The American Printer: A Manual of Typography: Containing practical directions for managing all departments of a printing office, as well as complete instructions for apprentices; with several useful tables, numerous schemes for imposing forms in every variety, hints to authors, etc.MacKellar, Thomas
History
The American Printer: A Manual of Typography: Containing practical directions for managing all departments of a printing office, as well as complete instructions for apprentices; with several useful tables, numerous schemes for imposing forms in every variety, hints to authors, etc.
MacKellar, Thomas
Graphic design (Typography); Printing -- United States -- Handbooks, manuals, etc.; Printing industry -- United States
The types are not finished yet? Oh, no. These nimble-fingered boys are
breaking off the jets, or waste ends of the type. Quick, a’n’t they?
Now let us go up stairs into the dressing-room. An immense beehive? Yes,
indeed, it looks like one. The lads clustered around the large circular
stones, with leather-protected fingers, rub off the rough edges of the
type. But men as well as type require their rough edges taken off before
they are good for much in the world. These boys at the tables set up the
type in long lines. You think that if you could pick up dollars as fast
as they pick up type, you would retire an independent man in a year or
two? We wish you could, Mr. Typograph; we wish you could.
The lines of type now pass into the hands of the dresser. Observe how
deftly he slips them into a long stick, shakes them down on their face,
screws them up, fastens them into a planing-board, and with one or two
pushes with a planing tool accurately grooves the bottom of the type,
removing entirely the burr left when the jet is broken off, and giving
each type a pair of legs to stand upon, till it is worn out and returned
to the melting kettle. What is the eye-glass used for? Why, sir, as
soon as the types are grooved, the dresser narrowly inspects the face
of the type, and if an imperfect letter is discovered by the aid of the
magnifying glass, it is incontinently turned out. Ah, sir, if we were all
inspected as severely as he criticises type, some of us, perhaps, would
hardly pass muster. The immaculate types are next put up in pages of
convenient size, and are ready for the purchaser.
Let us drop into the large machine-room. Does not every thing hum here!
Is it not a beautiful sight to see the shafts and belts and pulleys
whirling around as if they were all alive? Here we fit up our machines,
make our moulds, repair damages to machinery, &c. The multifarious
uses of these lathes you must be familiar with: this ponderous machine
is an iron planer: how it makes the iron chips fly! What is that
curiously-arranged lathe? That is for cutting Labour-Saving Rule,—the
rule which you have found so convenient and economical in your job-room.
We make it of many different styles of faces: some single, some dotted
or hyphen-lines, and others parallel or double, of varying thicknesses.
They are all cut to Pica ems in length, and are furnished with mitred
corner-pieces of different angles, so contrived, in most of the sizes, as
to allow the rule to be used single or double, and with the fine lines
inside or outside.
[Illustration: SLOTTED BRASS CORNERS.]
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account