with great force. The adjustment of this ems when working by the piece. An em is matrix to the mould is a work of great care about the space of a letter M, and 2,200 and nicety. After the type is cast, by ems go to one of the pages of this book. A whatever process-whether by machinery or good workman will set 5,000 to 6,000 ems the ancient spoon method-it has to under- in a day. Sometimes they are paid by the go a smoothing operation. This is performed week, $12 per week, which is about the by young people, principally girls; three amount that an expert workman will earn or four sitting around tables surmounted by the thousand. The type he places in a with properly prepared stone slabs, and small iron frame, held in his left hand, and by the fingers rubbing the roughness off called a "stick," which is adjusted to the each individual type. At this work they breadth of the column or page. When this earn from $5 to $7 per week. The type is full, it is deposited on a galley," in a goes then into the hands of the dresser. He long column. From this galley a proof imcuts out what is called the jet end, by which pression is taken to be read by the author process all the types are made of the exact and proof-reader. The inaccuracies are height. On the nicety of this operation de- marked on this, and when corrected in the pends the ability to use the type. It may type, the foreman "makes up his form." If be here remarked that American type comes for a daily paper, this is done by 'screwing nearly always perfect into the hands of the the columns into the "turtle," which is fasdresser, while in England nearly one-fourth tened upon the revolving cylinder of the is rejected as imperfect. press. When the type has been printed

66

The types have upon one side a "nick." from or worked off, it is immediately washed As the types are perfected, a boy sets them in a strong alkali, to clear it from the ink. on a "galley," with all the nicks out. They If this is not done thoroughly, it will not are then assorted into small "fonts," and print clear. Formerly this washing was are then ready for the printer. The propor- done with urine, but of late an alkali is tions in which the different letters are cast substituted. The clean type has now to be to a font of type, and in which they occur "distributed," or put back into the cases. in print, are as follows: Letter e, 1500; For this purpose the compositor takes the t, 900; a, 850; n, o, s, i, 800; h, 640; r, 620;" matter" in his left hand, reads a line, and d, 440; 1, 400; u, 340; c, m, 300; f, 250; drops each letter into its appropriate place. w, y, 200; g, p, 170; b, 160; v, 120; k, 80; This occupies a good deal of time. q, 50; j, x, 40; z, 20. Besides these, are Most of this type setting and distributing the combined letters: fi, 50; ff, 40; fl, 20; is still done by hand up to the present time, ffi, 15; f, 10; æ, 10; c, 5. The propor- although the greatest efforts have been tion for capitals and small capitals differs made to introduce machinery. A number of from the small letters. In those, I takes the type-setting machines have been invented, first place, then T, then A and E, etc. The and many of them work well in the setting of "cases" in which the types are put for use, are the type-the operator working upon keys, arranged in the manner seen in the engraving like those of a piano, with the copy before on another page. The little square boxes him. The arrangement is such that, by in which the type is laid are not arranged in touching the proper key, the appropriate the regular order of the alphabet, but in the letter falls into line, and the work goes on order which experience has shown is the rapidly and well, even to the punctuation. most convenient for the compositor. Those The difficulty not yet overcome, and which letters which occur the oftenest-as e, for is an obstacle to its usefulness, is that no instance-occupy the largest squares nearest means of "justifying" have been discovhis hand, and the others in the order of their ered-that is, of breaking the lines into relative importance; the capitals, small the suitable length, and "spacing" them out capitals, and marks, each in its proper place, so that each line shall have the exact length in the upper case. The workman does not of all the rest. This is done by the hand look at the type. He reads his copy only, compositor, with great nicety, in his iron and that frequently tasks his ingenuity to stick, as his work progresses. As this must make out. He knows the types from the still be done by hand, after the machine has boxes they occupy, and the "nick" enables set up the type, no great advantage is dehim to place them right side up by sense of rived from its action. In type distributing feeling only. He is paid by the thousand more success has been obtained. The ma

chine is so constructed that it will distribute typing. It results from the disposition of 12,000 ems per hour with unerring accuracy, copper, held in solution, to deposit itself on and one man may tend three machines; a metal surface, when under the influence of hence he will distribute, by its aid, 36,000 magnetism. ems per hour, while a good workman by hand will only distribute 3,000 ems. This seems very desirable, but a new difficulty presents itself. The machine cannot read, so as to distinguish one letter from another, and it is guided in its selection by the "nicks." It follows, that no two of the twenty-four letters of the alphabet should have the same "nicks;" consequently, a special kind of type must be cast for the machine. They are then put into it in a mass, and present themselves alternately until the proper "nick" goes through. The advantages of the machine do not overcome its disadvantages.

In book work the type is not hurried from the compositor to the pressman, as in the case of the daily papers. There is more time, and the type itself is, therefore, not usually printed from, but it is stereotyped. This was introduced in America about the year 1817, by Mr. G. Bruce, the father of the inventor of the type-casting machine.

In this process, the type being locked up in the form, which usually contains 2 to 6 pages, and carefully revised and corrected, is sent to the stereotyper.

Stereotyping is the mode of casting perfect fac-similes, in metal, of the face of movable types. The plan is simple. After arranging the type in pages, and getting it perfectly smooth and clean, it is placed in a frame, the surface being thoroughly oiled, to prevent the mould from adhering, when liquid gypsum, or plaster-of-Paris, is poured over the page. The mould, thus taken, if found perfect, is dressed with a sharp instrument, and is then ready to receive the metal. It is then put into an iron casting-box, and the whole immersed in liquid type metal. Twenty to thirty minutes usually suffice for casting. The box is then swung out of the molten mass into a cool ing-trough, in which the under side is exposed to the water. When hard, the caster breaks off the superfluous metal, and separates the plaster mould from the plate. It is then picked, the edges trimmed, the back shaved to a proper thickness, and made ready for the press.

The process of electrotyping has, of late, become an important element, and is in many cases preferred to the old system of stereo

Stereotyping by the Electrotype process is conducted as follows: An impression is taken from the corrected forms or engraved block upon a plate of wax, and finely pul verized plumbago is then dusted thinly over the surface of the wax. The excess is blown away in a machine contrived for this purpose, and the fine dust remains uniformly in contact with the wax in every little depression and line, without filling these up. The object of the plumbago is to act as the conducting medium for the galvanic current, until a film of copper is deposited. But by a recent modification of the process, this film is also produced before the article is put into the trough, by the application of a wash of sulphate of copper, (solution of blue vitriol,) and dusting over it fine iron filings. The solution is decomposed by the iron. and metallic copper is immediately precipitated, forming a delicate film which uniformly covers the whole surface. The wax plate retaining this film is well washed, and is then ready for the galvanic trough. In this it is left over night under the influence of the electric current, and in the morning when taken out, the coating of copper is found to be sufficiently thick for handling. The wax is removed, and the copper sheet, first tinned on the back, is placed face down in an apparatus in which it is covered with melted type metal. Thus backed & plate is obtained, which, after being dressed by planing and squaring, is screwed down upon a mahogany block, the height of the whole being the same as that of type.

Plates for use upon the cylinders of printing machines are made with the curve of the cylinders, the forms themselves in which the type are paged having a convex surface, which gives them the name of "turtles.”

In making copper faced type, ordinary types are set in a frame so arranged as to let only the letter end in the copper solution of the battery. The deposit of copper adheres to this end, which it completely covers. Such type are now extensively used in large establishments, and are very durable.

Within the past twelve years, several processes have been invented, for copying printed books, steel and wood engravings, maps, etc., by photography upon stone or hardened wax or metallic surfaces and by etching, or

the use of acids, transforming these copies edly destined to be of great service in some into matrices from which plates could be departments of the printing art. One of cast analogous to stereotype or electrotype the finest specimens of this kind of work, plates. These processes, of which Osborne's was the fac-simile edition of Albert Durer's Photolithographic, the Heliotype, the Alber-"Little Passion," copied from William C. type, and Jewett's and Morse's Cerographic Prime, Esq., by Mr. Julius Bien, a New processes are those best known, have reached York Artist." various stages of perfection, but are undoubt

NEWSPAPERS.

annum, did not much interest the mass of people, beyond whose reach the price for the inost part placed them; advertising patronage and government "pap" were therefore the sources looked to for profit. These papers were seldom left in families, but were carried home by those who took them at their places of business. The papers of the carly part of the century were very meagre The oldest existing papers of New York are the Commercial Advertiser, founded in 1797, and the Evening Post, in 1801. The rivalry among the papers of the day was not so much to interest the general reading public, as to conciliate those commercial interests on the patronage of which the means of the paper mostly depended. The Commercial Gazette,

news; but the first approach to a regular acter. These papers, published at $10 per newspaper was the Weekly Newes from Italy, Germanie, &c., May 23, 1622, which was continued, with some variations of title and occasional intermissions, until 1640. The earliest specimen of parliamentary reporting is entitled, The Diurnal Occurrences or Daily Proceedings of Both Houses in this Great and Happy Parliament, from 3d November, 1640, to 3d November, 1641. More than one hundred newspapers, with different titles, appear to have been published between this date and the death of Charles I., and upward of eighty others between that event and the Restoration. Occasional papers were issued after the civil war began, limited to local or special occurrences, as News from Hull, Truths from York, Tidings from Ireland. The more regular newspapers were of New York, became a leading journal published weekly at first, then twice or thrice through the enterprise of its editor in colin a week. The impatience of the people lecting ship news. He himself rowed a boat, soon led to the publication of daily papers; boarding vessels coming up the bay, to coland Spalding, the Aberdeen annalist, men- lect reports with which he enriched his coltions that in December, 1642, daily papers umns. Other papers soon followed his excame from London, called Diurnal Occur- ample. In 1827, the New York Journal of rences, declaring what was done in Parliament. Commerce was started, chiefly by Arthur In the Scottish campaign of 1650, the army Tappan, Esq., of Boston, and David Hale, of Charles and that of Oliver Cromwell each then an auctioneer in Boston, was made joint carried its printer along with it to report editor with Mr. Hallock, of New Haven. progress, and, of course, to exaggerate suc- About the same time, two papers were unicesses. It is from this circumstance that the ted in the New York Courier and Enquirer, first introduction of newspapers into Scotland under James Watson Webb. These two has been attributed to Oliver Cromwell. papers employed news schooners to furnish The stirring events of the American Revo-ship news at great expense. This enterprise lution in like manner gave a great impulse to printing; but that took the form of pamphlets and circulars more than that of the periodical press. The event made the press free, and it began a new career; but the habits of the people had not been overcome, nor were the means of popularizing the press yet in existence. Nevertheless, politics became the staple of newspapers, which were started in most sections as the organs of parties and to support candidates for office; as a matter of course these were read mostly by those who were of the same way of thinking. The circulation could never reach a point that would make it profitable of itself, because the limit was the power of the press to work the papers. In the great cities the chief support of the press was the advertising patronage, bestowed in some degree in the light of political support. The foreign news and domestic items of intelligence made up the general interests, with ship news, that began after the war of 1812 to have a more extended char

was promoted by the introduction of a Napier press, which allowed of an increased circulation of larger sized papers, and these became filled with advertising as the speculative years that exploded with 1837 came on. The success of these two rival papers, was fatal to the other old papers. The Mercantile Advertiser, by Butler; the Daily Advertiser, by Dwight and Townsend, and the Commercial Gazette, by Lang. which had long flourished, died out. Several other papers followed, among which was the New York American, an evening paper, edited by Chas. King, Esq. At that period cheap newspapers, fast presses, telegraph and express companies made their appearance al together, to work out by mutual aid the marvels that we have since witnessed. The first penny paper was published by Benja min H. Day, in 1833. It was about ten inches square, and sold for one cent, or to newsboys for sixty-two and a half cents per hundred. It was without editorials, but was

filled with news items. It grew rapidly to | now a very large double sheet with frequent a large circulation, and acquiring advertisc- supplements, making it triple or quadruple. ments, swelled into a larger sheet, which got It has never had any great political influ into the hands of Mr. Beach. Mr. M. Y. ence, its aim being to keep on the popular Beach and his son, Mr. M. S. Beach, con- side, whichever that might be, and its editoducted it almost entirely as a local paper, rial columns have not indicated any remarkawith no particular political character, but ble ability; but it has been very enterpriswith a very large circulation (60,000 to ing its market and financial reports, its vast 70,000) up to 1867. Mr. M. Y. Beach was and varied correspondence from all parts of famous for having "many irons in the fire" the world, and its very full and generally at the same time, and besides the Sun, had accurate reports of public meetings of all a manufactory, two banks, and sundry other sorts, speeches, lectures, addresses, and serenterprises on foot. During and after the mons, have been features which have ensured war, the circulation of the Sun had decreased, it a great circulation. It would have been (its price being advanced to two cents as impossible, however, for it to have attained that of the other morning papers had been this, had not the improvements in printing to four) and in 1867 it had only about 48,000 machines made it possible to multiply copies purchasers. A company of capitalists and at the rate of 25,000 to 30,000 per hour. literary men, among whom were Mr. Chas. Soon after the war commenced, the Herald, A. Dana, previously of the New York Tri- followed speedily by the other morning pabune and the Chicago Republican, Mr. M. pers, resorted to the plan of stereotyping the S. Beach. Mr. Hitchcock, formerly of the pages of its daily issue, in order to multiply New Jerusalem Messenger, Mr. I. W. Eng. them more easi y. This could not have been land, and others. in 1867 purchased the Sun done by the old stereotyping process with and the old Tammany Hotel, and fitting up sufficient rapidity to be of any service, but the latter in fine s yle, removed the paper a method of stereotyping by means of papier to its new quarters, and very greatly chang-mache, or a material analagous to it, then ed its character. Its circulation fell off to 35,- just invented, was rapid enough to answer 009, and then began to rise till it exceeded all purposes, and with this and Hoe's ten one hundred thou-and, and has maintained cylinder printing machine, the proprietor of itself at about that point for more than a the Herald could print fast enough for his year past. It has now a large editorial daily edition. Mr. Bennett died June 1, 1872. corps, and in all its appointments is perhaps The New York Tribune was issued for the most complete newspaper office in the the first time in 1841. Horace Greeley, its world. In our illustrations we have pre-editor and first proprietor had come to New sented some of the appliances by means of which the edition of a hundred thousand copies, admirably printed, are flung off, in the space of a little more than three hours each morning.

But to return to our history of newspapers. In 1835, James Gordon Bennett, previously one of the editorial staff of the Courier and Enquirer, started the New York Herald, on a capital of $500, but with a most indomitable energy. His first week's expenses were $56. At the end of thirty-seven years they are from $20,000 to $30,000 per week. The price of the paper at first was one cent per copy. It was advanced soon to two cents, and during the war to four, at which price it has since remained. The circulation of the paper increased rapidly but steadily, till it reached 70,000 to 80,000 copies, occasionally going even higher than this. The sheet has been repeatedly enlarged, and is

York in 1831 as a printer, and had developed remarkable talent as an editor, and political writer. He had projected several papers, some of them campaign papers of very large circulation; for three or four years previous he had been editing the New Yorker, a very good but not a profitable paper. He started the Tribune with $1,000, mostly borrowed money. In the thirty-one years since that time, the paper has become a great power in the nation. It has always been edited with ability, and has been for about half that time owned by a joint stock association, but Mr. Greeley has been its chief editor and master spirit. Always an active politician, first a Whig and afterwards a Republi can, he has made it from first to last a political paper; and though at times differing decidedly in opinion from his associates in the party, its editor has always been reoognized as one of its most valued leaders