Number	Sec.	Title
XVIII		Preface.
[XIX-XXII]	§ 24.	Of the Press-mans Trade.
	§ 25.	The Office of the Warehouse-keeper.
[XXIII]		Ancient Customs used in a Printing-house.
[XXIV]		Dictionary.

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PREFACE.

THE Printing-Press that a Press-man works at, is a Machine invented upon mature consideration of Mechanick Powers, deducted from Geometrick Principles; and therefore a Press-man indowed with a competency of the Inventers Genius, will not only find great satisfaction in the contemplation of the harmonious design and Make of a Press, but as often as any Member, or part of it is out of order, he will know how to remedy any deficiency in it. This 270 alone will intitle him to be an Understanding Press-man: But his care and serious industry in the Physical and Manual performance of his Task, must give him the Reputation of a good and curious Work-man.

§. 24. ¶ 1. Of the Press-mans Trade.

AN understanding Press-man therefore knows not only how to direct a Printers Joyner to Set up and Fasten a Press when it is made, but also how to give a strange Joyner and Smith instructions how to make a Press, and all its parts, in a Symetrical proportion to any unwonted size, if in a strange place he shall have occasion to use it.

I have already at large insisted upon the dimensions of every particular Member of an ordinary siz’d Press in § 10, 11. But in those Sections did omit shewing you how the Press is Set up and Fastned; yet promised to do it when I came to the Press-mans Trade: It being not only a bent upon him, but a Curiosity he would assume to himself to direct and see the Joyner set and fasten it in a Steddy and practical position. We will suppose a strange Joyner, and not a Printers Joyner (as here in London he may be furnisht with) who generally by their constant conversation in Printers work, do or ought to know as much of Setting up a Press as the Press-man himself.

The Joyner therefore having set together the Frame, viz. the Cheeks, Feet, Cap, Head, Till, Winter, Hind-Posts, Ribs, Carriage, &c. The Press-man directs, and sees him perform as follows by and Oo2
271 by. For I should have told you that before the Head is put into its place, the Press-man besmears the whole Tennanted ends and Tennants well with Soap or Grease, and also the Mortesses the Head slides in, and so much of the Cheeks as the ends of the Head work against, that the Head may the easier work up and down.

He also before the Carriage is laid on the Ribs, besmears the two edges of the Plank and the under side of the Coffin well with Soap or Grease; and the like he does by the inside of the Wooden Ribs, that they may slide the easier beside each other.

Now to return to the Joyner. The Press-man, I say, directs and sees him perform as follows.

1. To place the Feet upon an Horizontal Level Floor, as I shewed in the First Volume, Numb. 7. § 7. when I spoke of the Level that Carpenters use.

2. To erect the Cheeks perpendicularly upright, as I shewed Vol. 1. Numb. 7. § 8. when I treated of the Plumb-line.

3. To place the Stays or Braces so as the Press may be kept in the most Steddy and Stable position, as well to give a check to the force of the hardest Pull he makes, as to the hardest Knock the Bar shall make against the farther Cheek, if by chance (as sometimes it does) it slip out of the Press-mans Hand.

This consideration may direct him to place one Brace against the end of the Cap that hangs over the hither Cheek, and in a range parallel with the fore and hind side of the Cap: For the more a Brace 272 stands aslope to the two parrallel sides, the less it resists a force offered to the end of them, viz. the hither end of the Cap, which is one main Stay to the whole Press.

If he place another Brace against the hinder corner of the farther end of the Cap, it will resist the Spring of the Bar, if it slip out of the Press-mans Hand.

And if he places two other Braces, one against the hither corner of the hind-side of the Cap, and the other against the farther corner of the fore-side of the Cap, the Press will be sufficiently Braced-up, if the Room will afford convenience to place the farther end of the Braces against.

By convenience I mean a firm solidity to place the end of the Braces against, be it either a Stone-wall, Brick-wall, or some principal Post, or a Girder, &c. that will not start or tremble at the force of a Pull.

The Braces ought to be straight, and of Substance strong enough proportionable to their Length: And if convenience will allow it to be fixed in such a position that they stand in the same straight Line with the upper Surface of the Cap, viz. that the farther end of the Brace neither dips lower or mounts higher than the upper side of the Cap. Neither ought the Brace, though thus posited, to stand aslope or askew, viz. make unequal angles with the side of the Cap it is fastned to, but it ought to stand Square, and make right angles with the respective side of the Cap; because in those Positions the Braces best resists the force of continued Pulls.

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But though this be by the Rules of Architecture, the strongest, firmest, and most concise method for Bracing-up a Press, yet will not the Room the Press is to stand in always admit of convenience to place the Braces thus: Therefore the Press-man ought to consider the conveniences of the Room, both for the places to fit the Braces to, and the positions to set the Braces in; placing his Braces as correspondent as he can to these Rules.

If he doubt the crazy make of the Winter, he will cause two Battens of three or four Inches broad, and a full Inch thick, to be nailed close to the outer sides of the Feet of the Press, which will both strengthen the Winter, and keep the lower part of the Cheeks from flying out, and also hinder the Press from working into a twisting Position.

And though I am loath to name the Under-laying of the Feet, because at the best it is but a Botch, and Subjects the whole Press to an unstable position yet because by accident it may happen, the aforesaid Battens will also keep these Underlays from working out.

Joyners that Work to Printers have got a Custom to place a strong Piece of Timber between the middle of the Cap and the Ceiling or Roof of the Room, which can do no service there, unless they intend to support the Roof; For the weight of the Press alone will keep it close to the Floor, and the strength of Stuff between the Mortesses in the Cheeks and the ends of them, are intended to be made strong enough to resist the Rising of the Head: For should that strength of Stuff start, neither their strong Piece of 274 Timber, nor the strength of the Roof, would resist the Rising of the Head: but Head and Cap, and Timber and Roof too, would all start together, as by experience I have seen. For indeed the strength of Stuff between the Mortesses that the Tennants of the Head works in, and the upper ends of the Cheeks, and the Strength of Stuff between the Mortesses that the Tennants of the Winter lyes in, and the lower ends of the Cheeks resist the whole strength of the working of the Spindle out of its Nut. So that the Cap suffers no pressure upwards or the Feet downwards, unless the force of the Spindle break the strength of Stuff between the Head and the upper ends of the Cheeks, or the strength of Stuff between the Winter and the lower ends of the Cheeks.

The Press being thus far fastned, the Carriage is laid on; and if the Joyner performed his Work well in making the Wooden-work, it will at first lye exactly Horizontal; if not, it must be mended where it is amiss before the Press-man can Lay the Stone; and before the Stay of the Carriage can be fitted under the end of the Ribs.

¶ 2. Of Laying or Bedding the Stone.

We will suppose the Wooden Ribs to lye on the Winter exactly, flat and Horizontal, therefore the Press-man now Lays the Stone: If the Stone be a good thick Marble Stone, and all the way of an equal thickness between the Face and the Bottom, he may Bed or Lay it upon so many large Sheets of Brown Paper as will raise the Face about a Brevier 275 above the Superficies of the Coffin, and the Stone will do good service.

Or he may Bed or Lay it on Bran; which indeed the Press-man most commonly does, if the Stone be qualified as aforesaid.

The manner how he lays it on Bran is thus,

He grasps an handful of Bran and lays it down at the hither corner of the Coffin on his Left Hand, and it will form it self into a small Hillock; then he takes another handful of Bran, and lays that down in the same manner near the first, towards the further side, and so a third, &c. towards the further side, till he have filled the whole breadth of the Coffin. Then he in like manner lays another row of Hillocks, beginning at the hither side of the Coffin; and so a third and fourth row, till the length of the Coffin is filled as well as the breadth: Then with a Riglet he drives the tops of these Hillocks into the Valleys between them, to spread the Bran into an equal thickness in the whole Coffin. Which done, he lays the Stone upon it.

But in this case he considers to lay so much Bran thus into the Coffin as may make the Face of the Stone rise about a Great Primer higher than the Superficies of the Coffin: For else he must take all his Bran out again, and new-lay his Hillocks, making them bigger or less, till he have fitted the Face of the Stone, to lye about a Great Primer, as aforesaid, higher than the Superficies of the Coffin.

But if it be a thin Stone, or a Purbeck or Portland Stone, it is great odds if it be thus Laid, but it breaks with the first Pull: Therefore these Stones 276 are generally Laid or Bedded with Plaister of Paris, which before it hardens, will of it self run into an Horizontal position.

This Plaister of Paris is tempered with fair Water to the consistence of Batter for Pancakes, or somewhat thicker, and such a quantity is put into the Coffin as may raise the Face of the Stone about a Scaboard higher than the Superficies of the Coffin.

The different matter the Stone is Laid on is the reason why the Face is Laid of different heights above the Superficies of the Coffin: For by the force of a Pull about a dozen Sheets of Brown Paper may be squeez’d closer by a Brevier Body, which brings the Face of the Stone into the same Level with the Superficies of the Coffin. And Bran squeezes much more. But Plaister of Paris not at all.

When he Lays the Stone on Bran, or on Plaister of Paris, he and his Companions slings the Stone in two strong Packthreds, placing one towards either end of the Stone; and each of them taking an end of each String in each of their Hands, with the Face of the Stone upwards, and brought as near as they can into an Horizontal Position, they with great care and caution let it into the Coffin, and as near as they can, so as the whole bottom of the Stone touch the Bedding all at once; lest by raking the Bedding with any part of the bottom of the Stone first, the Horizontal form of the Bedding be broken.

Having laid the Stone down, they draw the Packthred from under it: And by squeezing a little Water out of a Spunge upon about the middle of the Face Pp
277 of the Stone, try whether the Stone lye truly Horizontal, which they know by the standing of the Water: For if the Water delate it self equally about the middle of the Stone, the Stone lies Horizontal: But if it have a propensitude to one side more than another, the declivety is on that side, and the Stone must be new Laid.

Having laid it Horizontal, they Justifie it up with the Justifiers I mentioned in § 11. ¶ 17.

¶ 3. Of Setting the Rounce.

The Rounce being well Set does not only ease a Press-man in his Labour, but contributes much to Riddance in a train of Work.

In the old-fashioned Presses used here in England, the Press-man finds often great trouble and loss of Time in Setting the Rounce: Because the Girts being nailed to the Carriage-board behind, and to the Frame of the Coffin before, he cannot alter the position of the Rounce without un-nailing and nailing the Girts again, both before and behind. Nay, and sometimes though he thinks he has been very careful in Winding the Girts off or on the Barrel of the Rounce, as he finds occasion requires; Yet by straining either of the Girts too hard, or not hard enough, or by an accidental slip of either of the Girts, or by stirring the Rounce out of a Set position, when he thinks he has Set the Rounce, he has it to do again. Besides, The Carriage-board, Frame of the Coffin, and the Rounce-barrel, all suffer tearing to pieces by often drawing out and driving in of Nails.

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But in these new-fashioned Presses all these inconveniences are avoided, for the Press-man, without nailing or un-nailing, Sets the Rounce to what Position he will, only by lifting up the Iron Clicker that stops the wheel: For then Winding off so much Girt, and Winding up so much Girt at the opposite end of the Carriage, his Rounce is Set, without hope or Hazzard.

He Sets the Rounce to such a position, that when the fore-end of the Tympan will just lye down and rise free, without touching the fore-edge of the Plattin, then a line drawn or imagined from the Axis of the Handle of the Rounce, to a Perpendicular or Plumb-line, let fall from the Axis of the Spindle of the Rounce, these two lines shall make an angle of about 45 degrees, which is half the Elevation between an Horizontal line, or Line of Level, and a Perpendicular, or Plumb-line.

¶ 4. Of Hanging the Plattin.

When the Press-man Hangs the Plattin, he lays a Form upon the Press, and about a Quire of Paper doubled upon it (this Quire of Paper thus doubled is called the Cards) then layes the Plattin upon the Cards, and so Runs the Carriage and Plattin in, till the middle of the Plattin lye just under the Toe of the Spindle: Then he puts the Pan of the Plattin in its place, and in part Justifies the Head, as shall be shewed in the next ¶. And he un-screws the Hose-screws, till the Squares at the ends of the Hose come down to about a quarter of an Inch of the Square of Pp2
279 the Socket they are fitted into in the ends of the Garter, and when the Toe of the Spindle is fitted into the Nut in the Pan of the Plattin, he examines by straining a Pack-thred against the two foresides of the Cheeks of the Press, whether the fore-edge of the Plattin is set in a parallel Range with the fore-sides of the Cheeks: If it be not, he twists the ends till the edge of the Plattin stands parallel with the Packthred, and consequently with the Cheeks.

Then with the Bar he Pulls the Spindle hard down upon the Plattin, and Sets the edges of a Paper-board between the Bar and the farther Cheek of the Press, to keep the Bar from starting back.

And having provided fine Whip-cord, he knots a Noose on one end and puts it over one of the Hooks of the Plattin, lashing the Whip-cord also upon the farthermost Notch of the Hose-hook, and again upon the Plattin-hook, and again upon the Hose-hook, and again upon the Plattin-hook: So that here is now three Lashes of whip-cord upon the Plattin-hook, and upon the farthermost Notch of the Hose-hook. Wherefore he Lashes his fourth Lashing of whip-cord now upon the second Notch, viz. the middlemost Notch of the Hose-hook, reiterating these Lashes on the middlemost Notch and Plattin-hook also three times. And thus in like manner Lashes also three Lashes upon the third and last Notch of the Hose-hook and also of the Plattin-hook, observing to draw every Lashing of an equal strength.

Then he begins to whip about these Lashings to draw them close together: He begins, I say, at the bottom of the Lashings, viz. close above the 280 Plattin-hook, and draws his whippings very tight and hard, and contiguous above one another, till he have whipt so near the top of the Lashings, viz. near the Hose-hooks that he finds the Lashings (which now spread wide asunder because the Notches of the Hose-hooks stands far asunder) will yield no longer to his whipping and pulling: So that now he fastens his whip-cord with two or three hard knots, and cuts it from the Coyl.

In like manner he begins at the opposite diagonal corner of the Plattin, and lashes and whips that: And also the two other corners of the Plattin as he did the first, carefully observing to draw all his lashings and whippings of an equal strength, lest any corner of the Plattin either mount or dip.

If he finds he strained the whip-cord not hard enough; or (when he is in his train of work) that the Plattin-cords with long working work loose; or that the Toe of the Spindle and the Nut it works in, have worn one another; he by turning the Screws at the upper ends of the Hose, draws up the Nut of the Plattin closer to the Toe of the Spindle, and by consequence strains the Plattin-cords tighter up; which is also a great convenience in these new-fashioned Presses: For, for any of these aforesaid accidents the Press-man that works at our English-Presses must new Hang his Plattin: When (as aforesaid) in these new Presses he only turns about a Screw.

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¶ 5. Of Justifying the Head.

Justifying the Head is to put into the Mortesses in the Cheeks between the upper sides of the Tennants of the Head, and the upper sides of the Mortesses in the Cheeks, an equal and convenient thickness of (either) square pieces of Felt, Pastboards, or Scaboards (some or all of them) that when the Press-man Pulls, the Tennants of the Head shall have an equal Horizontal level Check.

In Justifying the Head, the Pull is to be made Longer or Shorter.

If the Press-man be tall and strong and his work be Light, that is, a small Form and great Letter, which needs not so strong a Pull as a Large Form and small Letter, he covets to have a Short-pull; that is, that the Spindle shall give an Impression by that time the Bar comes but about half way to the hither Cheek (in Printers Language Down.)

But if the Press-man be low, and not very strong, he will require a Longer Pull, especially if the work be Heavy, viz. a Large Form and small Letter: Because the heighth of the Bar is generally made to lye at the command of a reasonable Tall man, and therefore a Low man cannot Pull the Handle of the Bar at so great a force at Arms-end as a Tall man; but will require the swinging of his whole Body backwards to add force to the Pull: So that if the Pull be not Longer, he cannot fall enough backwards to get the Handle of the Bar within his command and force. And therefore a Low man and Heavy Work requires a long and Soaking Pull.

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A long or a Soaking or Easie Pull, is when the Form feels the force of the Spindle by degrees, till the Bar comes almost to the hither Cheek of the Press, and this is also call’d a Soft Pull; because it comes Soft, and Soakingly and easily down: And for the contrary reason the Short Pull is call’d an Hard Pull, because it is suddenly perform’d.

That which makes a Hard Pull, is putting into the Mortesses in the Cheeks solid Blocks of Wood, which will scarce Squeeze by the Strength of a Pull: And that which causes a Soft Pull is putting in pieces of Felt or Pastboard (as aforesaid) which being Soft will Squeeze and retain their Spring for a considerable time, yet will at length grow hard with Working, and then the Pull grows Longer; which the Press-man mends, by putting in another Felt or Pastboard into each Mortess.

The Head cannot be conveniently and well Justifyed soon after the laying of the Stone, if it be Laid on Bran, because though the Force of the Spindle will at the immediate time of the Pull Squeeze the Bran in the Coffin close, yet so soon as the force of the Spindle is off the Bran, all its dry parts, by their several irregular positions, will like so many Springs, at the same moment of time endeavour to recover their Natural tendency, and heaves the Stone upwards again: So that generally for a day or two Working the Stone will not lye Solid, though at length through the often and constant Squeezing the Bran it will. But if the Stone be Laid on Brown Paper, or Plaister of Paris, it quickly finds a Solid Foundation.

When the Press-man Justifies the Head, he unscrews 283 the Female Screws of the Head Screws, that the weight of the Head may draw it down, to make room to put the Justifyers into the Mortesses in the Cheeks; and when he has put in so many as he thinks convenient, he Screws up the Head again as hard as he can. Then lays the Cards on the Form, on the Press, and Runs in the Carriage under the Plattin, and Pulls hard upon it, while his Companion Screws up the Head as hard and tight as he can, that the Carriage, Tympan, &c. may Run the freelier under the Plattin.

¶ 6. Of Oyling the Iron Work of the Press.

The Ribs, the Tympan Joynts, the Frisket Joynts, the Garters, both ends of the Rounce-Spindle, the Nut and Spindle, and the Toe of the Spindle, are all to be well Oyl’d; that they may all perform their several offices the easier, lightlier and nimbler; both Upper and Under hand.

All but the Nut and Spindle, and Toe of the Spindle, are Oyl’d with a Feather dipt in a spoonful, or little Pot, or Oyster-shell, &c. of Sallad Oyl; and that feather dabb’d upon so much of the Ribs as he can come at, at either end of the Press: For then by Running the Carriage three or four times quick Out and In, it desperses the Oyl equally the whole length of the Ribs, and at the same time Oyls the Cramp-Irons.

And for Oyling the Joynts, he commonly takes out the Pins and Oyls them, and puts them in again; and with the edge of a Feather dabs a 284 little Oyl between the Crevices of the Joynts.

He thrusts the Feather in between the Spindle of the Rounce and its Collers.

To Oyl the Nut and Spindle, he pours a good quantity of Oyl in at the Hole in the Head, and with a Cork stops the hole again to keep out dust and filth: Then drawing the Bar quick to and fro about half a score times, he works the Oyl equally about the Nut and Spindle.

To Oyl the Toe of the Spindle, he pours about a Spoonful of Oyl into the Plattin-pan.

¶ 7. Of Making Register, and Making Ready a Form.

A curious Press-man will take care that against the Compositer brings a Form to the Press his Press-stone be wip’d very clean; for if any (though small) hard extuberant matter lye on it, the Letter that lyes on that extuberant matter will, with Pulling, quickly Rise, and not only Print harder than the rest of the Form, but bear the force of the Plattin off of the Letters adjacent to it. And therefore many times a Press-man will receive the Form from the Compositer when he has only Set the Form on the side of its Chase upon the Press-stone, that he may be the Surer the Face of the Stone is clean when he layes the Form down; as also that he may carefully examine that the backside of the Form is clean before he goes about to make Register, or otherwise make ready his Form.

Making Register is to Quoin up a Form and otherwise alter Whites (if need be) between the Crosses and Pages; So as that when a second Form of the same Qq
285 Volumne, Measure and Whites, is plac’d in the same position, all the Sides of each shall fall exactly upon all the Sides of the Pages of the first Form.

The first process a Press-man makes towards this Operation, is the chusing and placing of his Points: For to large Paper he chuses Short Shanked Points, and to small Paper Long Shanked Points, and propor­tionable to intermediate sizes of Paper: For his Points ought to be placed so as that when he is in his Train of work, they prick the Point-holes within the grasp of the hollow between his hand, Thumb, and Fore-finger; because when he shall Work the Reteration he may the better manage and Command the sheet he lays on the Tympan and Points.

Nor will he place his Points too near the edge of the Paper, because when he Works the Reteration, he would be forc’d to carry his further­most Point-hole the further from him, which in a long train of Work loses Time: For the Laying Sheets quickly on their Point-holes adds much to riddance. So also the less distance between the further and hither Point-hole makes more riddance than if they are far distant; because he must draw his Body so much the further back to place that Hole on its Point. Therefore he places the hither Point farther into the Paper than the farther Point, if it be Folio, Quarto or Octavo, but to Twelves equally distant from both edges of the Paper.

By placing the Points unequally from the edges of the Paper, as in Folio’s, Quarto’s, and Octavo’s (as aforesaid) he also secures himself the more from a Turn’d Heap when he Works the Reteration, because 286 without very much altering the Quoins, he shall not be able to make Register: And Press-men (especially if they Work upon the same sort of Work) seldom or never remove the Quoins on the further side the Carriage, nor on the right hand end of the Carriage, but let them lye as gages for the next Form: For thrusting the Chase close against these Quoins, the Register is almost (if not quite) made: The Compositer having before, according to his Task, chosen the Chases exactly of an equal size, and made strait and equal Whites between the Crosses, &c.

Having chosen his Points, he places them so that they may both stand in a straight line parallel with the top and bottom sides of the Tympan; which to know, he strains a Packthred cross the whole Tympan, laying it at once upon the middle of the Heads of both the Point-Screws, (for we will suppose the Joyner hath made the Mortesses into which the Point Screws are Let, parrallel with both the ends of the Tympan) then if both the Points stand in that straight line they are parrallel, if not, he moves one or both of them upwards or downwards till they do, and then Screws them fast.

Then he layes the Tympan down upon the Form, holding the Frisket-end of it in his Left-hand, about an Inch or an Inch and a half above the Face of the Letter, and Sinks his Body downwards till he can see between the Form and Tympan, and with the Ball of the middle finger of his Right-hand presses a little gently upon the Tympan just over the Point-ends of each Point successively, to see if the Points fall in or near the middle of the Slits in the Qq2
287 Short-Cross. If they fall exactly in the middle of those Slits, the Form lyes right between the middle of both the ends: If they fall not exactly in the middle of both these Slits, he moves the Form between the ends of the Carriage, till they do, and then Quoins up the two ends of the Chase.

Then laying the Tympan flat down upon the Form, he layes the Blankets in it: (They are call’d the Blankets though generally it is but one Blanket doubled:) Then he puts the Iron-Pins, fastned through the hither side of the Inner Tympan into the Holes made through the hither side of the outer Tympan for Gages: And turning about the Tongues of the Iron-Buttons, that are fitted into the outer Side of the outer Tympan over the upper Side of the Inner-Tympan, he Screws the Button fast down. He also Screws down the Iron-Button at the end of the Tympan. These Buttons thus Screwed down are to keep the Inner-Tympan fast in, that it Spring not upwards.

Then he Folds a sheet of the Paper he is to Work long-ways, and broad-ways, and lays the long Crease of it upon the middle of the Long-Cross; and the Short Crease over the middle of the Gutters of the Short-Cross, if the Short-Cross lye in the middle of the Form, (for in Twelves it does not, but then he guesses at the middle;) then wetting his Tympan (as shall in proper place be shewed) he turns it down upon the Paper, and Running in the Carriage, Pulls that Sheet, which with the force of the Pull now the Tympan is wet, will stick to the Tympan; and turning up the Tympan again sees how well the Sheet was laid; that is, how even it was Laid: For 288 if it was laid even on the Form, the Margin about the out sides of all the outer Pages will be equal; But if the Sheet be not laid even, he lifts it up Side by Side till he have loosen’d it from the Tympan, and removes it by his discretion till it be laid even: And then Pulls again upon it to fasten it to the Tympan. This Sheet is call’d the Tympan-sheet.

Then he lays another Sheet even upon the Tympan-sheet, for a Register Sheet, and a Waste Sheet over that to keep it clean from any filth the Face of the Letter may have contracted and imprint upon it, and Pulls these two Sheets. Then he Runs out the Carriage, and takes up the Tympan, and takes off the two Sheets, laying the waste Sheet by: But turns the other Side of the Register-Sheet the proper way his Volumne requires, viz. end-ways if it be Octavo or Folio; or Side-ways if Twelves or Quarto, &c. as at large you see in the Section of Imposing. And laying the Point-holes in the Register-Sheet over the Points, lays his waste Sheet on again, Runs-in the Carriage, and Pulls upon that the Second side of the Register-sheet, to try how well the Impression of the Sides of all the Pages agree, and lye upon the Impression in the first Pull’d Side. If he finds they agree perfectly well, Register is made. But if the Impression of the last Pull’d Side of the Register-sheet stand be-hither the Impression of the first Pull’d side, either the whole length of the Sheet or part, he observes how much it stands be-hither: If the thickness of a Scaboard, a Nomparell, a Long-Primmer, &c. he loosens the Quoin or Quoins on the farther side of the Carriage, and opens one or both of them, viz. removes Qq3
289 them backwards till they stand a Scaboard, a Nomparell, a Long Primmer, &c. off the sides of their respective Corners: Then Knocks up one or both the opposite Quoins, till he have removed the Chase, and the Chase by consequence has forc’d the opened Quoin or Quoins close against their Corners. Or if the Impression of the last Pulled Side, stands within the Impression of the first Pulled Side; he observes how much also; and Loosning the hither Quoin or Quoins, and Knocking up the opposite as before, makes Register, for the Sides of the Sheet.

Then he observes how the Register of the Head and Foot agrees. And if he finds it agrees on both sides the Short Cross, he has good Register; supposing the Compositer has performed his Office, viz. made all his Pages of an equal Length, &c.

If the Impression of the Last Pulled Sheet, lye without the Impression of the first Pulled Sheet, towards the upper or lower end of the Tympan, he opens the Quoins at the respective end, and Knocks-up the opposite till he have made Register: Which to try he Pulls another clean Register-sheet as before. And if he finds Register agree on all the Sides of the Form the Task is performed: If not, he mends as aforesaid till it do.

But it sometimes happens that the Compositer has not made an exact equal White between all the sides of the Crosses: In this case, altering the Quoins will not make good Register; wherefore the Press-man observes which side has too much or too little White; and unlocking the Form takes out or puts in such a number of Scaboards as he thinks will make good 290 Register: which he tryes by Pulling a Sheet, and if need be, mending as before, till he have Pull’d a Sheet with good Register.

Although the Press-man have made Register, yet he must further Make Ready the Form before he can go to Work upon it. Under this phrase of Making Ready the Form is comprehended many Considerations, leading to several various Operations; For first, The Frisket must be Cut: which to perform, the Press-man fits the Match-Joynts of the Frisket into the Match-Joynts of the Tympan, and pins them in with the Frisket-pins: And having Beaten the Form, turns down the Frisket and Tympan on the Form. And having also Rubbed the Blankets to soften them, lays them smooth and even in the Outer-Tympan, and Pins the Inner Tympan in upon them, as was shewed in the beginning of this ¶, and Pulls as before, and as shall farther be shewed in ¶ 15. upon the bare Frisket.

Then he Runs out the Carriage, and takes up the Tympan and Frisket together off the Form and lays them on the Gallows; Then takes the Frisket-pins out again, and takes off the Frisket: And laying it flat on a Paper-board, with the point of a Pen-knife cuts through the Frisket about all the Sides of each Page, allowing to each Page he thus cuts out of the Frisket about a Nomparil Margin on all the sides of the cut Pages: Then he puts and pins his Frisket again on the Tympan, as before.

2dly, He takes care that the Tympan be well Wet; which he does by squeezing Water out of a Spunge on the backside of it, till it be well Wet all over, and well soak’d and limber.

291

3dly, That the Form be well and fast Lock’d up.

4thly, That no Letters or Spaces lye in the White-lines of the Form; which may happen if the Compositer have Corrected any thing since the Form was laid on the Press, and the Compositer through oversight, pickt them not all up.

5thly, If any Wooden Letters or other Cuts be in the Form, that they be exactly Letter-high: If not, (for it seldom happens they are) he must make them so; If they are too Low, (as they generally be) he Under-lays them: But first He examines how much they are too Low, by laying one Card or one Scaboard or two Scaboards, or a Scaboard and a Card, &c. upon the Face of the Wooden Cut, and gently feeling with the Balls of the Fingers of his right Hand if the intended Under-lay, viz. the Scaboard, Card, &c. lye exactly even with the Face of the Letter, If it do not, he tries thicker or thinner Under-lays till he have evened the Under-lay with the Face of the Letter: For then the Balls of his Fingers will go smoothly and equally over the Under-lay and the Face of the Letter, as if they were one and the same Superficies.

Having evened his Under-lay, he Unlocks that Quarter it is in, and takes the Wooden Cut out of the Form, and cutting a Scaboard or Card or what it wants a little smaller than the bottom of his Wooden Cut, he lays it into the place he took the Wooden Cut out of, or else he Pasts the Under-lay on the bottom of the Wooden Cut, and puts the Wooden Cut into its place again upon the Under-lay. But yet he trusts not to his Judgment altogether for the thickness 292 of the Underlay: But Locking up the Form again, Pulls the Cards upon it to sink it as low as it will go, and Beats and Pulls a Sheet to see how it pleases him. If it be too low, which he finds by the Pale Printing of it, he Underlays it a little more, and again trys by Printing till it pleases him. But by no means he lets the Cut stand too high, though but a small matter, For then it will Print too Hard and too Black, and deface the beauty and fairness of the Cut; So that it may better stand about half a Card too low, than in the least too high.

If the Wooden Cut be too high, he causes a Joyner to Plain off some at the bottom.

6thly, If a White Page or Pages happen in a Form, and he uses a New-drawn Frisket, then he does not Cut out that Page: But if he Work with an Old Frisket, and that Page is already Cut out, he Sews, or sometimes Pastes on a Scaboard, if the Page be not too broad, or a strong Pasteboard to the Sides and Crosses, to cover the White-page in the Form, that it Print not Black.

If the sides of the Pages adjacent to the White-page Print Hard, as most commonly they do, because the White-page is generally lower than Letter high, so that the force of the Spindle squeezes the yielding Paper, Tympan and Blankets below the Plain of the Face of the Letter; and besides the force of the Spindle falling upon the center of the Plattin, and the Plain of the Plattin not finding resistance to entertain it equally, presses lower down upon the low White-page, than upon the Face of the Letter; so that the Press-man either Underlays the White-page, Rr
293 as he does Wooden Cuts, or else he fits a Bearer on the Frisket.

The Bearer is a Riglet of a convenient thickness: and this convenient thickness the Press-man finds as I shewed you how he found the thickness of his Under-lays for Wooden Cuts; only with this difference, that as then he made his Wooden Cut exactly Letter-high, so now he makes his Bearer and the Furniture his Bearer bears on Letter-high: Wherefore he Pasts one side of his Bearer, and lays it as he would have it on the Furniture, with the Pasted side upwards; and laying his Tympan and Frisket down upon the Form, with his Fingers presses on the outside the Inner-Tympan Frisket and all, upon the place where the Bearer lies; So that with the Paste the Bearer sticks to the side of the Frisket, which he takes up again: and if he thinks the Paste not strong enough to hold it till the Form is wrought off, he sews it to the Frisket by pricking his Needle on both sides the Bearer, and lashing the Thred over it so often till he thinks it fast enough sew’d on.

7thly, He examines whether the Frisket Bites not; That is, whether no part of it Print upon any of the sides of any of the Pages: if they do he cuts away so much and about a Nomparel more off the Frisket where it Bites.

8thly. He examines if the Beards of the Letter Print at the Feet of the Pages: If they do, He considers whether the too short or too far Running in of the Carriage causes it. Or whether it be only the Beard of a short Page that Prints; If it be the Beard of a short Page that Prints, he remedies it with an 294 Under-lay as I shewed he did in the White Page.

If the Carriage be Run in too short, and the Feet of the Pages stand towards the Plattin, the Hind-side of the Plattin will press strong upon the Feet of those Pages: And if the Carriage be Run in too far, the Feet of the Pages that stand towards the hinder Rail of the Tympan will most feell the force of Plattin, and according to a greater or less proportion of that force, and to the softness or yielding of the Paper, Tympan, and Blankets, and all other Springs in the Press, mentioned in §. 11. ¶ 1. of this Volumne, the Feet of the Pages and Beard of the Letter will more or less Print Hard.

Wherefore in this case he Runs the Carriage under the Plattin, till the farther Edge of the Plattin just cover the Feet of those Pages, and with a piece of Chalk makes a White stroke over the Board of the hither side of the Carriage behind, and the upper side of the Rail of the Ribs: Then he Runs in the Carriage again, till the Foreside of the Plattin just cover the Feet of the Pages next the Hind Rail of the Tympan, and makes another mark with Chalk on the Rail of the Ribs to joyn with the mark he first made on the Board of the Carriage. Then he Runs out the Carriage, and lays the Tympan down on the Form; and Runs in the Carriage again till he joyn the mark or line he made first on the Carriage-board and Rail of the Ribs, and makes a mark with Chalk on the farther Rail of the Tympan just range with the Fore-side of the Plattin. This mark on the Tympan shews him how far he must Run the Carriage in against the Fore-edge of the Plattin for the First Pull. Then he Rr2
295 Runs in the Carriage farther, till he joyn the same Mark or Line on the Carriage-board to the second Mark he made on the Rail of the Ribs, and makes another Mark on the further Rail of the Tympan just range with the Fore-side of the Plattin, for the Mark he is no Run the Carriage in to against the Fore-edge of the Plattin, for his Second Pull.

9thly, He Examines if the Catch of the Bar will hold the Bar when the Spindle makes a small Spring, viz. When the Bar flies but a little way back from the pressure of the Form: If it will not, he knocks up the Catch a little higher till it will, and then Screws the Screw on the Shank, and consequently the Catch close and firm against the Cheek of the Press.

But if the Catch stand too high, so that it will not without a great Spring, (viz. when the Bar is Pull’d hard from the farther Cheek) fly up; He then knocks upon the top of the Catch to sink it lower; And when it is well fitted Screws it up again, as before.

If the Catch of the Bar stand too Low, it will not hold the Bar; But it will Come down again of it self when he is in his train of Work: For if, as it often happens, he lets the Bar fly harder than ordinary back, or if it slip out of his Hand, it will knock hard against the Cheek, and Spring back again.

If the Catch of the Bar stand but a little too High, the Violence of the Bars flying back to make it stick on the Catch will soon Loosen the Square of the Bar in the Eye of the Spindle; and indeed subject the whole Press to an unstable condition.

This is another ease and convenience these New-fashioned Presses gives the Press-man: For in the Old 296 make of the Press, when the Catch of the Bar holds too hard, or too soft, he is troubled to Raise or Sink the Catch with the thickness of Scaboards, which being indevisable, does not without trouble or luck justen it to an exact Heighth. And besides, These Under-lays being but put under the Catch upon the Wooden Bearer without any Fastning, are very subject to work out by the constant disturbance the motion of the several Parts of the Press (when at work) gives it: Or else (which is worse) he many times is forced to batter the Cheek of the Press, with drawing and driving of Nails out and in it, to fit on another Catch bigger or lesser, whereas here with a softer or an harder knock of the Hammer (as aforesaid) he Raises or Sinks the Catch, and afterwards Screws it firmly up.

10thly, He considers whether the Stay of the Frisket stands neither too forwards or too backwards. The Stay may stand too forwards, though when it is leisurely turn’d up it stays the Frisket: Because, when the Press-man is in a Train of Work, though he generally throws the Frisket quick up with an accustomed, and as he intends, equal strength; yet if his guess at strength in throwing it up varies, and it comes (though but a little) harder up, the Batten fastned on the Cap, and the Perpendicular Batten fastned to the aforesaid Batten (as is described in §. 11. ¶ 21. of this Volumne) will by their shaking cause a Spring, which will throw the Frisket back again upon the Tympan: Nay, though (as sometimes it happens) a solid Wall serves to do the Office of a Stay for the Frisket; yet with a little too hard throwing it up, Rr3
297 the Frisket it self will so shake and tremble (its Frame being made of thin Iron) from end to end, that e’re it recover rest, its own Motion will by the quick running of a Spring through it beat it back again.

If the Stay stand too backward, then after he has given the Frisket a Touch to bring it down, it will be too long e’re it come down, and so hinder his Riddance.

Therefore he places the Stay so, that the Frisket may stand but a little beyond a Perpendicular backwards, that with a near-guess’d strength in the tossing it up it may just Stand, and not come back; For then with a small Touch behind, it will again quickly come down upon the Tympan.

11thly, He considers the Scituation of the Foot-step, and that he places so as may best suit with his own Stature; For a Tall man may allow the Foot-step to stand farther off and lower than a Short, because his Legs reach farther under the Carriage, and can tread hard to add strength to his Pull; when a Short man must strain his Legs to feel the Foot-step, and consequently diminish the force of his Pull.

12thly, He fits the Gallows, so that the Tympan may stand as much towards an upright as he can: Because it is the sooner clapt down upon the Form and lifted up again. But yet he will not place it so upright, but that the White Sheets of Paper he lays on it may lye securely from sliding downwards; And for Reteration Sheets their lying upon Points secures them.

In these New-fashioned Presses there is no trouble to place the Gallows, so as it may mount the Tympan 298 to any Position: For sliding the Male-duftails made on the Feet of the Gallows through the Female Duftails fastned on the Planck of the Carriage, performs this great trouble that in our English Presses requires Un-nailing the Studs of the Gallows and Nailing them again; and many times tearing them and the Carriage-Planck to pieces: And that so oft as the fancy of the Press-man alters, or another Work-man comes to Work at that Press.

13thly, Few Press-men will Set the range of the Paper Bench to stand at right angles with the Plank of the Carriage: But draws the farther end of the Paper Bench so as the hither side may make an Angle of about 75 Degrees (more or less) with the hither side of the Carriage: The reason is, if the hither side of the Paper Bench stand at right Angles with the hither side of the Carriage, he must carry his Hand farther when he Lays out Sheets which would hinder riddance: Besides his Companion has a nearer access to it, to look over the Heap; which he frequently does, to see the constant Complexion of the Work.

14thly, The Press-man brings his Heap and Sets it on the hither end of the Paper Bench as near the Tympan as he can, yet not to touch it, lest it stop the Tympan in a train of Work: and he places an end of the Heap towards him. Then taking off the Paper-board that cover’d it when it was Prest, he lays the long sides of it parallel to the sides of the Paper Bench: Then he takes the uppermost Sheet (which as you may Remember is a Waste-sheet) and lays it on the empty Paper-board; And taking Three or Four or Five Quires off his Heap in both his Hands, 299 he lifts it a pretty height above his Head, and claps it as hard as he can down upon the rest of the Heap, to loosen the Sheets that with Pressing stick close together: And not thinking them yet loose enough, he thrusts them long-ways and side-ways, heaving and huffing them till he think he has pretty well loosen’d or hollow’d that quantity of Paper.

Then with the nail of his Right Hand Thumb, sloaping from his Thumbward, he draws or slides forwards the upper Sheet, and two or three more commonly follows gradually with it, over the hither edge the Heap, to prepare those Sheets ready for him to snatch off the Heap.

15thly, He considers if the Face of the Tympan be moist enough, for a Tympan-sheet to stick to, for though he Wet the back-side of it before to supple it, yet if the Tympan be strong, the Water will not soak quite through to moisten the Face, So that he wets the Spunge in fair Water, and besprinkles the upper side or Face of the Tympan all over: And squeezing the Water that is left in the Spunge well out again, rubs it quickly and gently all over the Face of the Tympan, to drink up or lick off the body of Water that he besprinkles on, and only leaves moisture on the Face of the Tympan to hold the Sheet.

Here accrews now a benefit by the make of these New-fashioned Presses to the Master Printer: For these Presses having a Gutter fastned to the Hind-rail of the Carriage (as was described in § 10. ¶ 9. of this Volumne) to receive the Water that falls from the Tympan, and to convey it beyond the farther side of the Press, secures the Blank of the Carriage 300 from Wet and moisture, and consequently from that cause of Rotting.

Then he takes a Sheet of Paper off the Heap for a Tympan-sheet, and Folds it exactly into four quarters, and lays the Creases of the Sheet exactly upon the middle of the Short and Long Crosses, if the Volumn of the Form allows them both to be in their respective middles of the Chase; if not, he lays the Creases exactly against the Notches in the Chase that are made for them respectively: And if his Frisket be Blackt with former Work, he lays a Sheet of Waste-Paper upon the Creast-sheet: Then lays the Tympan down on the Form, and Pulls on these two Sheets, and takes up his Tympan again, and lays by the Waste-Sheet; but the Creast-Sheet he lays on the Tympan. But first presses the Tympan downwards, from under the Shank of each Point successively, puts the two opposite sides of the Sheet under the Shancks of the Points, and the Holes the Points prickt with Pulling exactly under the bottom Revits of the Points: Then taking a little Paste on the Ball of one of his fingers, a little besmears the under corners of that Sheet, and claps them down close on the Tympan, that the Sheet may stick: But the bottom corner of that side the Sheet that is next to him, he besmears within the Matter of the Sheet, viz. within the Impression the Form made. For when he has fastned that corner down, he tears off the Margin, (by guess) in a straight line athwart the very corner, that it may not lye in his way to catch at as he Takes off Sheets, when he is in his train of Work.

This Sheet is called the Tympan-sheet; and is only Ss
301 as a standing mark to lay all the other Sheets exactly even upon, while he Works upon White-paper.

The Press-man does now suppose he has Made Beady: Yet for assurance he will try his Register once more, lest some of the Quoins should have slipt. How he made Register I shewed you before, wherefore if his Register be not good, he mends it as I there shewed. But we will suppose it now good, wherefore he gently Knocks up all the Quoins in the corners, with an equal force to fasten them.

Though I have in Numerical order set down these Operations, Circumstances and Considerations in this ¶: yet does not the Press-man oblige himself to observe them in this or any other orderly succession: Because it often happens that some of these Operations may more readily be performed out of this or any other prescribed Order.

¶ 8. Of Drawing the Tympans and Frisket.

Drawing the Tympans or Frisket is the Covering and Pasting on of Vellom, Forrels or Parchment upon the Frames. To each Tympan and Frisket is chose a Skin large enough to cover and lap about the Frames.

These Skins the Press-man rumples up together, and puts them into a Pail of fair Water to soak; and if he thinks they do not soak fast enough, he takes them and rubs them between his Hands, as Women wash Cloaths, to supple them, that the Water may Soak the faster in. And being throughly Soakt he wrings the Water as well out as he can.

Then the Boy having provided a Brush and about 302 a Pint of Paste, made of fine Wheaten Flower, well boiled in fair Water to the consistency of Hasty-pudding, he spreads the Skin flat upon a Table; and first Pastes the under Side of the Tympan; then lays it on the middle of the Skin, and rearing each side successively up, Pastes the Skin also from the insides the Tympan to the outer edges of the Skin, and lays the Tympan down flat again: Then he Pastes all the other sides of the Tympan, and wraps the Skin about the two long Sides first, Cutting the Sides of the Skin away so much, till he leaves only enough to reach almost quite through the under-sides of the Tympan again: Then drawing and straining the Skin tighter, he drives in the points of two-penny or three-penny Nails about six Inches distant from one another, to keep the Skin from starting as it Dries.

Having thus Drawn the sides, he with the Point of a Pen-knife cuts square holes in the Skin, just where the Iron-Joynts fall, for the Joynts to fall into, and Draws and Strains the ends of the Tympan as he did the Sides; wrapping the ends of the Skin under the under-sides of the Tympan, and where Wood is, drives in the points of Nails, as before.

Then setting it by to dry, when it is dry, he draws the Nails.

As he Drew this Tympan, so he Draws the other: and the Frisket also: only, because he cannot drive in Nails, (the Frisket being all made of Iron) he doubles the Skin over the sides of the Frisket, and being well Pasted, as aforesaid; he Sews the sides that Lap over down upon the whole Skin, to keep it from starting while it drys; And he Pastes a Sheet Ss2
303 or two Thick of Paper all over the inside of it; as well to strengthen as to thicken it.

¶ 9. Of Wetting Paper.

Paper is commonly Wet in a Tray full of fair Water. The Press-man places the length of the Tray before him; his dry Heap on the Left Hand the Tray, and a Paper-Board with its Breadth before him on his Right Hand of the Tray: He lays first a Waste Sheet of Paper on the Paper-board, lest the Board might Soyl or foul the first Sheet of the Heap. Then he takes up the first Token, and lays it in such a position that the backs of the Quires lye towards his Right Hand, that he may the readier catch at the Back of each Quire with his Right Hand, when he is to Wet it: And he lays that Token athwart, or somewhat Crossing the rest of the Heap, that he may the easier know when he has Wet that Token.

Then taking the first Quire of the Heap with the back of it in his Right Hand, and edge of the Quire in his Left, he lays the Quire down upon the Waste Sheet, so, as that the back of the Quire lye upon the middle crease of the Waste Sheet, and consequently one half of the Quire already laid even down upon one half of the Waste Sheet. If the Paper be Strong, he opens about half the Quire, and turns it over dry upon the other half of the Waste Sheet: But if the Paper be Weak and Spungy, he opens the whole Quire, and lays that down Dry.

The reason why he lays the first Laying-down Dry, is, because it lying under the rest of the Heap 304 will sufficiently imbibe the moisture that Soaks from it: And the reason why he leaves but half a Quire Dry for strong Paper, and an whole for Spungy, is, Because Spungy Paper Soaks in moisture faster than Strong.

Having laid down his Dry Laying, he takes another Quire off the Dry Heap, with the back of the Quire in his Right Hand, and the edge of the Quire in his Left, (as before,) and closing his Hand a little, that the Quire may bow a little downwards between his Hands, he Dips the back of the Quire into his Left Hand side of the Tray of Water: And discharging his Left Hand of the Quire, Draws the Quire through the Water with his Right; but as the Quire comes out at the Right Hand side of the Tray, he nimbly catches the edge of the Quire again in his Left Hand, and brings it to the Heap, but by lifting up his Left Hand bears the under side of the Quire off the Dry Paper, laid down before, lest the Dry Sheet should stick to the Wet, before he have plac’d the Quire in an even position, and so perhaps wrinkles a Sheet or two, or else put a Dry Sheet or two out of their even position, on the sides or ends.

But this Drawing the Quire through the Water he performs either nimbly or slowly: If the Paper be Weak and Spungy, he performs it quickly; if Strong and Stubborn, slowly.

To place this Quire in an even position, he lays the back of the Quire exactly upon the opening crease of the former Quire, and then lets the side of the Quire in his Left Hand fall flat down upon the Heap; and discharging his Right Hand, brings it to Ss3
305 the edge of the Quire; and with the assistance of his Left Hand Thumb (still in its first position) opens or divides either a third or half of the whole Quire, according to the quality of the Paper, (as was said before,) and spreading the Fingers of his Right Hand as much as he can through the length of the Quire, turns over his opened division of the Quire upon his Right Hand side of the Heap.

The reason why he spreads the Fingers of his Right Hand as much as he can through the Length of the Quire; is, because the outside Half Sheet is Wet, and consequently quickly Limber, so that if the Paper be Weak, it would fall Down before the rest of his Opening, and double into wrinkles, which thus spreading his Fingers prevents.

In the same manner he Wets all the Quires of his Dry Heap. See Plate 29.

But having Wet his first Token, he doubles down a great corner of the upper Sheet of it on his Right Hand, so as the farther corner may lye a little towards the Left Hand of the crease in the middle of the Heap, and so as the hither corner may Hang out on the hither side of the Heap about an Inch and an half: This Sheet is called the Token-Sheet, as being a mark for the Press-man when he is at Work to know how many Tokens of that Heap is Wrought-off, and consequently to know how many is to Work.

When he has Wet the first Token, he removes the next uppermost Dry Token askew on the Dry Heap, and successively all the rest, as I shewed in the beginning of this ¶.

Having Wet the whole Heap, he lays a Waste 306 Sheet of Paper upon it, that the Paper-Board to be laid on, Soyl not the last Sheet of the Heap: Then three or four times takes up as much Water as he can in the hollow of his Hand, and throws and sprinkles it all over the Waste-sheet that it may moisten and Soak downwards into the un-wet upper part of the last Division of the Quire.

The Paper being thus Wet, he takes up the whole Heap upon the Paper-board, and sets it by in a convenient place of the Room, and lays another Paper-board upon it: And upon the middle of the Paper-board, sets about Half an Hundred Weight, and lets it stand by to press, commonly till next Morning: For Press-men generally Wet their Paper after they have left Work at Night.

The manner how Paper is Set out, shall be shewed when I come to the Office of the Warehouse-keeper.

¶ 10. Of Knocking up the Balls.

Ball Leathers (as I said before in § 11. ¶ 21.) are either Pelts or Sheep-skins: If Pelts, they are chosen such as have a strong Grain, and the Grease well Wrought out of them: They are either Wet or Dry before they come to the Press-mans use: If Wet, he having before-hand provided a round Board, of about Nine inches and an half Diameter: Supposing the Ball-stocks to be six Inches diameter, lays the Round Board upon the whole Pelt, and cuts by the out-side of the Board so many round pieces as he can out of the Pelt, reserving two for his present Use.

And hanging the rest up (commonly upon the 307 Braces of the Press) to dry, that they may not Stink or Mould before he have occasion to use them.

But if his Pelts are Dry, he lays them to Soak (by choice in Chamber-ly) but I never heard, or by my experience could find why it is preferred before Fair Water: For the purpose of Soaking them is only to supple them.

If he Work with Leather, It is chosen with a Strong and close grain: Wherefore by experience it is found that the Neck-piece, and indeed all along the back of the Skin is best; but it is commonly subject to be greasie, which gives the Press-man sometimes a great deal of trouble, to make his Balls Take. He also lays the Ball Leathers in Soak to supple them.

When they (either Pelts or Leathers) are well Soaked, he Rubs them well with both his Hands, and then twists and wrings them (as Women do Cloaths) to get the Water out again.

When they are well wrung, he Sits down upon a Seat about fourteen or fifteen Inches high, commonly a Heap of White Paper, if it stand conveniently for him; but not upon a Printed Heap, least his Weight pressing it cause the un-dryed Inck to Set-off: He sits down, I say, and lays the Ball-stock upon his a little opened Thighs near his Knees, that with closing his Thighs he may hold it in a Steddy position, and with the Handle of the Ball-stock towards his Belly. Then taking the Ball-Leather, he laps or Folds about three quarters of an Inch of one part of it over so much of it towards his Left Hand into a Plaight, and laying the edges of that Plaight towards him, an Inch above the edge of the Ball-stock, he with the Head of 308 the Sheeps-foot drives a Ball-nail into the middle of the Plaight, a little more than half an Inch above the edge of the Ball-stock: But he Drives the Ball-nail not quite up to the Head, but leaves about almost a quarter of an Inch of the Nail out; that with the Claw of the Sheeps-foot he may Draw the Nail again when occasion serves.

Having driven the first Nail, he turns about the Ball-stock, till the opposite side, and as near as he can guess, point of the edge of the Ball-stock lyes directly upwards between his Thighs, (as before,) and then taking as near as he can guess the opposite edge of the Ball-leather between his fore-fingers and Thumb of his Left Hand, he holds the edge of the Ball-leather upright, and having his Wooll or Hair Teized, lying by him on his right Hand on the Floor, he grasps at once as near as he can guess, so much as may just serve to fill his Ball-leather and the hollow of the Ball-stock; which bringing to the hollow of the Ball-stock, he draws the Ball-leather over it; and lapping the edges of the Ball-leather over, as before, makes another Plaight, and Drives another Nail, as before: So that here is now the two opposite Sides of the Leather Nailed on. Then he takes up the Ball by the Handle in his Left Hand, and observes whether the Wooll tend more to one than the other open half; If it do, he thrusts it with the ends of his Fingers of his Right Hand into the middle, or else over to the other Half, till the Wooll lyes equally on both the Halfs.

If he have put too much or too little Wooll into the Ball, he either takes some out, or adds more to, as Tt
309 the respective Half may require. Then lays it down again between his Thighs, as before, and lays another Plaight in the middle of the Ball-leather on one of the open Halves, and as near as he can guess, between the middle of the two opposite Nails; and Nails that Plaight down to the Ball-stock, as before.

In the like manner he Nails down the other open sides, (now Quarters,) and then again takes a View how the Wooll is disposed into the middle of the Ball; and where he finds it tend most to any of the open Quarters, he Drives the Wooll with the ends of his fingers, as before, or sometimes when the Balls have been Wrought with, and blackt with Inck, with the Head of the Sheeps-foot into the middle, and then Nails down as before all the open Quarters as near as he can guess; between the middle of his former driven Nails, and then again, takes another View as before, to see how the whole Ball pleases him.

If he finds any of the Plaights laid too near one another, he draws that Nail, and alters that Plaight, to lay it as near as he can by guess, in the middle between the next two Plaights.

Then he considers if his Ball be round: If it be not, he thrusts the Wooll from the bunching-out side, towards the wanting side, either with the ends of his Fingers, or the Balls of one of his Hands; while the Wooll is yet loose in the Ball-stock: For when the Ball has been Wrought withal, it will grow so hard, that the Wooll will not move out of its place.

Having Knockt up one Ball well, he Knocks up the other, as the first.

310

The Balls are well Knockt up, when the Wooll is equally dispersed about all the Sides, and the middle smoothly covered with the Leather, viz. not rising in Hillocks, or falling into Dales, not having too much Wooll in them, for that will subject them to soon hardning, and quickly be uneasie for the Press-man to Work with; or too little, for that will make the Leathers, as the Wooll settles with Working soon flap, and wrap over it self into Wrinkles. So that he cannot so well destribute his Balls: But the Balls ought to be indifferently plump, to feel like an Hard stuft Bed-pillow, or a strong Spunge a little moistned with Water.

Having Knockt up the Balls, and Rub’d out the Inck, as shall be shewed in the next ¶, he trys if his Balls will Take, that is, he Dabs the top of one of them three or four times lightly upon the hither part of the Inck-block: If he finds the Inck sticks to it equally all about, and that so much as has toucht the Inck-block is Black, it Takes: But if scarce any of the Leather is Black, or that it be Black and White in Splotches, then the Balls does not Take: Wherefore he considers whether his Ball be too Wet, or else Greasie, for each of these inconveniences will hinder the Taking of the Ball.

If it be too Wet, he burns half a Sheet or an whole Sheet of Waste Paper, and weaves his Ball to and fro over the flame of it; but so quick and cautiously that he neither shrinks the Leather or Dryes it too much: In Winter time when a fire is at Hand, he dryes it gently by the fire.

If it be Greasie, he with the edge of the Ball-knife Tt2
311 scrapes off the thick Oyl, that Works down out of the Nut and Spindle of the Press, or else with the point of his Knife takes a convenient quantity of Oyl out of the Plattin-pan, or for want of either takes fresh Sallad Oyl and smears and spreads it well all over the whole Ball-leather; and then holding the Ball-knife in his Right Hand, with its edge a little sloping downwards that it cut not the Ball-leather, and the handle of the Ball-Stock in his Left Hand, he joyns the bottom of the Ball-leather, viz. as near the outer edge of the Leather as he can, for the Ball Nails to the edge of the Ball-knife, and turning the Ball about by its Handle, presses it hard against the sloapt edge of the Ball-knife, and at once drives the laid on Oyl and Grease too before the sloapt edge of the Ball-knife; but he keeps the Handle of the Ball-Stock, and consequently the whole Ball too, constantly turning, that the whole circumference of the Ball may be Scraped: And as the Ball has performed a Revolution against the sloapt edge of the Ball-knife, he draws gradually his Left Hand a little backish, that the sloapt edge of the Ball-knife may by several Spiral revolutions of the Ball, scrape up to the very top of the Ball, and carries before it the Oyl and Grease thither: Which having there, he gathers up upon the Blade of his Ball-knife and disposes of it, as of so much Dirt and Filth.

After a due process of either of these Operations respectively, his Ball will Take, and he again dabs gently the top of his Ball three or four times on the Inck-block (as before) and finding it Take, he takes the Handle of it into the clutched Fingers of his Left 312 Hand, holding the Ball-stock a little above the circle of his Fore-finger and Thumb, and grasps the Handle of the other Ball-stock into his Right Hand, with the circle of his Finger and Thumb upwards, and the now bottom of his Right Hand downwards, but not resting upon the Ball-stock; and trys if that Ball will Take, by dabbing the Leather of it three or four times upon the other Ball; If it do not Take with dabbing, he twists the Balls in either Hand close and hard, contrary to one another, to besmear the upper with the under Ball. If after this, the upper Ball do not Take, he considers the cause, and remedies it, as he did the still Ball.

¶ 11. Of Rubbing out Inck.

Before the Press-man goes to Work, he Rubs out his Inck.

If the Inck have lain long on the Inck-block since it was Rubbed out, the Superficies of it generally is dryed and hardened into a Film or Skin, wherefore the Press-man carefully takes this Film quite off with the Slice before he disturb the Body of the Inck: For should any, though never so little of it, mingle into the Inck, when the Ball happens to take up that little particle of Film, and delivers it again upon the Face of the Letter, it will be a Pick, and Print black, and deface the Work: And if it get between the Face of two or more Letters, or the Hollows of them, it will obliterate all it covers. And if it be Pull’d upon, and the Press-man not Tt3
313 careful to over-look his Work, it may run through the whole Heap.

Wherefore having carefully skinned off the Film with the edge of the Slice, he scrapes his Slice clean with the Ball-knife, lest some small parts of the Film should yet stick to, or remain on the Slice: And then with the Slice brings the body of Inck into the middle of the Plain of the Inck-block, and searches the sides of the Inck-block, by thrusting the edge of the Slice forwards along them and all the angles of the Inck-block, and so scrapes off all the Inck as clean as he can, and gathers it to the whole mass of Inck; Then with the Slice he turns the whole mass about half a score times over and over to mingle it well together, lest some part of it should be more consolidated than the rest: And to mingle it yet better, he then falls to Rubbing it with the Brayer, grasping the Handle of it in his Right Hand, he begins to Rub with all his strength at the hithermost side-boundings of the Body of Inck, and keeping Rubbing through the almost whole length of the Inck-block, he gradually proceeds to the farther side of the Body of Inck. In this manner of Rubbing he bears hardest upon the farther edge of the Brayer, because the hither sides of the Inck-block are not fenced in with Rails about them; and should he Rub with the bottom of the Brayer flat upon the Inck-block, he might draw too great a body of Inck to the unfenced sides; so that the Inck would be subject to run off: This Rubbing is only to spread the Inck pretty equally over the superficies of the Inck-block: Wherefore he now begins a circular Rubbing, observing in the circulation 314 of the Brayer that he always a little mounts the part of the edge of the bottom, which in its progress is ready to approach a prominent body of Inck, that it may somewhat slide over it, that the Inck be not lickt up high on the sides of the Brayer.

Then with the Handle of the Slice in his Left Hand and the Handle of the Brayer in his Right, he joyns the bottom edge of the Slice to the side of the Brayer, holding the flat of the Slice Horizontal, and the bottom of the Brayer perpendicular both over the Inck-block, and keeping his Brayer and Slice in this position, by turning the Handle of the Brayer in his Right Hand, held pretty stiff against the edge of the Slice, he scrapes off all the Inck that the side of the Brayer has lickt up: And setting down his Brayer, he takes the Slice in his Right Hand and lays what Inck he scrapes off the side of the Brayer again upon the Inck-Block, and Slices the whole mass of Inck into the farthermost corner of the Inck-block.

This Rubbing of the Inck may serve when the Inck-block had Inck on it before.

But if no Inck were on the Inck-block before, then he lays new Inck on the Inck-block: Wherefore he considers what Work he Works on: whether it be small or great Letter: If it be small Letter, or curious Work, the Inck must be Strong he Works with: But if it be great Letter or sleight Work, he makes Soft Inck serve, or at least mingles but a little Hard Inck with it.

If the Inck be too Hard, as sometimes in very frosty Weather it will be, then, though his Work be curious, yet he must Rub in a little Soft Inck to soften it; 315 because it will not else Destribute the Balls; especially if the Leathers be a little too Wet, or a little Greasie: Besides, it may and many times does pull and tear the Grain off the Skin; which not only spoils the Skin, but fills the Form full of Picks.

Sometimes when he finds the Inck too pale, he Rubs in Blacking, but he first joults the bottom of the Blacking Tub three or four times against the ground, that if by chance any dirt or filth have gotten into it, it may sink to the bottom of the Tub.

But when he either mingles Strong and Weak Inck together, or else puts in Blacking, he applies himself again first to Rubbing with the Brayer, the length-way of the Inck-block, as before, and then to a circular Rubbing, as before; and to cleansing his Brayer, as before; and this long-ways Rubbing, circular Rubbing, and cleansing his Brayer, he reiterates so oft, till he judge the whole mass of Inck sufficiently Rubbed and mingled, and the Blacking perfectly imbibed by the Inck: And then he Slices the whole mass of Inck to the farthermost corner of the Inck-block, as before.

¶ 12. Of Destributing the Balls.

I shewed you in ¶ 10 of this § how he dabb’d the Ball on the Inck-block, to try if it would Take: And I shewed you in what Posture he handled the Balls when he tryed if the other Ball would Take: Therefore for Taking Inck and Handling the Balls I (to avoid tautology) refer you to that ¶.

Having now Taken Inck, and gotten the Balls in his Hands, in that posture, he Works them side-ways 316 upon one another to and from him, and with a craft (acquired by use) in the Handling of the Balls, all the while keeps the Handles, and consequently the whole Ball-stocks (both) turning round in his Hands and in a motion contrary to each other, viz. His under Ball moving from the Left Hand to the Right, and his upper Ball moving from his Right Hand to the Left; and by and by in a second motion contrary to the first, viz. his under Ball moving from the Right Hand to the Left, and his upper Ball moving from the Left Hand to the Right.

And these motions and Operations he continues so long till he judges, and in part perceives the Inck is equally Destributed all over the whole Ball-Leathers.

The first way of turning the Ball Handles, while the Balls are moved to and from him, is made by pressing the ends or Balls of the fingers of both his Hands upon the Ball-handles from-wards his Hands: And the second way of turning them contrary to the first, is made by gathering in the ends or Balls of his fingers while they are in their circular to and fro motion. But because in gathering in his fingers, he does somewhat dis-ingage his grasp of the Ball-Handles, therefore he lightly and almost insensibly, tosses the Ball-stocks a little up, that when they are dis-ingaged from a close grasp, his fingers ends may the easier draw the Handles towards him. This is a Hand-craft, which by continued use and practice, becomes familiar to his Hands.

Uu
317

¶ 13. Of Beating.

The Press-man imagines, or by his eye judges the length of his Form (be it what Volumne it will) devided into four equal parts or Rows, which four Rows for distinction sake, I shall number from the Left Hand to the right, with first Row, second Row, third Row, fourth Row, just as an Octavo Form is exactly devided by four Rows of Pages.

He places his Left Hand Ball at the hither end of the first Row, so that though the Ball be round, yet the square encompassed within that round shall sufficiently cover so much of the square of the hither end of that Row as it is well capable to cover; and his Right Hand Ball he sets upon the hither end of the third Row: He sets his Balls close upon the Face of the Letter, with the Handles of the Ball-stocks a little bending towards him: But as he presses them upon the Face of the Letter, he mounts them perpendicular; and lifting at once both the Balls lightly just clear off the Face of the Letter, he removes them about the fifth part of the breadth of the Form upwards, viz. towards the farther side of the Form, and again sets them close down upon the Face of the Letter, with the Handles of the Ball-stocks again bending a little towards him, as before: and as he presses them upon the Face of the Letter, mounts them perpendicular, as before: Thus in about four or five or six such motions, or rather removes of the Balls, according to the breadth of the Form, he Beats over the first and third Rows. Thus Beating from the hither 318 towards the farther side, is in Press-mens phrase called Going up the Form.

The reason why he bends the Handles of the Ball-stocks a little towards him, is, that the Ball-leathers drag not upon the Face of the Letter; for then the edges of the hollows between the Lines or Words, or the edges of the cavities below the Face would scrape Inck off the Balls to stop up or choak the Form. And the reason why (before he removes them) he mounts the Handles of the Ball-stocks a little perpendicular, is, that the Balls may touch in their greatest capacity upon the Face of the Letter.

To Come down the Form, he skips his Balls both at once from the first and third Row to the second and fourth Row, and brings them down as he carried them up; only, as before, he bended the Handles of the Ball-stocks a little towards him, so now he bends them a little from him: That the Ball-leathers (now Coming down) drag not, as aforesaid. Then in like manner he again skips the Balls from the second and fourth Row, to the first and third Row, and again Goes up the Form with Balls, as he did before. And then again skips, as before, and Comes down the Form again with the Balls.

Having thus gone twice upwards and twice downwards with the Balls, the Form is sufficiently Beaten in a train of Work, when the Face of the Letter Takes well.

But if he Beats the first Sheet of a fresh Form, or after a Form is Washed, or he makes a Proof, he Goes three four or five times Upwards and Downwards: Least the Face of the Letter should happen to be Wet Uu2
319 or moist, and consequently un-apt to take Inck, without reiterated Beatings.

¶ 15. Of Pulling.

We will suppose now two Press-men going in the Morning to their train of Work: The one they distinguish by the name of First, the other his Second, these call one another Companions: The First is he that has wrought longest at that Press, except an Apprentice, for he must allow any Journey-man though new-come that stile: Generally the Master Printer reposes the greatest trust upon his care and curiosity for good Work; although both are equally liable to perform it.

All the priviledge that the First has above the Second is, that the First takes his choice to Pull or Beat the agreed stint first: And that the Second Knocks up the Balls, Washes the Forms, Teizes Wooll, and does the other more servile Work, while the First is imploid about making Register, ordering the Tympan, Frisket, and Points, &c. or otherwise Making Ready the Form, &c.

The First now takes his spell at Pulling: For the First and Second take their spell of Pulling and Beating an agreed number of Tokens: Sometimes they agree to change every three Tokens, which is three Hours work, and sometimes every six Tokens; that they may both Pull and Beat a like number of Tokens in one day.

Under the general notion of Pulling and Beating is comprised all the operations that is in a train of work 320 performed by the Puller and the Beater: For though the Puller Lays on Sheets, Lays down the Frisket, Lays down the Tympans and Frisket, Runs in the Carriage, Runs out the Carriage, takes up the Tympans, Takes up the Frisket, Picks the Form, Takes off the Sheet, and Lays it on the Heap, yet all these Operations are in the general mingled and lost in the name of Pulling. And as in Pulling, so in Beating; for though the Beater Rubs out his Inck, Slices it up, Destribute the Balls, peruses the Heap, &c. yet all these Operations are lost in the general name of Beating. Thus they say the First or the Second is Pulling; or, the First or the Second is Beating; though they are performing the different Operations aforesaid: unless upon particular occasions the respective Operations are particularly nam’d.

As there are many Operations conjunct to Pulling, and Beating, so the Press-man performs them with various Set and Formal Postures and Gestures of the Body. For,

To take a Sheet off the Heap, He places his Body almost straight before the hither side of the Tympan: I say almost straight, Because it is more straight before the side of the tympan than it is before the angle made by the Paper-bench and the side of the Tympan: But he nimbly twists the upper part of his Body a little backwards towards the Heap, the better to see he takes but one Sheet off, which he loosens from the rest of the Heap (as I have shewed before) by drawing the back-side of the Nail of his right Thumb on his Right Hand nimbly over almost the whole length of the Heap, and receiving the hither end of the Sheet Uu3
321 with the inside of his Left Hand fingers and Thumb catches with his Right Hand about two inches within the farther edge of the Sheet near the upper corner, and about the length of his Thumb below the hither edge of the Sheet, and brings it nimbly to the Tympan: And at the same time twists his Body again straight before the Tympan, only a very little moving his right Foot from its first Station a little forwards under the Carriage Plank: And as the Sheet is coming to the Tympan (we suppose now he Works upon White Paper) he nimbly disposes the fingers of his Right Hand under the farther edge of the Sheet near the upper corner; and having the Sheet thus in both his Hands, lays the farther side and two extream corners of the Sheet down even upon the farther side and extream farther corners of the Tympan-sheet, but he is careful the upper corner of the Sheet be first laid even, upon the upper corner of the Tympan-sheet; that he may the sooner disingage his Right Hand: And if by the nimble casting his eye, he perceive the sides of the Sheet lye un-even upon the Tympan-sheet, he with his Left Hand at the bottom corner of the Sheet, either draws it backwards, or pulls it forwards, as the Sheet may lye higher or lower on the hither corners of the Tympan-sheet, while his Right Hand being disingaged, as aforesaid, is removed to the back side the Ear of the Frisket, and with it gives it a light touch to double it down upon the Tympan. And by this time his Left Hand is also disingaged, and slipt to the hither under corner of the Frisket, to receive it, that it fall neither too hard or too quick down upon the Tympan: For hard 322 falling may shake the loose Sheet on the Tympan out of its place; and so may the quick pressure of the Air between the Tympan and Frisket, after the Sheet is well laid; and while his Left Hand receives the Frisket his right is disingaged from the Ear of the Frisket, and removed to the middle of the back-side the Tympan; which he grasps between the Balls of his Fingers and Thumb, to lift it off the Gallows, and double it and the Frisket together on the Form. And while the Tympan is coming, he slips his Left Hand Fingers from under the Frisket to the hither outer corner of it, as well to keep the Sheet close to the Tympan in its position, as to avoid the jobbing of the lower side of the Frisket against any small square shoulder, either of the Furniture, Quoins, Chase, or the corners that may stand higher than their common Plain.

Then nimbly slipping his Left Hand, he with it grasps the Rounce, and with a moderate strength, nimbly gives its Winch about one Turn round; I say about, because the first Pull will generally fall out to be made about the middle of the Carriage; as was shewed in § 11. ¶ 16.) but perhaps not just in the middle: yet to regulate his Runing in, he made a mark before on the farther Rail of the Tympan, (as I shewed in ¶ 3. of this §) to which mark he Runs the Carriage in, till he bring the mark in a Range with the fore-edge of the Plattin; and as it is coming, skips his Hand to within an Inch or two of the end of the Bar, and then at once gently leans his Body back, that his Arm as he Pulls the Bar towards him may keep a straight posture; because in a Pull it has then 323 the greatest strength. And he also slips his right Foot upon the Foot-step, while his Left Hand holds fast by the Rounce; as well to rest on the Foot-step and Rounce, as to enable his Body to make a stronger Pull; which will prove Longer or Shorter, according to the strength put to it, and also the Hard or Soft Justifying of the Head, (as was shewed in ¶ 5. of this §.)

Then disingaging his Right Hand again from the Handle of the Bar, he slips it to the Bow of the Bar, before the Handle fly quite back to the Cheek of the Press: For should the Bar by its forcible Spring knock hard against the Cheek of the Press, it might not only shake some of its Parts or circumstantial appurtenances out of order, but subject the whole Machine with oft reiteration to an unstable position. Besides, the farther the Bar flyes back, the more he hinders quick riddance in recovering it again. But yet he must let the Bar fly so far back as that the Tympan may just rise clear off the Plattin; lest when he Runs in his Second Pull, the Face of the Plattin rub upon the tympan, and shoves the Sheet upon the Face of the Letter, and sometimes Slurs, and sometimes Doubles it upon the Face of the Letter.

Having Pull’d the First Pull, and having the Rounce still in his Left Hand, He turns the Rounce about again, till the Carriage Runs in so far, as that the second mark on the Rail of the Tympan comes into a Range with the hither edge of the Plattin, as before the first mark did; and then Pulls his second Pull, as he did his first; and slips his Right Hand again off the Handle of the Bar to the Bow, (as before) and guides the Bar up to its Catch leisurely, that coming 324 now near the Cheek it knock not against it: and just as he has Pulled his Second Pull, he gives a pretty quick and strong pressure upon the Rounce, to turn it back, and the Carriage out again: And so soon as he has given that one pressure, (as aforesaid) he desingages his Left Hand from the Rounce, and claps the fingers of it under the middle of the Tympan, and on the Ear of the Frisket: and while this is doing, removes his Right Hand to the now upper, but immediately it will be the under-side of the Tympan Rail, within four or five Inches of the upper end of it, to receive the Tympan, as it is lifted up off the Form by his Left Hand. And having thus received it, lets it descend gently down on the Gallows. And as it is descending, slips his Left Hand fingers under the hither lower corner of the Frisket, and gives the Frisket a toss up; while by this time his Right Hand being disingaged from the Tympan, is ready to catch the Frisket by the Ear, and convey it quick and gently to its Stay: And while the Frisket is going up; he slips the end of the middle finger of his Left Hand, or sometimes the ends of his two middle fingers with their Balls upwards, under the hither lower corner of the Pulled off Sheet, and at the instant he has got them under, he nimbly bows his Joynts upwards, to throw up the corner of the Sheet, to make it mount a little, for him to gather about two Inches hold of it between the Balls of his Thumb and fore-finger. And heaving the whole Sheet by this corner a little upwards, He at the same time lifts it off the Points, and draws it somewhat towards him; and as it comes, catches it near the upper corner of the same side of the Xx
325 Sheet, between the foremost Joynts of his fore-fingers and Ball of the Thumb of his Right Hand, and nimbly twisting about his Body towards the Paper-bench carries the Sheet over the Heap of White-paper to a Paper-board, which before he placed beyond that Heap on his Right Hand, (as aforesaid in ¶ 14.) and lays it down upon a Waste-sheet laid for that purpose on that Paper-board; but while it is coming over the White-paper Heap, though he have the Sheet between both his fore-fingers and Thumbs, yet he holds the Sheet so loosly that it may move between them as on two Centers, as his Body twists about (as aforesaid) from the side of the Tympan towards the side of the Paper-bench.

Thus you see both the Press-mans Hands at the same time alternatively ingaged in different Operations: For while his Right Hand is imployed in one Action his left is busie about another, and these exercises so suddenly varied, that they seem to slide into one another one Posture; beginning when the former is but half performed.

Having thus Pulled one Sheet, and laid it down: He turns his Body towards the Tympan again, and as he is turning gives the next Sheet on the White-paper Heap a Touch with the backside of the Nail of his Right Thumb, as Before, to draw it a little over the hither edge of the Heap, and lays it on the Tympan, &c. as he did the first; and so successively every Sheet till the whole Heap of White-paper be Wrought off.

As he comes to a Token-sheet, he un-doubles that, and smooths out the Crease with the back-side of 326 the Nails of his Right Hand, that the Face of the Letter may Print upon smooth Paper. And being Printed off, he folds it again, as before, for a Token-sheet when he works the Reiteration.

Having Wrought off the White-paper, he turns the Heap thus:

He takes the Paper-board that his White-paper lay on, and sets it down on the ground: Then removes the Heap to his Left Hand; then takes up the Paper-board, and lays it on his Right Hand; And if it be Twelves, or any Form Imposed like Twelves, as Twenty fours, &c. he turns it from one long side of the Paper to the other, that is, the long side of the Paper that stands on his Right Hand when the Printed side lies upwards, he turns over to his Left Hand, and lays the un-printed side upwards. In performing this, he grasps off of the Wrought off Heap so much at once between both his Hands as he can well govern, without disordering the eveness of the sides of the Heap, viz. a Token, or more, and lays that upon the Paper-board; then takes another grasp in like manner, and lays that on the first grasp, and so successively, till he have turned the whole Heap, grasp by grasp. Then removes the Heap near the Tympan, and lays the other Paper-board beyond it, as the first Paper-board stood before; always remembring to lay a Waste-sheet first on the Paper-board.

Having now turned the Heap, and made Register on the Reteration Form (as was shewed in ¶ 7. of this §) he Works off the Reteration: But he somewhat varies his posture in the Laying on his Sheets: For as before, when he wrought White Paper, he Xx2
327 catcht the Sheet by the upper farther corner with his Right Hand, he now having heaved up the Sheet (as aforesaid) catches it as near the farther side of the farther Point-hole as he can, with the Ball of his Right Hand Thumb above the Sheet, and the Ball of his fore-finger under the Sheet, the readier to lay the Point-hole over its respective Point: which having done, he slips his Body a little backwards, and both his Hands with it, his Right Hand towards the hither Point-hole, with the back-sides of the Nails of his fingers to draw or stroak it over the Point: and the fingers of his Left Hand, as they come from the farther corner, nimbly slipping along the bottom edge of the Sheet, till they come to the hither corner; and then with his fore-finger and Thumb, layes hold of it, to help guide the Point-hole on that Point also: Then Pulls that Sheet, as before, as he did the White Paper, and so successively all the rest of the Reteration. Only, the Token-sheets, as he meets with them, he Folds not down again, as he did the White Paper.

If a Press-man have no Companion, but works alone; he has a little oblong Square Form or Bench made to stand so high as the Face of the Letter upon the Press-stone, and so long as to contain the Balls when set upon the Ball-leathers.

This Form or Bench some Work-men will place on the hither side the hither Cheek, within about half an Inch of the foreside of the Cheek: And other Work-men will place it on the farther side of the Carriage; each sort of Work-men supposing that in the place he sets it, the Balls stand most commodious for 328 his quick taking up and setting down: I shall not plead the convenience of either, but in short speak to the inconveniences of both.

The inconvenience of placing it on the hither side the hither Cheek, is, that the Press-man must twist his Body somewhat about to take up the Balls. And the inconvenience of placing it on the further side the Carriage, is, that the Press-man must thrust his Body over the Form to take up the Balls: both ways strain the Body, and hinder riddance.

Those that place it on the hither side the Cheek, begin and end their Beating as has already been shewed, viz. on the hither side the Form: But those that place it on the farther side the Carriage, begin and end their Beating on the Rows on the farther side the Form.

One Press-man in his train of Work will Beat so soon as he has laid the Tympan on the Gallows after Pulling: Another will not Beat till he has laid his Sheet on the Tympan, and doubled the Frisket down on it: both sorts fancying their own way most quick and commodious: For these conveniences are the purposes they both drive at.

¶ 16. Of Printing Red, or other Colours with Black.

When Red and Black are to be Printed upon the same Sheet, the Press-man first Makes Register, as was shewed ¶ 7. and Makes Ready his Form as was shewed ¶ 14. of this §. Then having a new Frisket Drawn, as was shewed ¶ 8. He Prints upon his new Frisket with Black. And having before a Proof-sheet Xx3
329 Printed Black, with the Words to be Printed Red under-lined on that Proof-sheet; He takes off his Frisket, and lays it flat on a Paper-board, and with a sharp-pointed Pen-knife neatly cuts out those words on the Frisket, and about half a Scaboard Margin round about the words, that he finds under-lined on the Proof-sheet: Then sets the Frisket by till he has wrought off his Heap with Black, and puts his common Frisket on the Joynts of the Tympan again.

While the Press-man is Cutting the Frisket, the Compositer takes those Words out of the Form that are Under-lin’d on the Proof-sheet, and in their place puts Quadrats, m-Quadrats, Spaces, &c. to Justifie the Lines up again.

Then Locking up the Form, the Press-man Works off the Heap Black, as was shewed in the last ¶.

Having wrought off his Heap Black, he takes off the common Frisket, and puts on his new cut Frisket: Then taking a piece of thick Scaboard he cuts it into so many small slips as there are Whites in the Form to be Printed with Red; These small slips he cuts exactly to the length of the Quadrats, &c. the Compositer put in, and to the breadth of the Body; but rather a small matter less than bigger, lest they bind at the bottom of the Shank of the Letter: for when the Compositer takes out the Quadrats, &c. he put in before the Form was Wrought off Black, these slips of Scaboards the Press-man pricks on the Point of a Bodkin and puts them into their respective holes: And being loosen’d off the Point of the Bodkin with the blunt Point of another Bodkin, are laid down flat on the Press-stone; These slips are called Underlays, and 330 are described in ¶ 14. of this §. Upon these Underlays the Compositer puts in again the Words or Letters he took out before the Form was Wrought off Black: So that these Words now stand higher than the other Matter of the Form, and therefore will Print when the other Matter will not. But yet for the more assurance that the other Matter Print not, the New-cut Frisket was prepar’d, which hinders any thing to Print but what Prints through the Holes cut in it; which Holes these Underlaid Words fall exactly through.

Having mingled the Red, or any other intended Colour with Varnish, as shall be shew’d in the next ¶, he Beats the Form as with Black; and Pulls it very lightly, lest these Underlaid Words standing higher than the rest of the Matter, Print too Hard.

¶ 17. Of mixing and Grinding Colours with Varnish.

Varnish is the common Menstruum for all Colours that are to be used in Printing.

Red is the chief Colour that is used with Black in Book-Printing: of Reds there are two sorts in general use, viz. Vermillion and Red-Lead; Vermillion is the deepest and purest Red, and always used to Books of Price. Red-Lead is much more faint and foul, and though more used than Vermillion, yet used only to Books of Vulgar Sale and Low price, as Almanacks, &c.

Yet may other Colours also be used to Print withal; yea, any Colours that are used in Oyl-Painting, as Lake and Russet, which are Reds deeper than 331 Vermillion; Virditur Indico and Bice for Blews; Orpment, Pinck, Yellow Oaker, for Yellow: Virdigreace, and Green Virditur, for Greens: or what other Colours may be fancied.

But all Colours for Printing must be Ground with Soft Varnish; especially those Colours that are of themselves Dryers; as Red-Lead, Vermillion, Orpment, Verdigrease; For should they be Ground with Hard Varnish the Colour’d Inck would dry and harden so quick and fast upon the Form, that it would soon be choaked up, and consequently want Washing e’re the Form be Wrought off; which would be very troublesome to the Press-man, because he must expect to have all his Underlays to new fit to their places: And besides, it will so Dry and Harden upon the Balls, that the Grain of the Leathers would quickly tear off, and fill the Form full of Picks.

The fittest Colours therefore for Printing, are such as are of the lightest Body and Brightest Colour.

They are to be Ground with a Mullar on a smooth Marble Stone, so long that the Colour becomes impalpable, and is throughly mingled with the Varnish.

¶ 18. Of Printing with Gold and Silver.

This Operation is seldom used but for Printing Names; and therefore rarely drest in a Form to the Press; but is usually Printed in the Stick: And then the Compositer Justifies his Stick very Hard, as well 332 that the Letters fall not out when the Back of the Stick is turned upwards, as that the strength of the Hard Varnish the Face of the Letter is Beat with, pulls not the Letter out of the Stick.

Therefore the Press-man makes two little Balls, by tying about an Handful of Wooll in new clean Leather, and dabs one of his Balls upon the Hardest Varnish he has, and with the other destributes his Varnish to a convenient Fatness, as he did his Balls in ¶ 12. With one of these Balls he Beats the Name; and having his Paper Wet, he lays a single Blanket on the Correcting-stone, and his Paper on the Blanket; and with a Riglet fitted to the Stick, he presses the Letter to keep it straight in Line: Then places the Face of the Letter exactly flat down upon the Paper, and with the force of both his Hands presses the Letter hard and even down upon the Paper, to receive an Impression: But he takes care not to wriggle the Letter in the Stick backwards or forwards, lest either the Beard Print, or the sides of the Letter be more or less besmeared with the Varnish: Because the Gold or Silver will stick to the least Sully that the Varnish may chance to make.

Then cutting his Gold or Silver to a size full big enough to cover the Printed Name or Matter, he lays his Gold or Silver on what was Printed, and with a little White Cotton gently presses the Gold or Silver upon the Printed Matter, and lets the Paper lye by a while; as well that it may dry, as the Varnish Harden, (which will quickly be) he with his Handkerchief gently wipes over the Printed Matter. So shall all the Gold or Silver that was Yy
333 toucht by the Varnish, stick to the Varnish on the Paper, and the other will wipe away.

If he lists to Polish it, he uses a Tooth or the Ivory Handle of a Knife.

¶ 19. Rules observed; and Remedies to the Inconveniences the Press-man may meet with in a Train of Work.

1. The Press-man is to make a Proof so oft as occasion requires: If he takes off his Form to make a Proof, he Unlocks and lays the Quoins, as shall be shewed when I come to Washing of the Form: but many Printing-houses have an empty Press stands by to make Proves on.

The Compositer having brought the Form to the Press, lays it down on the Press-stone, and the Press-man places it even under the Plattin, that the Plattin Bear not harder on the hither or farther side of the Form: Then he Pulls the Cards upon the Form, to press it into a flat position: Then Beats the Form four or five times over, that he may be sure it Take: Then he lays the Proof-sheet on the Form, so as by his Judgement it shall have an equal Margin on all its opposite sides, and a double Blanket on the Proof-sheet; and Running in the Carriage, Pulls the Proof-sheet: Having Pull’d it, he Runs-out the Carriage again, and takes the Proof-sheet off the Form. Then with the Ly-brush dipt in Ly, he Rubs over the Face of the Letter three or four times, to Wash off what Inck may remain on it, and carries the Form 334 again to the Correcting-stone and lays it down: And the Proof he carries to the Compositers Case.

2. If the Form he Works on be Small-letter, or Old Letter, he uses Strong Inck; and Beats Lean: For Weak Inck and Fat Beating, will quickly Choak up the Face of the Letter. But to fetch off Hard Inck thin Beat on the Face of the Letter, he Pulls Hard. But if the Form be great Letter or Black English Letter, it will allow Fatter Beating.

3. He keeps a constant and methodical posture and gesture in every action of Pulling and Beating, which in a train of Work becomes habitual to him, and eases his Body, by not running into unnecessary divertions of Postures or Gestures in his Labour, and it eases his mind from much of its care, for the same causes have constantly the same effects. And a Pull of the same strength upon the same Form, with the same Beating, and with the same Blankets, &c. will give the same Colour and Impression.

4. That every two Sheets, if the Form be small Letter (rarely three, unless Great Letter) he Takes Inck; and so soon as he comes off the Form, viz. has Beat it, he falls to Destributing his Balls. And that Sheet which he Takes not Inck he steps to the Heap to overlook the Colour, viz. whether he has Taken too much or too little Inck; and to see if no accidents have befallen the Form, viz. that no Letters, Quadrats or Furniture, &c. Rise, that no Letters are Batter’d; That Bearers fail not, viz. grow so thin with long Pulling on, as not to perform the office of Bearers; that the Register keep good; that no Pick be got into the Form, or any other accident that may deface Yy2
335 the beauty of the Work, but all this while still keeps his Balls Destributing.

If he have taken too much Inck, which sometimes may happen (but seldom for want of carelessness) he will not Take Inck again, till he have wrought his Balls to a good and moderate Colour. But if the Sheet already Pull’d be so Black that it may not tolerably pass, he Doubles or Folds it in the middle and lays it cross the Heap, that the Gatherer may take or leave it, in case the Heap falls Short. If he foresee the next Sheet will also be too Black, he takes a Dry Sheet of Waste Paper between his Balls and Destributes upon that Dry Sheet, that it may take off the Inck.

If in doing this, the strength of the Inck have Pull’d the Paper to pieces, so that small rowl’d-up bits may stick upon the Ball-leathers, if they be but a few he picks them off with his Fore-finger and Thumb, but if there be many he makes his Balls clean by Scraping them (as I shewed in ¶ 10. of this §) for else these small rowl’d-up bits of Paper will be apt to fill the Form full of Picks.

If Letters, Quadrats or Furniture Rise, he puts them down, the Letters and Quadrats with his Bodkin, and the Furniture with his Hammer, and Locks the Quarter they are in, a little Harder.

If any Letters are Batter’d, he Unlocks the Quarter they are in, and desires the Compositer to put in others in their room.

If Bearers Fail, that is, Squeeze thinner with long Pulling on, he takes those Bearers off, if they are on the Frisket, and puts on thicker: But if the Furniture, 336 were Under-laid (as I shewed in ¶ 7. of this §) he Unlocks the Quarter they are in, and Under-lays them according to his Judgement.

If Register be Out, which sometimes happens by the starting of the Quoins, he mends it, as I shewed in ¶ 7. of this §.

If a few Picks are got into the Form, that is, little bits of Paper, Skin or Film of Inck, Grease or other filth which may stick to the Face, or get into the hollows of the Letter, he with the point of a Needle picks them out: But if many be gotten in, he takes off the Form and Washes it, as shall hereafter be shewed.

And though he every other Sheet overlook the Heap (as was said before) yet his Companion that Pulls, by an habitual use casts his eye upon every single Sheet; Yet rarely hinders his riddance by it, for while he is taking the Sheet off the Tympan, he gives a quick spreading glance upon it, and lays it down, as was shewed ¶ 15. of this §, unless he perceive somewhat to mend: For then he lets it lye on the Tympan till he has mended what was amiss.

And that he may Take Inck more equally, to keep the Balls of an equal Fatness, he keeps the Rubb’d out Inck on the Inck-block of an equal Fatness; which to do, he with the under-edge of the bottom of the Brayer, draws often from the mass of Inck a small, (and as near as he can guess) an equal quantity of Inck, viz. about the quantity of a Pea, and with the Brayer Rubs and disperses that Inck of an equal thickness, all over the hither corner of the Inck-block. While this is doing he holds the Balls upright on one Yy3
337 another in his Left Hand, leaning the Handle of the uppermost: Ball-stock against his Breast.

The equal and often Taking of Inck in a small quantity, and constant Destributing of the Balls, is the onliest means to keep the Heap throughout of an equal Colour, and to avoid Beating of Fryers.

5. If he meets with naughty Sheets in his Work; as torn, or stain’d, &c. he Prints them not, but throws them under the Paper-bench; and if any crease or wrinkles be in any Sheet, he laying the backs of his four Left Hand fingers upon a smooth place in the Sheet, rubs with the backs of the Nails of his Right Hand Fingers from-wards him upon the wrinckles, till he have smoothened them.

6. And though his constant care is to Lay every particular Sheet even upon the Heap, yet it often happens either through White Pages that may come in the Form, which because not Printed lye solid on one another, the unequal pressing of one side or end of the Paper, or the unequal Bearing of the Plattin on one side or end of the Form; I say it often happens by these accidents, that the Heap, as it grows higher is on one part of the Sheet raised above, and on another part sunk below an Horizontal level: It is raised higher on that side or end of the Heap most prest in the Tympan, and by consequence makes the Paper there more Huffie; Because deep pressure of the Letter into the Paper below the common level of the Sheet bears the Paper off from the Heap, on the underside the Sheet; and the greater the number of Sheets are thus Printed off and laid on the Heap, the more that side or end of the Heap shall Rise: 338 And by the Rule of Contraries, when White Pages come in the Form, the greater number of Sheets laid on the Heap, shall where those White Pages lye, make the Heap lower in that place, because they clap solider together, for want of Printing the Paper through the backside level of each Sheet: So that the small un-level lying of every Sheet, though unperceptable, in a small number of Sheets, makes each Sheet incline to the lowest side of the Heap, and as the Heap accumulates heighth, throws the Heap more or less towards the dripping side, or end over the bottom of the Heap,

To remedy which, he claps the insides of both his Hands against both the ends of the Heap, but more forcibly against the Hanging over end towards the other end, till he has drove the Heap into an upright position.

If either of the sides hang over, he with the inside of his Left Hand commonly against the farther side of the Heap, and the outside of his Right Hand fingers on the hither side the Heap, either draws the hanging over side towards him with his Left Hand, or thrusts it from him with his Right Hand fingers, as aforesaid, while his opposite Hand does the office of a stop, that it be not drawn too forward, or thrust too much backward. Then where the Heap rises above the Level, he with the inside flats of one or both of his Hands presses it down into an Horizontal Plain.

7. If it be a Reteration he Works, and a great Number is laid on, he uses a Tympan-cloath instead of a Tympan-sheet: This Tympan-cloath is a Fine and 339 even Linnen Cloath, about an Inch or two larger on every side than the Paper he Works on: He Wets this Cloath and wrings the Water out again, so that it remains only moist: Then lays his Cloath instead of his Tympan-sheet, and Pastes the corners of the under side of it to the Tympan, and Works upon it as on a Tympan-sheet.

One reason why he uses a Cloath to Work the Reteration on rather than a Sheet of Paper, is, because a Sheet of Paper quickly wears out, which a Cloath will not do. Another reason is, that when the Inck that wrought off the White Paper Sets off upon the Tympan Cloath, it may in clean Ly be washt clean again: For a good Press-man will not Work on a foul Tympan Cloath or (if he use no Cloath) on a foul Tympan-sheet, because as the Inck of the White-paper aforesaid, set off on the Tympan Cloath, so the more the Tympan Cloath has gathered Inck from the White-Paper, the more it will Return or give back again, towards the besmearing of every Sheet that is Printed on it.

The reason why the Press-man does not use a Cloath to Work the White Paper with, is, because in Working the White-Paper, the use of the Tympan-Sheet is principally to lay all the Sheets of the Heap even by, as being of the exact size with all the rest of the Heap, which a Tympan-Cloath is not, nor could it, without great trouble, be reduced to that size by the Press-man, or if reduced to that size, without much difficulty be laid even or square on the Tympan: Because the Cloath when Wet, will be hard to be kept straight and square, but every side 340 will naturally run into irregularities, which a Sheet of White Paper will not do.

8. Sometimes, through the loose Hanging of the Plattin on its Cords, or through the much wearing of the Hose, or the Garter, or the Worms in the Nut and Spindle, or the irregular wearing of the Toe of the Spindle in its Nut, or too much play of the Tennants of the Head in their Mortesses, or the irregular dryness of the Tympan, or through irregular Running in of the Carriage, It will happen that the Letter will Double upon the Sheets, that is, Print double.

If the loose Hanging of the Plattin be the cause, it is easily mended by turning about the Female Screws fitted to the tops of the Hose, as was shewed ¶ 4. of this §.

If the Hose be worn, or the square holes the Hose Works in, it may for the present be botcht up by putting Scaboards between the Hose and the square holes of the Till; but to mend it perfectly either another Till must be made, or a new Hose, or both.

If the Garter be worn too wide; the Smith must either mend the Old, or make a new one.

If the Worms of the Nut or Spindle be worn, the Spindle must be examin’d by the Smith, and made true, and have a new Nut Cast on it.

If the Toe of the Spindle and its Nut, or either of them be worn irregularly, it is Smiths Work to mend.

If the Tennants in the Head have too much Play in their Mortesses; which though it seldom happens, yet if the Head were not made of well seasoned Stuff, the Tennants may be subject to shrink, and so have Zz
341 too much play. There is no substantial remedying this fault, but by making a new Head.

If an unproper temperature of the Tympan be the cause; that is, when it is dry in one place and moist in another, the dryed place may by its spring force the Paper against the Face of the Letter, and in part Print it before it come to feel the force of the Plattin; (but this is rather slurring than Doubling) and when the force of the Plattin does come, the spring in the dryed part will again remove the Paper, and the force of the Plattin gives its full Impression where the Paper is thus removed, but when it is real Doubling, it happens generally on the whole Sheet.

This Doubling or Slurring is mended, by reducing the dryest part of the Tympan to an equal moist temperature with the moistest.

Doubling often happens in the middle of the Form, and the reason is, because the foreside of the Plattin Prints beyond the middle of the Form at the first Pull, and the hindside of the Plattin by the Second Pull reprints part of the First Pull: So that a Spring in the Tympan removes the Paper in this interval of Time.

This fault is mended by exact observing the Runing in of the Carriage.

Doubling may also happen by the too loose and flapping straining of the Tympan, when it was first Drawn.

This cannot be mended without taking the Tympan off, and Drawing on a new one.

A Press-man having Pull’d a Sheet, may by some accident (either of Object or Discourse) let it ly on the 342 Form after he has Run-out the Carriage, and afterwards forget it was Pull’d, yet may perhaps lift the Tympan a little off the Form, which lifting off (if the Joynts are not very good) will remove the Sheet, if then he Pull it again, it will Double.

This fault because it is but an accident I shall pass by, and only say,

If the Joynts are so faulty (as sometimes Old Joynts are) that the Press-man cannot keep Register with them, the Smith must make new or mend the Old.

9. When the Press-man leaves Work at Noon, he draws half the Nails out of the Balls, and takes the Wooll out: Then doubles the loose half of the Leather over the remaining Nail’d-on half, with the Incky sides of each half next each other, and Rowls up the Leathers close, and laies them in a Bowl or Pan of Water to Soak till he has Din’d.

He also covers the Form with the Tympan, to keep it from dust or filth that may fall on it: And takes out the Blankets and lays them on the Heaps: And with a Spunge Wet in Water besprinkles the backside of the Tympan, to Soak it whiles he is at Dinner.

Coming again to his Work afternoon, he takes the Handles of the Ball-stocks between his Thighs, (being seated as before, when he knockt up the Balls, ¶ 10.) to hold them fast, and he takes the turn’d down backsides of the Ball-leathers in both his hands, (for the other side being all over Black, would black his Hands) and rubs them between his Fingers very well, to supple them. Then squeezes and Wrings the Water well out again; and Teizes his Wooll, by Zz2
343 opening all the hard and almost matted knots he finds in it; but he does not pull the Wooll or hardned knots in it assunder from the whole mass of Wooll: But endeavours to keep the Wooll of each Ball intirely connected in the same mass, and only opened, to Loosen and Soften it; For pulling the knots to pieces, would tear the Wooll, and soon make it unfit for use. Having Teazed the Wooll he Knocks up his Balls again, as I shewed in ¶ 10.

Then he goes to the Tympan, and squeezing his Spunge as dry as he can, he rubs it over the backside of the Tympan, to Suck up the Water, that may lye on it.

Then taking the Blankets, he rubs them between both his Hands to soften them; for we must suppose that the Mornings Pulling on them has compared and hardned them: being well Rub’d, he lays them in the Tympan again, as was shewed before in ¶ 7. and falls again to his Afternoons train of Work.

Having wrought all day, though his Form be not Wrought off, it may yet be Foul, so that he must Wash it: Nay, in small Letter a good Press-man will Wash his Form twice a day; Wherefore he calls to the Boy to Heat the Ly, somewhat before he is ready for it, about a Heating time: And having a Shooting-stick lying by him on the Till or some other convenient place, drives every Quoin between the Furniture and the Chase fast up; least they may have somewhat shrunk, or else started back: Then with a piece of Chalk he makes a score on the two farthermost Corners of the Carriage; and through the Quoins droven against them, and upon the two Corners of the 344 Carriage of the Tympan and their Quoins, and lets the Quoins ly; but he Unlocks all the opposite Quoins, and takes them out of their places; laying those Quoins that he takes from between the fore-end of the Carriage and the Chase on the hithermost upper long side of the Plattin, the hithermost Quoin on the hithermost side of the Plattin, and the farthermost Quoin on the farthermost side of the Plattin; with their small ends towards him, and fromwards him as they lay on the Carriage. The Quoins that he takes from the hither side of the Carriage, he lays on the hithermost Return side or end of the Plattin; that on his Left Hand on the Carriage, towards the farther Corner of the Plattin, and that Quoin on the Right Hand on the Carriage, towards the hither corner of the Plattin, with their small ends towards the Hand they lay on, on the Carriage.

Having taken out and placed these four Quoins, he tryes if the Form will Rise, as was shewed § 22. ¶ 7. then takes up the Form, and carries it to the Ly-Trough, and lays it in it, even as the Compositer brought the Form to the Press, and laid it on the Press-stone, § 22. ¶ 7. and taking the Ly Kettle, or Chaser, in his Left Hand pours the Ly Scalding hot place by place over the whole Form: And then with the ends of the Hair of the Ly Brush rubs gently over the whole Form: And as he thus Rubs with his Right Hand Rocks the Ly-Trough a little on its Axis, that the Body of Ly may accompany the Ly-Brush in its progress from the hither to the farther side of the Form: And thus he Washes the Form still on, till he perceive the Face of the Letter purely clean.

Zz3
345

Then he lets the Ly out again into the Ly-Kettle at the Hole and Pipe in the Left Hand hither corner of the Ly-Trough: and stopping the hole again, sets by the Ly-Kettle. Then with a Dish or two of fair Water he Rinces off the Laver of the Ly that may ly on the Face of the Letter, and rears up the Form and throws a Dishful or two of fair Water on the backside of it, to Rince it also. Then takes the Form out of the Ly-Trough, and sets it by, shelving with its Face against the Wall, to Dry.

If the Heap be Wrought off, he lets the Compositer know it, to take Charge of it.

Having Wrought off his Heap, he takes it off the Paper-bench, and sets it by on the floor, covering it with a Waste-sheet: And gives notice to the Boy, or to the Ware-house-keeper, to fetch it away and Hang it up to Dry.

Then he draws the Balls, and takes the Blankets out of the Tympan (as at Noon:) And if he have Paper to Wet, Wets it as was shewed ¶ 9. of this §.

§ 25. The Office of the Warehouse-keeper.

¶ 1. Of Hanging up Paper.

THe Warehouse-keeper takes the Heap out of the Press-room, and carries it into the Warehouse, or other Drying-place, and setting it upon a Form or Bench of convenient heighth, with an end of the Heap from him, he takes the Handle of the Peel in his Left Hand, and lays the Board flat down upon the Heap, with the Left Hand side of the Board towards 346 the Left Hand side of the Heap, and so as its upper edge may reach to almost three quarters of the length of the Sheet, and that the Right Hand end of the Peel may ly on the middle of the Heap: Then with his Right Hand he doubles over so much of the Heap as he thinks good, perhaps about a Quire, or half a Quire, or about seventeen Sheets, more or less, either as he can allow them time to Dry, or have room on his Racks to Hang them on. Having thus doubled his first Doubling on the Heap, he removes the Left Hand half of the Peel almost off the Heap, viz. to about two Inches within the Left Hand side of the Heap, and doubles, as before, a second Doubling to hang over the first Doubling, towards the Left Hand about two Inches, as aforesaid, on the Peel, and as near as he can guess, the same number of Sheets. And having these two Doublings on his Peel, he takes the Peel off the Heap, and holding the Handle a little aslope, that the Shorter Folding-over of the Sheets may open from the Peel, he lifts it up, and places it at one end of his first Rack, and lets it hang on it, by drawing the Peel from under the Paper. In like manner he Loads and unloads his Peel again successively, till he have Hung up the whole Heap. See Plate 31.

Note, that the sides of the Sheets do not hang against one another, but lap over one another, as you may see by Plate 31. Nor are they Hung up to Hang with their edges against the side of the former Hanging-up, but to lap over, so as every Right Hand Doubling may lap about two Inches over the Left Hand Doubling; that when the Books are taken down, 347 the Warehouse-keeper clapping the flat side of his Peel against the Right Hand edge of the Paper, slides several Doublings over one another (perhaps three or four:) And putting the Peel under them, takes them off the Racks, and lays them on the Heap again, on a clean Waste Paper, and sets the Heap orderly by, till it comes to be Gather’d.

The Warehouse-keeper is also very careful to lay all the Sheets, so as the respective Signatures of every Sheet may ly exactly over the respective Signature of the first Sheet, lest when the Books come to be Gathered, some Sheets may be Turned, which will give him a great deal of trouble to Turn them right when he Colations the Books.

¶ 2. Of Laying the Heaps.

Laying the Heaps is to place them on Benches or Forms of a convenient Heighth, in an orderly Signatural Succession. By an orderly Signatural succession, I mean the first Signature, which most commonly is A (and therefore shall be so accepted) be placed on the Left Hand of the Bench, with either the Side or Foot of the Page, as the Volumn requires, that hath the single Signature A at the bottom of it upwards, and towards the hither side of the Bench. On the Right Hand side of the Heap A is B, and next it C, in like order D E F, &c.

348

¶ 3. Of Gathering of Books.

Gathering of Books is to take one Sheet off every Heap, beginning at the last Heap first, viz. at the Left Hand end of the Range. The Gatherer takes it off with his Right Hand, and disposes the hither end of the Sheet into his Left Hand, clapping his Left Hand Thumb upon the middle of the Sheet, to hold it fast. Then he takes a second Sheet off the second Heap from the Left Hand, viz. towards the Right; and lays the second Sheet on the first, and so successively a third, a fourth, a fifth, &c. till he has Gathered the last Sheet on his Right Hand; still observing to lay the middle of each Sheet under his Thumb; and all the single Signatures on each Sheet orderly and successively on one another.

Thus he Gathers on, till one of all the Heaps Comes off; which when it does, he Doubles or Quires up all the other Heaps, and lays them by till he can Bundle and Tye them up; which when he has also done, he writes upon them Imperfections of (the Title of the Book) and Writes on it the Signature of the Sheet that is Wanting, and sets it by in a convenient place of the Warehouse, that he may have recourse to it on any occasion.

Though I shewed how he Gathered the Books, yet shewed not how he Knocks them up and Folds them: Wherefore,

Having thus Gathered one Book, he Knocks it up, that is, he carries it to a Table provided on purpose Aaa
349 near him; and taking the ends of the Book between the two Bows of the Thumb and Fore-finger of each Hand, he grasps the ends loosly between them, and placing the hither long side or edge of the Book on the plain of the Table, he lifts the whole Book a little above the plain of the Table, (about an Inch or two, more or less) and while the whole Book is held loosly by its ends, lets it fall gently down on the Table, that the edges of such Sheets as may stand out, or lower than the rest, may be drove even with the rest of the edges of the Book, and also that the edges of such Sheets as may lye above the edges of the Book may be joulted downwards, and lye even in the same Range with the rest of the edges.

And as he is Knocking up the lower edge of the Book, he at the same time evens the two ends of the Book, by thrusting the Bows of his Thumbs and Fingers against the ends of the Book, which being loosely grasp’d, and the Bows of his Thumbs and Fingers bearing pretty stiff towards each other, will drive in the ends of such Sheets as may stick out at either end; and so even the ends of the Book at the same time.

Having thus even’d all the edges, he lays the Book flat down on the Table, and holding one end of it stiff and tight in his Left Hand, he rubs the whole flat of his Right Hand hard upon the upper Sheet, to press it and all the other Sheets as close together as he can; then takes it up, and gives the edges another or two gentle Knocks, as before; and then Folds up, or Doubles the Book, according to its respective Volumn.

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If it be Folio, Quarto, Octavo or Sixteens, he Folds it in the Short Cross; but if it be Twelves, Eighteens, Twenty-fours, he Folds it in the Long Cross.

But most times before he Folds the Books he will Colation them: (as shall be shewed by and by:) therefore having Gathered the Book, he lays it by on a Sheet of Waste Paper, and Gathers a second Book as he did the first, and lays that flat open on the first, then Gathers a third, fourth, fifth Book, &c. as before, and lays them successively on each other, till he have raised an Heap of Books so high, that he grows cautious of laying more on, lest its heighth should exceed his management. Then Gathers on, and raises another Heap or Heaps till one of the Signatures comes off.

¶ 4. Of Colationing Books.

The Colationing of Books, is,

First, To examine whether the whole number of Sheets that belong to a Book are Gathered in the Book.

Secondly, To examine that two Sheets of one sort are not Gathered.

Thirdly, To examine whether the proper Signature of every Sheet lye on its proper corner of the Gathered Book.

To do this, The Colationer provides himself with a Bodkin; which is nothing else than a pretty thick Sowing Needle, (most commonly broken-eyed,) having its thick end thrust fast into a round piece of Wood, about the thickness of a Tobacco-Pipe, and about three or four Inches long.

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Now having the Heap of Gathered Books before him, with the single Signature A lying upwards on his Right Hand, and his Left Arm cross the Heap, and his Hand near the Signature corner, with his Bodkin in his Right Hand, he pricks up the corner of the first Sheet A, and at the same moment he pricks it up, slips the Balls of his two Fore-fingers of his Left Hand, and secures it from falling back again on the Gathered Heap of Books between his Thumb and hinder Joynt of his Fore-finger, and immediately pricks into the Sheet B, casting his Eye upon the Signature, as well to see that it is B, as to see that it is singly B, and not B 2, B 3, &c. For if the single Signature lye not on the same corner of the Heap, the Sheet must be turned till it do. In like manner he picks up and receives C D, &c. still casting his Eye that it be the right Letter, and single Signature, as aforesaid.

If he finds two Sheets of the same Signature, he takes one out and lays it by, or else on the Heap, if they be not all Gathered.

If he finds one Sheet wanting, he fetches that Sheet from the Heap; or if he want it at the Heap the Book is laid by as Unperfect till he have Colationed the whole Impression of Books, to see if he can make it Perfect with some other Book, that may have two of the same Sheets Gathered in it.

Having examined that his Book is Perfect, he Knocks and Folds it up, as was shewed in the last ¶.

Having Gathered, Colationed and Folded these Books, he Tells them, to see how the Impression Holds out; and as he Tells them, he lays a set number of 352 Books (if the Books be Thick, five, if Thinner, Ten, if very Thin, twenty five or fifty) with the Folded Side or Back one way, and the same Number of Books, with the Folded or Back-side the other way, viz. the edges of the latter number of Books upon the Backs of the former Number: As well to distinguish and Count the Number of Books readily, as to keep the Bundle in a flat and Horizontal position. For if the Backs of the Quired Books in a Bundle, should lye all one way, the Fold of the Back being more or less hollow in the middle of each Book, will in a Number of Books, by springing upwards, mount the Backs; and consequently the edges of the Books in the Bundle will be depressed, so that in a great Bundle the Books will be subject to slide off one another.

These Books being thus Counted, he sets them by on Waste Paper in convenient Piles, viz. Piles of about three or four Reams high (according as the Paper may be thicker or thinner) he sets them by (I say) in Piles of equal Numbers, Range by Range, till the whole Impression is set by.

And before he Tyes them up, he puts them into the Standing Press, placing in it so many Books as the Press will hold, both in width and Heighth; observing to set in every Pile he puts Range by Range into the Press, an equal number of Books, that each Pile may equally feel the force of the Screw.

Then with a strong Iron Bar he turns about the Spindle as oft as he can, with his main Strength to Squeeze and Press the Books as close and tight as he can together; and so lets them stand in Press about Aaa3
353 a Day and a Night. Then takes them out, and in like manner puts in more Books, till the whole Impression is Prest. See Plate 32.

As he takes each number of Books, he Tyes them up with Packthred, lays a Waste Paper under and upon each Bundle; and if the Master-Printer Printed the Impression for Himself, he writes the Title of the Book, and number of the Books on the uppermost Waste Paper, and sets them by square and orderly on the Shelves in the Warehouse, to deliver them out according to the Master-Printers order. But if the Impression were Printed for an Author, or a Book-seller, he sends them to the Authors or Book-sellers, without writing on the uppermost Waste Paper.

¶ 5. Of Setting out Paper, and Culling the Cording Quires.

Each Ream of Paper contains twenty Quires: These twenty Quires are by the Paper-makers so disposed that the Back or Doubling of each Quire lyes upon the opening or edges of the next Quire: For reasons given in the last ¶.

Two of the twenty Quires in a Ream are called Cording Quires, viz. the two Out-side Quires; because the whole Ream is Corded or Tyed up between them. They are also called Cassie Quires, because they serve for Cases to the Ream. These Quires are by the Paper-maker made up of torn, wrinckled, stained, and otherwise naughty Sheets; yet does not perhaps the whole Quire consist of such Sheets, but commonly, 354 some good Sheets are in Culling found among them, as shall be farther shewed by and by.

The Warehouse-keeper therefore when he Sets out Paper, lays by the uppermost Cording Quire, and then nimbly snatches with his Right Hand at the back of the next Quire, and if the back lys towards him, draws it into his Left Hand with the edges of the Quire towards his Fingers; but if the back lye from him, nimbly turns it while it is coming to his Left Hand, and so again nimbly snatches at the back of the succeeding Quires, placing their backs all one way on the First Quire in his Left Hand, till he have Counted or taken off of the Ream a Token; which Token, if it be set out for Half a Press, viz. a Single Pressman, is generally but five Quires, and is indeed often called Half a Token: But if it be for an Whole Press, it contains Ten Quires. This Token he lays by near him, upon a Waste Sheet of Paper, and again applies himself to Set out the next Token in the same manner, but lays the next Token with the backs of the Quires over the edges of the former Token, and thus Sets out so many Tokens as his Heap requires, yet always considers how his Paper Holds out, whether five and twenties, or but four and twenties: If it Holds out five and twenties, he Sets out in every Fourth, Fifth, or Sixth Token Eleven Quires, to secure the Impression to Hold out. If but four and twenties, he Sets out Eleven Quires, in every second Token, and at last a Quire more to the whole Heap to make good the wanting Sheets of every Quire, and to make Proves, Revises, Register-Sheets, Tympan-Sheets, and to supply other accidents that may happen at the Press, 355 either by naughty Sheets, or Faults committed in Beating, Pulling, Bad Register, &c. for all or any of these accidents that happens to a Sheet, the Press-man doubles it, and lays by in the Heap as Waste, as I shewed § 24. ¶ 18. (4) and still he remembers, as aforesaid to lay by the two out-side Quires of every Ream; and at last lays on the Heap another Waste Sheet of Paper, and so brings it to the Press to be Wet.

The Culling the Cording Quires, is, to examine every Sheet one by one. To do it, he lays the Cording Quires, or many Cording Quires open before him against the Light, and takes up every Sheet successively and observes the goodness of it: Such Sheets as he finds good, he lays on his Right Hand, and the Bad on his Left. If a Sheet have but a little corner torn off, viz. so much as he judges the Book-binder would take off with his Plow, to make the Leaf square with other Leaves, he accounts that a good Sheet: But if more be torn off, he lays it by for Bad; and so he does Wrinckled and stain’d Sheets.

Having thus Cull’d all the Cording Quires, he tells out the good Paper into Quires, allowing five and twenty to the Quire, if the Quires of the Ream hold out five and twenty; or else but into four and twenty. And the good Paper thus Cull’d, he tells into an Heap or Heaps, as far as it will go.

But yet the careful Warehouse-keeper will not give the Press-man this Culd Paper to Print at the beginning or end of a Book, but disposes that Heap or Heaps so as they may be used about the middle of the Book: For though we call’d it good Paper, yet it very rarely 356 happens to be so beautiful as the Inside Quires.

The Bad Paper he also Tells out into Quires, but allows no more than four and twenty Sheets to the Quire, because it is commonly set by in the Warehouse to be sold.

It is also the Office of the Warehouse-keeper to keep a Day Book, and in it to set down what Books he Sells, and for how much, and to whom, and whom by order of the Master-Printer he Trusts with Books, and for how long Time; that so the Master-Printer may as oft as he pleases have an account how the Impression, or part of it, is disposed of.

(As an Appendix.) Ancient Customs used in a Printing-house.

EVery Printing-house is by the Custom of Time out of mind, called a Chappel; and all the Workmen that belong to it Members of the Chappel: and the Oldest Freeman is Father of the Chappel. I suppose the stile was originally conferred upon it by the courtesie of some great Churchman, or men, (doubtless when Chappels were in more veneration than of late years they have been here in England) who for the Books of Divinity that proceeded from a Printing-house, gave it the Reverend Title of Chappel.

There have been formerly Customs and By-Laws made and intended for the well and good Government of the Chappel, and for the more Civil and orderly deportment of all its Members while in the Chappel; and the Penalty for the breach of any of Bbb
357 these Laws and Customs is in Printers Language called a Solace.

And the Judges of these Solaces, and other Controversies relating to the Chappel, or any of its Members, was plurality of Votes in the Chappel. It being asserted as a Maxim, That the Chappel cannot Err. But when any Controversie is thus decided, it always ends in the Good of the Chappel.

1. Swearing in the Chappel, a Solace.

2. Fighting in the Chappel, a Solace.

3. Abusive Language, or giving the Ly in the Chappel, a Solace.

4. To be Drunk in the Chappel, a Solace.

5. For any of the Workmen to leave his Candle burning at Night, a Solace.

6. If the Compositer let fall his Composing-stick, and another take it up, a Solace.

7. Three Letters and a Space to lye under the Compositers Case, a Solace.

8. If a Press-man let fall his Ball or Balls, and another take it up, a Solace.

9. If a Press-man leave his Blankets in the Tympan at Noon or Night, a Solace.

These Solaces were to be bought off, for the good of the Chappel: Nor were the price of these Solaces alike: For some were 12 d. 6 d. 4 d. 2 d. 1 d. ob. according to the nature and quality of the Solace.

But if the Delinquent prov’d Obstinate or Refractory, and would not pay his Solace at the Price of the Chappel; they Solac’d him.

The manner of Solacing, thus.

The Workmen take him by force, and lay him on 358 his Belly athwart the Correcting-stone, and held him there while another of the Work-men, with a Paper-board, gave him 10 l. and a Purse, viz. Eleven blows on his Buttocks; which he laid on according to his own mercy. For Tradition tells us, that about 50 years ago one was Solaced with so much violence, that he presently Pissed Blood, and shortly after dyed of it.

These nine Solaces were all the Solaces usually and generally accepted; yet in some particular Chappels the Work-men did by consent make other Solaces, viz.

That it should be a Solace for any of the Workmen to mention Joyning their Penny or more apiece to send for Drink.

To mention spending Chappel-money till Saturday Night, or any other before agreed time.

To Play at Quadrats, or excite any of the Chappel to Play at Quadrats; either for Money or Drink.

This Solace is generally Purchas’d by the Master-Printer; as well because it hinders the Workmens work, as because it Batters and spoils the Quadrats: For the manner how they Play with them is Thus: They take five or seven more m Quadrats (generally of the English Body) and holding their Hand below the Surface of the Correcting Stone, shake them in their Hand, and toss them up upon the Stone, and then count how many Nicks upwards each man throws in three times, or any other number of times agreed on: And he that throws most Wins the Bett of all the rest, and stands out free, till the rest have try’d who throws fewest Nicks upwards in so many throws; for all the rest are free: and he pays the Bett.

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For any to Take up a Sheet, if he receiv’d Copy-money; Or if he receiv’d no Copy-money, and did Take up a Sheet, and carryed that Sheet or Sheets off the Printing-House till the whole Book was Printed off and Publisht.

Any of the Workmen may purchase a Solace for any trivial matter, if the rest of the Chappel consent to it. As if any of the Workmen Sing in the Chappel; he that is offended at it may, with the Chappels Consent purchase a penny or two penny Solace for any Workmans singing after the Solace is made; Or if a Workman or a Stranger salute a Woman in the Chappel, after the making of the Solace, it is a Solace of such a Value as is agreed on.

The price of all Solaces to be purchased is wholly Arbitrary in the Chappel. And a Penny Solace may perhaps cost the Purchaser Six Pence, Twelve Pence, or more for the Good of the Chappel.

Yet sometimes Solaces may cost double the Purchase or more. As if some Compositer have (to affront a Press-man) put a Wisp of Hay in the Press-mans Ball-Racks; If the Press-man cannot well brook this affront, he will lay six Pence down on the Correcting Stone to purchase a Solace of twelve Pence upon him that did it; and the Chappel cannot in Justice refuse to grant it: because it tends to the Good of the Chappel: And being granted, it becomes every Members duty to make what discovery he can: because it tends to the farther Good of the Chappel: And by this means it seldom happens but the Agressor is found out.

Nor did Solaces reach only the Members of the 360 Chappel, but also Strangers that came into the Chappel, and offered affronts or indignities to the Chappel, or any of its Members; the Chappel would determine it a Solace. Example,

It was a Solace for any to come to the Kings Printing-house and ask for a Ballad.

For any to come and enquire of a Compositer, whether he had News of such a Galley at Sea.

For any to bring a Wisp of Hay, directed to any of the Press-men.

And such Strangers were commonly sent by some who knew the Customs of the Chappel, and had a mind to put a Trick upon the Stranger.

Other Customs were used in the Chappel, which were not Solaces, viz. Every new Workman to pay half a Crown; which is called his Benvenue: This Benvenue being so constant a Custome is still lookt upon by all Workmen as the undoubted Right of the Chappel, and therefore never disputed; yet he who has not paid his Benvenue is no Member of the Chappel, nor enjoys any benefit of Chappel-Money.

If a Journey-man Wrought formerly upon the same Printing House, and comes again to Work on it, pays but half a Benvenue.

If a Journey-man Smout more or less on another Printing House, and any of the Chappel can prove it, he pays half a Benvenue.

I told you before that abusive Language or giving the Lye was a Solace: But if in discourse, when any of the Workmen affirm any thing that is not believed, the Compositer knocks with the back corner of his Composing-stick against the lower Ledge of his Lower Bbb3
361 Case, and the Press-man knocks the Handles of his Ball-stocks together: Thereby signifying the discredit they give to his Story.

It is now customary that Journey-men are paid for all Church Holy days that fall not on a Sunday, Whether they Work or no: And they are by Contract with the Master Printer paid proportionably for what they undertake to Earn every Working day, be it half a Crown, two Shillings, three Shillings, four Shillings, &c.

It is also customary for all the Journey-men to make every Year new Paper Windows, whether the old will serve again or no; Because that day they make them, the Master Printer gives them a Way-goose; that is, he makes them a good Feast, and not only entertains them at his own House, but besides, gives them Money to spend at the Ale-house or Tavern at Night; And to this Feast, they invite the Correcter, Founder, Smith, Joyner, and Inck-maker, who all of them severally (except the Correcter in his own Civility) open their Purse-strings and add their Benevolence (which Workmen account their duty, because they generally chuse these Workmen) to the Master Printers: But from the Correcter they expect nothing, because the Master Printer chusing him, the Workmen can do him no kindness.

These Way-gooses, are always kept about Bartholomew-tide. And till the Master-Printer have given this Way-goose, the Journey-men do not use to Work by Candle Light.

If a Journey-man marry, he pays half a Crown to the Chappel.

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When his Wife comes to the Chappel, she pays six Pence: and then all the Journey-men joyn their two Pence apiece to Welcome her.

If a Journey-man have a Son born, he pays one Shilling.

If a Daughter born, six Pence.

The Father of the Chappel drinks first of Chappel Drink, except some other Journey-man have a Token; viz. Some agreed piece of Coin or Mettle markt by consent of the Chappel: for then producing that Token, he Drinks first. This Token is always given to him who in the Round should have Drank, had the last Chappel-drink held out. Therefore when Chappel-drink comes in, they generally say, Who has the Token?

Though these Customs are no Solaces; yet the Chappel Excommunicates the delinquent; and he shall have no benefit of Chappel-money till he have paid.

It is also Customary in some Printing-houses that if the Compositer or Press-man make either the other stand still through the neglect of their contracted Task, that then he who neglected, shall pay him that stands still as much as if he had Wrought.

The Compositers are Jocosely call’d Galley Slaves: Because allusively they are as it were bound to their Gallies.

And the Press-men are Jocosely call’d Horses: Because of the hard Labour they go through all day long.

An Apprentice when he is Bound pays half a Crown to the Chappel, and when he is made Free, another half Crown to the Chappel; but is yet no Member of the Chappel; And if he continue to 363 Work Journey-work in the same House, he pays another half Crown, and is then a Member of the Chappel.

A Founding-House is also call’d a Chappel: But I suppose the Title was originally assum’d by Founders, to make a Competition with Printers.

The Customes used in a Founding-House are made as near as may be to those of a Printing-house: but because the Matter they Work on, and the manner of their Working is different, therefore such different Customes are in Use, as are suitable to their Trade, As

First, To call Mettle Lead, a Forfeiture.

Secondly, A Workman to let fall his Mold, a Forfeiture.

Thirdly, A Workman to leave his Ladle in the Mettle Noon or Night, a Forfeiture.

The Printers of London, Masters and Journey-men have every Year a general Feast, which since the re-building of Stationers Hall is commonly kept there. This Feast is made by four Stewards, viz. two Masters and two Journey-men; which Stewards, with the Collection of half a Crown apiece of every Guest, defray the Charges of the whole Feast; And as they Collect the Half-Crowns, they deliver every Guest a Ticket, wherein is specified the Time and Place they are to meet at, and the Church they are to go to: To which Ticket is affixed the Names and Seals of each Steward.

It is commonly kept on or about May-day: When, about ten a Clock in the Morning they meet at Stationers Hall, and from thence go to some Church thereabouts; Four Whifflers (as Servitures) by two 364 and two walking before with White Staves in their Hands, and Red and Blew Ribbons hung Belt-wise upon their left Shoulders. These go before to make way for the Company. Then walks the Beadle of the Company of Stationers, with the Companys Staff in his Hand, and Ribbons as the Whifflers, and after him the Divine (whom the Stewards before ingag’d to Preach them a Sermon) and his Reader. Then the Stewards walk by two and two, with long White Wands in their Hands, and all the rest of the Company follows, till they enter the Church.

Then Divine Service begins, Anthems are Sung, and a Sermon Preached to suit the Solemnity: Which ended, they in the same order walk back again to Stationers Hall; where they are immediately entertain’d with the City Weights and other Musick: And as every Guest enters, he delivers his Ticket (which gives him Admittance) to a Person appointed by the Stewards to receive it.

The Master, Wardens and other Grandees of the Company (although perhaps no Printers) are yet commonly invited, and take their Seats at the upper Table, and the rest of the Company where it pleases them best. The Tables being furnish’d with variety of Dishes of the best Cheer; And to make the entertainment more splendid is Usher’d in with Loud Musick. And after Grace is said (commonly by the Minister that Preach’d the Sermon) every one Feasts himself with what he likes Best; whiles the Whifflers and other Officers Wait with Napkins, Plates, Beer, Ale, and Wine, of all sorts, to accommodate each Guest according to his desire. And to Ccc
365 make their Cheer go cheerfuller down, are entertained with Musick and Songs all Dinner time.

Dinner being near ended, the Kings and the Dukes Healths is begun, by the several Stewards at the several Tables, and goes orderly round to all the Guests.

And whiles these Healths are Drinking, each Steward sets a Plate on each Table, beginning at the upper end, and conveying it downwards, to Collect the Benevolence of Charitable minds towards the relief of Printers Poor Widows. And at the same time each Steward destributes a Catalogue of such Printers as have held Stewards ever since the Feast was first kept, viz. from the Year of Christ 1621.

After Dinner, and Grace said, the Ceremony of Electing new Stewards for the next Year begins: Therefore the present Stewards withdraw into another Room: And put Garlands of Green Lawrel, or of Box on their Heads, and White-wands in their Hands, and are again Usher’d out of the withdrawing Room by the Beadle of the Company, with the Companys Staff in his Hand, and with Musick sounding before them: Then follows one of the Whifflers with a great Bowl of White-wine and Sugar in his Right Hand, and his Whifflers Staff in his Left: Then follows the Eldest Steward, and then another Whiffler, as the first, with a Bowl of White-wine and Sugar before the second Steward, and in like manner another Whiffler before the Third, and another before the Fourth. And thus they walk with Musick sounding before them three times round the Hall: And in a fourth round the first Steward takes 366 the Bowl of his Whiffler and Drinks to one (whom before he resolved on) by the Title of Mr. Steward Elect: And taking the Garland off his own Head puts it upon the Steward Elects Head. At which Ceremony the Spectators clap their Hands, and such as stand on the Tables or Benches, so Drum with their Feet that the whole Hall is filled with Noise, as applauding the Choice. Then the present Steward takes out the Steward Elect, giving him the Right Hand, and walks with him Hand in Hand, behind the three present Stewards another Round about the Hall: And in the next Round, as aforesaid, the second Steward Drinks to another with the same Ceremony as the first did; and so the Third Steward, and so the Fourth, and then all walk one Round more Hand in Hand about the Hall, that the Company may take notice of the Stewards Elect. And so ends the Ceremony of the Day.

This Ceremony being over, such as will go their ways; but others that stay, are Diverted with Musick, Songs, Dancing, Farcing, &c. till at last they all find it time to depart.

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A
DICTIONARY,

Alphabetically explaining the abstruse VVords and Phrases that are used in Typography. VVhich also may serve as an Index to direct to the most material Concerns contained in this Volumn.

THough I give you a Dictionary of so many Words and Phrases as are mentioned in these Exercises, yet I do not exhibit this as a Dictionary so perfect, that all the obstruce Words and Phrases used among Printers, Letter-cutters and Founders are here exposed; for Words and Phrases many times offer themselves either as Discourse or Contemplation occurs: Therefore such Words and Phrases as have escaped my Consideration, will, I hope, be discovered by some Printer, or others, that may have a kindness for Posterity; not only in this Trade, but in all Trades and Faculties whatsoever: That so a Dictionary may in time be compleated, that may render so great a number of Words used in England by English-men intelligible; which now for want of a proper Repository to store them in, seem not only Aliens to our Nation, but barbarous to our Understandings.

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A

Abreviations are Characters, or else marks on Letters, to signifie either a Word or Syllable. & is the Character for And, ey is The abreviated, ty is That abreviated; and several other such. Straight stroaks over any of the Vowels abreviates m or n. They have been much used by Printers in Old Times, to Shorten or Get in Matter; but now are wholly left off as obsolete.

Accented Letters are much used in Latin Authors, and more in Greek. The Vowels are only accented, and are called Grave, thus accented à; Acute, thus accented é; Circumflex, thus accented â; and Deerecis, thus accented ä.

Accents are Dashes or Marks over the Vowels.

Air-hole. See § 18. ¶ 1. Vol. 2.

Ascending Gage, See § 12. ¶ 5. Vol. 2.

Ashes. Letter-Founders call the Skimmings of their Mettle, and the Sweepings of their House Ashes; and save both, to send to the Refiners; who with their fierce Fire draw all the Mettle out of the Ashes. See Fat Ashes. See Lean Ashes.

Ash-hole. See § 18. ¶ 1. Vol. 2.

Assidue is Thin Brass Plate, such as adorns Bartholomew-Fair Hobby Horses: Founders use it to Underlay the Body, or the Mouth-piece, &c. of their Mold, if it be too Thin. See § 16.

B

Back of a Composing-stick. See § 9. ¶ 4. Vol. 2.

Backside of the Form is the underside that touches upon the Correcting-stone or Press-stone.

Bad Copy. See § 24. ¶ 4. Vol. 2.

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Bad work. Any Fault at the Case, or Press, or at the Furnace, or at the Dressing-block, &c. is in Workmens Language called Bad Work.

Bake. See § 22. ¶ 10. Vol. 2.

Balls. See § 24. ¶ 10. Vol. 2.

Ball-knife. An old blunt-edg’d Knife, that Press-men lay by, to scrape their Balls with.

Ball-leathers. See § 24. ¶ 10. Vol. 2.

Ball-Nails. The Nails that Ball-leathers are Tackt to the Ball-stocks with.

Ball-stocks. See § 11. ¶ 21. Vol. 2.

Balls Take. See § 11. ¶ 21. Vol. 2.

Beak. See § 12. ¶ 2. Vol. 2.

Beam. See § 12. ¶ 4. Vol. 2.

Beard of a Letter, is the outer angle of the Square Shoulder of the Shank, which reaches almost up to the Face of the Letter, and is commonly scraped off by the Founder: As in § 2. ¶ 2. Vol. 2.

Beard-Gage. See § 13. ¶ 4. Vol. 2.

Bearer. See § 4. & § 24. ¶ 7. Vol. 2.

Beat. See § 24. ¶ 13. Vol. 2.

Beat Fat. If a Press-man Takes too much Inck with his Balls, he Beats Fat. The Black English Faced Letter is generally Beaten Fat.

Beat Lean, is to Take but little Inck, and often: All Small Letter must be Beaten Lean.

Bed. See § 24. ¶ 2. Vol. 2.

Benvenue. See Ancient Customs, Vol. 2.

Bite. See § 24. ¶ 7. Vol. 2.

Blankets. Woollen Cloath, or White Bays, to lay between the Tympans.

Blocks. See § 20. ¶ 3. Vol. 2.

Block-Groove. ibid.

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Body. See § 1. ¶ 2. & § 15. ¶ 1. Vol. 2.

Botching Matrices. See § 17. ¶ 3. Vol. 2.

Bottom line. See § 14. ¶ 2. Vol. 2.

Bottom of the Matrice. See § 17. ¶ 1. Vol. 2.

Bottom Plate. See § 15. ¶ 1. Vol. 2.

Bow. See § 15. ¶ 1. Vol. 2.

Brace, is a Character Cast in Mettle thus marked The Compositer is to have these Cast of several Breadths, viz. to several numbers of Lines of a designed Body (most commonly of Pica Body) that they may hook in or Brace so many Lines as his Copy may shew him; as at Charge is a Brace of four Lines. See also § 24. ¶ 1. Vol. 2.

Brass-Rules. See § 2. ¶ 2. Vol. 2.

Brayer is a round Wooden Rubber, almost of the fashion of a Ball-stock, but flat at the bottom, and not above three Inches Diameter: It is used in the Inck-Block to Bray or Rub Inck.

Break, a piece of a Line. Also the Mettle that is contiguous to the Shank of a New Cast Letter: This Break is formed in the Mouth-piece of the Letter-mould, and is called a Break, because it is always broke from the Shank of a Letter.

Breaking off is breaking the Break from the Shank of the Letter. See § 19. ¶ 3. Vol. 2.

Brevier. See § 2. ¶ 2. Vol. 2.

Broad-side, a Form of one full Page, Printed on one side of a whole Sheet of Paper.

Broken Letter. By broken Letter is not meant the breaking of the Shanks of any of the Letters, but the breaking the orderly Succession the Letters stood in in a Line, Page, or Form, &c. and mingling the Letters 371 together, which mingled Letters is called Py.

Bur. See Rag.

C

Cannon. See § 2. ¶ 2. Vol. 2.

Card. When several Bodies of Letter are Set in a Page, Compositers to Justifie that Page to an exact Length, put a Card to some White-line, or other Break and Lengthen out the Page the thickness of a Card. And Press-men also use a Card for an underlay. See § 22. ¶ 4. &c. § 24. ¶ 7.

Cards. About a Quire of Paper, which Press-men use to Pull down the Spring or rising of a Form, which it is many times subject to by hard Locking-up. See § 24. ¶ 4.

Carriage, is a part of the Press. For which See § 10. ¶ 9. Vol. 2. It is also a part of the Letter-Mold: For which See § 15. ¶ 3. Vol. 2.

Case. See § 3. Vol. 2.

Case lies. See § 22. ¶ 1.

Case is full, viz. a Case full of Letter, wanting no Sorts.

Case is Low. When a Case grows empty, Compositers say the Case is Low.

Case Stands still. When the Compositer is not at Work at his Case, it is said, The Case stands still.

Cassie Paper. See § 25. ¶ 5. Vol. 2.

Cast, is to Cast Letter, See § 19. ¶ 1. Vol. 2.

Cast off Copy. See § 22. ¶ 9. Vol. 2.

Catch of the Bar. See § 11. ¶ 11. Vol. 2.

Chappel. See Customs.

372

Charge, is to fill	Paper with great Pages.
	a Page with long and many Lines.
	a Line with many Letters.
	a Pot with Stubs and Antimony.

Chase. See § 9. ¶ 6. Vol. 2.

Cheeks. is a part of the Press; for which See § 10. ¶ 2. Vol. 2. and part of the Dressing-block-groove. For which See § 20. ¶ 3. Vol. 2.

Choak. If a Form be not Washt in due time, the Inck will get into the Hollows of the Face of the Letter: And that getting in of the Inck is called Choaking of the Letter, or Choaking of the Form.

Claw of the Sheeps-foot. See § 11. ¶ 20. Vol. 2.

Clean Proof. When a Proof has but few Faults in it, it is called a clean Proof.

Close Matter. Matter with few Breaks or Whites.

Close Work. ibid.

Colation Books. See § 25. ¶ 4. Vol. 2.

Come. When the Face and Shank of a Letter is Cast perfect, Founders say, It Comes well; if unperfect they say, It does not come, or It comes not well.

Come Down. the Toe of the Spindle is said to Come down by Pulling the Bar: So is the Bar when it is Pull’d near the hither Cheek: Also, the Press-man is said to Come down the Form with his Balls: For which See § 24. ¶ 13. Vol. 2.

Companion. See § 24. ¶ 15. Vol. 2.

Comes off. A Form that receives a good Impression, Comes off well, if a bad Impression, it Comes off ill, or it Comes not well off. Also a phrase used in Gathering of Books; for a Heap that is Gathered off is said to Come off. See § 25. ¶ 3. Vol. 2.

Ddd
373

Composing Rule. See § 24. ¶ 4. Vol. 2.

Compositer. He that Composes or Sets the Letters.

Composing-stick. See § 9. ¶ 4. Vol. 2.

Copy-money. See Customs.

Cording-quire. See § 25. ¶ 5. Vol. 2.

Correct. When the Corrector reads the Proof, or the Compositer mends the Faults he markt in the Proof, they are both said to Correct; the Correcter the Proof, the Compositer the Form.

Correcting-stone. See § 6. Vol. 2.

Corrections. the Letters markt in a Proof are call’d Corrections. See § 22. ¶ 8. Vol. 2.

Counter Punch. See § 13. ¶ 2. Vol. 2.

Counting off Copy. See § 22. ¶ 9. Vol. 2.

Coyns. See § 8. Vol. 2.

Cramp Irons. See § 11. ¶ 15. Vol. 2.

Cross Long, Short. See Chase.

Cull Paper. See § 25. ¶ 5. Vol. 2.

Cut the Frisket. See § 24. ¶ 7. Vol. 2.

D

Dance. See § 22. ¶ 7. Vol. 2.

Dele. See § 23. Vol. 2.

Destribute. See § 22. ¶ 3. Vol. 2.

Destributing-stick. See ibid.

Devil. The Press-man sometimes has a Week-Boy to Take Sheets, as they are Printed off the Tympan: These Boys do in a Printing-House, commonly black and Dawb themselves; whence the Workmen do Jocosely call them Devils; and sometimes Spirits, and sometimes Flies.

Direction, the word that stands alone on the Right Hand in the bottom Line of a Page.

374

Direction-line. The Line the Direction stands in.

Double Letter. æ œ , and several others Cast on one Shank are called Double Letters: ſ and f have several Ascending Letters joyned to them, because their Beaks hanging over their Stems would (were they not Cast on one Shank) ride upon the tops of the Stems of the adjoyning ascending Letter.

Double. A Sheet that is twice Pulled and lifted never so little off the Form after it was first Pulled, does most commonly (through the Play of the Joynts of the Tympan) take a double Impression: This Sheet is said to Double. Or if the Press-man Run in so, as the Fore-side of the Plattin Print with the First Pull into part of the Second Pull, or the hind edge of the Plattin Print with his Second Pull into part of his First Pull; either of these twice Printing is called Doubling. Doubling also happens through the loose Hanging of the Plattin, and through too much play the Tennants of the Head may have in the Mortesses of the Cheeks, and indeed through many Wearings and crasienesses that often happens in several parts of the Press. See § 24. ¶ 18. Vol. 2.

Dress a Chase, or Dress a Form, is all one. It is to fit the Pages and the Chase with Furniture and Quoins. See § 22. ¶ 7. Vol. 2.

Dress Letter. See § 21. ¶ 1. Vol. 2.

Dressing Block. See § 20. ¶ 3. Vol. 2.

Dressing Block-groove. ibid.

Dressing Hook. See § 20. ¶ 1. Vol. 2.

Dressing Knife. See § 20. ¶ 4. Vol. 2.

Dressing Sticks. See § 19. ¶ 6. Vol. 2.

Drive out. When a Compositer Sets Wide, he is said Ddd2
375 to Drive out or Run out. In Founding, If Letter be Cast too Thick in the Shank it Drives out, or if it be Cast too Thick in any part of the Shank, as the Head, the Foot, the sides at Head or Foot, or Body at Head or Foot: They say, It Drives out at Head, It Drives out at Foot, &c.

E

Empty Case. See § 22. ¶ 3. & See Case is Low.

Easie Pull. See § 24. ¶ 5. Vol. 2.

Easie Work. See § 22. ¶ 4. And Great Letter and a Small Form the Press-man calls Easie Work.

Empty Press. A Press that Stands by, which no Workman Works at: Most commonly every Printing-House has one of them for a Proof-Press: viz. to make Proves on.

English Body. See § 1. ¶ 2. Vol. 2.

English Face. Plate 16. 17. are English Face Letters.

Even Page. The First Page of a Sheet or Form is called an Odd Page, but the Second, Fourth, Sixth, or any other even numbred Page is called an Even Page. See § 22. ¶ 7. Vol. 2.

F

Face of a Letter. See § 13. ¶ 13. Vol. 2.

Face of a Page, or Form. The Superficies of a Page or Form, where the Faces of every Letter lies in the same Plain.

Face-Gage. See § 12. ¶ 5. Vol. 2.

Face of a Matrice. See § 17. ¶ 1. Vol. 2.

Fat Ashes. Founders call their Ashes Fat, if they are considerably Heavy, because then they have much Mettle in them.

Fat. See Beat Fat.

376

Fat Face, or Fat Letter, is a broad Stemmed Letter.

Female Gage, Screws, &c. The Hollow Gage, or Hollow Screw that receives its Match Gage or Screw, &c.

First. See § 24. ¶ 15. Vol. 2.

First Form. The Form the White Paper is Printed on, which generally by Rule ought to have the First Page of the Sheet in it.

First Page. See § 22. ¶ 7. Vol. 2.

First Pull. See § 11. ¶ 16. & § 24. ¶ 7. Considerations 8. & § 24. ¶ 15. Vol. 2.

Flat-Gage. See § 12. ¶ 3. Vol. 2.

Flat Table. See § 12. ¶ 8. Vol. 2.

Fly. See Devil.

Follow, viz. See if it follows, is a Term used as well by the Corrector as by the Compositer and Press-man. It is used by the Corrector and Compositer when they examine how the beginning Matter of a succeeding Page agrees with the ending Matter of the precedent Page: And how the Folio’s of those Pages properly and numerically follow and succeed one another, Lest the Pages should be Transposed. But the Press-man only examines that the Folio and beginning word of the Second Page, and Signature of the First and Third Page (when the Reteration is on the Press) follows the Folio and Direction of the First Page, and Signature of the Third Page follows the Signature of the First Page, orderly according to the Volumne, lest the Form should be laid wrong on the Press.

Foot of the Letter. The Break-end of the Shanck of a Letter.

Ddd3
377

Foot-line. See § 14. ¶ 12. Vol. 2.

Foot of a Page; The bottom or end of a Page. See § 22. ¶ 7.

Foot-Step. See § 11. ¶ 21. & § 24. ¶ 7. & Considerations 11. Vol. 2.

Foot-stick. See § 8. Vol. 2.

Form. The Pages when they are fitted into a Chase.

Foul Proof. When a Proof has many Faults markt in it.

Fount. Is the whole number of Letters that are Cast of the same Body and Face at one time. See § 2. ¶ 2. Vol. 2.

Frisket. See § 10.

Froze out. In Winter when the Paper is Froze, and the Letter Froze, so as the Workmen cannot Work. They say, They are Froze out.

Fryer. When the Balls do not Take, the Un-taking part of the Balls that touches the Form will be left White, or if the Press-men Skip over any part of the Form, and touch it not with the Balls, though they do Take, yet in both these cases the White places is cal’d a Fryer.

Full Form or Page. A Form or Page with few or no Breaks or White-lines.

Full Press. When two Men Work at the Press. It is called a Full Press.

Furnace. See § 18. Vol. 2.

Furnace open, or Wind Furnace. See § 18. ¶ 2. Vol. 2.

Funnel. See § 18. Vol. 2.

Furniture. See § 8. Vol. 2.

378

G

Gage. Gages mentioned in this Volumne have an adjunct Name, as Flat Gage, Joynt Gage, Italick Gage, Long Gage, Male Gage, Short Gage, Standing Gage, Steel Gage, which See respectively.

Galley. See § 5. Vol. 2.

Galley-Slave. See the Customs.

Gallows. See § 10. Vol. 2.

Garter. See § 11. ¶ 14. Vol. 2.

Gather Books. See § 25. ¶ 3. Vol. 2.

Geat, is the little Spout or Gutter made in the Brim of Casting Ladles.

Get in. Matter is Got in in a Line, Page, Sheet or Book, if Letter be Thinner Cast than the Printed Copy the Compositer Sets by. Or Matter is Got in if the Compositer Sets Closer: Or if he Widens his Measure; or puts more Lines in a Page. See a Line.

Girts. See § 11. ¶ 21. Vol. 2.

Good Colour. Sheets Printed neither to Black or too White.

Good of the Chappel. Forfeitures and other Chappel Dues are Collected for the Good of the Chappel, viz. to be spent as the Chappel approves.

Good Work, is called so in a twofold sense: The Master-Printer calls it Good Work when the Compositers and Press-men have done their duty; and the Work-men call it Good Work, if it be Light Easie Work, and they have a good price for it.

Go up the Form. See § 24. ¶ 13. Vol. 2.

Great Cannon. See § 2. ¶ 2. Vol. 2.

Great Numbers. See Lay on. Above 2000 Printed on one Sheet are accounted Great Numbers.

379

Great Primmer. See § 2. ¶ 2. Vol. 2.

Gutter-stick. See § 8. Vol. 2.

H

Hag. See § 15. ¶ 1. Vol. 2.

Half a Line. When Letter Drives out or Gets in in the Body, in a number of Lines, Founders say, It Drives out or Gets in Half a Line, a whole Line, a quarter of a Line, &c. viz. Half a Body, a whole Body, a quarter, &c. of a Body.

Half a Press. When but one Man Works at the Press, It is called Half a Press.

Half Work. He that Works but three days in the Week, does but Half Work.

Hammer end of a Punch. See § 13. ¶ 13. Vol. 2.

Hangs. See Letter Hangs. & § 22. ¶ 4. Vol. 2.

Hang the Plattin. See § 24. ¶ 4. Vol. 2.

Hang up Paper. See § 25. ¶ 1. Vol. 2.

Hard Inck. Inck very well Boyled. See § 11. ¶ 23. Vol. 2.

Hard Justifying. See § 22. ¶ 4. Vol. 2.

Hard Pull. See § 24. ¶ 5. Vol. 2.

Hard Work. See § 22. ¶ 4. And small Letter and a Large Form, Press-men call Hard Work.

Head. See § 10. ¶ 5. Vol. 2.

Head Line. See § 14. ¶ 2. Vol. 2.

Head of a Page. The top or beginning of a Page. See § 22. ¶ 7. Vol. 2.

Head-stick. See § 8. Vol. 2.

Heap. So many Reams or Quires as is Set out by the Warehouse-keeper for the Press-man to Wet, is call’d a Heap: But then it is call’d a Dry Heap, till the Press-man have Wet it, and then it is indeed called a Heap. See also § 25.

380

Heap holds out. When it hath its full intended Number of Sheets.

Heavy Work. See Hard Work.

Heighth. See High against Paper.

High against Paper. If a Punch be not Sunk deep enough into the Matrice, the Letter Cast will not stand high enough against Paper. And if it be Sunk too deep into the Matrice, the Letter Cast will be too High against Paper. See § 17. ¶ 2. Vol. 2.

Holds out, or Holds not out. These Terms are applicable to the Quires of White-paper, to Wrought-off Heaps, to Gathered Books, and to sorts of Letter &c. If Quires of White Paper have twenty five Sheets a piece in them, they say, The Paper holds out five and twenties. Of Wrought off Heaps, the Heap that Comes off first in Gathering is said, Not to Hold out. Of Gathered Books, if the intended number of perfect Books are Gathered, they say the Impression Holds out: But if the intended number of Perfect Books cannot be Gathered off the Heaps, they say the Impression Holds not out. And so for Sorts of Letter, either when it is in the Founding House, or in the Printing House.

Hole. By a Hole, in Printers dialect, is meant and understood a place where private Printing is used, viz. the Printing of Unlicensed Books, or Printing of other mens Copies. Many Printers for Lucre of Gain have gone into Holes, and then their chief care is to get a Hole Private, and Workmen Trusty and Cunning to conceal the Hole, and themselves.

Holy-days. See Customs.

Hollows of a Letter. The Sinking in of the Counter-Punch Eee
381 into the Punch makes these Hollows, so does Sculping into the Face of the Punch. See § 9. ¶ 4. Vol. 2.

Hooks. See Hags.

Horse. The Form or Bench Press-men set the Heaps of Paper on. See also Customs.

Horse-flesh. If any Journeyman set down in his Bill on Saturday Night more Work than he has done, that Surplusage is called Horse-flesh: And he abates it in his next Bill.

Hose. See § 11. ¶ 14. Vol. 2.

Hours. Press-men reckon their Work by Hours, accounting every Token to an Hours Work: And though it be the same effectually with Tokens, yet they make their prizes of different Work by the Hour; and it passes current for a Token. If two Men Work at the Press ten Quires is an Hour; if one Man, five Quires is an Hour.

I

Jaws. See § 15. ¶ 6. Vol. 2.

Imperfections of Books. See § 25. ¶ 3. Vol. 2.

Imperfections of Letters. When the Founder has not Cast a proportionable number of each sort of Letter, the wanting Letters are called Imperfections, as making the rest of the Fount unperfect. See Sorts.

Impose. See § 22. ¶ 7. Vol. 2.

Impression holds out. See Holds out.

In-Page. See Out-Page.

Insertion. If the Compositer have left out Words or Lines, the Corrector inserts it, and makes this mark ^ where it is Left out, which is called the mark for Insertion. See § 23. Vol. 2.

382

Joynt flat Gage. See § 14. ¶ 4. Vol. 2.

Joynts. See § 10. ¶ 9. Vol. 2.

Inner Tympan. See § 11. ¶ 10. Vol. 2.

Italick Gage. See § 12. ¶ 6. Vol. 2.

Justifie a Matrice. See § 17. ¶ 2. Vol. 2.

Justifie a Mold. See § 16. Vol. 2.

Justifie a Stick, viz. a Composing-stick. See § 22. ¶ 4. Vol. 2.

K

Keep in, is a caution either given to, or resolved on, by the Compositer, when there may be doubt of Driving out his Matter beyond his Counting off, wherefore he Sets close, to Keep in.

Keep out, is a caution either given to or resolved on, by the Compositer, when there may be doubt of Getting in his Matter too fast for his Counting off: Wherefore he Sets Wide, to Drive or Keep out.

Kern. See § 19. ¶ 5. Vol. 2.

Kerning-Knife. See § 19. ¶ 5. Vol. 2.

Kerning-stick. See § 19. ¶ 5. Vol. 2.

Knife backt Sculptor, is a Sculptor with a thin edge on its back.

Knife-file. A file with a thin edge.

Knock up Balls. See § 24. ¶ 10. Vol. 2.

Knock up Books. See § 25. ¶ 3. Vol. 2.

Knock up a Letter. It sometimes happens with old Letter, that a Letter may be worn so low that it will not Print well in a Page: The Workman then takes that Letter out of the Form, and holds the Shank of it upon the side of the Chase, and with the Head of the Shooting-stick beats lightly upon the Foot of the Shank, till he have battered Mettle Eee2
383 enough out of the Shank, to raise it higher against Paper: If it prove too high against Paper, he Rubs the bottom of the Shank upon the side of the Chase to rub it down: This Operation seldom happens, unless another of the same sort of Letter is wanting, and hard to come by: For else the Compositer will bow the Letter, and pop it into a Waste Box in his Case, where he puts all naughty Letters, that he may not be troubled with them another time.

Knot. See § 20. ¶ 3. Vol. 2.

L

Ladles. See § 18. ¶ 3. Vol. 2.

Lay in Sheets. When the Press-man lays Sheets on the Tympan, it is stiled Laying in Sheets.

Lay out Sheets. When the Press-man takes Sheets off the Tympan, and lays them on the Heap, it is stiled Laying out Sheets.

Lay on. A phrase used for the Number of Books to be Printed. Thus they say. There is 1000, 2000, 3000, &c. Laid on. See Great Numbers. See Small Numbers.

Lean Ashes. Founders call their Ashes Lean, if they are Light; because then they have little Mettle in them. See Fat Ashes.

Lean. See Beat Lean.

Lean Face. A Letter whose Stems and other Stroaks have not their full width.

Lean Stroaks. The fine Stroaks in a Letter.

Leather Groove. See § 17. ¶ 2. Vol. 2.

Letter-Board. See § 7. Vol. 2.

Letter Hangs. If the Compositer has been careless in Emptying his Composing-stick, so as to set the Letter 384 loosely down in the Galley, and they stand not perfectly Square and Upright, the Letter Hangs; Or if after Overrunning on the Correcting-stone he has not Set his Letter in a Square position again, before he Locks up, (for we may suppose when the Pages are Open’d the Letter stands Loose, and more or less out of Square) So then, the Matter standing thus out of Square, is said to Hang. See § 22. ¶ 4, 7. Vol. 2.

Light Work. See Easie Work.

Liner. See § 12. ¶ 7. Vol. 2.

Lining-Stick. See § 16. ¶ 2. Vol. 2.

Lock up. See § 22. ¶ 7. and § 21. ¶ 1. Vol. 2.

Long Cross. See Chase.

Long Gage. See § 12. ¶ 5. Vol. 2.

Long Primmer. See § 2. ¶ 2. Vol. 2.

Long Pull. See § 24. ¶ 5. Vol. 2.

Loose Justifying. See § 22. ¶ 4. Vol. 2.

Low against Paper. See Heighth against Paper.

Low Case. When the Compositer has Compos’d almost all his Letters out of his Case, he says his Case is Low.

Lower Case. See § 3. Vol. 2.

M

m Thick. See § 13. ¶ 1. Vol. 2.

Make a Measure. See § 22. ¶ 4. Vol. 2.

Make ready the Form. See § 24. ¶ 7. Vol. 2.

Male Gage. The outer Gage, or outer Screw, that enters or fits into its Match Gage or Screw, &c.

Mallet. See § 9. Vol. 2.

Matrice. See § 17. ¶ 1. Vol. 2.

Matter. The series of the discourse of the Compositers Copy.

Eee3
385

Measure. The width of a Page. See Composing-Stick.

Mettle. See § 18. ¶ 2. Vol. 2.

Mold. See § 15. ¶ 1. Vol. 2.

Monk. When the Press-man has not Destributed his Balls, some splotches of Inck may lye on one or more of them, which in Beating he delivers upon the Form; so that the Sheet Printed on has a black blotch on it: Which Blotch is called a Monk.

Mouth-piece. See § 15. ¶ 1. Vol. 2.

N

n Thick. See § 13. ¶ 1. Vol. 2.

Naked Form, or Page, is when the Furniture is taken from about all sides of the Form or Page. See § 22. ¶ 7. Vol. 2.

Neck of a Letter. So much of the Punch as is Sunk into the Matrice is called the Neck; and when that Letter is Cast of Mettle, it is so much as comes above the Square of the Shank, viz. above the Beard.

Nick. See § 15. ¶ 1. Vol. 2.

Nomparel. See § 2. ¶ 2. Vol. 2.

Notch of the Matrice. See § 17. ¶ 2. Vol. 2.

Notes. Quotations down the side of a Page are called Notes.

Number Laid on. See Lay on.

Nut of the Spindle. The Female Screw that receives the Worms of the Spindle.

O

Odd Page. The First, Third, Fifth, Seventh, and all un-even numbred Pages are Odd Pages.

Off. A Press-man usually says, I am off, meaning he 386 has Wrought off his Token, his Heap, his Form.

Open Matter. Full of Breaks and Whites.

Open Furnance. See § 18. ¶ 2. Vol. 2.

Open the Form. See § 22. ¶ 2. Vol. 2.

Open Work. See Open Matter.

Over-run. See § 22. ¶ 8. Vol. 2.

Out. A Compositer usually says, I am Out, meaning he has Set out his Page, Form, or Copy. See also § 23. Vol. 2.

Out-Page. In Octavo’s, Twelves, Sixteens, every Out-side page in the Sheet is called an Out-Page, the rest are called In-pages.

Out of Register. Bad Register. See § 24. ¶ 7. Vol. 2.

P

Pale Colour. If there be not Blacking enough in the Inck, or the Form be Beaten with too Lean Balls, the Work will be said to have a Pale Colour.

Pallat. See § 15. ¶ 1. Vol. 2.

Pan. The great Ladle that Founders melt their Mettle in, when they are Casting Letters, is called the Pan. See also § 9. ¶ 18. Vol. 2.

Paper-bench. See Horse.

Paper-board. See § 7 Vol. 2.

Paper the Case. See § 22. ¶ 1. Vol. 2.

Paper Windows. See Customs.

Paper up Letter. Pages. See § 22. ¶ 10. Vol. 2.

Pearl. See § 2. ¶ 2. Vol. 2.

Peel. See § 11. ¶ 22. Vol. 2.

Pelts. Sheep Skins untan’d, used for Ball Leathers.

Pica. See § 2. ¶ 2. Vol. 2.

Picks. When either pieces of the Skin or Film that grows on Inck with standing by, or any dirt get into 387 the Hollows of the Face of the Letter, that Film or Dirt will fill or choak up the Face of the Letter, and Print Black; and is called a Pick; because the Press-man with the point of a Needle, picks it out.

Pidgeon-holes. See § 22. ¶ 24. Vol. 2.

Plattin.	See § 9. ¶ 18. Vol. 2.
Plattin-hooks.
Plattin-pan.
Plattin-plate.

Play with Quadrats. See Customs.

Plow. See § 20. ¶ 5. Vol. 2.

Points. See § 11. ¶ 19. Vol. 2. Also , ; : . - ? ! (’) [ * § †, and other marks, are all by Printers and Founders called Points.

Point-holes. The two Holes the Points prick in a Sheet of Paper. See § 22. ¶ 7. Vol. 2.

Point-Screws. See § 11. ¶ 9. Vol. 2.

Press. See § 10. Vol. 2.

Press-man. See § 24. ¶ 1. Vol. 2.

Press goes. When the Press-men are at Work, the Press is said to Go.

Press goes Hard, Heavy. See § 24. ¶ 5. and Press goes Easie, Light.

Press stands still. When the Press-men are not at Work, the Press is said to stand still.

Press-stone. See § 11. ¶ 17. Vol. 2.

Proof. See § 24. ¶ 18. Vol. 2.

Proof Letters. See § 16. ¶ 2. Vol. 2.

Proof Press. See Empty Press.

Print Hand. See Plate 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17.

Pull—— Easie, Long, Short, Soft. See § 24. ¶ 5. Vol. 2.

388

Punch. See § 13. ¶ 1. Vol. 2.

Py, when a Page is broken, those broken Letters are called Py. See Broken Letter.

Q

Quadrats. See § 19. ¶ 1. Vol. 2.

Quarters. Quarto’s, Octavo’s and Twelves Forms are Imposed in Quarters. They are called Quarters, not from their equal divisions; but because they are Imposed and Lockt up apart. Thus half the Short-Cross in a Twelves Form is called a Quarter, though it be indeed but one Sixth part of the Form.

Quoins. See § 8. Vol. 2.

Quotation Quadrats, Are Cast the heighth of the Quotation. They are Cast of different Bodies, that the Compositer may have choice of them to Justifie his Notes or Quotations exactly against the designed Line of the Page.

R

Racks. See § 11. ¶ 22. & § 12. ¶ 19. Vol. 2.

Rag. When Letter Cast has a Bur on any of its edges, that Bur is called a Rag.

Register. See § 15. ¶ 1. & § 24. ¶ 7. Vol. 2.

Register-sheet. The Sheet or Sheets Printed to make Register with.

Reteration. The Second Form, or the Form Printed on the backside of the White Paper.

Revise. See § 23. Vol. 2.

Ribs. See ¶ 10. ¶ 8. & § 11. ¶ 15. Vol. 2.

Riglet. Is a sort of Furniture of an equal Thickness all its Length. It is Quadrat high, of several Thicknesses, viz. a Nomparel, Brevier, Long-primmer, Pica, &c. Thick.

Fff
389

Rince the Form. See § 22. ¶ 2. Vol. 2.

Rincing-Trough. The Trough Forms are Rinced in.

Rise. A Form is said to Rise, when in Rearing it off the Correcting-stone no Letter or Furniture, &c. stay behind. See § 22. ¶ 7. Vol. 2.

Rounce. See § 11. ¶ 16. Vol. 2.

Rowl up the Ball Leathers. See § 24. ¶ 18. Vol. 2.

Rub Letter. See § 19. ¶ 4. Vol. 2.

Rubs not. When the Shank is Cast too Thin, that in Rubbing part of the Face or the Topping or Footing Rubs away: Founders say, It does not Rub.

Rubs well. When the Shank of a Letter has a proper Thickness, Founders say, It Rubs well.

Rub out Inck. See § 24. ¶ 11. Vol. 2.

Rules, viz. Brass Rules. See § 2. ¶ 2. Vol. 2.

Run in the Carriage. See § 24. ¶ 15. Vol. 2.

Runs on Sorts, when Matter runs much on some few Sorts of Letters, they say, it Runs on Sorts, See Sorts.

Run out from Copy. See Drive out.

S

Scaboard. See § 8. Vol. 2.

Second at the Press. See § 24. ¶ 15. Vol. 2.

Second Pull. See § 11. ¶ 16. Considerations 8. & § 24. ¶ 15. Vol. 2.

Sets Foul. See foul Proof.

Sets Clean. See Clean Proof.

Sets Close. See Get in.

Sets Wide. See Drive out.

Set out Paper. See § 25. ¶ 5. Vol. 2.

Set the Rounce. See § 24. ¶ 3. Vol. 2.

Sets off. Work that is newly Wrought off at the Press 390 often Sets off, especially if it be Fat Beaten with Soft Inck: For when it comes to be Beaten, or sometimes only hard prest by the Book-binder, the moist Inck spreads and delates it self round about the Face of every Letter, and sullies and stains the whole White Paper.

Shake. See § 19. ¶ 1. Vol. 2.

Shank, the square Mettle the Face of a Letter stands on, is called the Shank of a Letter.

Sheeps-foot. See § 11. ¶ 20. Vol. 2.

Shooting-stick. See § 9. ¶ 2. Vol. 2.

Short-cross. See Chase.

Short-Page. See § 12. ¶ 5. Vol. 2.

Side-stick. See § 8. Vol. 2.

Signature. See § 22. ¶ 4. Vol. 2.

Sinck Matrices. See Sinck Punches.

Sinck punches. See § 17. ¶ 1. Vol. 2.

Slice. See § 11. ¶ 11. Vol. 2.

Sliding-Gage. See § 12. ¶ 4. Vol. 2.

Sliding-Socket. See ¶ 12. ¶ 4. Vol. 2.

Small Numbers. Under 1500 Laid on is accounted a Small Number. See Great Numbers; and See Lay on.

Smoak Vent. See § 18. ¶ 1. Vol. 2.

Smout. Workmen when they are out of constant Work, do sometimes accept of a Day or twos Work, or a Weeks Work at another Printing-house: this By-work they call Smouting.

Soaking Pull. See § 24. ¶ 5. Vol. 2.

Soft Pull. ibid.

Soft Inck. Inck or Varnish moderately boiled. See § 11. ¶ 23. Vol. 2.

Solace. See Customs.

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Sop the Balls. When a Press-man has taken too much Inck, he is said to Sop the Balls.

Sorts. The Letters that lye in every Box of the Case are separately called Sorts in Printers and Founders Language; Thus a is a Sort, b is a Sort, c is a Sort, &c.

Space Thick, Space Thin. See § 12. ¶ 1. Vol. 2.

Spindle. See § 11. ¶ 12. 16. Vol. 2.

Spirit. See Devil.

Spring. See § 15. ¶ 1. Vol. 2.

Squabble. A Page or Form is Squabbled when the Letter of one or more Lines are got into any of the adjacent Lines; or that the Letter or Letters are twisted about out of their square Position.

Stem. The strait Flat stroaks of a straight Letter is called Stem. See § 14. ¶ 1. Vol. 2.

Stick. The Composing-stick commonly so called.

Stickfull. See § 22. ¶ 4. Vol. 2.

Stiff Justifying. See § 22. ¶ 4. Vol. 2.

Stirring-Pote. See § 18. ¶ 2. Vol. 2.

Stoak-hole. See § 18. ¶ 1. Vol. 2.

Stoaking-Rod. A Rod of thick Wyer put into such an Handle as is the Handle of a Letter-Ladle. Founders use it to stir up the Fire in the Furnace.

Stone. See § 19. ¶ 1. Vol. 2.

Stool. See § 15. ¶ 1. Vol. 2.

Stop. See § 19. ¶ 1. Vol. 2.

Strip a Form. See § 22. ¶ 2. Vol. 2.

Stroaks, are fat, lean, fine, hair. See § 14. ¶ 2. Vol. 2.

Superiour Letters, are often set to Marginal Notes: They are Letters of a Small Face, high Justifyed by 392 the Founder in the Mold near the Top-Line.

Swash-Letters. See Plate 15.

T

Tache. A small Board with Notches in its Fore-edge; either nailed upon the Fore-edge of the Work-Bench, or screwed into the Vice; so as the Notches may stand forwards to rest the Shank of a Punch in. See § 12. ¶ 9. Vol. 2.

Tail of Letters. See § 14. ¶ 2. Vol. 2.

Take off. See Customs.

Taking off. See § 22. ¶ 3. Vol. 2.

Take up. See § 22. ¶ 3. Vol. 2.

Take up a Sheet. See Customs.

Take Inck. See § 24. ¶ 10. Vol. 2.

Teze Wooll, or Hair. See § 24. ¶ 18. Vol. 2.

Thick Letter. A Fount of Letter that Rubs not high enough into the Neck is called Thick Letter; and consequently will Drive out Matter. See § 17. ¶ 2. Vol. 2.

Thick Space. See § 13. ¶ 1. Vol. 2.

Thin Space, ought by a strict orderly and methodical measure to be made of the Thickness of the seventh part of the Body; though Founders make them indifferently Thicker or Thinner.

Throat. See § 15. ¶ 1. & 6. Vol. 2.

Till. See § 10. ¶ 6. Vol. 2.

Toe of the Spindle. See § 11. ¶ 12. Vol. 2.

Token. See § 25. ¶ 5. Vol. 2.

Token Sheet. See § 24. ¶ 9. 15. Vol. 2.

Tongue. See § 20. ¶ 3. Vol. 2.

Tooth of the Plow. The pointed edge that Cuts the Groove in the bottom of the Shanks in the Blocks. See § 21. ¶ 5. Vol. 2.

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Transpose. See § 22. ¶ 7. & § 23. Vol. 2.

Turn for a Letter. It often happens when Matter Runs upon Sorts, especially in Capitals, or some other Sorts seldom used, that the Compositer wants that Sort the Matter Runs on; wherefore he is loath to Destribute Letter for that Sort; or perhaps his Case is otherwise Full. Wherefore instead of that Letter or Sort, he Turns a Letter of the same Thickness, with the Foot of the Shank upwards, and the Face downwards; which Turned Letter being easie to be seen, he afterwards when he can accommodate himself with the right Sort, takes out, and puts the right Letter in its room. It is also a word used jocosely in the Chappel, when any of the Workmen complain of want of Money, or any thing else, he shall by another Workman be answered. Turn for it, viz. Make shift for it.

Tympan. See § 10. ¶ 10. Vol. 2.

Tympan-Cloath. See § 24. ¶ 18. Vol. 2.

Tympan-sheet. See § 24. ¶ 7. Vol. 2.

V

Vantage. When a White-page or more happens in a Sheet, the Compositer calls that Vantage: So does the Press-man, when a Form of one Pull comes to the Press.

Varnish. See § 11. ¶ 23. Vol. 2.

Visorum. See § 22. ¶ 4. Vol. 2.

Un-lock the Form. See § 22. ¶ 2. Vol. 2.

Underlaid. A Phrase used by Press-men for the Light and Easie, or Heavy and Hard Running in of the Carriage. Thus they say, The Press goes light and 394 easie under Hand, or it goes heavy or hard under Hand.

Upper Hand, when the Spindle goes soft and easie, the Press-men say, It goes well under Hand, or Above Hand. But the contrary if it goes Hard and Heavy.

W

Wash the Form. See § 24. ¶ 18. Vol. 2.

Way-goose. See Customs.

Weak-Inck. See Soft-Inck.

Wedge. See § 20. ¶ 3. Vol. 2.

White-line. A Line of Quadrats.

White-Page. A Page that no Matter comes in.

White-Paper. Although the first Form be Printed off, yet Press-men erronically call that Heap White-Paper, till the Reteration be Printed.

Whole-press. See Full-Press.

Wind-furnace. See Open-furnace.

Wind-hole. See § 18. ¶ 1. Vol. 2.

Wood. See § 15. ¶ 11. Vol. 2.

Wyer. See § 15. ¶ 9. Vol. 2.

FINIS.