“‘I have exercised printing for about fifty years, and wood engraving for about forty-five years, and I have cut letters and figures for my father’s and my own printing office in wood of palm, pear, and medlar trees; I have now been a type-founder for upwards of thirty years; but to do such things as those learned gentlemen (Junius and Meerman) pretend that Laurens Coster and his heirs have done, neither I nor Papillon, (the most clever wood engraver of France) are able to understand, nor the artists Albrecht Durer, De Bray, and Iz. Van Der Vinne either; but such learned men, who dream about wooden, moveable letters, make Laurens Janszoon Coster use witchcraft, for the hands of men are not able to do it. To print a book with capitals of the size of a thumb, as on placards “HOUSE AND GROUND,” which are cut in wood, and which I have cut myself by hundreds, would be ridiculous; to do it with wooden letters of the size of a pin’s head is impossible. I have made experiments with a few of a somewhat larger size. I made a wooden slip of Text Corpus, and figured the letters on the wood or slip; thereupon I cut the letters; I had left a space of about the size of a saw between each letter on purpose, and I had no want of fine and good tools; the only question now was to saw the letters mathematically square off the slip. I used a very fine little saw, made of a very thin spring of English steel, so cleverly made, that I doubt whether our Laurens Janszoon had a saw half as good; I did all I could to saw the letters straight and parallel, but it was impossible: there was not a single letter which could stand the test of being mathematically square. What now to do? it was impossible to polish or file them; I tried it, but it could not be done by our type-founder’s whetstones, as it would have injured the letters. In short, I saw no chance, and I feel sure that no engraver is able to cut separate letters in wood, in such a manner that they retain their quadrature (for that is the main thing of the line in type-casting.) If, however, I wished to give my trouble and time to it, I should be able to execute the three words ‘Spiegel onzer Behoudenis,’ better than the Rotterdam artist has done in the Latin work of M. Meerman; but it is impossible, ridiculous, and merely chimerical, to print books in this manner.’” The above quotation, in the opinion of Dr. Van Der Linde, settles the matter once for all; and certainly such a statement, from such a man, is enough to deter any one from attempting a similar experiment. Dr. Van Der Linde clinches Enschedé’s statement, with the following remarks:--