Typographic printing, briefly defined, is printing from movable types. That is to say, it is the impression of words upon paper or other material by the use of movable types which have first been covered with ink, the inked face of the type transferring the characters to paper and producing the printed page. This includes any printing from a type form in which movable cuts may be locked up with the type, or in some cases may be used alone on the press as in printing full-page illustrations. It was this process which was invented in the middle of the fifteenth century. The practice of making impressions upon various substances by the use of various devices prepared for that purpose goes back to the dawn of civilization. The earliest device of this sort appears to have been a seal used for impressing a device which might stand for a personal signature or indicate the official authentication of a document or other public act. These seals are found in great numbers among the most ancient remains. Two early ones from the island of Crete are shown herewith. [Illustration: Ancient Seals from Crete] There are also in existence many ancient Babylonian seals. These seals were of various sorts. Sometimes the design was cut in the flat surface, leaving a raised impression when stamped upon wax, clay, or some other yielding substance. Such seals are said to be made in intaglio. Sometimes the surface is cut away leaving the designs standing out, thus making a depressed mark in the soft surface. These seals are said to be cut in relief. Sometimes the surface of the seal, instead of being flat, was a cylinder rolling on a pivot so that the impression of whichever sort it might be was made by rolling the seal with pressure over the soft substance. It is said that the Romans came very near the discovery of typographic printing. The Roman potters stamped their names letter by letter in the soft clay of their ware before it was fired. The use of dies for stamping coins and metal seals is also very ancient. [Illustration: Assyrian Clay Tablet]