum ,jungen at1 or soon after the year #adej1 when ,gutenberg first obtained advances from ,faust1 these capitals1 the beauty of which is undisputed1 may have been1 and most probably were1 designed by him for the projected works for which the money was advanced2 and1 as his #8inventions1' and not the work of ,gutenberg1 they would be included in the property which was transferred to ,faust on the termination of the law-suit4 ,looked at from this point of view1 they may be thought to justify the assertion in the colophon of the ,psalter of #adeg1 although there can be no doubt but that that work was partly completed while the whole property was still in the possession of ,gutenberg1 and that therefore to him must be attributed the honour of planning1 and cutting the fount of types with which it was executed4 8,the most perfect copy known of this work1 7says ,mr4 ,timperley17 is that in the ,imperial ,library of ,vienna4 ,it was discovered in the year #affe1 near ,innspruck in the castle of ,ambras1 where the ,archduke ,francis ,sigismund had collected a prodigious quantity of manuscripts and printed books2 taken for the most part from the famous library of ,matthias ,corvinus1 ,king of ,hungary1 from whence it was transported to ,vienna4 ,the book is printed in folio on vellum1 and of such extreme variety1 that though not more than six or seven copies are known to be in existence1 all of them differ from each other in some respect4 ,the ,psalter occupies one hundred and thirty-five1 and the recto the hundred and thirty-sixth1 and the remaining forty-one leaves are appropriated to the litany1 prayers1 responses1 vigils1 c4 ,the ,psalms are executed in larger characters than the hymns2 the capital letters are cut in wood1 with a degree of delicacy and boldness which are truly surprising3 the largest of them--the initial letters of the ,psalms--which are black1 red1 and blue1 must have passed three times through the press40 ,from #adeg to #adff the following works were printed by ,faust and ,schffer4 7#a7 ,the ,psalter1 #b;d edition4--#adei4 7#b7 ,rationale divinorum ,officiorum ,guillelmi ,durandi4--#adei4 ,a folio work consisting of #afj leaves1 with the text in two columns of #fc lines each4 ,for this work two new founts of type were cast1 of smaller sizes than those used for the ,psalter of #adeg1 and ,bible of #adee4 ,the first was of the depth of #ec lines to a foot2 the smaller #ff1 equivalent to the ,english of type-founders of the present day4 ,the latter was used for the body of the work4 7#c7 ,constitutiones ,clementis ,v4 ,pap cum ,apparatu ,joannis ,andre4--#adfj4 ,this consisted of #ea leaves of folio1 two columns to a page4 ,the text was in the larger of the above two types1 surrounded by a glossary or commentary1 ten times its bulk1 in the smaller type4 ,of this work two subsequent editions were published in #adfg and #adga4 7#d7 ,manifest des ,erzbischofs von ,mainz1 ,diether von ,isenburg1 gegen ,adolph von ,nassau4--#adfb4 7#e7 ,biblia ,sacra ,latina ,vulgat editionis1 ex translatione et cum prfatione ,s4 ,hieronymi4--#adfb4 ,this is the ,bible commonly known as the #8,mentz1' in order to distinguish it from the #8,mazarin4' ,it is the first published with a date2 the colophon being nearly the same as that appended to the ,psalter of #adeg4 ,it is1 however1 believed that it was originally issued with the intention of selling it as manuscript2 that portion of the colophon containing the words 8artificiosa adinventione imprimendi seu caracterizandi absque calami exaratione10 being omitted from some of the copies4 ,the subsequent insertion of the above words1 it is supposed1 was owing to the compulsion of circumstances1 which will be hereafter alluded to4 ,the book consists of #ajja pages1 each in two columns of #dh lines of the same type as that used for the text of the #8,constitutiones4' ,copies were printed on both vellum and paper1 many of the larger initials being beautifully illuminated4 7#f7 ,bulla cruciata ,sanctissimi ,domini nostri ,pap 7,pii ,,ii47 contra ,turchos4--#adfd4 ,the heading is in the ,psalter type1 the text in that of the #8,rationale4' 7#g7 ,liber sextus ,decretalium ,domini ,bonifacii ,pap ,,viii4 cum glossa4--#adfe4 ,a work of #ada leaves of large folio1 in double columns4 ,the type of the text is the same as that of the ,bible of #adfb2 the glossary is in that of the #8,rationale4' 7#h7 ,m4 ,t4 ,ciceronis ,de ,officiis ,libri ,,iii ,paradoxa et ,versus ,,xii sapientium4--#adfe4 ,this work1 8the first tribute of the new art to polite literature10 and the first in which ,greek characters 7cut in wood7 appeared1 is a handsome quarto 7or small folio7 of #hh leaves#acf with #bh lines to a page1 in the same type as the #8,rationale4' ,the striking peculiarity of this book is1 that it is the first in which #8leads1' spacing the lines apart from one another1 are used4 ,great care seems to have been taken to print it with the utmost elegance4 ,the fine large initial letters of the ,psalter of #adeg were again used1 printed in blue and red inks2 and in some copies the blank spaces left for illuminated letters were filled up in the highest style of art4 ,the most elaborately finished specimens are decorated with borders round the pages1 in the same style and evidently by the same hand that was employed for that purpose1 on the superb copies of the ,mazarin ,bible of #adee4 ,that the printers were growing proud of their art is evident by the colophons they now used4 ,that to the ,decretals is in the following terms3-- 8,presens hujus sexti ,decretalium opus alma in urbe ,magontia inclyte nationis ,germanice1 quam ,dei clementia tam alto ingenii lumine donoque gratuito ceteris terrarum nacionibus preferre illustrareque dignatus est4 ,non atramento1 plumali canna1 neque rea1 sed artificiosa quadam adinventione imprimendi1 etc4 etc4 per ,joh4 ,fust civem et ,petrum ,schoiffer de ,gernsheym4 ,anno4 ,dom4 ,,mcccclxv4 die ver #ag1 mensis decembris40 ,the colophon to the #8,offices' differs4 ,it is as follows3-- 8,presens ,marci ,tuly clarissimum opus4 ,johannes ,fust ,mogintinus civis non atramento plumali canna neque rea1 sed arte quadam perpulcra1 ,petri manu pueri mei feliciter effeci finitum ,anno ,,mcccclxv40 7#i7 ,grammatica vetus rhytmica4--#adff4 ,a work of eleven leaves of small folio1 in the type of the #8,rationale4' ,the concluding lines are as follows3-- 8,actis ter denis jubilaminis octo bis annis ,moguntia ,rheni me condit et imprimit amnis ,hinc ,nazareni sonet oda per ,ora ,johannis ,namque sereni luminis est scaturigo perennis40 ,in the same year the book 8,s4 ,augustini ,liber de ,arte ,predicande0 appeared4 ,it is attributed to the press of ,faust and ,schffer1 but ,i have no means of further particularising it4 ,the year #adfb was memorable for the siege and sack of ,mentz by the ,elector ,archbishop1 ,count ,adolphus of ,nassau4 ,after the capture of the city1 ,faust proceeded to ,paris with a supply of ,bibles1 amongst which were no doubt a goodly number of the edition only just then completed4 ,tradition has it1 that he sold one of these ,bibles to the ,king for #gej crowns1 and another to the ,archbishop for #cjj2 and that gradually lowering his prices he at last disposed of copies for #ej and #dj crowns a-piece4#acg ,the ,king and the ,archbishop1 comparing their purchases1 which they had bargained for as manuscripts1 found so exact a conformity between them1 as to be convinced that they were produced by some other method than that of transcribing2 besides which1 it was impossible that two such ,bibles could be executed by the same hand in a lifetime4 ,upon inquiry1 it was found that a considerable number of similar copies had been sold in the city4 ,hereupon orders were given to apprehend ,faust1 who was accordingly seized1 tried for witchcraft1 and condemned to be executed as a wizard in league with the ,devil4 ,so runs the tale2 in which fact and fiction have been strangely blended1 the latter greatly predominating1--,john ,faust the banker1 and one of the three first printers of ,mentz1 being confounded with ,jean ,frederic ,faust1 a charlatan and almanac maker of the sixteenth century1 who to ensure his almanacs a large sale1 advertized them as actually dictated to him by ,beelzebub4 ,it was thus that the legend obtained currency1 that ,faust of ,mentz invented printing in consequence of a compact entered into between himself and the ,evil ,one4 ,the diabolical stigma once attached to the profession1 the monks and scribes1 the #8brief-men' of the day1 took care that it should remain4 ,hence the origin of the term 8,printer's ,devil10 the by no means complimentary honorific bestowed upon youngsters on their first initiation into the mysteries of the ,divine and ,noble ,art4 ,no doubt the sale of his ,bibles in ,paris1 the great book-mart of the day1 excited a considerable cabal against ,faust1 on the part of the scribes2 who would readily enough assert that such works could only have been produced by the aid of witchcraft4 ,an assertion of this nature was1 at that time1 dangerous in the extreme to the party against whom it was made4 ,authors1 writing shortly after the time of ,faust's visit1 say that such a charge was made1 and that he had to leave the city in consequence4 ,the most effectual way of rebutting it would be the avowal of the method adopted in bringing out the work1 and this was done by the insertion1 in freshly printed leaves1 of the words mentioned in page #ceh as having been omitted from the early copies4 ,it has been urged1 that it was impossible for ,faust to have attempted the imposition of passing these ,bibles off as manuscripts1 inasmuch as he had already divulged the fact of his printing such works in the imprint to the ,psalter of #adeg4 ,but that imprint applied to that work alone2 and ,faust1 who was a sharp man of business1 would not have purposely omitted from the imprint to the ,bible1 that part of the sentence which notified that the work was done 8by a newly invented art of casting letters1 printing10 c41 unless he had intended to derive a profit by so doing4 ,there does not however1 seem to be any foundation for the assertion that he was brought to trial4 ,his absence from ,paris was a very temporary one4 ,it is certain he was well received by persons of eminence there1 and ultimately succeeded in establishing an agency for the sale of his books in the city1 in spite of the opposition of the scribes4 ,in #adff1 he made another business visit to ,paris1 where he was taken ill1 and died1 as some suppose1 of a pestilence which was raging at the time1 to which1 as he was then seventy-one years of age1 he would have fallen an easy victim4 ,his remains were interred with honor1 in the ,church of ,st4 ,victor4 8,an anniversary mass was afterwards appointed to be said for the repose of his soul1 on the presentation by ,peter ,schoiffher and ,conrad ,fust of a copy of the #8,epistles of ,jerome1' printed on parchment1 and considered so important a work1 that the ,abb of ,st4 ,victor deemed it right to pay back the sum of twelve gold crowns1 the work exceeding by that sum the value of the fees due for the annual masses4 ,this fact is contained in an entry in the #8,necrology of ,st4 ,victor1' which is preserved at ,paris1 in the ,bibliothque ,nationale1 7,,mss4 fonds ,st4 ,victor74 ,the copy of the #8,epistles of ,st4 ,jerome' here alluded to is now in the library of the ,arsenal40#ach ,after ,faust's death1 ,schffer continued the business in partnership with his father-in-law ,conrad ,faust1 who did not however take an active share in its management1 and who died about the year #adgi4 ,conrad ,helif and ,dr4 ,humery seem also to have been for a time connected with him4 ,from #adfg to #aejc1 the date of ,schffer's death1 he printed1 according to ,wetter1 #di works1#aci several of which were second1 third1 fourth1 fifth and sixth editions of those previously issued4 ,the agency which ,john ,faust the elder had established in ,paris for the sale of his books1 became an emporium to which other printers besides ,schffer sent the productions of their presses4 ,this was managed by one ,hermann de ,stathoen1 who had been appointed by ,schffer2 but he dying in ,paris1 in #adgd1 an unnaturalized foreigner1 the whole stock of books in his charge was confiscated by the ,king1 ,louis ,,xi4 ,schffer at once made such representations to the monarch as led to a royal decree1 awarding him the sum of #bdbe crowns1 by way of compensation for the confiscated property4 ,besides the agency at ,paris1 ,schffer established business relations at ,frankfort-on-the-,maine1 where in #adgi1 he was entered on the roll of burghers4 ,in #adhi he became one of the secular judges of ,mentz4 ,a wealthy1 an honoured1 and an influential citizen1 he died1 it is supposed1 in the year #aejc4 ,his last work was a fourth edition of his celebrated ,psalter1 published in #aejb4 ,the next year1 his eldest son1 ,john1 issued the 8,mercurius ,trismegistus10 which is declared in the imprint to be his first work1 and by him the business was continued until #aech4adj ,the death of ,schffer brings us to a point in the narrative1 where we may pause a moment1 to note the progress of the art1 of which1 next to ,gutenberg1 he was the most eminent founder4 ,perhaps no art ever rose to perfection with such rapidity1 after its groundwork had been completed1 as that of ,typography4 ,little more than thirty years had elapsed from the time of printing the ,biblia ,pauperum from wooden blocks1 when ,gutenberg's separable hand-cut letters were followed and superseded by ,schffer's cast fusile metal types4 ,the art1 which with ,faust's assistance1 ,gutenberg founded and ,schffer perfected1 remains to this day essentially the same that it was in #adee4 ,steam power and machinery may to a large extent have superseded the old hand-press invented by ,gutenberg2 and the art of stereotyping may also have multiplied the power of the types in disseminating and cheapening useful knowledge2 but the foundation and principles of ,letter-press ,printing remain unaltered and unalterable4 ,types1 ink1 and pressure1 still produce books as they were first produced1 and the finest productions of the present day are not superior in ,typographic beauty1 or aught else that stamps a work a masterpiece1 to the best efforts of the ,fathers of the ,art1 four hundred years and more ago4 ,it has been reserved for the ,nineteenth century to render due honor to the 8grand ,typographical ,triumvirate10 as they have been termed1 for the noble ,art by which 8,new shape and voice the immaterial thought ,takes from the invented speaking page sublime2 ,the ,ark which mind has for it refuge wrought1 ,its floating ,archive down the floods of ,time40 ,with this object in view1 the ,gutenberg ,society1 to which all the writers of the ,rhenish provinces belong1 meet yearly at ,mentz1 there to celebrate the fame of ,gutenberg1 the chief inventor4 ,and in #ahcg1 a grateful posterity1 animated by similar sentiments1 erected in the same city1 in commemoration of the ,four ,hundredth anniversary of the ,origin of the ,art1 a monumental statue to his memory4 ,on the festival at the inauguration of the statue 7,august #ad1 and following days71 the ,provost of ,mentz published an address1 to the following sentences from which every reader will doubtless most cordially assent4 8,if10 says the ardent ,provost1 8the mortal who invented that method of fixing the fugitive sounds of words which we call the ,alphabet1 has operated on mankind like a divinity1 so also has ,gutenberg's genius brought together the once isolated inquirers1 teachers and learners1--all the scattered and divided efforts for extending ,god's kingdom over the whole civilized earth1--as though beneath one temple4 ,gutenberg's invention1 not a lucky accident1 but the golden fruit of a well considered idea1--an invention made with a perfect consciousness of its end1--has1 above all other causes1 for more than four centuries1 urged forward and established the dominion of science2 and what is of the utmost importance1 has immeasurably advanced the mental formation and education of the people4 ,this invention1 a true intellectual sun1 has mounted above the horizon1 first of the ,european ,christians1 and then of the people of other climes and other faiths1 to an ever-enduring morning4 ,it has made the return of barbarism1 the isolation of mankind1 the reign of darkness1 impossible for all future times4 ,it has established a public opinion1--a court of moral judicature common to all civilized nations1 whatever natural divisions may separate them1 as much as for the provinces of one and the same state4 ,in a word1 it has formed fellow-labourers at the never-resting loom of ,christian ,european civilization in every quarter of the world1 in almost every island of the ocean40 ,the example set by the citizens of ,mentz was a few years later followed by those of ,strasburg1 in which city1 as already stated1 ,gutenberg's earliest efforts were made2 nor were the inhabitants of ,frankfort-on-the-,maine long behind1--excelling even those of ,strasburg and ,mentz1 by combining in one grand group the statues of ,gutenberg1 ,faust and ,schffer4 ,of these several specimens of the sculptor's art ,mr4 ,humphreys gives the following account3-- 8,it was not till the nineteenth century that worthy memorials of the great founder of the ,printing-,press in ,germany were erected4 ,the first was that at ,mayence4 ,as a statue it is not equal to the one of ,coster at ,haarlem1 although the work of ,thorwaldsen4 ,it was executed at ,rome in #ahce1 and cast in ,paris in #ahcg4 ,the gown of the period with its fur collar1 or rather cape1 is effective enough as a mere matter of costume1 and so is the furred cap closely copied from supposed authentic portraits of ,gutenberg4 ,one hand holds a book1 and the other1 types2 but the general effect is tame and unimpressive4 ,it is well that the great name of ,thorwaldsen should be thus allied to that of ,gutenberg1 but it is not one of the great ,dane's most successful works4 ,the inscription1 stating that it was erected by the citizens of ,mayence1 with the concurrence of the whole of ,europe1 is grandly simple1 as it ought to be4 8,the statue at ,strasburg1 the scene of ,gutenberg's first typographic efforts1 is the work of the celebrated ,french sculptor ,david d',anger1 and the market-place in which it is erected is now called ,la ,place ,gutenberg4 ,the position of the figure is full of life and spirit2 a proof-sheet is held proudly forward1 bearing the inscription1 as though in answer to one of the first fiats of ,creation--#8,let there be light4' ,it is intended to express that1 through the medium of the ,printing ,press1 intellectual light came1 as expressed in the words1 #8,and there was light4' ,on the pedestal are four bassi-relievi1 in which the dissemination of knowledge by means of the ,printing ,press is illustrated4 ,in the one on the front1 all the great authors of modern ,europe are grouped round a ,printing ,press2 among them ,shakespeare1 ,corneille1 ,bacon1 ,dante1 ,voltaire1 and ,goethe1 are conspicuous4 8,the ,memorial at ,frankfort is1 on the whole1 more impressive than either of the preceding4 ,it consists of three separate statues1 forming together a single group4 ,the statues are those of ,gutenberg1 ,faust and ,schffer1 who each assisted in the first great work of founding the ,printing ,press in ,germany1 and whose memorials found a fitting place in the imperial city1 which was still the seat of the ,germanic ,diet at the time of the ,memorial in #ahcg4 ,the subsidiary figures which embellish the face of the structure1--,literature1 c41 c4--are very good and appropriate4 ,the entire composition is imposingly raised on steps connected with the secondary pedestals1 which support the allegorical figures4 ,altogether1 the memorial is a fine one4 ,but it has one defect--there is no name nor description of any kind--so that travellers unacquainted with the subject1 might mistake the group for that of any other celebrated triumvirate4 ,a statue1 even of ,shakespeare1 should be accompanied at least by the simple name40#ada ,still1 although ,gutenberg is most justly entitled to the honour of being considered the inventor of the ,art of ,typography1 as now practised in ,europe1 he was not1 in fact1 the first who printed books from separate moveable types4 ,in this1 as in block printing1 the ,chinese again bear away the palm4 ,for1 singularly enough1 it is ascertained that although the general mode of printing in ,china is1 and always has been1 from wooden blocks1 yet separable letters were known to the ,chinese as early as the ,eleventh century4 ,for a time1 single characters made of clay and baked hard were used in that empire1 but were soon abandoned for the mode now almost universally practised1 except for the ,imperial ,calendar1 published once a quarter1 and the ,pekin ,gazette1 issued daily1 which are still wretchedly printed from moveable types made of a plastic gum4 ,the account of the invention is too interesting to be omitted4 ,in the period ,king-li 7between #ajda and #ajdh7 one of the people1 a blacksmith named ,pi-ching1 invented another manner of printing with ho-pan1 or tablets formed of moveable types4 ,this name is still retained in the ,imperial ,printing ,office at ,pekin4 ,on a fine and glutinous earth1 formed into plates1 ,pi-ching engraved the characters most in use4 ,each character was a type4 ,these he burnt in the fire to harden them4 ,when he wished to print he took a frame of iron1 divided interiorly and perpendicularly by strips of the same metal 7,chinese being read vertically72 this he laid on a table of sheet iron coated with a fusible gum composed of resin1 wax1 and lime2 he then inserted the types1 placing them one close against the other4 ,each frame1 when filled1 formed a tablet4 ,this was brought near the fire to make the gum melt1 after which a level piece of wood was pressed forcibly on the surface of the types1 by which means they were pushed down into the gum and became firm and even as a stone4 ,the tablets were then printed from in the usual manner4 ,when a new character was wanted it was immediately prepared on the spot1 and the inventor shewed the advantage of clay over wood2 there was neither grain nor porosity1 with a greater facility of separation from the gum when required for distribution4 ,at ,pi-ching's death1 all this apparatus was carefully preserved by his successors4 ,printing1 however1 went on in the old way1 the reason being that the ,chinese has not1 as other languages1 an alphabet made up of a few characters1 with which all sorts of books may be printed1 but a separate type is wanted for every word2 and as the language is divided into classes of #ajf sounds1 so #ajf cases 7part of the furniture of a ,printing ,office7 would be required1 each one to contain a prodigious number of types1 thus rendering the mechanical task of composing and distributing1 one of enormous difficulty and labour4 ,it was easier and cheaper to follow the usual method1 and print either from blocks of wood or plates of stereotyped copper4#adb ,all honour to the memory of ,pi-ching1 the ,chinese blacksmith6 ,one might almost be tempted to suppose1 did we but believe in the doctrine of metempsychosis1 that after a lapse of #djj years1 disgusted at the neglect of his invention in the ,east1 his spirit migrated to the ,west1 and that in ,gutenberg he was permitted to be born again4 ,a like spirit animated them both1 and to the end of time their labours will live and their memories be blest4 ,the account given in the foregoing description of the method of composing his types used by ,pi-ching1 is not very dissimilar to that said to have been adopted by the first ,typographers of the ,western ,world4 ,frames1 or coffins1 were made of planks of wood1 in which rectangular hollows were cut the size of the pages to be printed2 and in these the types1 after having been strung together1 were placed in horizontal lines1 the ends of the lines and the bottoms of the pages being tightly wedged in1 to prevent slips and damage while on the press4 ,all works printed during the first few years after the invention of ,typography1 were of the size of large or small folio4 ,the latter was what is now-a-days called quarto1 from the sheets being folded into four2--then1 for the smaller size1 whole sheets were cut into two1 on each of which two pages were printed1 in order to suit the presses1 and the stocks of type the printers possessed4 ,these sheets1 or half sheets1 were printed in sections of #c1 #d1 or #e1 called ternions1 quaternions1 and quinternions4 ,on the backs of these sections strips of parchment were sometimes pasted1 to guard against tears when the sheets were stitched together by the book-binder4 ,the first and third pages so printed were called those on the recto of the sheet1 the second and fourth those on the verso4 ,a quaternion consisted of eight formes2 the first1 containing pages #a and #af1 and the second #b and #ae1 formed the outer sheet2 the next sheet consisted of pages #c and #ad1 #d and #ac1 the third and fourth formes2 the third sheet consisted of pages #e and #ab1 #f and #aa1 the fifth and sixth formes2 the fourth sheet consisted of pages #g and #aj1 #h and #i1 the seventh and eighth formes2 the next quaternion commenced with pages #ag and #cb1 and so on4 ,when all the formes were printed1 the sheets of which the quaternion consisted were folded one inside the other1 the pages then reading regularly on from the first to the sixteenth4 ,so long as books represented fac-similes of manuscripts1--which was the object originally aimed at1--to print in this way was a matter easily accomplished4 ,but as the new art drove out the old1 and scribes turned compositors and pressmen1 and manuscripts came to be carelessly written1 this could no longer be done4 ,larger founts of type then became necessary1 to enable the printer to complete the whole number of pages contained in the section2 and to avoid this necessity as much as possible1 quartos1 octavos1 and duodecimos would be resorted to1 a single sheet folded and re-folded serving equally as well in binding as a ternion1 quaternion1 or quinternion of folio sheets4 ,this1 of course1 led to the #8imposition' of pages in formes of #d1 #h1 and #ab pages and upwards1 according to the size of the book printed4 ,title-pages1 folios1 running head-lines1 catch-lines1 signatures1 and imprints with dates and names1 were matters about which the ,fathers of ,typography did not at first much concern themselves4 ,their orthography1 as well as their divisions of words1 was arbitrary2 their abbreviations abominable1 and their punctuation absurd2 the comma and the semicolon were unknown1 the points made use of being an oblique dash 7_/7 the colon 737 and the full point 7472 these were occasionally varied as follows1 4_/ _/4 _/ 4_/ _/4 _/_/ 434 3 c4 ,a straight dash supplied the place of a hyphen1 and a parallel indicated the end of a paragraph4 ,the first leaf of a book was generally left a blank1 and a blank space was left at the head of the commencing chapter of a work1 to be filled up with a vignette or an illuminated scroll4 ,spaces were also left for initial capitals1 and for capitals commencing sentences1 when small letters were not used instead4 ,these were so left in order to be filled in by the rubricator1 who sometimes carelessly inserted a wrong letter4 ,names of persons and places were printed indifferently with or without capitals4#adc ,but in all these matters the printers merely followed bad examples--that of the scribes whose downfall they were effecting4 ,one feature is especially characteristic of the oldest books1 viz4 the irregularity of the lines on the right hand margin of the columns or pages1 particularly when the larger kinds of type were used4 ,this arose from the mode of composing1 which interfered with the spacing out of the words to the ends of the lines4 ,when however that ingenious implement1 the metal composing stick--the printer's space-compelling gauge1--was invented1 this defect was remedied2 and before the first generation of printers passed away1 all the blemishes above recounted had disappeared from the works of those who deserve to be distinguished as ,masters in their ,art4 ,the engraving given below will explain the nature of this implement better than any written description4 ,the slide1 running parallel with the head1 with its slotted foot into which was inserted the nut for the screw which passed through and fastened it down to the ledge on which the types rested1 enabled the compositor to #8set' his types with accuracy to any measure required1 and to space out the words to the right hand1 so as to make them line in the margin as straight and even as the commencing letters on the left hand4 ,with the aid of the useful adjunct to the #8stick1' the #8setting-rule1'--7a strip of brass the height and length of the line1 with a projecting neb at the top right hand corner7--he could compose line after line with ease and speed4 ,the special use of the #8rule' was to prevent the letters as they were lifted into the #8stick1' catching on those of the line below1 which1 without the interposition of the polished strip of brass1 they were liable to do from the nicks in their shanks4 ,when the #8stick' was full1 he could also with the assistance of the #8rule' empt out its number of lines into his #8galley1' where1 when a sufficient number was collected1 they would be made into pages1 ready for the forme4 ,the inventor of the composing stick is not known2 but as it appears in the hands of the compositor in the engraving facing page #aaf1 and the original of that engraving was first printed about #adih1 and the #8stick' must have then been in use for some time2 and as the principle of the slide is analogous to that which would be adopted in regulating the width of the chamber in the moulds for casting types1 it is highly probable that the credit of its invention is due to ,schffer1 who had previously immortalized himself by inventing the art of type-founding4 ,illustration ,besides the appearance of the insides of early printed books1 their ordinary outside bindings demand attention here4 ,many of the finer specimens were cased in sumptuous covers1 in which the art of the goldsmith and jeweller was richly displayed2 but for common use a stiff sheet of parchment generally sufficed1 the edges of which were folded in1 a blank leaf being pasted over them4 ,others1 somewhat superior1 had boards of beech or oak for their sides1 over which was pasted a sheep-skin leather1 on which figures were stamped or embossed2#add while others again had stiff covers made of waste sheets1 or remnants of unsaleable copies1 cut down and pasted together4 ,these last have furnished many unique specimens of the works of the earliest printers2 and whenever any such are suspected to lie beneath an ancient book-cover1 the cover is carefully removed and subjected to a variety of processes to separate its parts1 and compel it to give up to the ardent gaze of the palotypographist1 its possible treasure of an invaluable unique specimen of the work of a ,gutenberg1 a ,schffer1 a ,zell1 a ,jenson1 a ,martens1 a ,caxton1 or some other worthy of the olden time4 ,,footnotes3 #acb 8,the early printers generally marked their publications by some monogram or cipher peculiar to themselves1 and containing their initials1 their arms1 or some curious device4 ,these are all well known to the initiated bibliopole1 and their presence on a title-page is received as evidence of the genuineness of a scarce copy4 ,the oldest of them is that of ,faust and ,schffer1 annexed to their first ,psalter1 and consisting of two shields tied together and hanging from a branch4 ,raphelengius1 of ,leyden1 adopted the anchor2 ,sporinus of ,basle1 chose the arion2 ,jansen of ,amsterdam1 the sphere2 the ,elzevirs exhibited the olive tree1 and the celebrated ,aldus had for a device1 the anchor and dolphin40--78,history of ,printing10 published by the ,society for ,promoting ,christian ,knowledge74 ,gotfridus de ,os1 of ,gouda1 had for his device an elephant and castle1 combined with the arms of the city4 #acc ,in the colophon to the second edition of this ,psalter1 printed in #adei1 the word #8spalmorum' is corrected to #8psalmorum1' and instead of the words 8ad eusebiam ,dei industrie est consummatus0 etc41 the following occur3--8ad laudem ,dei ac honorem sancti ,jacobi est consummatus per ,johannem ,fust1 civem moguntinem et ,petrum ,schoiffer de ,gernszheim clericum4 ,anno ,domini millesimo ,,cccclix1 ,,xxix die mensis ,augusti40 #acd 8,essai sur les ,monumens ,typographiques de ,jean ,gutenberg1 ,mayence1 l'an ,x40 #ahja4 #ace ,among the works referred to was a ,donatus4 ,mr4 ,,humphreys1 remarking upon these letters1 says3--8,if these initials1 of which ,m4 ,fischer gives admirable fac-similes1 were really executed under the direction of ,gutenberg1 they must of necessity greatly enhance the wonder and admiration felt for the author of the marvellously perfect workmanship of the first ,bible2 and also detract1 to an equal extent1 from the repute long held by ,schoiffher as the ,printer of the famous ,psalter1 with its fine coloured initials vaunted as the work of the press alone1 and not produced by the illuminator's pencil2 for if ,m4 ,fischer be correct in attributing the work in question to ,gutenberg1 then the credit of the initials printed in colours in the ,psalter must also be given to ,gutenberg1 as all the lesser initials in that noble specimen of the printer's art1 are the identical letters found by ,m4 ,fischer illustrating the #8,donatus' attributed by him without hesitation to the press of ,gutenberg1 as being printed with the same type as the first ,bible4 ,the fine free style of these letters1 and their perfect execution1 is very remarkable4444 ,that the #8,donatus' in question was printed1 not only before ,schoiffher's ,psalter1 but also before the ,bible1 appears incontrovertibly proved by the fact1 that the five leaves in question of this #8,donatus1' were found in the cover of a book of accounts dated #adea4 ,the testimony of ,m4 ,fischer is above suspicion2 but it is to be regretted1 that this most important and interesting monument of the labours of ,gutenberg is now no longer to be found4 ,at the time that ,m4 ,fischer's examination and description were made1 it was in the public library of ,mayence2 but at that time several national monuments were removed to ,paris1 and others lost in the general ransacking that took place1 and the interesting #8,donatus' described by ,m4 ,fischer is among the documents now no longer to be found either at ,paris or ,mayence4 ,although it would thus appear that the credit of the letters in question is due to ,gutenberg1 ,i shall have some further remarks to make on the subject in describing the famous ,psalter of ,schoiffher4 ,the ,bibliothque ,nationale possesses two leaves of a #8,donatus' printed with ,gutenberg's ,bible type40--,hist4 of ,art of ,printing1 p4 #gg4 #acf ,,wetter1 p4 #ebg2 but ,,humphreys1 p4 #hh1 says 8twenty-eight leaves40 ,not being in a position to make a reference to any copy of the work itself1 ,i am unable to say which of these authorities is right4 ,one of the finest specimens of this work extant1 is that in the celebrated ,astor ,library at ,new ,york4 ,the paper is as clean and the ink as fresh as the day on which it was printed4 ,there are also in this ,library several other ,typographical treasures4 ,amongst them will be found the 8,catholicon0 of ,john of ,genoa1 printed at ,augsburg in #adfi2 two specimens of ,caxton1 one of them a few leaves of the 8,recuyell des ,histories de ,troye10 printed in #adga1 and the other1 ,higden's 8,polychronicon10 printed in ,london1 #adhb4 ,glanville's 8,de ,proprietatibus ,rerum10 printed by ,wynken de ,worde1 the successor of ,caxton1 in #adid1 is also a handsome specimen4 #acg ,the differences in these prices lead to the conclusion that the higher prices must have been given for copies of the ,bible of #adee1 and the lower for those of #adfb2 the charge made for each varying according to the amount of ornamentation in illuminated letters and marginal decorations4 #ach ,,humphreys1 p4 #hi4 #aci ,the following is a brief list of these works3-- #a4 ,thomas de ,aquino1 secunda secunde1 #adfg4 #b4 ,clementis ,v4 ,constitutiones1 #b;d edit4 #adfg4 #c4 ,institutiones ,justiniani1 #adfh4 #d4 ,grammatica vetus rhytmica1 #b;d edit4 #adfh4 #e4 ,thomas de ,aquino1 ,expositio quarti libri sententiarum1 #adfi4 #f4 ,bonifacii ,,viii4 ,liber ,sextus decretalium1 #b;d edit4 #adgj4 #g4 ,hieronymi ,epistol1 #adgj4 #h4 ,mammotractus1 sive ,dictionarium vocabulorum1 #adgj4 #i4 ,decretalium liber ,sextus1 #c;d edit4 #adgj4 #aj4 ,valerius ,maximus1 liber factorum1 etc4 #adga4 #aa4 ,clementis ,v4 ,constitutiones1 #c;d edit4 #adga4 #ab4 ,s4 ,thomas1 ,prima pars secunde1 #adga4 #ac4 ,biblia ,sacra ,latina1 #adgb4 #ad4 ,decretum ,gratiani1 #adgb4 #ae4 ,justiniani ,institutiones1 #b;d edit4 #adgb4 #af4 ,bonifacii ,,viii4 liber ,sextus decretalium1 #dth edit4 #adgc4 #ag4 ,augustinus1 de civitate ,dei1 #adgc4 #ah4 ,gregorii ,,ix4 nova compilatio decretalium1 #adgc4 #ai4 ,turrecremata1 ,expositio psalterii1 #adgd4 #bj4 ,henrici ,herp ,speculum aureum1 #adgd4 #ba4 ,justiniani codex institutionum1 #adge4 #bb4 ,s4 ,bernardi ,sermones1 #adge4 #bc4 ,bonifacii1 c41 #eth edit4 #adgf4 #bd4 ,turrecremata1 c41 #b;d edit4 #adgf4 #be4 ,justiniani1 c41 #c;d edit4 #adgf4 #bf4 ,bonifacii1 c41 #fth edit4 #adgf4 #bg4 ,decisiones rote ,romane1 #adgg4 #bh4 ,justiniani ,novell constitutiones1 #adgg4 #bi4 ,pauli ,burgensis ,scrutinium ,scripturarum1 #adgh4 #cj4 ,turrecremata1 ,expositio super psalterio1 #adgh4 #ca4 ,bartholomi de ,chaymis confessionale1 #adgh4 #cb4 ,gregorii ,,ix4 ,decretales1 #adgi4 #cc4 ,turrecremata ,meditationes1 #adgi4 #cd4 ,joannis de ,wesalia ,paradoxa1 #adgi4 #ce4 ,agenda ,moguntina1 #adhj4 #cf4 ,herbarius1 #adhb4 #cg4 ,missale ,moguntinum1 #adhc4 #ch4 ,herbarius cum herbarum figuris1 #adhd4 #ci4 ,ortus sanitatis1 #adhe4 #dj4 ,missale ,ecclesie ,misniensis1 #adhe4 #da4 ,breviarium ,moguntinum1 #adhg4 #db4 ,missalium opus ad usum ,ecclesie ,cracoviensis1 #adhg4 #dc4 ,legenda et miracula ,s4 ,goaris1 #adhh4 #dd4 ,psalmorem ,codex1 #adij4 #de4 ,chronecken der ,sassen1 #adib4 #df4 ,missale ,moguntinum1 #b;d edit4 #adic4 #dg4 ,ordnung des kaiserl4 ,kammergerichts1 #adie4 #dh4 ,missale ,wratislaviense1 #adii4 #di4 ,psalterium1 #aejb4 #adj ,another son1 or perhaps a grandson1 ,peter1 established himself as a printer in the city of ,worms1 not far distant from ,mentz4 ,it was at his press that ,william ,tyndale's version of the first ,english translation of the ,new ,testament was printed 7in #aebe or #aebf71 after failing to get it done at the press of ,p4 ,quentell of ,cologne4 ,a press was established at ,friesingen in #adie1 by ,joann4 ,schffler4 #ada ,hist4 of ,art of ,printing1 p4 #baf4 #adb 8,one of the most remarkable typographical displays in the great ,exhibition of #ahea was the collection of ,chinese types1 or at least types to represent ,chinese characters1 in the ,zollverein department4 ,they were manufactured by ,beyerhaus of ,berlin1 for the ,american ,missionary ,society4 ,the ,chinese vocabulary is made up of a number of distinct words1 which are not built up from component letters1 as in ,european languages1 but have a good deal of the hieroglyphic effect about them4 ,to imitate these words or characters by moveable types has always been deemed a difficult matter4 ,m4 ,beyerhaus has analyzed the lines and dots of the ,chinese language1 so as to make #dbjj letters out of them1 or elements which will serve the compositor in lieu of letters4 ,the steel punches of all these #dbjj types were shewn2 and by various combinations of them1 about #bd1jjj ,chinese words or characters can be imitated2 and it was very interesting to see copies of the ,bible and the ,new ,testament printed in ,chinese by the aid of these types40--,curiosities of ,industry--,printing2 its ,modern ,varieties1 by ,g4 ,,dodd1 p4 #d4 #adc ,this may sometimes have been owing to a scarcity of capital letters4 ,an amusing story is told of a jobbing printer1 who was seen printing the label 8,lodgings to let10 in gold capital letters on a blue ground1 with the second ,g left out4 ,upon the omission being pointed out to him1 he said 8,pshaw6 ,i should like to know why a printer should not spell ,lodgings with one ,g1 when he has but that one in his fount60 #add ,some of these bindings were wonderful specimens of patient labour4 ,wooden boards as thick as the panels of a door1 studded with large brass nails with ornamented heads and massive metal corners1 for sides1 the backs solid with paste and glue1 and the fronts fastened with heavy clasps1 were by no means rare4 ,sometimes these covers were so made as to serve as receptacles for relics4 ,scaliger tells us that his grandmother had a printed ,psalter1 the cover of which was two inches thick1 the inside forming a kind of cupboard in which was a small silver crucifix2 and ,mr4 ,hansard relates having seen an ancient book1 in the cover of which was a recess for a relic--a human toe6 ,,appendix4 ,i4--,,account ,,of ,,the ,,origin ,,of ,,printing1 ,,by ,j4 ,f4 ,,faust ,,of ,,aschaffenberg4 ,joh4 ,fried4 ,faust1 ein ,sohn des im ,jahre #afai verstorbenen ,schffen des ,reichsgerichtes und ,rathes zu ,frankfurt1 erzhlt1 aus den ,familienpapieren1 welche die ,fauste von ,aschaffenberg 7,abkmmlinge der ,fuste von ,mainz7 in ihrem ,archive aufbewahrten1 die ,geschichte der ,erfindung in folgender ,weise3-- 8,diese jetzt erwhnte und andere mehr ,scribenten1 welche es von ,hrensagen theils genommen1 theils von einander entlehnet1 seind nicht allein an dem ,ort und der ,zeit1 sondern auch an der ,person vom ersten ,anfenger zweifelhafftig1 ja gar ohngewis1 und ist uns ,teutschen nicht ein geringer ,spott1 dass wir solche edle ,kunst zu allererst von ,gott empfangen1 und so mancherlet frembde ,historien und ,auctores lesen und schreiben1 den unter anderen vortrefflichen ,sachen1 nicht eine ,gewissheit des ersten ,anfengers1 ihme und gantzem ,teutschland zu ewigen unsterblichen ,ruhm und ,lob1 solten auch in getruckten und also unsterblichen ,zeugnssen beglaubt machen und beweisen1 und so lange ,zeyt im ,zweiffel haben stecken lassen4 ,darumb habe ich nicht unterlassen knnen1 dieser ,sachen und ,kunst gantzen ,verlauf und ,anfang1 so viel ich dessen aus glaubhafften alten ,zeugnssen und ,documentis1 wie auch von meinem ,vatter seelig1 und der von seinen ,eltern und also fortan1 quasi per aures et manus eingenommen1 auch zum ,theil aufgazeichnet hinterlassen1 der ,wahrheit und ,kunst ja vielmehr ,gott zu ehren1 ettwas umstendlich zu erzehlen und zu beweisen40 8,und ist anfnglich wahr1 dass ein ,brger1 eines ehrbarn ,geschlechts und ,herkommens zu ,mentz gewohnet1 so ,johann ,faust geheissen2 dieser den ,studiis sehr ergeben1 hat betrachtet1 wie manch edles ingenium aus ,mangel der ,bcher1 die sogar eine lange ,zeyt und hohen ,verlag abzuschreiben erfordert1 und nicht in eines jeden ,beutel gestocken1 ohnbillig verliegen1 ja gar verderben mssen1 und derowegen lang nachgesonnen1 wie doch allerhand ntzliche ,bcher mit weniger ,mhe gemannigfeltigt1 und um geringen und billichen ,preys mitgetheilt werden knten4 ,solchem seinem wohlmeinenden nutzlichen ,wunsch und ,vorhaben hat ,gott wohlerspriesliches ,mittel und ,modell gezeiget1 also dass er eine ,alphabet ,taffel1 erstlich in einem ,format mit erhheten ,buchstaben geschnitten4 ,es hat ihm aber grosses ,nachsinnen erfordert1 bis er besondere ,tinten darzu erfunden2 dann die gemeine ,tinte ist in den ,buchstaben von ,holtz und in ,holtz geschnitten1 verflossen1 und hatt alle ,buchstaben zusammengehengt1 so haben auch die ,licht-,flammen1 daren ,rus er sich auch zu gebrauchen unterstanden1 ob sie wohl einen ziemlichen ,abdruck geben1 dannoch keinen ,bestandt haben wollen1 bis endlich eine schwartze zhe ,tinten erfunden worden1 die einen ,bestandt gehabt4 ,als solche erfunden und solche ,taffeln mit kleinen ,pressen leichtlich zu trucken erst an ,tag kommen seynd sie mit groser ,verwunderung umb geringen ,preys von jedermnniglich erkaufft und berhmt1 und er darauf weiters fortzufahren verursacht worden1 und den ,donat ebenmssig an ,tag gegeben4 ,weil aber derselbige auf gantze ,bretter geschnitten1 ohngleich an ,buchstaben gefallen1 und auch sonst sich bald abtruchen lassen1 hatt ,erfinder der sich erinnert1 das es besser were1 mit eintzlichen ,buchstaben und ,a4 ,b4 ,c4 ein ,buch zu setzen1 als mit gantzen columnis oder paginis zu schneiden4 ,derowegen hat er die ,bretter von einander geschnitten1 die gesammten ,buchstaben herausgenommen1 und damit die ,setzerey angefangen1 und die abgegangene ,buchstaben mit newen ersetzet40#ade 8,weil aber solches mit ohnaufhrlicher ,arbeyt geschehen mssen1 und sehr langsam von statten gehen wollen1 hatt es abermahl nicht geringe ,hindernuss der angefangenen ,kunst1 auch der ,pressen halben1 geben wollen1 darber der ,erfinder nicht in geringe ,sorg und ,schwermuth gerathen4 ,nun hatt er aber bey solcher ,invention etliche ,diener gehabt1 die ihm solch ,truckerei verrichten und in andern nthigen ,sachen1 als ,dinten sieden1 setzen1 und dergleichen fleissige ,hand und ,hlfte gebotten4 ,unter denen ist einer ,peter ,schffer von ,gernsheimb genannt1 gewesen1 welcher als er seines ,herrn ,vorhaben erlerntt1 und selbst ,lust darzu bekommen1 hatt ihm ,gott das ,glck und ,gab eingeben1 wie man nemlich die ,buchstaben in ,buntzen schneiden und nachgiessen1 und also vielmahls mannigfaltigen knne1 und nicht jeden ,buchstaben oftmahls einzeling schneiden msse4 ,dieser hat in geheim eine ,buntzen von einem gantzen ,alphabet geschnitten1 und seinem ,herrn sampt den ,abgus oder ,matricibus gezeyget1 welches dam seinem ,herrn ,johann ,fausten so wohl gefallen1 dass er vor ,frewden ihme sobald seine ,tochter ,christinam zur ,ehe zu geben versprochen1 und balden nachmalen auch solches wrcklich vollzogen40 8,es hatt aber mit dem ,abdruck oder ,nachguss dieser ,buchstaben eben so viel ,mhe genommen1 also mit den ,hltzern1 dann man lang geknstelt1 biss man eine gewisse ,mixtur so der ,gewalt der ,pressen eine gute ,zeyt ausstehen knne1 erfunden4 ,als solches auch glcklich erfolget1 damit solch edle ,gab ,gottes in geheimb verbleiben mge1 haben ,schwher und ,tochtermann ihre ,gewerken mit ,eydpflichten verbunden1 solch ,sachen alle in hchster ,geheim und ,verschwiegenheit zu halten1 haben auch die ,bretter und ersten ,anfang1 wie auch die hltzern ,buchstaben in ,cortel oder ,schnur eingefasst1 aufgehoben und zu zeyten guten ,freunden gezeiget4 ,qu primordia avum meum ,doctorem ,joh4 ,faust inque manibus suis ,donati primam partem inter ctera vidisse ,m,s,stum posteris nobis relictum testatur40#adf 7,d4 h43 ,dass mein ,grossvater1 der ,doctor ,johann ,faust1 diese ,anfnge und1 unter andern1 den ersten ,theil des ,donats gesehen und in ,hnden gehabt habe1 bezeugt eine uns ,nachkmmlingen zurckgelassene ,handschrift47 8,we hart aber sie ihre ,gewerken verknpfet1 und sich diese ,kunst in geheim zu halten unterstanden1 hat es doch aus sonderlicher ,schickung ,gottes nicht seyn wollen noch sollen4 ,dann es hat sich begeben1 dass ,johann ,faustens nechster ,nachbawer ,johann von ,gutenberg 7man ist auch der ,meinung1 dass ,johann ,faust und ,gutenberg zusammen in einem ,haus genannt zum ,jungen in ,mentz1 gewohnet haben1 dahero solch ,haus den ,nahmen auch von der ,truckerey nachmahlen behalten7 innen worden dass solche edle ,kunst nicht allein einen grossen ,ruhm bey aller ,welt gemacht1 sondern auch einen guten und erlichen ,gewin gebracht1 darumb er sich freundlich zu gemelten ,fausten gethan1 und seine ,dienste mit ,darschiessung nothwendiges ,verlags anerbotten1 welches er ,faust gerne angenommen1 bevorab weil das ,werk1 so er zu trucken vorhatte uff ,pergament zu verfertigen1 einen grosen ,kosten erforderte darob sie sich vereiniget und einen aufgeschnittenen ,zettel oder ,contract nachfolgend beygesetzen ,inhalts aufgerichtet1 dass was auf solch ,werk gehen wrde1 zu ,verlust und ,gewinn ins gemein gehen1 und alles was darzu gehrete1 uff gemeinen ,sold entlehnet und aufgenommen werden solte4 ,weil aber er ,faust mehr aufgenommen und der ,unkosten hher geloffen1 als ,gutenberg vermeinet1 hatt er solchen halben ,theil nich zahlen wllen1 darber sie beyde vor das weltliche ,gericht zu ,mentz gerathen1 das hatt auf alles ,ein- und ,vorbringen1 auch geschenen ,beweistum erkannt wrde ,johann ,faust mit lieblichen eyd betewren1 dass solch uffgenommen ,geld auf das gemeine ,werk gegangen1 und nicht ihme allein zu ,nutz kommen sey1 solte ,johann von ,gutenberg solches zu erlegen schuldig seyn4 ,solchem ,rechtsspruch hat ,johann ,faust im ,refender zu ,mentz zun ,barfssern ein ,gengen gethan wie aus copeylich beygesetzten ,instrument grndlich und wahrhafftig zu ersehen4 ,aber ,johann von ,gutenberg ist darber sehr zornig worden1 darumb er nicht allein bei ,anhrung des eydt nicht gewesen1 sondern auch bald darauf von ,mentz sich hinweg gen ,strasburg gethan1 vielleicht daselbst seinen eygenen ,verlag gehabt1 und sindt ihm dahin etliche ,gefhrde nachgefolget1 und eine gntzliche ,trennung geschehen1 dass solche herrliche ,kunst nicht mehr ist geheimb behalten blieben1 sondern allenthalben von dato angeregten ,instruments1 so ,an4 #adee datiret ausgebreitet worden4 ,und ,hans von ,petersheim1 ein ,diener ,johannes ,fausten und ,peter ,schffers1 im vierten ,jahr hernach ,ao4 #adei1 zu ,frankfurt1 andere1 sonderlich als ,mentz2 ,ao4 #adfb verrthlichen erobert1 und umb ihre ,freyheit kommen1 folgends anderstwo sich niedergethan1 und solche ,kunst ohngescheuet getrieben1 offenbahret1 und gemein gemacht haben4 ,est ist auch diess ,unglck mit zugeschlagen1 dass als sie ein vornehm ,juristisch ,buch gen ,paris in ,frankreich uff ,pergament gedruckt1 gefhret und die ,wahlen ,wallischen oder ,wlschen ihnen solche ,kunst missgnnet1 das ,buch in ,laugen gestossen1 und mit ,kratzbrsten auszuthun1 aber vergeblich1 unterstanden1 sie solche ,exemplaria alle1 unter dem ,schein als ob der ,trucker eine frembde ,waar ohne ,special ,erlaubnuss des ,knigs in ,frankreich gebracht1 confiscirt1 darauf er repressalias vom ,kayser ,fridrichen ,,iii4 verlangt1 und soviel frantzzische ,kaufleute niedergeworfen1 dass er seines ,schadens wohl zukommen1 und viel ,franzsische ,waare in sein ,haus allerhant ,sorten bekommen1 dass die ,sach endlich durch beyde ,potentaten verglichen1 uffgehoben1 ut er ,peter ,schffer befriediget worden40 ,man sieht1 dass in diesem ,berichte ber den ,gang der ,erfindung der objektive ,thatbestand1 besonders was die ,anfnge betrifft ganz richtig erzhlt wird1 und dass er nur quoad personas verflscht ist2 indem ,fusten das zugeschrieben wird1 was ,gutenbergen angehrt4 ,es erbellt ferner daraus1 dass er weder aus ,trithems ,werken noch aus dem ,lobgedichte des ,bergellanus geschpft ist2 da er umstndcher als beide in's ,einzelne der ,verfahrungsweisen eingeht4 ,auch die ,angabe1 ,fust und ,schffer htten nach ,erfindung der gegossenen ,buchstaben ihre ,arbeiter mit ,eiden zur ,geheimhaltung der ,kunst verbunden1 die ersten ,holztafeln aufgehoben1 die einzelnen hlzernen ,buchstaben in ,schnre gefaszt und nur zu ,zeiten guten ,freunden gezeigt1 deutet1 als auf ihre ,quelle1 auf handschriftliche oder mndliche ,ueberlieferungen1 die sich in der ,familie ,fust erhalten haben mssen4 ,so haben sich in dem an die ,herren von ,glauburg bergegangenen ,familienarchive des mainzischen1 nach ,frankfurt ausgewanderten ,patriziergeschlechtes zum ,jungen viele die ,familie ,gutenberg betreffenden ,urkunden1 und darunter auch das bei dem ,prozesse zwischen ,gutenberg und ,fust errichtete ,notariatsinstrument erhalten4 ,in dem ,archive der ,familie ,faust1 welche von ,aschaffenberg nach ,frankfurt gekommen1 und dort durch ,heirath unter die ,patriziergeschlechter aufgenommen worden ist1 hatten sich gewiss hnliche ,urkunden und ,nachrichten ber die ,angelegenheiten der ,familien ,fust und ,schffer erhalten1 wie auch in dem ,berichte1 bei #a und #b1 ausdrcklich gemeldet wird4 ,joh4 ,friedrich ,faust1 durch ,familieneitelkeit verleitet1 verflschte sie nur in ,betreff der ,personen1 indem er 7so wie ,johann ,schffer in seinen ,schluszschriften die ,erfindung allein seinem ,grossvater ,fust zuschreib7 demselben ,fust1 den er mit ,recht fr seinen ,ahnen hielt1 alle ,ehre zuwendete1 und zu diesem ,behufe sogar das ,instrument des ,notars ,helmasperger verdrehte4--,,wetter1 pp4 #bga-bgg4 ,,footnotes3 #ade ,as wooden types were the first with which the original printers made their earliest essays in the art of ,typography in ,europe1 it is interesting to learn that in ,america such types are now being used to so great an extent1 that it requires the aid of the most finished machinery to supply the demand that has arisen for them4 ,the following account of their manufacture is condensed from a narrative in the ,boston ,weekly ,spectator 7,oct4 #ab1 #ahga74--;,about #ahec ,mr4 ,william ,h4 ,page1 originally a printer1 entered into the employ of ,mr4 ,j4 ,g4 ,cooley1 a wood type cutter at ,greenville4 ,noticing the many defects of the process he busied his mind in devising and inventing methods for its improvement4 ,succeeding in his efforts1 he started in business on his own account2 and in #ahfi1 having bought out ,mr4 ,cooley1 transferred the whole of the works to ,norwich1 ,eastern ,connecticut4 ,here1 with extensive and perfect machinery1 and from #ce to #dj workpeople1 one-seventh of whom are females1 he supplies the greater part of the wooden types used throughout the ,united ,states4 ,the process of manufacture is as follows3--,all ordinary wood type is made of rock-maple1 which grows abundantly in ,connecticut4 ,the logs are first sawed across the grain into blocks an inch and an eighth thick1 then steamed to force out the sap1 and when dried1 packed away in the seasoning house for two years4 ,when wanted for type1 they are taken to dressing machines1 where horizontal revolving cutters rapidly smoothe and reduce their size with perfect uniformity2 they are then skilfully planed by hand1 next gum-shellaced1 and dried for half a day1 and sand papered1 which process is again repeated4 ,after this1 they are taken to felt buffing wheels1 covered with beeswax and tallow1 which1 revolving with exceeding swiftness1 thoroughly polish the surfaces on which the letters are to be cut4 ,the blocks are then sawed into the desired shapes1 and transferred to the letter makers4 ,these place the prepared blocks in a machine not much unlike in its appearance to an eccentric lathe1 although it is not one4 ,set in one angle of a horizontal frame like a pentagraph1 is a pencil or tracer1 moved by the hand of the operator exactly in the lines of a stationary pattern or model letter4 ,in an opposite angle1 and directly over the block to be carved1 is a corresponding pencil of fine steel1 in reality a small bit1 or gouge1 which is belted to the driving power1 and makes from #ag1jjj to #bj1jjj revolutions a minute1 following minutely all the lines and flexions of the tracer on the pattern4 ,a skilful operator can thus make a letter in half a minute4 ,this part of the work is chiefly performed by girls4 ,after leaving the cutter the letters are further dressed by a trimmer who gives them their finishing touches1 when they are thoroughly oiled with linseed oil1 and packed for transport to wherever ordered4 ,the ordinary size of letters1 used for ,advertising placards1 is #a ft4 #h in41 though occasionally some are ordered #ad ft4 long1 made and printed in sections it is presumed4 ,these monster letters are made of a softer white wood1 and gouged out on a great machine called a 8router40 ,the smallest size manufactured is about one-third of an inch4 ,b4 ,w4 ,s4 ,this is just the size of the types used for the 8,appeal to ,christendom against the ,turks10 printed at ,mentz in #aded or #adee4 ,what steam-driven machinery is doing for wooden types it is also doing in another form for types of cast metal4 ,the greatest number that an expert workman could cast by the hand-mould process was about #ahjj in an hour4 ,after many years of costly experimentalizing1 and frequent but not wholly fruitless failures1 a machine was at last perfected in #ahfb1 by which as many as #gfjj letters an hour are turned out4 ,with type manufactured at this rate1 with steam type-composers that put together #dj1jjj letters an hour1 7the invention of ,mr4 ,a4 ,mackie of ,warrington71 and with steam printing machines capable of perfecting #ab1jjj sheets 7equal to #bd1jjj impressions7 in the same space of time1 7the ,times 8,walter0 machine1 invented by ,mr4 ,j4 ,c4 ,macdonald72 the latter half of the nineteenth century is truly an era of marvels in all that concerns ,letter-press ,printing4 #adf ,dr4 ,van ,der ,linde treats this writer with but scant ceremony4 ,he says1 7p4 #gf of ,hessels' ,translation7 8,the father of this arch-liar had written frankly and in accordance with truth--#8,joh4 ,faust 7,fust7 war ,mitverleger der ,buchdruckerei in der ,stadt ,mentze2 etliche wollen wider seiner ,dank ihn zu einem ,inventorem haben und macken1 so aber nur mit seinem ,vermgen und guten ,rath in der ,that geholfen4'--#8,joh4 ,faust was partner in the printing office at ,mentz2 some persons would make an inventor of him against his own wish2 he really helped only with his money and good advice4'0 ,,ii4--,,account ,,of ,,the ,,origin ,,of ,,printing1 ,,by ,,hadrian ,,junius4 ,dicam igitur quod accepi a senibus et autoritate gravibus et ,reipublic administratione claris1 quique a majoribus suis ita accepisse gravissimo testimonio confirmarunt1 quorum auctoritas jure pondus habere debeat ad faciendam fidem4 ,habitavit ante annos centum duo de triginta ,harlemi1 in dibus satis splendidis 7ut documento esse potest fabrica1 qu in hunc diem perstat integra7 foro imminentibus e regione ,palatii ,regalis1 ,laurentius ,joannis cognomento ,aedituus ,custosve 7quod tunc opimum et honorificum munus familia eo nomine clara hreditario jure possidebat7 is ipse1 qui nunc laudem invent artis ,typographic recidivam justis vindiciis et sacramentis repetit1 ab aliis nefarie possessam et occupatam1 summo jure omnium triumphorum laurea majore donandus4 ,is forte in suburbano nemore spatiatus 7ut solent sumpto cibo aut festis diebus cives1 qui otio abundant71 cpit faginos cortices principio in litterarum typos conformare1 quibus1 inversa ratione sigillatim chart impressis1 versiculum unum atque alterum animi gratia ducebat1 nepotibus1 generi sui liberis exemplum futurum4 ,quod ubi feliciter successerat1 cpit animo altiora 7ut erat ingenio magno et subacto7 agitare primumque omnium atramenti scriptorii genus glutinosius tenaciusque1 quod vulgare lituras trahere experiretur1 cum genere suo ,thoma ,petro qui quatuor liberos reliquit1 omnes ferme consulare dignitate functos 7quod eo dico1 ut artem in familia honesta et ingenua1 haud servili1 natam intelligant omnes71 excogitavit1 inde etiam pinaces totas figuratas additis caracteribus expressit4 ,quo in genere vidi ab ipso excussa adversaria1 operarum rudimentum1 paginis solum adversis1 haud opistographis4 ,is liber erat vernaculo sermone ab auctore conscriptus anonymo1 titulum prferens3 ,speculum nostr salutis1 in quibus id observatum fuerat inter prima artis incunabula 7ut nunquam ulla simul reperta et absoluta est7 uti pagin avers glutine cohrescerent1 ne ill ips vacu deformitatem adferrent4 ,postea faginas formas plumbeis mutavit1 has deinceps stanneas fecit1 quo solidior minusque flexilis esset materia durabiliorque2 e quorum typorum reliquiis1 qu superfuerant1 conflata nophora vetustiora adhuc hodie visuntur in ,laurentianis illis1 quas dixi dibus1 in forum prospectantibus1 habitatis postea a suo pronepote ,gerardo ,thoma1 quem honoris causa nomino1 cive claro ante paucos hos annos vita defuncto sene4 ,faventibus1 ut fit1 invento novo studiis hominum1 quum nova merx1 nunquam antea visa1 emptores undique exciret1 cum uberrimo qustu creuit simul artis amor1 creuit ministerium1 additi famili operarum ministri1 prima mali labes1 quos inter ,joannes quidam1 sive is 7ut fert suspicio7 ,faustus fuerit ominoso cognomine1 hero suo infidus et infaustus1 sive alius eo nomine1 non magnopere laboro1 quod silentum umbras inquietare nolim contagione conscienti1 quondam dum viverent1 tactas4 ,is ad operas excusorias sacramento dictus1 postquam artem jungendorum characterum1 fusilium typorum peritiam1 quque alia eam ad rem spectant1 percalluisse sibi visus est1 captato opportuno tempore quo non potuit magis idoneum inveniri1 ipsa nocte1 qu ,christi natalitiis solennis est1 qua cuncti promiscue lustralibus sacri operari solent1 choragium omne typorum involat1 instrumentorum herilium1 ei artificio comparatorum1 supellectilem convasat1 deinde cum fure domo se proripit1 ,amstelodamum principio adit1 inde ,coloniam ,agrippinam1 donec ,magontiacum perventum est1 ceu ad asyliaram1 ubi quasi extra telorum jactum 7quod dicitur7 positus tuto degeret1 suorumque furtorum aperta officina fructum huberem meteret4 ,nimirum ex ea intra vertentis anni spacium1 ad annum a nato ,christo #addb1 iis ipsis typis1 quibus ,harlemi ,laurentius fuerat usus1 prodisse in lucem certum est ,alexandri ,galli ,doctrinale1 qu ,grammatica celeberrimo tunc in usu erat1 cum ,petri ,hispani tractatibus1 prima ftura4 ,ista sunt ferme1 qu a senibus annosis1 fide dignis1 et qui tradita de manu in manum1 quasi ardentem tdam in decursu acceperant1 olim intellexi1 et alios eadem referentes attestantesque comperi4 ,memini narasse mihi ,nicolaum ,galium1 pueriti me formatorem1 hominem ferrea memoria et longa canitie venerabilem1 quod puer non semel audierit1 ,cornelium quendam bibliopegum ac senio gravem1 nec octogenario minorem 7qui in eadem officina subministrum egerat7 tanta animi contentione ac fervore commemorantem rei gest seriem1 inventi 7ut ab hero acceperat7 rationem1 rudis artis polituram et incrementum1 aliaque id genus1 ut invito quoque pr rei indignitate lachrym erumperent1 quoties de plagio inciderat mentio3 tum vero ob ereptam furto gloriam sic ira exardescere solere senem1 ut etiam lictoris exemplum eum fuisse editurum in plagiarium eum fuisse editurum in plagiarium appareret1 si vita illi superfuisset3 tum devovere consuevisse diris ultricibus sacrilegum caput1 noctesque illas damnare atque execrari quas una cum scelere illo communi in cubili per aliquot menses exegisset4 ,qu non dissonant a verbis ,quirini ,talesii ,cos1 eadem fere ex ore librarii ejusdem se olim accepisse mihi confessi1 etc4--,batavia p4 #bec1 et seq4 ,,iii4--,,the ,,haarlem-,,coster-,,legend4 ,the ,haarlem ,legend of the ,invention of ,printing by ,lourens ,janszoon ,coster1 critically examined by ,dr4 ,a4 ,,van ,,der ,,linde4 ,translated from the ,dutch by ,j4 ,h4 ,,hessels1 with an ,introduction and a ,classified ,list of the ,costerian ,incunabula4 ,london1 ,blades1 ,east1 and ,blades4 #ahga4 ,roy4 #hvo4 pp4 xxvi4 and #agj4 ,a copy of the above work having reached me while the preceding sheet was being prepared for press1 ,i am singularly gratified to find1 that by means of a wholly independent process of investigation1 ,i have arrived at a conclusion1 almost identical1 on the main point1 with that to which other and more direct sources of information have led ,dr4 ,van ,der ,linde4 ,writing for ,english readers1 and dealing chiefly with the statements and arguments of the leading ,english ,costerians1 the confirmation thus given to my views is as great as it was unexpected4 ,dr4 ,van ,der ,linde shews1 most conclusively1 that the whole story of the ,origin of ,printing in ,haarlem arose from the fabrication of a pedigree by an innkeeper named ,gerrit ,thomaszoon1 who was sheriff of ,haarlem in the year #aede1 and who died about the year #aefc or #aefd4 ,this pedigree1 made a few years before his death1 traces his descent from one ,thomas ,pieterssoen1 by ,lucye 8his second wife1 who was the daughter of ,louris ,janssoens ,coster1 who brought the first print into the world ,anno #addf40 ,authority for this statement there is absolutely none2 and no proof whatever exists that ,lucye the daughter of ,louris ,janssoens1 ever existed otherwise than by her creation in the fertile fancy of the pedigree maker4 ,but proof there is in abundance1 that one ,lourens ,janszoon ,coster kept a tallow-chandler's shop in ,haarlem between the years #addj and #adej2 that about the latter year he transferred that business to his sister1 ,ghertruit ,jan ,costersdochter1 who died in #aded2 he himself starting as an innkeeper in #adea1 in which occupation he continued until #adhc1 when he left ,haarlem with all his goods1 and is heard of no more4 ,this ,lourens ,coster was a member of a festive body1 called the 8,holy ,christmas ,corporation40 ,it consisted of #ed brethren and sisters1 each one of whom possessed a chair specially set apart for him or her at their regular meetings4 ,these chairs passed by inheritance or purchase from one to another2 the corporation apparently having had its origin in a family gathering4 ,its transactions were minutely recorded1 and particular care was taken to note the transmission of the chairs from one holder to another4 ,lourens ,coster's chair passed in #adhd1 7the record does not state how71 into the possession of ,frans ,thomas ,thomaszoon1 and in #adig ,gerrit ,thomaszoon ,pieterszoon inherited it from his father4 ,this is the individual who kept the inn on the market place1 and was made sheriff in #aede4 ,now ,jan ,van ,zuyren and ,coornhert were partners in business1 and 8sworn book-printers0 to the town in #aefa1 in which year ,van ,zuyren also became ,burgomaster4 ,they could not but have been intimate with the sheriff and innkeeper ,gerrit ,thomaszoon1 who lived to the year #aefc or #aefd4 ,he would also be well known to ,junius1 living as he did in ,haarlem from #aefj to #aegb4 ,in one of the rooms of his inn ,gerrit ,thomaszoon hung up the pedigree he had had made1 and in which was set forth his descent from 8,lucye1 second wife of ,thomas ,pieterszoon1 daughter of ,louris ,janssoens ,coster1 who brought the first print into the world ,anno #addf40 ,here then1 as in a nutshell1 lie the whole of the circumstances which ,junius1 in #aefh1 worked up in his ,batavia into an account of the ,origin of ,printing in ,haarlem1 by ,laurens ,janszoon ,coster2 but with the date of the pedigree altered from #addf to #addj4 ,the cogent reasons for this alteration are fully shewn by ,dr4 ,van ,der ,linde4 ,the statements of ,van ,zuyren and ,coornhert2 the story of the family mansion1 and the wine-pot relics2 the cursings of the old book-binder ,cornelis2 the confirmations of the tale to ,junius by ,nicholas ,galius and ,quiryn ,dirksz ,talesius1 are all now easily understood1--they were tavern gossip1 suggested by the pedigree1 which passing through the alembic of ,junius's brain1 issued thence in the shape of a circumstantial history1 which national vanity has been induced to accept as a record of indubitable facts4 ,from first to last1 the ,coster-legend forms a very singular chapter in the history of national credulity4 ,scriverius1 writing in #afbh1 and not knowing the source of ,junius's information1 makes one ,lourens ,janszoon1 sheriff of ,haarlem1 who died in #adci1 the ,laurens ,janszoon ,coster1--7these names being as common in ,haarlem as those of ,brown1 ,jones and ,smith in ,london17--to whom was attributed the origin of printing2 and to whose memory a stone statue was erected in #agbb4 ,in #ahbc and #ahbd bronze and silver jubilee medals were struck in honor of the same supposed first typographer1 and two memorial stones put up2 and in #ahea1 a third tablet was placed in front of the rebuilt ,coster-house4 ,but meanwhile1 the pedigree is discovered1 and ,koning and others strive hard to identify the ,lourens ,janssoens ,coster it mentions1 with the ,lourens ,janszoon of ,scriverius4 ,junius's account is unscrupulously amended and altered and corrected1 in order to make room for the views of subsequent writers2 and another statue in bronze is resolved upon1 which is erected in #ahef2 but this one1 in the secret knowledge of the ,committee engaged in its erection1#adg is to the memory of the tallow-chandler and innkeeper1 and not to that of the alleged sheriff4 ,finally1 the pedigree is published1 all other documents connected with the persons named in it1 and in the history by ,junius1 are critically examined2 and in #ahgj the fallacy of the whole affair is thoroughly exposed4 ,the conclusion to which ,dr4 ,van ,der ,linde arrives in his chapter on 8,the ,spread of ,typography in the ,netherlands10 is as follows3-- 8,the harvest of history on the field of typography concerning ,haarlem may be scanty2 it does not yield anything1 as far as xylography goes4 ,there existed there already very early a ,lucasguild1 like that at ,antwerp1 and like the ,johannesgild at ,bruges2 but1 however rich in painters1 sculptors1 and goldsmiths1 the ,haarlem ,corporation may have been1 it produces1 notwithstanding the most patient researches1 not a single prenter 7briefprenter7 or xylographer4 ,the manufacture1 therefore1 of a whole series of blockbooks of the #aeth century1 ascribed1 two1 three1 and four centuries afterwards1 without any shadow of evidence1 to a ,haarlem innkeeper1 has to be referred to the empire of fiction40 ,mr4 ,hessels 7a native of ,haarlem1 as is also ,dr4 ,van ,der ,linde7 says1 in his very able ,introduction3 7p4 vii47 8,whatever may be said about the discrepancies and absurdities of the ,coster-legend1 now that we possess a full knowledge of it1 there is one circumstance which has given1 and will give1 an air of probability to the story1 even now that it is deprived of its hero1 so long as this circumstance cannot be sufficiently accounted for4 ,i mean the existence of a comparatively large number of works--blockbooks and incunabula--which are of an incontestably early1 and ,dutch origin1 and which cannot1 even at present1 be ascribed to any known printer1 but of which it is certain that they belong to the printer who produced the four editions of the ,speculum ,human ,salvationis1 the book referred to by ,junius40 ,he then gives1 on pages xi4 to xvi41 a classified list of the ,costeriana as far as known1 amounting in all to #dc separate works and editions1 distinguishing seven different types used in their production4 8,the earliest date 7he says7 we can assign for the present to the ,costeriana is #adga-gd4 ,mr4 ,holtrop tells us on p4 #ca of his ,monuments1 that the ,hague copy of the ,saliceto 7,no4 #be of his list7 contains two ,,ms4 annotations3 #ast1 #8,hunc librum emit dominus ,conrardus abbas hujus loci ,,xxxiii41 qui obiit anno ,,mcccclxxiiii1 in profesto exaltationis sanctae crucis1 postquam profuisset annis fere tribus4' ,another inscription indicates that this copy had belonged to the convent of ,st4 ,james1 at ,lille4 ,now1 the abbat ,conrad1 who bought this book for his convent1 was ,conrad du ,moulin1 who was abbat only from #adga to #adgd4 8,this is the only date we can use at present4 ,it is1 as ,mr4 ,bradshaw observes in his #8,list1' mentioned above1 #8a singular circumstance that this one fact should compel us to place the printer of the ,speculum at the head of the ,dutch printers1 though it only just allows him to take precedence of ,ketelaer and ,de ,leempt1' from whom we have the date #adgc1 found in ,peter ,comestor1 ,scholastica hystoria40--pp4 xvii4-xviii4 ,the above considerations go far towards supporting the suggestions ,i have thrown out 7see pages #cbc-cdh7 in regard to the dates when1 and the parties by whom1 the ,speculum1 ,donatuses1 c41 were printed4 ,and these suggestions are further confirmed by the extracts cited by ,dr4 ,van ,der ,linde from the archives of ,utrecht1 in a note on p4 #he of ,hessels' ,translation1 where it is stated that in the year #adff1 the name of ,peter ,dircxsz1 described as a 8beeldedrucker0--a prenter1--appears4 8,perhaps10 adds ,dr4 ,van ,der ,linde1 8the printer of the plates of the ,speculum40 ,,footnotes3 #adg ,the name of ,lourens ,janszoon1 the sheriff of ,haarlem who died in #adci1 is mentioned seventy-six times in the archives of the city1 but never with the name of ,coster4 ,the name of the tallow-chandler ,lourens ,janszoon ,coster1 appears much later1 7as late as #adhc72 but his name was never brought before the public1 in connection with the origin of printing1 until the year #ahfg4--,see ,haarlem ,legend1 pp4 #abd1 #abe4 ,,iv4--,,cut ,,wooden1 versus ,,cast ,,metal ,,types4 ,however much my views may be found to coincide with those of ,dr4 ,van ,der ,linde1 ,mr4 ,hessels1 and ,mr4 ,bradshaw1 upon the ,origin of ,printing1 and the date of the production of the so-called ,costeriana1 there may be wide differences of opinion on the question1 whether the types made use of in the production of those works were made of wood or of metal4 ,dr4 ,van ,der ,linde writes upon this point in very dogmatic strains4 ,in his eleventh chapter1--8,a ,beech in #8,den ,hout1'0--the object of which is to shew the impossibility of ,junius's statement about ,coster having printed with wooden types1 he quotes the following from ,ensched1 written about the year #aggj4 8#8,i have exercised printing for about fifty years1 and wood engraving for about forty-five years1 and ,i have cut letters and figures for my father's and my own printing office in wood of palm1 pear1 and medlar trees2 ,i have now been a type-founder for upwards of thirty years2 but to do such things as those learned gentlemen 7,junius and ,meerman7 pretend that ,laurens ,coster and his heirs have done1 neither ,i nor ,papillon1 7the most clever wood engraver of ,france7 are able to understand1 nor the artists ,albrecht ,durer1 ,de ,bray1 and ,iz4 ,van ,der ,vinne either2 but such learned men1 who dream about wooden1 moveable letters1 make ,laurens ,janszoon ,coster use witchcraft1 for the hands of men are not able to do it4 ,to print a book with capitals of the size of a thumb1 as on placards 8,,house ,,and ,,ground10 which are cut in wood1 and which ,i have cut myself by hundreds1 would be ridiculous2 to do it with wooden letters of the size of a pin's head is impossible4 ,i have made experiments with a few of a somewhat larger size4 ,i made a wooden slip of ,text ,corpus1 and figured the letters on the wood or slip2 thereupon ,i cut the letters2 ,i had left a space of about the size of a saw between each letter on purpose1 and ,i had no want of fine and good tools2 the only question now was to saw the letters mathematically square off the slip4 ,i used a very fine little saw1 made of a very thin spring of ,english steel1 so cleverly made1 that ,i doubt whether our ,laurens ,janszoon had a saw half as good2 ,i did all ,i could to saw the letters straight and parallel1 but it was impossible3 there was not a single letter which could stand the test of being mathematically square4 ,what now to do8 it was impossible to polish or file them2 ,i tried it1 but it could not be done by our type-founder's whetstones1 as it would have injured the letters4 ,in short1 ,i saw no chance1 and ,i feel sure that no engraver is able to cut separate letters in wood1 in such a manner that they retain their quadrature 7for that is the main thing of the line in type-casting47 ,if1 however1 ,i wished to give my trouble and time to it1 ,i should be able to execute the three words #8,spiegel onzer ,behoudenis1' better than the ,rotterdam artist has done in the ,latin work of ,m4 ,meerman2 but it is impossible1 ridiculous1 and merely chimerical1 to print books in this manner4'0 ,the above quotation1 in the opinion of ,dr4 ,van ,der ,linde1 settles the matter once for all2 and certainly such a statement1 from such a man1 is enough to deter any one from attempting a similar experiment4 ,dr4 ,van ,der ,linde clinches ,ensched's statement1 with the following remarks3-- 8,we cannot wish for a more decisive and competent criticism of the story of ,junius than this1 given by a ,haarlemer and a ,costerian2 for ,junius represents ,coster as having printed the ,speculum in ,dutch with wooden types2 he makes him1 in other words1 do something impossible1 ridiculous1 and chimerical4 ,it is true that the wooden types have been patronized until our times2 that ,camus has given a specimen of printing with wooden types of two lines1 ,wetter of one column1 ,schinkel of half a page2 that we are able to do much more with the means of the nineteenth than with those of the fifteenth century2 but none of those specimens have proved what they should have proved2 the practicability of printing a book with moveable wooden letters1 i4 e4 to distribute the forms1 to clean the ink from the letters1 to submit them to frequent strong pressing1 and to retain the usefulness of the letters employed1 and without the aid of modern apparatus4 ,they have only proved what men are willing to do for a favorite opinion1 for a prejudice which they insist1 for once and all1 ought to be true40444 8,it is high time for criticism to make a fire of these imaginary wooden letters40 ,determined that the advocates of wooden letters shall be beaten completely out of the field1 the ,dr4 adds1 in a note upon ,schinkel in the above quotation4 8,in a brochure entitled #8,tweetal ,bijdragen1' ,schinkel gives some #8experiments' of his foreman ,h4 le ,blansch1 namely1 seven lines1 printed with types of palm wood4 ,the xylotypographic text runs3--#8,that the first ,dutch ,spiegel onzer ,behoudenis was printed with cast types1 is not to be doubted4 ,is it possible to print a book of some extension with moveable letters cut of wood8 ,,yes4--,le ,blansch1 sculp4' ,this ,,yes is an unproved dictum1 the contrary of which is evident already from the dancing lines of the experiment4 ,let a book be produced printed with moveable wooden letters1 instead of all those experiments which signify nothing4444 ,but apart from all this ,costerian talk1 the question may not be put as ,schinkel did1 but simply3 ,were ever books printed with moveable wooden letters8 ,no40--pp4 #gb-gc4 ,it may however be retorted upon the ,dr4 that his ,no6 is also an improved dictum4 ,but he says again1 pages #gh and #gi3-- 8,those fatal unhistorical wooden types6 ,wetter spent nearly the amount of ten shillings on having a number of letters made of the wood of a pear tree1 only to please ,trithemius1 ,bergellanus1 and ,faust of ,aschaffenburg1 the first two1 falsifiers of history in good1 the last in bad1 faith4 ,his letters1 although tied with string1 did not remain in the line1 but made naughty caprioles4 ,the supposition--that by these few dancing lines the possibility is demonstrated of printing with #dj1jjj wooden letters1 necessary to the printing of a quaternion1 a whole folio book--is dreadfully silly4 ,the demonstrating fac-simile demonstrates already the contrary4 ,wetter's letters not only declined to have themselves regularly printed1 but they also retained their pear-tree-wood-like impatience afterwards4 ,he says1 #8,i have deposited the wooden types with their forms in the town-library1 where they may be seen at any time4' ,nothing is more liberal40 8,i not only deny0 with ,m4 ,bernard adds the ,dr41 8that they books printed with moveable wooden characters exist at present--,i deny that they ever have existed40 ,nothing can be more emphatic4 ,but1 in the first place1 8#dj1jjj wooden letters0 are not 8necessary to the printing of a quaternion1 a whole folio book10--and if they were1 the supposition is not 8dreadfully silly10 for it was quite within the power of letter-snyders to cut that number if required4 ,but they were not required4 ,i have already shewn 7p4 #bii71 that to print two pages of the ,speculum the number of letters necessary was under #c1jjj4 ,it has also been shewn1 that the early printers never printed more than one or two pages of their books at a time2 while the impressions taken of such productions as the ,speculum would in their different editions vary from but #bj to #fj copies each2--#c1jjj letters therefore were ample for bringing out a whole folio book or quaternion1 and the pressure the types were subjected to in the course of a dozen or twenty editions would not more than equal the strain brought to bear upon a single edition of a thousand copies in modern times4 ,it is however 8dreadfully silly0 to insist1 that wooden types1 if capable of being used at all in an experiment which proves their capability of printing a portion of a book1 ought also to be proved capable of being used for printing a whole book with4 ,in other words1 that a whole book should be printed with such types1 in order to prove1 that as a whole book has been1 therefore1 a whole book may have been1 printed with them4 ,it requires1 moreover1 no great profundity of wisdom to profess a disbelief in the making and use of wooden types by the inventors of ,typography1 and to deny the assertions of older and contemporary writers1 that they were so made and used4 ,a whole book could just as easily be printed with wooden types1 when they were once prepared and ready for use1 as half a book1 or half a page1 or a single word4 ,the real question at issue is not1 ,can a single book1 or has a single book1 ever been printed with wooden types8--a question answered with an emphatic1 although an unproved ,no6 by ,dr4 ,van ,der ,linde and other anti-xylo-typographers2--but1 ,did the earliest ,typographers1 in their first experiments1 make use of wooden types or not8 ,trithemius says1 on information derived from ,schffer senior1 that they did4 ,his statement is borne out by that of ,zell1 who says ,gutenberg got the beginning of this art from the ,donatuses1 i4 e4 block-books1 printed in ,holland4 ,bergellanus1 an independent inquirer a generation later1 and for fifteen years a corrector of the press at ,mentz1 confirms the statement of ,trithemius2 while ,faust of ,aschaffenburg declares that the family papers in his possession bore evidence to the same effect4 ,what the first ,german printers did1 it was most natural that the first ,dutch printer would also do2 and1 as ,i have already pointed out 7p4 #cdf17 there are reasons for believing that wherever the ,speculum#adh was printed1 7and later information seems to indicate that ,utrecht may have been the place71 the types used were the work of a letter-snyder1 and the material of which they were made was wood4 ,it is quite a different question1 ,could a continued series of works1 be produced by the use of wooden types1 in a manner equal1 or nearly equal1 to that by which works are produced with metal types8 ,to such a question1 the advocates of the use1 first1 of wooden types by the earliest ,typographers1 reply1 ,no2 wooden types would only answer for a while2 and because of their fragile nature1 metal types1 cut or cast1 became sooner or later a necessity4#adi ,it is1 besides1 if not 8dreadfully silly10 at least unwise1 to argue against the possibility of the original use of wooden types1 because the specimens given by ,schinkel and ,wetter are crooked and irregular1 and do not line1 although tied or strung together with string4 ,schinkel and ,wetter both maintained that the ,speculum was printed with metal types2 so did ,ensched4 ,for either of the three1 therefore1 to have thoroughly succeeded with his experiment1 would have been fatal to his argument and preconceived opinion4 ,doubtless1 it was scarcely possible for ,ensched to succeed in making wooden letters of 8a size somewhat larger than a pin's head40 ,his mode of stating that part of his experiment is not at all so straightforward or clear as it might and should have been4 ,but he says further1 8,i made a slip of ,text ,corpus1 and figured the letters on the wood or slip10 c4 ,now1 what is the size of the ,text ,corpus8 ,i am rather at a loss to understand this expression1 as ,i find that the ,dutch type called ,text1 is that which corresponds to the ,english ,great ,primer1 which contains #ea lines to a foot1 while the ,garmond1 corresponding to the ,german ,corpus1 is equal to the ,english ,long ,primer1 which has #hi lines to a foot4 ,neither does ,ensched say what particular wood he used in his experiment4 ,but at any rate he avows1 that1 using the best and finest tools he could procure1 he failed4 ,on the opposite side of the question1 ,i have but to place my own experience2 and ,i may say at the outset1 that ,i have not practised wood engraving for nearly twenty years1 that at best ,i was but an amateur1 and that the only tools ,i had1 when ,i ventured upon the experiment a few months ago1 were a common graver1 an ordinary tenon saw1 a penknife1 and a rasp and file4 ,with these implements then1 ,i made1 precisely in the way ,i have described the method ,i supposed the earliest printers would follow1 the letters inserted in page #caj4 ,they are of box wood1 ,pica-size 7#ga lines to a foot7 and are squared and line well1 and are perforated and nicked1 and are two sizes smaller than the letters used for the ,speculum1 which are only #ed lines to the foot4 ,the letter t ,i here insert again4 ,more than #a1ejj impressions have been taken from it2 and it scarcely yet seems anything the worse for wear4 ,calculating by the time the cutting of the three letters occupied1 ,i could1 without difficulty1 finish in nine months #c1jjj letters equally good1 as mathematically square1 as true to line1 as capable of being used again and again1 and therefore as capable of printing a book1 a whole folio1 with4 ,an expert ,chinese #8chop' cutter 7the modern letter-snyder7 would with his simple tools1 complete the same number in less than a third of that time3 and ,i know of no reason why similar types of the ,corpus or ,long ,primer size could not be cut on wood4 ,certainly there is nothing 8impossible1 ridiculous or chimerical0 in the idea4 ,where then is the 8silliness0--the 8dreadful silliness0--of supposing that a whole book could be printed with such wooden types1 even supposing1 further1 that #dj1jjj would be required in all8 ,the 8dreadful silliness0 lies in the cry of those who argue on the opposite side--8,let a book be produced1 printed with moveable wooden letters1 instead of all those experiments which signify nothing40 ,the answer to that cry is1 ,cui bono8--,why should a book be printed1 when #c letters are as good as #c1jjj1 or #cj1jjj1 or #cjj1jjj1 to demonstrate the fact1 that words are and can be1 and that therefore pages and whole books may be1 7and therefore also that they may have been17 printed from such separable wooden types8 ,as well might the demand be made that a whole suburb of ,london should be lighted up with obsolete oil-lamps1 in order to demonstrate to the rising generation the fact1 that in that manner the streets of the city were lighted up in the days of their forefathers1 before the introduction of coal gas4 ,in the one case1 as in the other1 a single specimen1 one demonstrative example1 ought to be sufficient to carry1 to every candid and reasonable mind1 a conviction of the truth of the asserted fact4 ,but perhaps it 8signifies nothing0 to a certain class1 who are determined not to believe1 how great or how small the demonstrative experiments may be4 ,of such1 the voice of supreme wisdom has long ago declared1--8neither will they be persuaded1 though one rose from the dead40 ,,footnotes3 #adh ,dr4 ,van ,der ,linde infers that the ,latin edition of the ,speculum1 wholly printed with separable types1 was the first1 and the one with the twenty pages of solid blocks1 the second4 ,from the fact1 that the curious manuscript of the 8,spiegel der behoudenis10 7written on #bij #hvo4 leaves of vellum71 which is preserved at ,haarlem1 has the following inscription at the end1 8,dit boec is gheeyndet int jaer ons heren ,,mcccc ende ,,iii ende tsestich opten ,,xvi dach in jul4 ,een ave ,maria on ,god voer die scrijver20 and that another inscription in it states1 that it belonged to 8,cayman ,janszoen of ,zierickzee1 living with the ,carthusians near ,utrecht20 the ,dr4 comes to the following conclusion3 8,therefore1 the ,speculum was written1 and finished in the ,dutch language at ,utrecht in #adfd1 in the days before the introduction of the art of printing40444 8,utrecht had an episcopal see1 a gymnasium1 a ,burgundian prince1--indeed1 if hypotheses are allowed1 then is that of an ,utrecht origin of the ,specula provisionally1 the only reasonable one40--pp4 #cd1 #ch4 #adi ,seven different kinds of types of the ,speculum school have been identified1 and these are used in #dc different specimens1 many of which are second and subsequent editions4 ,it is not however1 material to the validity of the argument1 that the whole of these seven different kinds of types should be proved to have been made of wood2 it is enough1 in the absence of the actual types themselves1 that there is reasonable evidence1 from their appearance in print1 as well as from the probabilities of the case1 that some of them were so made4 ,to argue1 that because ,trithemius1 ,bergellanus1 ,j4 ,f4 ,faust1 or others1 may have misrepresented1 unintentionally or otherwise1 some of the leading facts in connection with the origin1 or the inventors1 of typography1 therefore1 on this one point of the original use of wooden letters1 in which they all agree1 they are not to be believed1 is unworthy of one who assumes the functions of1 and desires to be looked up to as1 a sound historical critic4 ,,errata4 ,page #ajd last line1 for ,vindic read ,vindici 0 #aec 0 0 ,opolio 0 ,opilio 0 #age line #aj1 0 have to 0 have had to 0 #aha 0 #h1 0 ,historv 0 ,history 0 #bci 0 #h1 0 say1 0 says 0 #cca 0 #ag1 0 follows 0 follow ,dedicated1 by ,special ,permission1 to ,,his ,,royal ,,highness ,,the ,,duke ,,of ,,edinburgh4 ,foolscap #dto4 #dab pages4 ,,adam',s ,,peak4 ,,legendary1 ,,traditional1 ,,and ,,historic ,,notices of the ,,samanala and ,,sri-,,pa,,da2 with a ,descriptive ,account of the ,,pilgrims' ,,route from ,colombo to the ,sacred ,foot-print2 to which are added1 copious ,notes1 ,appendices1 and an ,index4 ,illustrated by a ,map of the ,mountain ,district1 and #aj wood-engravings4 ,by ,,william ,,skeen4 ,,edward ,,stanford1 #f #g1 ,charing ,cross1 ,london1 ,s4 ,w4 #ahga4 99 99 99 99 99 ,opinions of the ,press4 99 99 99 99 99 8,adam's ,peak may be considered the most interesting mountain in the world2 not only from its height1 position1 and appearance1 but as being sacred to the members of three out of the four great religions of the world4 ,the origin of this singular agreement to regard the same place as holy by these three religions is to some extent obscure2 but ,mr4 ,skeen has collected a mass of evidence upon the subject1 and has conveyed the result in a form interesting alike to the student and the general reader4 ,the lovely scenery surrounding ,adam's ,peak1 its general features1 and its perilous ascent--so steep that near the summit chains are fastened into the rock by which pilgrims pull themselves up--are graphically described by ,mr4 ,skeen1 who accomplished the ascent three times4 ,the book is of great interest1 and we can warmly recommend it to our readers40--,standard4 99 99 99 99 99 8,there is1 perhaps1 no mountain in the world of which so wide-spread a knowledge exists1 and yet of which so little is generally and definitely known1 as ,adam's ,peak1 in the ,island of ,ceylon4 ,a description of this mountain1 held sacred by far the largest portion of mankind1 cannot fail to be of interest to the scholar2 while the pleasing and anecdotal manner in which it is handled by ,mr4 ,skeen1 will attract the attention of even the most superficial reader4 ,all classes will read the book with interest4 ,it is brimfull of rich stores of original translations from rare ,,mss of ,indian and ,sinhalese literature1 while the strange legends recorded are singularly romantic1 and full of weird ,eastern imagery4 ,the author enters into a full and searching inquiry into the origin of the sanctity of the mount1 and shows much discrimination and mastery of ,oriental literature1 in the progress of his inquiry4 ,much valuable information is imparted to the reader1 not dry and dull as might be imagined1 but invested with an interest which catches and retains the attention4 ,the legends attached to this mount of expiation are singularly beautiful1 and are related very felicitously by the author4 ,much interesting information is given about the inhabitants of ,ceylon1 and of the various religious beliefs which are held by them1 from the serpent worship of the aborigines1 to the present time1 when ,christian churches are scattered throughout the island4 ,the civil and political history of the ,sinhalese is also accurately and interestingly traced4 ,the narrative of the pilgrims' route from ,colombo to the shrine-crowned mount is very graphically described4 ,the work is excellently illustrated with maps1 plans1 and views4 ,in every particular it deserves commendation1 and the author much praise for the successful manner in which he has handled his materials1 and presented the public with a book at once interesting and instructive2 profound in the researches contained in it1 and giving much valuable information on a subject on which so little has hitherto been known40--,irish ,times4 99 99 99 99 99 8,we believe this is the first time that a complete work has been devoted to this subject4 ,the narrative portion of the work is supplemented by copious notes and appendices referring to the early history of the religions the members of which regard the ,peak as a hallowed spot4 ,these are of immense value to the historian and antiquarian1 and prove that the author is no idle member of the ,royal ,asiatic ,society40--,london and ,china ,express4 99 99 99 99 99 8,mr4 ,,skeen1 in his monogram entitled 8,,adam',s ,,peak10 has shewn that the subject was by no means exhausted by his predecessors1 and has given us an interesting volume of ,eastern lore and travel4 ,commencing with history1 he fortifies his narrative by extracts from the antient ,mahawanso1 and various other native and foreign writers down to the present day4 ,having amply treated of its history1 he proceeds to describe his own three visits to it1 giving very full particulars of his route1 and of places of interest in the vicinity4 ,the volume does credit to both author and printer40--,trbner's ,american and ,oriental ,literary ,record4 99 99 99 99 99 8,a very valuable monograph on ,adam's ,peak1 embodying a vast amount of interesting information4 ,mr4 ,skeen has1 in connection with this work1 cleared up a mystery which had baffled all previous writers on ,ceylon40--,ceylon ,observer4 99 99 99 99 99 8,it has long been a wonder1 and the wonder is a growing one1 that so small an ,island as ,ceylon should attract so many writers4 ,all the ,books on ,ceylon1 about ,ceylon1 and touching ,ceylon1 if collected into one group1 we are certain1 would make a goodly library of itself1 but the subject appears to be inexhaustible4 ,the most recent contribution to this accretion of works on ,ceylon1 or rather touching ,ceylon1 is ,mr4 ,skeen's ,book on ,adam's ,peak1 which1 without laying ourselves open to the charge of indiscriminate or extravagant praise1 we feel justified in pronouncing worthy the subject1 and worthy the writer4 ,mr4 ,skeen has at last got into his natural groove1 the exploration and elucidation of the romantic traditions1 legends1 and folk-lore which cluster round the sacred places of ,ceylon4 ,adam's ,peak is pre-eminently a land-mark in the history of the ,island1 and while it serves to bridge twenty centuries of the past with the present1 it has never lost its own peculiar distinctive character1 which as the central object of a nation's faith it has for so long occupied4 ,as it is the most conspicuous and remarkable object in the physical geography of the ,island1 so has it stood the everlasting monument of a tradition1 pointing to the mission of that great philosopher who1 more than twenty centuries ago1 succeeded in revolutionizing the faith of a whole continent4 ,it is somewhat remarkable that a religion which aspires after annihilation and extinction of all corporeal existence1 should yet recognize the imperishable1 rock-crowned mountain1 as one of the symbols of its faith4 ,mr4 ,skeen does not enter into the metaphysics of this question4 ,his business has been to trace out the old traditions and legends1 and while refraining from expressing an opinion himself1 he has supplied the reader with abundant material from which to draw his own conclusions4 ,he carries us throughout the whole range of ancient ,eastern lore2 and from the great ,hindu epic1 the ,ramayana1 down to the most recent works on the ,island1 he has ransacked the dark recesses of oriental literature1 to illustrate his subject4 ,mr4 ,skeen has entered on his task in a spirit of research1 and influenced by the strong poetic vein for which he has hitherto been so well known1 he has embellished his subject--a subject which in the hands of a mere antiquarian threatened to become dull and prosy--with the life and spirit of romance4 ,mr4 ,skeen1 as we have already observed1 has ransacked all the authorities1 ancient and modern1 that could throw light on his subject1 and it is no small praise to state1 that he has added to a great power of research an admirable talent for condensation1 while his own narrative of personal investigation and exploration1 written in flowing easy language1 often rising to the height of poetry1 presents the gorgeous scenes which he describes in an animated tableau that brings within one focus1 the cloud-capped mountains1 the roaring torrents and the arid plains1 through which lies the course of the pilgrims4 ,it is hardly possible to imagine1 looking at the heads of chapters in the table of contents1 how ,mr4 ,skeen could manage to reduce the heterogeneous mass of subjects indicated into one harmonious whole1 but the reader has only to take up the narrative1 and he scarcely perceives the transition from one to another4 ,we have great pleasure in recommending the ,book to the ,public4 ,it is even worthy to stand by the best that has been written of ,ceylon1 and its value as a very readable book is enhanced by the use to which it may be put as a work of reference1 not only with regard to the ,peak itself1 but also1 to the ,history of the ,island generally4 ,the book is illustrated with a map of the ,peak range1 and ten well-executed woodcuts illustrative of the ,peak and its accessories2 and1 with a copious and well-arranged ,index1 it is admirably calculated to serve as a guide to those whom ,mr4 ,skeen's ,book may inspire with the desire of exploring the mountain region which has continued to attract to its sacred pinnacle the ,traveller1 the ,historian1 and the ,pilgrim1 from the days when ,sindbad the ,sailor 8made a pilgrimage to the place where ,,adam was confined after his banishment from ,paradise40--,colombo ,examiner4 99 99 99 99 99 8,,the author of #8,,adam',s ,,peak1' has accomplished a most difficult task uncommonly well40 8,the book opens with introductory remarks on the origin of ,buddhist1 ,hindu1 and other pilgrimages to ,adam's ,peak4 ,with ,chapter ,,iii4 the author commences an account of a pilgrimage to the holy mountain made by himself and three companions1 and which forms a kind of cabinet made to contain the curiosities1 with an inspection of which the author indulges us4 ,in a pleasant chatty style the literary pilgrim-author describes the road to ,avisswea1 dwelling upon all objects worthy of remark by the way1 and noting all historical facts and curious legends connected with the towns and villages through which he passed4 ,leaving ,avisswea1 the pilgrimage is continued towards what was for long considered the loftiest mountain in ,ceylon1 ,adam's ,peak2 entertaining details being given of 8,sta's bath10 the ,mniyangama vihra or rock temple1 and the ,saman ,dwl1 where the author mentions finding a most curious mural stone4 ,after giving us a description of the curious old town of ,ratnapura1 the pilgrims again start onwards4 ,after passing ,palbaddala1 where the travellers obtain a view of the ,peak1 which is greeted by cries of 8,sadhu60 by all true pilgrims1 the most enjoyable portion of the journey appears to begin4 ,we can only pause long enough to draw the reader's attention to the interesting passages about elephants contained in chapter ,,vi41 and their supposed habit of retiring to one spot when about to die1 and the curious legend of the ,bna ,samanala1 or 8,false ,peak10 in the same chapter4 ,space will not allow us to do more than glance at the ,kuruwia ,falls1 and the halt at ,hramiipna1 where the congregation of pilgrims is graphically described4 ,there are many men who have determination and curiosity sufficient to induce them to set out on three different pilgrimages1 which in spite of the pleasant places through which the way lies1 plainly entailed much fatigue and inconvenience1 but there are few gifted with the great powers of observation which the writer of 8,adam's ,peak0 evidently possesses1 or the ability to express their impressions which he evinces4 ,whether toiling over a mountain1 rambling amidst the ruins of an old ,buddhist temple1 or excavating those curiosities of fact and tradition of which but for this literary pilgrim we should have remained in ignorance1 the author has in almost every page got something new to tell us about1 which he relates in a remarkably happy way4 ,having attentively perused 8,adam's ,peak10 it remains for us to pass upon it our carefully formed opinion4 ,in a former notice we said that the author had 8accomplished a most difficult task uncommonly well10 and we reiterate our statement4 ,to have compressed so much useful knowledge into so small a compass can only be the result of deep research and hard and persevering study4 ,mr4 ,skeen has collected a number of local traditions1 legends1 and facts1 which he has elaborately arranged1 and by a pleasant account of incidents connected with his three pilgrimages to the holy mountain1 unites the whole in a pleasing and sightly form4 ,the book abounds in quotations which are generally apt and appropriate4 ,the foot notes and copious appendix form by no means the least valuable part of the work40--,ceylon ,times4 99 99 99 99 99 8,in a careful perusal of the above production ,,adam',s ,,peak we have been most favorably impressed with its general character and ability2 the labour that produced it must have been most painstaking1 and involving great research4 ,nearly a hundred authors are quoted or referred to for confirmation or illustration of the text1 which1 with well executed engravings1 a large and interesting ,appendix1 and an excellent ,index for facility of reference1 becomes a most useful addition to ,eastern literature4 ,besides the direct textual matter of the book concerning the ,peak1 its history1 and the pilgrimages made to it1 we have a large amount of very interesting particulars respecting the ,geology1 ,botany1 and ,history of the ,island1 and the religions1 manners and customs of the people1 with much legendary and traditional lore1 which1 if not always reliable1 is not without either interest or importance1 in the assistance it affords to a fuller knowledge of the country and its inhabitants4 ,indeed the book is almost of encyclopedic utility concerning ,ceylon4 ,for a knowledge of the route1 vi ,ratnapura1 and of its many interests and attractions of scenery1 c41 and also for the many delights of the ,peak itself1 as given by our author1 we recommend a careful perusal of his most interesting and able work40--,colombo ,friend4 ,,mountain ,,life ,,and ,,coffee ,,cultivation ,,in ,,ceylon2--,a ,,poem ,,on ,,the ,,knuckles ,,range1 with other ,poems4 ,by ,,william ,,skeen4 #ahgj4 ,foolscap #dto4 #ahb pp4 ,,edward ,,stanford1 ,charing ,cross1 ,london4 99 99 99 99 99 8,adam's ,peak10 and 8,mountain ,life and ,coffee ,cultivation in ,ceylon10--two companion volumes devoted to one of our most interesting though least known ,eastern possessions 444 abound in local colour and afford life-like glimpses into the industry of the society of an island which the ,anglo-,cingalese not unpardonably regard as the centre of the earth40--,daily ,telegraph4 99 99 99 99 99 8,the poem contains interesting historical records which evince considerable research and extensive reading2 also a very full account of the processes of planting the ,coffee tree1 of collecting the berries1 and preparing them for use and exportation4 ,as a picture of ,eastern life and industry this book is not only interesting but instructive40--,the ,messenger4 99 99 99 99 99 8,,in the main poem ,mr4 ,skeen records the impressions derived from a visit to the ,knuckles ,district1 and in the text alludes to1 while in the notes he affords1 valuable information respecting historical personages and events4 ,the specimens quoted will give our readers some idea of a poem in which1 clustered round the scenery of the ,knuckles1 we have described to us a large portion of the incidents of coffee planting life1 much history1 ancient and modern1 more or less connected with the coffee enterprise1 with striking references to ,hindu mythology4 ,the notes1 which explain the brief allusions in the poem1 embody a fund of interesting and curious information4 ,the work is probably the most beautifully got up that has ever issued from the local press1 and we trust the venture will be largely encouraged40--,ceylon ,observer4 99 99 99 99 99 8,the main poem treats of a well known ,coffee ,district1 its magnificent scenery1 its hospitable planters1 and its prosperity4 ,there is abundant evidence in the poem that ,mr4 ,skeen does not now come before the public for the first time4 ,he has at least the assurance1 gained from experience1 to encourage him in his aspirations2 and if he has not quite succeeded in establishing a poetic reputation of the highest order1 he yet gives ample promise of better results in the future4 ,with a wonderful facility for versification1 and an inexhaustible resource for rhyme1 ,mr4 ,skeen has amplified his subject in a manner which less practised or more timorous hands would hardly have dared4 ,we can recommend the book as well worthy perusal1 not only for the sake of its poetic beauties1 but also on account of the valuable mass of information it contains both in the body of the main poem1 and the copious notes at the end40--,colombo ,examiner4 99 99 99 99 99 8,one of the most attractive volumes of flowing verse that ,ceylon has ever sent forth4 ,the typography is perfect1 the general getting up of the book all that could be desired1 and the verses are highly descriptive40--,ceylon ,times4 ,,early ,,typography1 ,a ,,lecture ,,on ,,letter-,,press ,,printing ,,in ,,the ,,fifteenth ,,century4 ,by ,,william ,,skeen4 #ahec4 ,sm4 #hvo4 #dh pp4 7out of print7 8,this little work1 issued from the ,ceylon ,government ,press1 does credit to the author and printer alike4444 ,we can say in all truth and honesty1 that the work of ,mr4 ,skeen would reflect credit on any ,printing ,office in the world4 ,he has certainly illustrated what has been done for the improvement of ,printing in ,ceylon by himself1 for to him it is entirely due4 ,he has issued a pamphlet of sound historical matter1 carefully written1 admirably printed1 and on excellent paper4 ,the matter consists of a history of the discovery of the ,art of ,printing and its various improvements1 down to the close of the ,fifteenth ,century2 and while it contains much new and interesting matter1 there is but one fault to find with it3--it is too short1 and stops at a very interesting point4444 ,we welcome such works with the right hand of fellowship2 and in conclusion1 we will only add1 that we hope ,mr4 ,skeen will have the inclination and leisure to complete this history of the ,art of ,printing1 in the first part of which1 now published1 he has imparted his information in so agreeable a manner1 and illustrated the present state of the ,art by so perfect an example40--,colombo ,examiner1 #ahec4 ,transcriber's ,note3 ,equals signs indicate the word or character was printed in an ornate font1 for example1 ,ornate font ,the tilde character in ,,typography indicates spaced letters ,some fonts may not render the following characters as expected3 n under ring --,sinhalese --,sy-chong-ngn-pon --,mmyangama dot under --e and d in ,wlikaa --l in ,avisswea -- in ,bna --t in ,kuruwia and ,hramiipna ,items in the ,errata listed on page #dbd have been changed4 ,otherwise1 no known changes to spelling or punctuation as appeared in the original publication have been made except as follows3 ,page #bb papier-mach castings changed to papier-mch castings ,page #bdc by the name of the printing house40 changed to by the name of the printing house4'0 ,page #caf 8,,no ,,one ,,knows2 yet it seems changed to 8,,no ,,one ,,knows20 yet it seems the assistants of ,guttenberg1 ,faust and ,schffer changed to the assistants of ,gutenberg1 ,faust and ,schffer ,page #chc and eighth formes3 the next quaternion changed to and eighth formes2 the next quaternion ,page #dag #8experiments of his foreman ,h4 le ,blansch changed to #8experiments' of his foreman ,h4 le ,blansch ,page #dbj that of ,zell1 who says ,gutenburg changed to that of ,zell1 who says ,gutenberg ,page #dba were the work of a letter-synder changed to were the work of a letter-snyder ,page i pleasing and anecdotal manner it which changed to pleasing and anecdotal manner in which ,page ii little has hitherto been known4 changed to little has hitherto been known40 ,page iv only interesting but instructive4--,the ,messenger4 changed to only interesting but instructive40--,the ,messenger4 ,footnote #aa ,monumens ,typographiques des ,pays ,bays changed to ,monumens ,typographiques des ,pays ,bas ,siecl changed to ,sicle ,footnote #ag ,thomas ,kempis1 according to ,meiners1 changed to ,thomas ,kempis1 according to ,meiners1 ,footnote #fc plusquam #djjj florenorem changed to plusquam #djjj florenorum ,footnote #gi ,introduction ,historique et ,bibliographique4 changed to ,introduction ,historique et ,bibliographique40 ,footnote #hc ,harlem1 #afbh4 #dto4 changed to ,haarlem1 #afbh4 #dto4 ,footnote #ih clarum nomem ,mogus changed to clarum nomen ,mogus ,footnote #ajg ,the attitude of the statute1 nobly draped changed to ,the attitude of the statue1 nobly draped ,footnote #aci ,justiniani codex institutionem changed to ,justiniani codex institutionum ,footnote #adj that ,william ,tydnale's version of the changed to that ,william ,tyndale's version of the by ,joann4 ,schffier changed to by ,joann4 ,schffler