PRINTING
“AFTER a book is written, the author sends his work, his manuscript, to
the printer, who is to reproduce it in printed letters and in as many
copies as are desired.
“Picture to yourself fine and short metal sticks, on the end of each of
which is carved in relief a letter of the alphabet. One of these sticks
has an _a_ on the end, another a _b_, another a _c_, etc. There are
others which have a full-stop, a comma, a semi-colon; in fact, there are
as many distinct kinds of these little metal pieces as there are letters
and orthographic signs in our written language. Besides, each letter and
each sign are represented a great many times. Let us take note, too,
that all these characters are carved wrong side before; you will soon
see the reason.
“A workman called a compositor has before him a stand of cases, of which
each compartment is occupied by a single letter of the alphabet, or by
an orthographic sign. The _a_’s are in such a compartment, the _b_’s in
a second, the _c_’s in a third, and so on. The letters, furthermore, are
not arranged in the case alphabetically. To shorten the work, they put
in the compartments near to hand the letters that occur most frequently,
such as the _e_’s, _r_’s, _i_’s, _a_’s; and they place in the more
distant compartments the letters less often used, such as _x_’s and
_y_’s.
[Illustration: An old fashioned Hand Press]
“The compositor has before him a manuscript, and at his left hand a
little flanged iron ruler called a composing-stick. As he reads, his
right hand, guided by long habit, searches in the case the desired
letter and places it in the composing-stick, upright and in a row with
the others. He separates the words by means of a metal stick like those
of the letters, but the end of which remains depressed and does not bear
any carving. The first line finished, the compositor begins another by
setting a new row of little metal pieces next to the row already
finished. Finally, when the composing-stick is full, the workman
cautiously places the contents in an iron frame, which keeps the
delicate combination from going to pieces; and he continues thus until
the frame is quite full and we have what is called the printing-bed.
This plate is composed of a multitude of little metal sticks, simply
placed side by side. There are as many of these as there are letters,
orthographic signs, and spaces separating the words. The arrangement of
these numerous bits of metal is a masterpiece that a false movement
might ruin. It is held firm in its iron frame by means of wedges, so
that the whole thing seems made of a single block of metal. The bed is
then ready for printing.
“A roller impregnated with a thick ink made of oil and lampblack is
passed over the plate. The letters and orthographic signs, which alone
stand out in relief, become covered with ink; the rest does not take it
because its surface is lower. A sheet of paper is placed on the inked
plate; it is covered with a pad to protect it, then pressed hard. The
ink of the characters is deposited on the paper, and the sheet is found
printed on one side. To print the other, the operation is repeated with
a second plate. The metal letters are, as I said, carved wrong side
before, as the letters of a book appear when you look at them in a
mirror. The inky imprint left by them on the paper reproduces them in a
reversed position, and consequently in the right way.
“The first sheet is followed immediately by a second. With the roller
the plate is inked again, a sheet of paper is applied, pressure is
exerted, and it is done. Then comes a third sheet, a hundredth, a
thousandth, indefinitely. All that is needed each time is to ink the
plate, cover it with paper, then press. All this is done with such
rapidity that in a short time we have a great pile of printed sheets,
each of which it would take a whole day to write by hand.
“Before the invention of this marvelous art, which enables us to
reproduce the works of the mind very rapidly and in as great numbers as
may be desired, we were restricted to hand-made copies. These manuscript
books required years of work, and hence were very rare and high-priced.
Large fortunes were necessary to acquire a library of several volumes.
To-day books find their way everywhere, spreading in profusion, even
among the lowest classes, the sacred bread of intelligence. Printing has
been known for four hundred years: its invention is due to Gutenberg.”
“That is a name I shall never forget,” said Jules.
“It deserves, above all, to be remembered, for with the printed book
Gutenberg rendered impossible henceforth the ignorant times through
which man has miserably passed. Our intellectual treasures, resources
for the future, are better than engraved on stone or metal; they are
inscribed on sheets of paper, in copies too numerous to be all
destroyed.”
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