form.
PICKS.
When either pieces of the skin or film that grows on ink with
standing by, or any dirt, get into the hollows of the face of the
letter, that film or dirt will fill or choke up the face of the
letter, and print black; and is called a pick, because the pressman
with the point of a needle picks it out.--_M._
PIE.
When a page is broken, those broken letters are called pie. _See_
BROKEN LETTERS.--_M._ We now call it Pie when the letters are all
mixed indiscriminately together.
It is equally the interest of the employer and the workman to prevent
the accumulation of pie in a printing office, for it swallows up
useful sorts, to the delay, loss, and disappointment of both parties;
and if a strict method be not enforced to prevent its increase, a
master may be continually casting sorts; and at last it becomes an
Herculean task to clear it away. No receptacle for it should ever be
accessible to the workmen; and no types should ever be put into the
waste metal box but by the person who has the care of the materials,
that he may be enabled to prevent any abuse of this kind; for it
is too common a practice, both for boys and men, when an accident
happens, to throw a great part of the pie into the waste metal box,
to save themselves the trouble of distributing it.
PIG.
Pressmen are called pigs by compositors, sometimes by way of sport,
and sometimes by way of irritation; in the same way the press room is
called a pigstye. When the compositors wish to teaze them, they will
grunt when a pressman goes into the composing room; but they rarely
venture to do this in the press room. In Moxon’s time they were
called Horses. _See_ ANCIENT CUSTOMS.
PIGEON HOLES.
Wide whites between words, are by compositors (in way of scandal)
called pigeon-holes, and are by none accounted good workmanship,
unless in cases of necessity.--_M._ Cases of necessity do not
make them good workmanship; and the only instances in which they
are tolerated are when a page is small, and the type is large in
proportion to it, and in columns of table work. In marginal notes
they are avoided, by not of necessity spacing every line full out.
PILE OF BOOKS.
When a work is finished at the press, it is gathered, collated,
folded, and put into books, pressed, and then piled up in some
convenient part of the warehouse, in readiness for delivery.
The piles are erected as a stone mason would build, in layers of
four, five, six, or more books to each layer, according to the
number printed, and the convenience in the warehouse; the books
forming these layers are turned back and fore edge alternately, so
that a single copy can be readily got, and in removing them they are
less liable to get confused; the upper layer should always be laid
in a different order from that below it, so that the book should
invariably cross a joining of that under it; and when the pile is
high, I would recommend some wrappers to be placed occasionally
between the layers, they prevent the sides bulging out, and make the
pile firm. It is necessary to wrap up each parcel of the bottom layer
in brown paper or wrappers, to preserve the edges and backs of the
books clean. For the protection of this bottom layer, the pile should
be erected on a stage, or, in default of that, some wrappers and
waste paper should be spread on the floor upon which to place it; for
the pile should never be raised without something interposed between
the books and the floor.
PILE OF PAPER
is made similar to a pile of books; but, as the paper always comes
in to a printing office cased in wrappers, the precautions used
in keeping a pile of books clean are not necessary. The number
of bundles in the foundation will be determined by the quantity
received. The warehouseman should invariably mark the wrapper of each
bundle with the name of the work it is intended for, before it is
piled away.
PILE OF PRINTED PAPER.
During the progress of printing a work, the sheets are, after being
dried, placed in piles, generally resting against a wall of the
building.
When the sheets are taken down dry from the poles, they are knocked
up even, and piled against a wall generally, upon a stage to keep
the bottom of the pile out of the way of harm, or, in want of a
stage, upon some wrappers and waste paper to keep the bottom sheets
from the floor, one wrapper always placed so as to project and turn
over about a ream of paper, and turned into the heap, to preserve
the edges clean, the first signature being always at the bottom, and
the following ones piled in consecutive order upon it; between each
signature a label is inserted in front, with the name of the work and
the signature. What are called tops are placed on the pile, and some
waste paper, to preserve the top sheets from dust and other matters
that might soil them. It is usual to place the bottom a few inches
from, and to gradually incline it to, the wall, so that the upper
part may rest against it: this causes the pile to stand firmer than
it would do if piled perpendicularly.
MR. PITT’S MARK.
The printer’s name and residence affixed to printed books or other
articles, by the enactment of the act of parliament of 39 Geo. 3. c.
79., was technically so called.
PLANE DOWN.
To make the face of all the types in a form even, by passing the face
of the planer over them, and striking the back of it with a mallet.
When the quoins are pushed up with the fingers, previous to locking
the form up, I would plane it down gently, striking the back of the
planer with the side of my doubled hand, lifting the planer a little
up each time it is advanced; after the quoins are tightened round the
form, I would plane it down again gently with the mallet; and finally
with firmer blows after it is locked up; always lifting the planer
clear of the form at every advance that is made with it; if any thing
be under the form, it will be perceived when you plane down with the
hand; that part should be omitted being struck upon; and when the
form is locked up it ought to be lifted, the substance that is under
it taken away, the form then laid down again, the quoins of that
quarter slackened, and planed down: but types that stand up from any
cause should never be planed down while tightly locked up, as it is
almost a certainty that they will be destroyed.
PLANER.
A piece of beech wood, planed smooth and even on the face, to plane
the types in a form down with, by striking it on the top with a
mallet, to prevent any of them from standing up. It is usually made 9
inches long, 4¼ broad, out of 2 inch stuff, a little thicker in the
crown, and the edges hollowed the long way, to facilitate the lifting
of it about.
PLANETS.
The names of seven planets are used in some instances for the seven
days of the week, in the following manner:--
The Sun, _Dies Solis_, is Sunday.
The Moon, _Dies Lunæ_, is Monday.
Mars, _Dies Martis_, is Tuesday.
Mercury, _Dies Mercurii_, is Wednesday.
Jupiter, _Dies Jovis_, is Thursday.
Venus, _Dies Veneris_, is Friday.
Saturn, _Dies Saturni_, is Saturday.
In the Journals of the House of Lords, they use the term _Dies
Sabbati_ for Saturday, that day being the original Sabbath. _See_
ASTRONOMICAL CHARACTERS.
PLANK.
That part of a wooden press which forms the bottom of the coffin; it
projects beyond the coffin where the tympan joints are placed, upon
which part the gallows sockets are fixed; on the bottom the cramp
irons; and to each end the girths, wherewith to run the carriage in
and out.
PLATEN.
The platen is commonly made of beechen plank, two inches and an half
thick, its length about fourteen inches, and its breadth about nine
inches.--_M._ This is the description of a platen for a two pull
press of the old construction: they are now always made of well
seasoned hard mahogany for wooden presses, thicker, and sometimes
faced with iron.
The platen is that part of the machine which comes down upon the
form, and, being acted upon by the spindle, produces the impression.
Iron presses have nearly superseded wooden presses, and have of
course iron platens; they are all one pull presses, and the platen
ought to be made large enough to cover the types of as large a form
as the press will contain. Whether they be of wood or of iron, the
face of the platen, that is, the under side, which produces the
impression, ought to be a true plane, as the least inequality in it
produces an unequal impression, which causes a great deal of trouble
at press to rectify it, more particularly in fine work.
PLATEN HOOKS.
Four iron hooks screwed into the corners of the platen.--_M._ To tie
it up by to the hose hooks. This is in wooden presses.
PLATEN PAN.
A square pan on the top of the platen, in which the toe of the
spindle works.--_M._ At present it is made round, of bell metal, with
a stud of hardened steel in it, for the toe of the spindle to work
on, and it fits into the platen plate with a square stem.
PLATEN PLATE.
A square plate of iron inlaid on the top of the platen in wooden
presses, in which is placed the platen pan.
PLATE PAPER.
This paper takes a good impression; but, without great care at press,
owing to its thickness and softness, it is by the process pressed
into the interstices between the lines, which produces an impression
of more than the surface, and, of course, of more than is wanted to
appear, particularly in engravings on wood: the skill of the artist
is thus rendered of little avail; and the delicacy and tone of the
engraving are destroyed.
To control this evil, when thick plate paper is used, I would advise
that it should be very slightly wetted; when a few impressions only
are wanted, putting the pieces into a heap of damp paper for a short
time will be sufficient; and to have only one thickness of stout
paper in the tympans. _See_ PAPER. WETTING PAPER.
PLAY WITH QUADRATS. _See_ ANCIENT CUSTOMS.--_M._ Also JEFF, and THROW.
PLURAL.
For the plural number of nouns, _See_ ORTHOGRAPHY.
POINTS.
Two thin pieces of iron, with points or spurs at one end, fixed to
the tympan with screws, to make register with. _See_ REGISTER SPUR.
POINTS. _See_ TYPOGRAPHICAL POINTS.
POINT HOLES.
The two holes the points prick in a sheet of paper.--_M._ These holes
are made by the point spurs when the white paper is working, and
are for the purpose of making register with when the reiteration is
worked by fitting these holes on the spurs, on the opposite side of
the sheet of paper.
POINTING.
When the Pressmen are working the reiteration, and have to place the
point holes, made when the white paper was worked, on the points, in
order to make both sides of the sheet in register, it is frequently
termed _Pointing_.
POINTS.
, ; : . - ? ! ( ’ ) [ * § † and other marks, are all by Printers
and Founders called Points.--_M._ We have now in addition the ‡ ‖ ¶
☞: but when we speak of points at the present day, it is generally
understood to mean those only which are used in punctuation, from
the comma to the apostrophe; the parenthesis and crotchet are spoken
of by their names; and the others are usually styled marks, or
references. For the uses of them, _See_ PUNCTUATION; and each point
or reference under its own name.
POINT SCREWS.
Two square headed and square shanked bolts with a screw at the end,
that go through the grooves in the tympan, with a nut on the upper
side, by which the points are firmly affixed to the tympan.
POLES.
To hang paper on to dry. They are about two inches and a half wide,
made of inch white deal, and are placed across the room, about
fourteen inches from the ceiling and nine or ten inches apart,
resting at each end on a long piece of wood fastened to the walls of
the room, in notches to retain them in their situations. They should
always be kept clean, and, if they have not had paper hung on them
for some time, the warehouseman should see that the dust be brushed
off them before any more is hung up. _See_ HANG UP PAPER. PEEL.
POLLING BACKWARD.
There are instances when a piece of work has been in the hands of
a companionship, and one of them has obtained a knowledge of the
following copy having some fat in it, a short page or a blank page
for instance, that he has delayed his own work in order to obtain
this fat; and thus lose perhaps two shillings, which he might have
earned in the time, to obtain an advantage to the amount of but one
shilling. This is termed _polling backwards_.
[Illustration: The Polish Alphabet]
POLONAISE. The Polish alphabet consists of twenty-four letters,
viz.:--
+--------+------------------------------------------------------------+
| Figure.| Power. |
+--------+------------------------------------------------------------+
| A a | _ah_, as in _father_, _art_. |
| B b | _b_, as in _bay_. |
| C c | _ts_, or the German _z_. |
| D d | _d_, as in _day_. |
| E e | French _e_ mute. |
| F f | _f_, as in _deaf_, _fine_. |
| G g | always a hard sound, as in _game_, _gift_. |
| H h | is always aspirated. |
| I i | _i_ in _field_, _ee_ in _bee_. |
| J j | _y_ consonant. |
| K k | _k_, as in _king_, _kick_. |
| L l | _l_, as in _ell_. |
| M m | _m_, as in _gem_. |
| N n | _n_, as in _pen_. |
| O o | _o_, as in _more_. |
| P p | _p_, as in _pay_. |
| R r | _r_, as in _err_. |
| S s | _ss_. |
| T t | _t_, as in _task_. |
| U u | as _oo_ in _cook_, _book_, _look_. |
| W w | initial, as _v_; medial and final as _f_. |
| X x | _x_, as in _six_. |
| Y y | a more obscure sound than _i_, which is always very clear.|
| Z z | _s_ initial; as zegar (to show) pr. segar. |
+--------+------------------------------------------------------------+
In addition the following letters are accented, viz., consonants, b́
ć, ł, ḿ, ń, ṕ, ś, ẃ, ż, ź; vowels, á, é, ó, ą, ę.
When b́, ḿ, ń, ṕ, are accented, it is necessary to soften them a
little by adding a very soft _i_, as drab́ (drab^i).
When ć is accented, it takes the sound of _ch_ French.
Ł, ł, has a peculiar pronunciation of its own, nothing equivalent to
it in English.
When ś is accented, it takes the sound of a very feeble French _ck_.
When ẃ is accented, it takes the sound of _f_, with a very feeble
_i_ added.
When ź is accented, it takes the sound of ś.
ż (pointed) is pronounced as _s_ in _pleasure_, or French _j_ in
_jamais_.
á is distinguished very little in pronunciation, but it serves to
show certain forms in the declensions.
ó is pronounced as _oo_, or French _ou_.
é approaches the sound of the mute _e_ in _que_, _je_, _le_.
ą is pronounced as the French nasal _on_.
ę is pronounced as the French nasal _in_.
k is used in all those foreign words which have originally a _c_
before the vowels _a_, _o_, _u_.
ẃ is used only at the end of words.
Q and V are used only in foreign proper names, &c. and are not
strictly to be considered as Polish letters.--_Grammaire Abrégée de
la Langue Polonaise, par Jean Séverin Vater. Halle et Strasbourg_,
1807.
Some Polish grammarians assert that the q is preferable to the q̦,
as being more consistent with the general sound of the letter, and
some books have been printed in which the q is substituted, but still
q, is by far the most generally used.
POOR LAWS AMENDMENT.
4 & 5 Will. 4. c 76. s. 86. “And be it further enacted, That no
Advertisement inserted by or under the Direction of the said
Commissioners in the _London Gazette_ or any Newspaper, for the
Purpose of carrying into effect any Provisions of this Act,
nor any Mortgage, Bond, Instrument, or any Assignment thereof,
given by way of Security, in pursuance of the Rules, Orders, or
Regulations of the said Commissioners, and conformable thereto,
nor any Contract or Agreement, or Appointment of any Officer,
made or entered into in pursuance of such Rules, Orders, or
Regulations, and conformable thereto, nor any other Instrument
made in pursuance of this Act, nor the Appointment of any paid
Officer engaged in the Administration of the Laws for the Relief
of the Poor, or in the Management or Collection of the Poor Rate,
shall be charged or chargeable with any Stamp Duty whatever.”
POOR, RELIEF OF, _Ireland_. 1 & 2 Vict. c. 56. “An Act for the
more effectual Relief of the destitute Poor in _Ireland_.
s. 96. “And be it enacted, that no Advertisement inserted by
or under the Direction of the Commissioners in the _London_ or
_Dublin Gazette_, or any Newspaper, for the Purpose of carrying
into effect any Provisions of this Act, nor any Charge, Mortgage,
Bond, or Instrument given by way of Security in pursuance of the
Orders of the Commissioners, and conformable thereto, nor any
Transfer thereof, nor any Contract or Agreement made or entered
into in pursuance of such orders, and conformable thereto, nor
any Conveyance, Demise, or Assignment respectively, to or by the
Commissioners, nor any Receipt for Rate, nor any other Instrument
made in pursuance of this Act, nor the Appointment of any paid
Officer engaged in the Administration of the Laws for the Relief
of the Poor, or in the Management or Collection of the Poor Rate,
shall be charged or chargeable with any Stamp Duty whatever.”
PORTUGUESE.
The Portuguese alphabet contains twenty-four letters, being the same
as the English, with the exception of K and W, which are not in their
alphabet.
The tittle, or little dash, which the Portuguese call til, is set by
them over some letters instead of m; as bẽ instead of bem; convẽ
instead of convém; hũa instead of huma.
They also set their til ~ over the vowels ao, aa, in the end of
words, thus aõ aã.
It may be observed that the curved mark ~ is the most perfect, though
it is found necessary, in English types, frequently to substitute the
plain ‾ instead of the curved.--_Vieyra’s Portuguese Grammar, 9th
edit_.
POST HORSES.
Penalty for forging Turnpike Tickets. By the Act 4 Geo. 4. c. 62.
s. 41. it is enacted, “That if any Person shall falsely make,
forge, or counterfeit, or cause or procure to be falsely made,
forged, or counterfeited, or wilfully aid or assist in the false
making, forging, or counterfeiting, any Ticket or Certificate by
this Act authorized or directed to be used, with an Intent to
defraud His Majesty, His Heirs and Successors, or any Person or
Persons, of any of the said Duties, or shall utter or publish as
true any false, forged, or counterfeited Ticket or Certificate,
with an Intent to defraud His Majesty, His Heirs and Successors,
or any Person or Persons, of any of the said Duties, every Person
so offending in any or either of the Cases aforesaid shall
forfeit and pay the Sum of Fifty Pounds.”
PRE-ANTEPENULTIMATE.
The last syllable but three of a word.
PRESS.
The machine by means of which a printed impression of types and
engravings in relief is obtained.
It is a curious circumstance, that from the first introduction
of the art of printing in Europe, about 1440, till Earl Stanhope
made a great improvement, the principle of the press remained the
same, and even the construction of it underwent little alteration.
The principle is simple; a level surface attached to the end of a
screw, by which it is pressed upon the types with a sheet of paper
interposed to receive the impression. The improvements that Lord
Stanhope introduced were an increased power, by means of a compound
lever attached to the screw: this increased power was the means of
producing larger presses, which enabled the printers to print larger
sheets of paper than before, with one pull, even to the extent of a
double royal; and these new presses, being made of iron, produced
better workmanship than wooden ones, with less trouble, the wooden
platen being subject to be indented, which occasioned the impression
to be irregular; this required much time and trouble to equalize it,
particularly in fine work. This iron platen wears out types sooner
than the wooden platen. Many of our most splendid books were printed
with wooden presses. For some account of the most approved iron
presses, see under their respective names.
Although there are but few wooden printing presses now made, iron
presses having superseded them, yet, as there are many still in
being, it may be useful to retain the knowledge of fixing them in
a proper manner, on which account I shall give an old pressman’s
directions for this purpose.
“_To erect a Press_.--The feet must be horizontal, and the cheeks
perpendicular; then put the cap on the cheeks, and fix the stays as
firmly as possible between the cap and a solid wall, or a strong
beam: while the joiner is doing this, the pressman rubs well with
black lead the tenons of the head and winter, the mortises in the
cheeks, and all other parts where friction occurs. Place the winter
horizontally, and on it put the carriage which contains the ribs;
the joiner shortens or lengthens the fore stay under the carriage
till the ribs become horizontal; lay the coffin on the ribs; bed the
stone, which is a very particular point, as it must be perfectly
horizontal, and ought to be of equal thickness, and as smooth on the
under side as on the upper surface, so that if the face should be at
any time so indented as not to be fit for work, the same stone will
do by turning it over, and occasion very little trouble in bedding
it, and will not be so liable to break in working down as a new one.
Cartridge paper is the safest bedding, and stout tape laid even under
the stone is preferable to cords, as I know it is a preventive to
the stone breaking; and after it is bedded, the ends of the tape are
easier put between the coffin and the stone than cord.
“The head being put in, and the box with the spindle in it, fix the
shelves; then fix the platen; this must be done so exact as to touch
the face of all the type at one and the same time: the way to know
this, is by cutting four narrow slips of paper about six inches long,
and, taking care that there is no dirt on the stone nor on the bottom
of the form, plane it well down, place the four slips of paper, one
on each of the four corner pages; bring down the platen so gently,
that the corners of it may barely touch the slips of paper, with very
little pressure; if they all bind alike at one instant, the platen
hangs right; if not, alter the fixing till they equally bind.
“The rounce being set, and the upper and under bolsters made, the
pressman lays on a heavy form without blank pages, if he can get one;
and if it be a new press, he brings down the bar to the near cheek
regularly, until the press be properly wrought down. As he goes on,
the new scaleboards work close, and cause the press to lose power;
the pressman must continue adding more, until there be a sufficient
quantity in the head. If it be really necessary, put some scaleboards
under the winter, but the fewer the better. Pieces of felt hat are
preferable to scaleboards for loading the head of a press.
“I have always found the least slurring in presses that have solid
fixed winters, and have often abolished slurring and mackling in old
presses, by taking out all the scaleboard from beneath the winter,
and substituting solid blocks of wood. The mortises which contain
the tenons of the head ought always to be made long enough to
contain all the spring that is necessary for a good press.
“Attention being required, and much time lost in working down a new
press, two guineas are paid for doing justice to it.”
PRESS BAR.
A curved bar of iron, one end of which goes through an opening in the
spindle, and is secured by a screw in general, but sometimes by a
square iron bolt which goes through an opening in the end of the bar,
and as there is a shoulder that abuts against the square part of the
spindle, both these methods draw it tight up, and attach it firmly
to the spindle; at the other end there is a long, thick, tapering,
wooden handle, through which the bar goes, and it is either secured
by a screw, or the bar rivetted at the end with a collar round it.
The bar to screw the book press down with is also called a Press Bar.
PRESS BOARDS.
Boards made of deal, beech, elm, or mahogany, to place between paper
in the book press. They are made smooth on both sides, and it is
preferable to have them without a joint when it is practicable.
PRESS GOES.
When the pressmen are at work, the press is said to go.--_M_.
PRESS GOES EASY, LIGHT. _See_ EASY PULL.
PRESS GOES HARD, HEAVY. _See_ HARD PULL.--_M_.
PRESSMAN.
The man who executes printing at the press, and produces impressions
from types and engravings in relief.
PRESSMEN’S PRICES. _See_ SCALE.
PRESS PIN.
A small iron bar, wherewith to screw the book press down in the
warehouse, till there is some pressure on the paper, when it is wrung
down with the press bar.
PRESS PROOF.