usual to rub the face of it on the stone and to _bend_ the shank, if
it be not a thick letter; this is done to prevent such letters being
distributed and used again; in Moxon’s time it was styled _bowing_
a letter. After the form is locked-up and the stone cleared, these
_bowed_ (or _bent_) letters are thrown into the shoe.
BOWYER.
Extract from the Will of Mr. William Bowyer, Printer, who died on the
18th of November, 1777, when he had nearly completed his 78th year.
“_And now I hope_ I may be allowed to leave somewhat for the
benefit of printing. To this end, I give to the master and
keepers, or wardens and commonalty, of the mistery or art of a
Stationer of the city of _London_, such a sum of money as will
purchase Two Thousand Pounds, three _per cent._ Reduced Bank
Annuities, _upon trust_, to pay the dividends and yearly produce
thereof, to be divided for ever equally amongst three printers,
compositors or pressmen, to be elected from time to time by the
master, wardens, and assistants, of the said company, and who
at the time of such election shall be sixty-three years old or
upwards, for their respective lives, to be paid half yearly;
hoping that such as shall be most deserving will be preferred.
AND WHEREAS I have herein before given to my son the sum of Three
Thousand Pounds four _per cent._ Consolidated Annuities, in case
he marries with the consent of my executors: now, I do hereby
GIVE AND BEQUEATH the dividends and interest of that sum, till
such marriage takes place, to the said Company of Stationers,
to be divided equally between six other printers, compositors
or pressmen, as aforesaid, in manner as aforesaid; and, if my
said son shall die unmarried, or married without such consent
as aforesaid, then I GIVE AND BEQUEATH the said capital sum of
Three Thousand Pounds to the said Company of Stationers, the
dividends and yearly produce thereof to be divided for ever
equally amongst six other such old printers, compositors or
pressmen, for their respective lives, to be qualified, chosen,
and paid, in manner as aforesaid.--_It has long been to_ me
matter of concern, that such numbers are put apprentices, as
compositors, without any share of school-learning, who ought
to have the greatest: in hopes of remedying this, I GIVE AND
BEQUEATH to the said Company of Stationers such a sum of money
as will purchase One Thousand Pounds three _per cent._ Reduced
Bank Annuities, for the use of one journeyman compositor, such
as shall hereafter be described, _with this special trust_, that
the master, wardens, and assistants, shall pay the dividends and
produce thereof half-yearly to such compositor: the said master,
wardens, and assistants, of the said company, shall nominate
for this purpose a compositor who is a man of good life and
conversation, who shall usually frequent some place of public
worship every _Sunday_, unless prevented by sickness, and shall
not have worked on a newspaper or magazine for four years at
least before such nomination, nor shall ever afterwards whilst
he holds this annuity, which may be for life if he continues
a journeyman: he shall be able to read and construe _Latin_,
and at least to read _Greek_ fluently with accents; of which
he shall bring a testimonial from the rector of _St. Martin’s,
Ludgate_, for the time being: I could wish that he shall have
been brought up piously and virtuously, if it be possible, at
_Merchant Taylor’s_, or some other public school, from seven
years of age till he is full seventeen, and then to serve seven
years faithfully as a compositor, and work seven years more as a
journeyman, as I would not have this annuity bestowed on any one
under thirty-one years of age: if, after he is chosen, he should
behave ill, let him be turned out, and another be chosen in his
stead. AND WHEREAS it may be many years before a compositor may
be found that shall exactly answer the above description, and
it may at some time happen that such a one cannot be found; I
would have the dividends in the meantime applied to such person
as the master, wardens, and assistants, shall think approaches
nearest to what I have described. AND WHEREAS the above trusts
will occasion some trouble; I GIVE to the said Company, in case
they think proper to accept the trusts, two hundred and fifty
pounds.”--_Extracted from Anecdotes, Literary and Biographical,
of Mr. Bowyer, by J. N._ [John Nichols?] _in Gent. Mag. Dec._
1778, _p._ 570.
6,000_l._ stock was immediately transferred by the executors of
Mr. Bowyer, and now stands in the name of the Company; the yearly
dividend is 180_l._--_Hansard’s Typographia, p._ 280. _Note._
BOX.
The divisions of a case, in which the letters lie, are termed Boxes;
as the _a_ box, the _e_ box, the _i_ box, &c.
BOX. The female screw in the head of a press, in which the spindle
works. It is made of brass, and is usually cast on the screw of the
spindle, round on the outside with a projecting part of about half
an inch on the whole length of each opposite side, to keep it firm
in the head, and prevent it turning round. It is fitted tightly into
the head, and kept in its place by two bolts, driven into the under
side, with return heads which project over the bottom of the box. It
is also called the Nut of the Spindle.
BOXWOOD.
The best boxwood used in engraving is of a good yellow colour, of
a fine close grain, that has been of a slow growth, clear of knots
and any imperfections, such as cracks or flaws; the finest lines may
be engraved on this wood, as it is both hard and tough, and, with
care in printing, the number of impressions that may be taken from
an engraving on it would appear incredible. Papillon, in his History
of Engraving on Wood, gives a specimen, from which, he states, there
had been upwards of three hundred and seventy thousand impressions
previously printed; and if the block had been carefully cleaned, and
well printed, it would still have produced respectable impressions.
Boxwood of a dull bad yellow colour, and of an open coarse grain,
is not fit for engraving on, neither is wood that is of a blackish
colour at the heart; for, in these cases, it has begun to decay, is
brittle and tender, and if engraved on, the lines would not stand,
but would fail in printing. Our principal supply of boxwood comes
from the Levant, and is called Turkey box.
BRACE.
A character cast in metal thus marked ⏞ . The compositor is to have
these cast of several breadths, viz. to several number of lines of a
designed body (most commonly of Pica body) that they may hook in or
brace so many lines as his copy may show him.--_M._
It is used in poetry at the end of a triplet, or three lines which
have the same rhyme.
Braces are also used to connect a number of words with one common
term, and are introduced to prevent a repetition in writing or
printing.--_Murray._
Braces are cast to different bodies as high as English; and braces
on Long Primer are now cast from three to eight ems in length, which
look much neater than the old fashion of middles and corners, filled
up with metal rules.
The founders in casting long Braces always make the swell in the
face of them proportionably thick to their length, so that in using
them with small letter they look heavy and clumsy; I would recommend
that long Braces should be cast to a small body, not larger than
Brevier, and the faces of all the lengths uniform, so that when
there happens to be a range of them of different lengths in a page
they might harmonize, and not make such an incongruous appearance as
they now do. When Braces are wanted longer than those already cast,
I would not use middles and corners, but make them of Brass Rule in
one continued piece, which has a better appearance than when they are
joined, and which may be made with a file in a neat manner by any
clever compositor.
BRACKET. _See_ CROTCHET.
BRAMAH’S PRESS. _See_ HYDROSTATIC PRESS.
BRANCHING-OUT.
Opening or extending the matter in title-pages, heads of pages, or
other parts, and also in jobs, with quadrats, leads, reglet, or other
proper materials.
BRASS RULES.
Pieces of brass of different thicknesses made letter high, to print
with.--_M._ They are made in lengths of fourteen inches, but of late
years lengths half as long again have been made; one of the edges
is bevilled so as to print a fine line, and when a thicker line is
required the bottom edge is placed uppermost, which is the full
thickness of the brass; by this means lines of different thicknesses
are obtained, and also double lines, a thick one and a fine one when
required. They are used for column lines in table work; to separate
matter that requires to be distinct; and to be placed round pages.
I have found in practice that the best way of forming a good joining
at the corners with brass rule, is to cut the rules a little longer
than the precise length wanted, and to let one piece project a little
at each corner; to push the other piece close up, and, when the form
is locked up, then to file the projecting parts away, which makes the
corners equal, as shown below.
[Illustration: two rectangles side by side]
Wherever two rules join, the end of that which abuts on the other
should be cut with a little bevil, so that the upper side should
project a little to form a junction with the face of the other; this
also prevents the rule binding at bottom.
An ingenious compositor will make many things out of brass rules,
such as neat long braces, instead of using middles, corners, and
metal rules, which rarely join well, swell rules of different
varieties, and many fancy rules, as occasion may require.
In cases where diagrams are required, and there is no engraver within
reach, they may be formed by a clever workman, with brass rule. There
have been of late years many ingenious and elaborate performances
with this article in imitation of architectural drawings of
buildings, with pillars, &c.; and I believe no one has displayed more
ingenuity and skill in the production of such works than Mr. Ebenezer
Parkes, of Fetter Lane.
[Illustration: A tool to spread ink ]
BRAYER.
A round wooden rubber with an upright handle, almost of the fashion
of a ball stock, but solid and flat at the bottom, and not above
three inches in diameter. It is used on the ink block, to bray or rub
out ink with so as to spread it out in such a manner that a small
quantity may be taken up when the ball is pressed upon the block,
tolerably diffused upon the surface, and not in a mass, which causes
the ink to be more expeditiously distributed, with less risk of
making monks and friars.
BREAD, SALE OF, IRELAND.
1 & 2 Vict. c. 28. “An Act to repeal the several Acts now in
force relating to Bread to be sold in _Ireland_, and to provide
other Regulations for the making and Sale of Bread, and for
preventing the Adulteration of Meal, Flour, and Bread, in that
Part of the United Kingdom called _Ireland_.”
s. 7. “And be it enacted, That no Baker or other Person who
shall make Bread for Sale in _Ireland_, nor any Journeyman or
other Servant of any such Baker or other Person, shall, at any
Time or Times, in the making of Bread for sale in _Ireland_,
use any Mixture or Ingredient whatever in the making of such
Bread other than and except as herein-before mentioned, on
any Account or under any Colour or Pretence whatsoever in the
making of such Bread, upon pain that every such Person, whether
Master or Journeyman, Servant or other Person, who shall offend
in the Premises, and shall be convicted of any such Offence by
the Oath, or in case of a Quaker by Affirmation, of One or more
credible Witness or Witnesses, or by his, her, or their own
Confession, shall for every such Offence forfeit and pay any Sum
not exceeding Five Pounds nor less than Fifty Shillings, or in
default thereof shall, by Warrant under the Hands and Seals of
the Magistrate or Magistrates, Justice or Justices before whom
such Offender shall be convicted, be apprehended and committed
to the House of Correction, or some Prison of the City, County,
Borough, or Place where the Offence shall have been committed,
or the Offender or Offenders apprehended, there to remain for
any Time not exceeding Three Calendar Months, with or without
hard Labour, from the Time of such Commitment, unless the Penalty
shall be sooner paid, as any such Magistrate or Magistrates,
Justice or Justices shall think fit to order; and it shall be
lawful for the Magistrate or Magistrates, Justice or Justices
before whom any such Offender or Offenders shall be convicted
to cause the Offender’s Name, Place of Abode, and Offence to be
published in some Newspaper or Newspapers which shall be printed
or published in or near the City, County, Borough, or Place where
the Offence shall have been committed; and the Proprietor and
Proprietors, Printer and Printers, and every other Person or
Persons concerned therein, are hereby authorized to print and
publish the same when he, she, or they is or are required so to
do by or by the Order of such Magistrate or Magistrates, Justice
or Justices; and he, she, or they is and are hereby indemnified
from any Prosecution or Prosecutions for printing and publishing
the same or causing the same to be printed and published in
such Newspaper or Newspapers by or from any Person or Persons
whomsoever, any Law, Statute, or Usage to the contrary thereof
in anywise notwithstanding; and the Costs and Charges of such
printing and publishing shall be paid out of such last-mentioned
Penalty or Forfeiture, in case any shall be so forfeited, paid,
or recovered.”
s. 11. “And be it enacted, That every Miller, Mealman, Flour
Factor, or Baker in _Ireland_, in whose House, Mill, Shop, Stall,
Bakehouse, Bolting-house, Pastry Warehouse, Outhouse, Ground
or Possession any Ingredient or Mixture shall be found which
shall, after due Examination, be adjudged by any Magistrate
or Magistrates, Justice or Justices of the Peace to have been
deposited there for the Purpose of being used in adulterating
Meal, Flour, Dough, or Bread, shall, upon being convicted of
any such Offence, either by his, her, or their Confession, or
by the Oath, or in case of a Quaker by Affirmation, of One or
more credible Witness or Witnesses, forfeit and pay on every
such Conviction any Sum not exceeding Ten Pounds nor less than
Forty Shillings for the First Offence, Five Pounds for the
Second Offence, and Ten Pounds for every subsequent Offence, or
in default of Payment thereof shall, by Warrant under the Hand
and Seal or Hands and Seals of the Magistrate or Magistrates,
Justice or Justices before whom such Offender shall be convicted,
be apprehended and committed to the House of Correction or some
Prison of the City, County, or Place where the Offence shall have
been committed, or the Offender or Offenders shall be, there
to remain for any Time not exceeding Three Calendar Months,
with or without hard Labour, from the Time of such Commitment,
(unless the Penalty be sooner paid,) as any such Magistrate or
Magistrates, Justice or Justices shall think fit and order; and
it shall be lawful for the Magistrate or Magistrates, Justice
or Justices before whom any such Offender shall be convicted to
cause the Offender’s Name, Place of Abode, and Offence to be
published in some Newspaper or Newspapers which shall be printed
or published in or near the City, County, Borough, or Place
where the Offence shall have been committed; and the Proprietor
or Proprietors, Printer or Printers, and every other Person
and Persons concerned therein, are hereby authorized to print
and publish the same when he, she, or they is or are required
so to do by or by the Order of such Magistrate or Magistrates,
Justice or Justices; and he, she, or they is and are hereby
indemnified from any Prosecution or Prosecutions for printing
and publishing the same or causing the same to be printed and
published in such Newspaper or Newspapers by or from any Person
or Persons whomsoever, any Law, Statute, or Usage to the contrary
notwithstanding; and the Costs and Charges of such printing and
publishing shall be paid out of such last-mentioned Penalty
or Forfeiture, if any such shall be so forfeited and paid or
recovered.”
BREAK.
A piece of a line.--_M._ The last line of a paragraph.
BREVE. _See_ ACCENTED LETTERS.
BREVIER.
The name of a type, a size smaller than Bourgeois, and larger than
Minion. In Moxon’s time 112 Brevier bodies measured a foot. _See_
TYPES.
BRING-UP.
To bring-up a form of types is to place overlays over those parts
on which the pressure is deficient in order to increase it and to
equalize it over the whole surface of the form.
With wood-cuts, in which an equal pressure over the whole surface
is not wanted, it is to place underlays on the bottom of the block,
under those parts which require to come stronger than the rest, these
are the dark parts and the foreground, and to cut away the tympan
sheet over the light parts and the distances when requisite, and
to overlay those parts which require to be firm, with smooth thin
paper. I have always found India paper the best, but the minute hard
particles and all the extraneous substances, should be taken out by
scraping it carefully with a knife, so as to render it quite smooth
and even, otherwise the engraving will be injured.
In order to produce the finest impression possible, it is necessary
that it should be the impression of the surface of the types and the
engraving, and the surface only; therefore it is requisite to have
very little blanket in the tympans, and that of the finest kerseymere
or woollen cloth, or paper alone, so that it shall not be pressed in
between the lines, which, when the pressman neglects this precaution,
produces rough coarse lines; of course the overlays should be as few
as possible and of very thin paper. _See_ FINE PRESSWORK, MAKING
READY, OVERLAY, UNDERLAY.
BROAD.
The technical name of a piece of furniture equal in width to a broad
quotation.
BROADSIDE.
A form of one full page, printed on one side of a whole sheet
of paper, whatever size the paper may be of: thus, we have demy
broadsides--royal broadsides--double crown broadsides, &c.
BROKEN LETTER.
By broken letter is not meant the breaking of the shanks of any of
the letters, but the breaking of the orderly succession in which the
letters stood in a line, page, or form, &c. and mingling the letters
together, these mingled letters being called pie.--_M._ Instead of
Broken Letter it is now styled Broken Matter.
BROKEN MATTER.
The deranging the order of types after they are composed, so as to
make it pie. Moxon styles it BROKEN LETTER, which _see_.
BROKEN NECK.
A ball is said to be broken-necked, when the wool in the bowl of the
ball stock separates from the body of wool in the ball; so that when
the ball is held in a horizontal position by the handle it hangs down
in a flabby manner.
[Illustration: A loose bulk table]
BULK.
A platform fixed to the end of a frame on which to put a letter board
with letter; there is another sort sometimes adopted, called a Loose
Bulk, which is a small table made of deal, for the same purpose, but
moveable to any part where it is most convenient to use it.
BULLET.
When a workman, at case or press, either for neglect, want of
punctuality, or for gross misconduct, is discharged instanter, and
the usual notice of “a fortnight” is not given, it is said, _He has
got the Bullet_.
BUNDLE.
A bundle of paper consists of two reams. _See_ PAPER, REAM.
BUR. _See_ RAG.
BUTTON OF THE TYMPAN.
An iron button with a female screw, screwed on a square shanked bolt,
that goes through the bottom frame of the outer tympan, in wooden
presses, and turns on the upper side of the inner tympan, to assist
in keeping it tight in its place.
In very fine work also, when the paper is stout and heavy and large
sheets, and it is not customary to fly the frisket, but to turn it
down upon the paper before the tympan is turned down upon the form,
a button is placed upon the lower frame of the outer tympan, which
clasps the extreme end of the frisket, and confines the sheet of
paper in its place on the tympan, and prevents it slipping down.
C.
CANCEL.
At the conclusion of a work, if there be any leaves cancelled, it
is useful to place a mark in the white line of the odd page of the
reprinted leaf, to prevent a mistake on the part of the bookbinder; a
*, †, ‡, ‖, or §, either upright or laid flat. This is too frequently
neglected, and when the warehouseman omits tearing or cutting the
cancelled leaf, the wrong one occasionally is bound in the book. To
save press work and paper, cancel leaves are always imposed with the
fragments, if possible.
Before the book is gathered, the warehouseman should either tear the
cancelled leaf or run his knife up it, so as to prevent it being
overlooked by the bookbinder; running the knife up it is the most
expeditious method, and, to prevent mistakes, he ought to do this
himself, and not to entrust it to boys, as cutting a wrong leaf would
cause another leaf to be reprinted, and he might be held responsible
for the expense, and also incur censure on account of delay.
CANON.
The name of a type, a size larger than Trafalgar, and the largest
with a specific name. The body is four Picas, the next size being
four line Pica, and so upwards, reckoning by lines of Pica. _See_
TYPES.
CAP.
The top part of a wooden press; it has two mortises at each end to
receive the tenons at the upper end of each cheek, by which it keeps
the cheeks at a proper distance at the top; and the head is suspended
from it by two iron bolts, with screws and nuts at the upper end, by
which the pull also is regulated.
CAPITALS.
The following directions respecting the use of capital letters, are
extracted from Lindley Murray’s English Grammar.
‘It was formerly the custom to begin every noun with a capital: but
as this practice was troublesome, and gave the writing or printing
a crowded and confused appearance, it has been discontinued. It is,
however, very proper to begin with a capital,
‘1. The first word of every book, chapter, letter, note, or any other
piece of writing.
‘2. The first word after a period; and, if the two sentences are
_totally independent_, after a note of interrogation or exclamation.
‘But if a number of interrogative or exclamatory sentences are
thrown into one general group, or if the construction of the latter
sentences depends on the former, all of them, except the first, may
begin with a small letter: as, “How long, ye simple ones, will ye
love simplicity? and the scorners delight in their scorning? and
fools hate knowledge?” “Alas! how different! yet how like the same!”
‘3. The appellations of the Deity: as, “God, Jehovah, the Almighty,
the Supreme Being, the Lord, Providence, the Messiah, the Holy
Spirit.”
‘4. Proper names of persons, places, streets, mountains, rivers,
ships: as, “George, York, the Strand, the Alps, the Thames, the
Seahorse.”
‘5. Adjectives derived from the proper names of places: as, “Grecian,
Roman, English, French, and Italian.”
‘6. The first word of a quotation, introduced after a colon, or when
it is in a direct form: as, “Always remember this ancient maxim:
‘Know thyself.’” “Our great Lawgiver says, ‘Take up thy cross daily,
and follow me.’” But when a quotation is brought in obliquely after a
comma, a capital is unnecessary: as, “Solomon observes, ‘that pride
goes before destruction.’”
‘The first word of an example may also very properly begin with a
capital: as, “Temptation proves our virtue.”
‘7. Every substantive and principal word in the titles of books: as,
“Johnson’s Dictionary of the English Language;” “Thomson’s Seasons;”
“Rollin’s Ancient History.”
‘8. The first word of every line in poetry.
‘9. The pronoun _I_, and the interjection _O_, are written in
capitals: as, “I write:” “Hear, O earth!”
‘Other words, besides the preceding, may begin with capitals, when
they are remarkably emphatical, or the principal subject of the
composition.’
CAPPING BALLS.
Wrapping up pelt balls in blankets soaked in urine at night, and when
they are not in use, to keep them soft. They are generally left on
the floor of the sink.
CAPPING A MAN.