670

Q.

QUADRATS.

Pieces of type metal, of the depth of the body of the respective sizes to which they are cast, and lower than types, so as to leave a blank space on the paper, when printed, where they are placed: an en quadrat is half as thick as its depth; an em quadrat is equal in thickness and depth, and, being square on its surface, is the true quadrat, from quadratus, squared; a two em quadrat is twice the thickness of its depth; a three em three times; and a four em four times, as their names specify. Four ems are the largest quadrats that are cast. They are used to fill out short lines; to form white lines; and to justify letters, figures, &c., in any part of a line or page.

Four em quadrats are rarely cast larger than Pica; English and Great Primer do not exceed three ems; nor does Double Pica exceed two ems.

QUARTER.

A gutter behind the tympan, under the joints, to carry the water away beyond the farther side of the coffin that descends from the tympan. It is about an inch higher on the near than on the off side, and projects beyond the coffin about three inches.—M. It is not now used, nor is it necessary, as we do not wet the tympan so much as to cause the water to run off.

QUARTERS.

Quartos, octavos, and twelves forms are imposed in quarters. They are called Quarters, not from their equal divisions, but because they are imposed and locked 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.—M. When both the crosses are in a chase, it is divided into four parts; for some sizes, such as twelves and eighteens, they are unequal; yet still each division is called a Quarter, whether it contain more or less than the proportionate number of pages.

QUARTO.

A sheet of paper folded into four leaves or eight pages is styled a Quarto.

QUI.

The established custom of the printing business in London is, for a workman when he intends to leave his situation to give a fortnight’s notice of his intention to quit; it is also the custom for the employer, when he finds it necessary to part with a workman, to give him a fortnight’s notice, except under particular circumstances of neglect or dishonesty, when the discharge is instanter: this is termed having got the Bullet; the fortnight’s notice to quit is termed having got the Qui. The word appears to be a contraction of Quietus [est], which, being granted to a sheriff, discharged him of all accounts due to the king. See Bullet.

QUIRE.

A Quire of paper, for all usual purposes, consists of twenty-four sheets, but for newspapers a Quire consists of twenty-five sheets, and a ream of twenty Quires makes 500 sheets. This is done, I believe, for the convenience of the Stamp Office.—See Paper.

QUOIN-DRAWER.

A drawer in the frame of the imposing stone, in which quoins are kept; it is generally the right-hand top drawer, when you stand at the front of the stone.

QUOIN A FORM.

The fitting of the Quoins in a form, so that when it is locked-up they shall, in the most efficacious manner, wedge up and secure the types. See Imposing.

QUOINS.

Short pieces of beech wood, made of the same height as furniture, and tapering in their width, to wedge the pages up with in a chase. They are made of a variety of widths, from about two inches to 671 less than a quarter of an inch, for the convenience of having every gradation in quoining a form.

QUOTATION.

A quotation “ ”. Two inverted commas are generally placed at the beginning of a phrase or a passage, which is quoted or transcribed from the speaker or author in his own words; and two commas, in their direct position, are placed at the conclusion: as,

“The proper study of mankind is man.”—Murray.

Murray’s “direct” commas are superior commas, and consequently what are technically called apostrophes.

We derive the use of inverted commas from France, where one Guillemet was the author of them, to exclude the use of Italick from quotations: as an acknow­ledgement for which improvement, his countrymen called these inverted commas after his name, Guillemets; whereas the Germans made a jest of their figure, and gave them the name of Gaense-augen, or Geese-eyes. See Apostrophe.

QUOTATION QUADRATS

are cast the height of the Quotation. They are cast of different bodies, that the Compositor may have choice of them to justify his notes or quotations exactly against the designed line of the page—M. They are now cast to correspond with a piece of broad furniture one way, and with a narrow the other way, with spaces of both widths cast to different thicknesses; these spaces are called Justifiers, and the Quotation Quadrats are simply called Quotations.

R.

RACKS,

to hang paper on.—M. Now called poles. See Board Rack, Case Rack, Poles.

RAG.

When letter cast has a bur on any of its edges, that bur is called a Rag.—M.

Rails.

See Hind Posts.

Ralph.

See Spirit.

RANKS.

From the frames in a composing room being placed in a row, the Compositors are said to be in the ranks; thus, if a compositor has been selected for a reader, or overseer, and he afterwards works at case as a compositor, it is said, he is come to the ranks again.

RAT.

A compositor, or pressman, who executes work at less than the regular prices, or for less than the generality of the trade think it deserves, or for less than the chapel decides it ought to be paid, or for less than others are paid for it, becomes what is termed a rat; the most miserable situation, perhaps, that a workman can be placed in. He is hooted at and despised by the rest of the workmen in every house where he may obtain employment; and this feeling towards him does not subside, for the opprobrious epithet accompanies him for life.

READER.

A person whose duty it is to read proofs in a printing office, for the purpose of correcting the errors, that are unavoidable from the nature of the process of arranging the types into words, lines, and pages.

After the compositor has corrected these errors in the form, a clean proof is pulled by the pressman, which, with the first proof, comes, in the regular routine of the business, to the reader again, to revise; that is, to compare the two carefully, to see that the errors that were first marked have been corrected, and to notice such as may have escaped the compositor’s attention, as well as any additional ones that may have been made. The corrected proof is then sent to the author or editor, and if 672 he makes many alterations, it is again corrected in the form; another proof is then pulled, which comes again to the reader, who revises the author’s corrections, and reads it very carefully for press, to detect any errors that may have escaped the first reading, and also the author’s notice; when it is laid on, the pressman pulls a revise, which is passed to the reader, who again carefully revises it, to see that all the errors are corrected, and that the margin and the workmanship are right, previous to the sheet being printed off.

This is the usual routine in printing books; but in small establishments, the duties of a reader are performed generally by the overseer.

In large establishments, where there are several readers, I would invariably have the first proofs of any given work read by one and the same reader, and the press proofs also by one and the same but a different reader; in this case there would be an arrangement made between the readers, either orally or tacitly, with regard to the use of capitals, the orthography, compound words, the division of words, and the punctuation; an experienced compositor would consequently very soon fall into the method, and, knowing how the work was to be done, would have very little trouble with his proofs; and the whole would proceed with regularity and uniformity, and be more correct, than if the proofs had been indis­criminately given to any of the readers who might happen to be disengaged at the moment.

If this plan were followed, much injury to the work as well as vexation to the compositor would be avoided; for where the second proofs fall into the hands of different readers, it must necessarily happen that marks will be multiplied, from the different views which men entertain on the same points where there are no positive laws to refer to, but where arbitrary private judgment decides instead: thus, one reader differs from another with respect to the use of the capitals, as to the division of words, the orthography, and the punctuation; thus harassing and teazing the compositor, who is never certain under these circumstances what plan to follow, for what is right to-day may be wrong to-morrow, and vice versá, besides the pecuniary loss he suffers in making these alterations, in addition to the deterioration of the work, from the want of uniformity and consistency.

Many readers betray a want of remembrance of the sensitiveness of authors, by endeavouring, with the best intentions, to improve their language, and thus making unauthorized alterations in the proofs: this causes an unpleasant feeling, and I have known the reader accused of hypercriticism, and the original words restored; in other instances I have known the reader to have been told that he did not understand the author’s meaning, with a request that for the future he would literally follow the copy, and leave it to the author to make any alterations he might think proper. After a long experience I have invariably found it the most satisfactory plan, when I perceived a mistake, or met with a passage that I did not understand, or that I thought incorrect, to draw a line under the words, and insert a query in the margin, thus drawing the author’s attention to the part; if he altered the passage, it was well, if he did not, the responsibility was his; thus the author’s feelings were not wounded, and in most cases he expressed his satisfaction at this method; but I never knew an instance where any censure was expressed.

In making these general observations, I am actuated only by the motive that printers should combine the desire to be correct with the principle of conciliating the kind feelings of the author or editor.

673

REAM.

A ream of paper consists of twenty quires, each of twenty-four sheets, with the exception of the two quires at the outside of each ream, called Outside Quires or Corded Quires, which consist of twenty sheets each, all damaged, torn, or imperfect, more or less: this is the state in which paper is uniformly delivered by the paper-maker from the mill. For private use it may be obtained from the stationers made up with twenty inside quires, that is, of quires of perfect paper; a ream in this state consists of 480 sheets. For the purpose of printing, it is always sent to printing offices in a state technically styled perfect, made up into bundles, each bundle containing forty-three quires; thus a ream will consist of twenty-one quires and a half, or 516 sheets; this surplus allows for accidents in wetting, at press, and in the warehouse, as well as waste, and enables the printer to deliver to the publisher the full count. The outside quires are generally sold to bookbinders, but those of writing-paper are used by stationers in making copy books and memorandum books.

RECORDS.

In the year 1800, the House of Commons voted an Address to His Majesty King George III. on the state of the Public Records of this kingdom, and the necessity of providing for the better arrangement, preservation, and more convenient use of the same; and humbly represented that the Public Records of the kingdom are in many offices unarranged, undescribed, and unascertained; that many of them are exposed to erasure, alteration, and embezzlement, and are lodged in buildings incommodious and insecure, and that it would be beneficial to the public service that the records and papers contained in many of the principal offices and repositories should be methodized, and that certain of the more antient and valuable amongst them should be printed; and humbly besought His Majesty, that He would be graciously pleased to give such directions thereupon, as He in His wisdom should think fit.

The first commission, bearing date the 19th of July 1800, states, “that We, considering the premises, and earnestly desiring more effectually to provide for the better arrangement, preservation, and more convenient use of the said records and papers, and reposing great trust and confidence in your fidelity, discretion, and integrity;—

“Have authorized and appointed, and by these presents do authorize and appoint you the said William Henry Cavendish Duke of Portland, William Windham Baron Grenville, Henry Dundas, Henry Addington, William Pitt, Sir Richard Pepper Arden, Frederick Campbell (commonly called Lord Frederick Campbell), Sylvester Douglas, Sir John Mitford, Sir William Grant, Robert Dundas, and Charles Abbot, and any three or more of you, to make a diligent and particular inquiry into the several matters which our faithful Commons have, in the above-mentioned report of their proceedings, represented as fitting to be provided for by our royal authority.”

“And to the end that Our royal will and pleasure in the premises may be executed with the greater regularity and expedition, We farther by these presents will and command, and do hereby give full power and authority to you or any three or more of you, to nominate and appoint from time to time such person of ability, care, and diligence, as ye shall think fit, to be and act as your Clerk or Secretary, for the purpose of aiding you in the execution of these presents; and also to nominate and appoint in like manner such several persons of ability, care, and diligence, as ye may think fit, to be Sub-Commissioners, to be employed under your direction and controul in the premises; and more especially to methodize, regulate, and digest the records, rolls, instruments, books, and 674 papers, in any of Our public offices and repositories; and to cause such of the said records, rolls, instruments, books, and papers as are decayed and in danger of being destroyed, to be bound and secured; and to make exact calendars and indexes thereof; and to superintend the printing of such calendars and indexes, and original records and papers as ye shall cause to be printed.”

The Commissioners have in consequence published several volumes of the Records, which contain documents of the highest importance to the owner of landed property, to the family historian, and to the topographical writer, as well as assist in the elucidation of the manners and customs of the times to which they belong; while to the general historian they are invaluable, as opening new sources of the most valuable and authentic information, which previously had been virtually closed against his researches.

The portions of the Records already published have been printed literally from the originals, with all their abbreviations and peculiarities preserved. This renders them difficult to be read by the inexperienced in ancient manuscripts; and since county historians and other topographical writers make frequent extracts from these ancient records, to establish facts concerning persons, places, and property, I have thought it useful to give a detailed article on this subject, which may be equally useful in the library as in the printing-office.

The Commissioners have also published several volumes of Calendars and Indexes to many classes of Records.

To enter into a history, however brief, of the various public Records, would be foreign to the objects of the present work: for such information the reader is referred to publications that treat especially upon the subject. It is sufficient for the purpose to state, that each of the King’s Courts of judicature registers its acts and proceedings upon rolls of parchment, which are called the Records of the court to which they belong; for instance, the Chancery Rolls, which contain the registration of all matters which pass under the great seal of England, are divided into classes; particular rolls being appropriated to the entry of particular matters. Thus, the Norman Rolls contain entries chiefly relating to Norman affairs; the Scotch Rolls comprehend those which regard Scotland generally; the Parliament Rolls embrace matters touching the Parliament; the Fine Rolls, entries respecting fines paid to the king for grants of liberties and privileges. The Close Rolls preserve copies of letters directed to individuals for their sole guidance and inspection, which, being private, are for this reason folded up, and closed with a seal; while the Patent Rolls, on the contrary, contain copies of letters which, though bearing a seal on their lower margin as a mark of authenticity, are not closed, but remain patent or open, to be shown to all men: these convey directions or commands of general obligation, or are given to individuals for their particular protection, profit, or personal advantage. A few only of the Chancery Records have been here enumerated; but sufficient has been stated to show the reader that each species of roll has its distinguishing charac­teristic.

A Chancery roll is composed of a number of skins of parchment so connected that the top of the second is attached to the bottom of the first, the top of the third to the bottom of the second, and so on; the whole being rolled up in the manner of a piece of cloth in a draper’s shop, or of carpet in the warehouse of the manufacturer.

The reader will, from this description, readily understand that the word “roll” (rotulus, à rotare, to turn round) is but a synonym of 675 the word “volume” (volumen, à volvere, to roll), and that, from the longitudinal connexion of its component skins, a reference made from any entry upon it, to a preceding or succeeding one, will be literally and properly expressed by the words vide supra and vide infra. He will likewise clearly comprehend that not only the interior, or intus, of the roll, upon which the charac­teristic entries have been made, will necessarily be kept clean and free from atmospheric influence, but also the greater part of the exterior, which is denominated the dors. This circumstance afforded the scribes an opportunity, which they readily embraced, of using the dors for entries and memoranda that were frequently very different in their character from those contained on the intus of the roll.

The Rolls of the courts of King’s Bench, Common Pleas, and Exchequer, contain the proceedings of those Courts; and they differ from those of the Chancery, not only in the nature of their contents, but also in the form in which they are made up. A roll of these courts consists of an indefinite number of skins sewn or attached together with a strong ligature of parchment at the top, and the subject is written both on the intus and dors, precisely in the same way as a book or letter is written; after the intus is filled, the subject is continued on the dors. In using this kind of roll, each skin, when perused, is turned back over the head of the rest, and brought down immediately after that which just before had been the last of the series; until, the whole having been thus in their order revolved, the first skin is again brought into its original position. The entire mass, being unprotected by pasteboard or other unyielding covers, is perfectly flexible, and, having been rolled up in the manner of a quire of paper, which it is desired to reduce to its smallest compass, is confined in its position by a piece of tape or other adequate ligature.

For every regnal year of a King’s reign there is one or more of each class of rolls appropriated; according to the quantity of business done, so is the number of each class of rolls: for instance, the Patent Rolls of the 1st of Edward the Fourth, extending to six rolls or parts, as they are called, contain the enrolment of all the Letters Patent made during that year; the Charter Rolls of the same year, all the Charters granted in that year; as the Close Rolls do all the Letters Close issued in that year.

In quoting an entry from a roll, it is usual for writers to state first the name of the roll on which it is to be found: as, Rot. Pat. (Rotulus Patentium), Rot. Claus. (Rotulus Clausarum), the word “Litterarum” being understood in the two preceding cases; Rot. Fin. (Rotulus Finium), &c. Then follows the year of the king’s reign. Should the roll be divided into parts, the part also is specified; as, p. 1. or pars 1., p. 2. or pars 2. The next circumstance noticed is the particular skin or membrane on which the entry occurs; as, m. 23. If the entries on the skin have numbers attached to them, the number also (n. 1., &c.) is cited: and if the entry is made on the back or dors of the roll, that circumstance is expressed by adding d. or in dorso (i.e. “on the back”) to the quotation; for, should this be omitted, the entry will very naturally be sought for upon the intus of the roll. Citing, then, an entry, from the Patent Rolls for instance, we will suppose the quotation to run in the following form, “Rot. Pat. 13 Edw. III. p. 2. m. 23.;” which would be thus rendered in English: “On the twenty-third skin of the second part of the Patent Roll of the thirteenth year of Edward the Third.”

Before quitting this part of the subject, it may not be unimportant to state that, on examining a roll, it is not an unfrequent circumstance to 676 meet with entries which are cancelled, or crossed out with the pen; but, to prevent suspicion that this has been unfairly done, the reason for the cancellation is generally added at the side: as, “Quia supra,”—“Because it has already been entered above;” “Quia alias inferius,”—“Because it has been re-entered in other words below;” “Quia in Rot. Fin.”—“Because it is entered on the Fine Roll” (to which roll it more properly belongs); &c. This kind of cancellation, which was performed, as of course, by the person who discovered the error, must not be confounded with a cancellation by judgment; which latter was a function of the Lord Chancellor, who, when Letters Patent or Charters were adjudged void, was the person who condemned or cancelled them.

The terms cancellation, erasure, expunging or expunction, obliteration, elision, and deletion,—words each employed to denote a different method adopted to prevent faulty passages or minor errors from standing as parts of a composition,—having been frequently used indis­criminately one for another, the reader may not be displeased to be here reminded of their original significations. To treat, then, of each in the order in which it has been named;—

Cancellation denotes the drawing a pen several times obliquely across a passage, first from right to left, and then from left to right, in the manner of lattice-work. (The word is derived from cancella, a lattice.)

Erasure implies the removal of a faulty portion by the application of the knife. (From erado, I scrape out.)

Expunging or expunction (both derivations from the same verb, expungo, I prick or dot out,) was a method by which the clerk neatly expressed that a word, or part of a word, was to be omitted; as “sentenṭẹṇce.” Leaving out, then, the under-dotted, or expuncted letters, the amended word will be sentence.

Obliteration is the slovenly method, still frequently employed, of completely covering the error with ink, so that not a letter thereof can be traced. (From oblitero, I blot out.)

Elision is the act of striking out the erroneous matter by a simple dash of the pen. (From elido, I strike or dash out.)

Deletion is the wiping away the ink while it is yet wet, and then continuing the writing over the space which had been in the first instance occupied by the error. (From deleo, I wipe out.)

After this short, but, it is hoped, satisfactory explanation of the nature and circumstances of a roll, the reader will proceed to an analysis of the contracted language in which records have been composed.

To assist the reader in comprehending the foregoing explanations, and as an exercise to his ingenuity, an inter­esting tale, of sufficient length for the purpose, has been selected from the History of Richard the First. This historiette, which was written by the monarch’s namesake, Richard of Devizes, and which abounds in very inter­esting particulars, was lately, for the first time, given to the public in a printed form by the “English Historical Society:” to their publication we are indebted for our text. The reader, having carefully studied the preceding symbols, may now proceed to an examination of the language of this story. This, which has been purposely contracted with every species of abbreviations common to the 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th, 13th, and 14th centuries, he will proceed to extend into full words, verifying his performance, when completed, by comparing it with what immediately follows, which he will find to be the same narrative in an uncontracted form. Having acquired some degree of facility in extending the contracted forms, he may then advantageously reverse the process, and proceed to a reduction of words at length to a contracted state. A little practice will soon enable him to apply his newly acquired knowledge in the elucidation of whatever form of record or of ancient document may come before him. This acquirement he may find extremely useful, and he may possibly thence derive a certain degree of distinction; since this has to the present time been a branch of knowledge entirely confined to a small portion of the learned, and to the few typographical readers whose employments have more immediately required its cultivation. A translation is added, followed by a few explanatory notes.

In conformity with a practice which has hitherto much obtained in Record printing, c has been substituted for t in the terminations tio and tia: this usage, the propriety of which has been questioned, has been here followed, in order that the student’s eye may be accustomed to its recurrence elsewhere. The diphthongs æ and œ have been also for the same reason represented by the simple e.

Story of a Boy killed by the Jews of Winchester.

682

683

684

The preceding in words at length.

Translation.

1 Some of these worthless characters are mentioned in the lines of Horace:

Others are to be found in Juvenal.

2 The atrocious massacre above referred to, is related in the following impious and inhuman terms:—“On that same day of the coronation, about the solemn hour in which the Son was immolated to the Father, they began in the city of London to sacrifice the Jews to their father the devil; and so long was the duration of this famous mystery, that the holocaust could scarcely be completed on the second day. Other cities and towns in the country emulated the faith of the Londoners, and with equal devotion dispatched their bloodsuckers in their blood to the infernal regions. Somewhat, but not to such an extent, was at that time enacted against those children of perdition everywhere throughout the kingdom: Winchester alone spared her vermin,—a people prudent and forecasting, and a city at all times respecting her citizens’ rights.”—“Eodem coronationis die, circa illam sollemnitatis horam qua Filius immolabatur Patri, incœptum est in civitate Londoniæ immolare Judæos patri suo diabolo; tantaque fuit hujus celebris mora mysterii, ut vix altera die compleri potuerit holocaustum. Æmulatæ sunt aliæ civitates regionis et urbes fidem Londoniensium, et pari devotione suos sanguisugas cum sanguine transmiserunt ad inferos. Aliquid, sed inæqualiter, ea tempestate contra perditos paratum est ubique per regnum: sola tantum suis vermibus pepercit Wintonia, populus prudens et providus, ac civitas semper civiliter agens.”

688

3 Thomas à Becket, who had been murdered a few years antecedently.

4 Soap was first made in London in 1524; prior to which time it had been supplied by Bristol.

5 Good Friday.

6 It was the custom, where sufficient testimony could not be had, to allow the accused to clear himself from the charge by his oath: this was called purgation. The oath having been made, twelve persons, called compurgators, were produced on the prisoner’s behalf, who swore, that, from what they knew of his general character, they believed his oath. This was deemed satisfactory.

Table of the principal Abbreviations used in Records.

REFERENCES.

There are various references used for notes, according to the fancy of the author, or the master printer; where they are not numerous in a page, the common references are generally used, in this order— *, †, ‡, §, ‖, ¶, and where there are more than six notes 701 in a page, two of each reference are put to a note; but this is looked upon as having an unsightly appearance.

Italick lower case letters are sometimes used, enclosed between parentheses (a), and sometimes figures (1); the letters, when they are used, are often continued through the alphabet, and then commence again with (a).

The most usual references, and which are esteemed the neatest, are superiors, both letters and figures; where the notes are at the foot of the page, letters are most frequently used, sometimes going through the alphabet, and sometimes commencing with ^a in each page in which notes occur: where the notes are placed at the end of the volume, figures ^{1 2} are nearly always adopted, in regular succession.

REGISTER.

This term implies such an arrangement of the whites in both forms of a sheet, as that, when printed off, the pages shall fall precisely at the back of each other, so that the sides and heads of the pages of one form shall not project beyond those of the other; in fine work the principle is carried still further, and the whites in the pages are so arranged that line shall fall upon line, when the reiteration is worked. See Gauge. Space Lines.

REGISTER SHEET.

The sheet or sheets printed to make register with.—M. When works are printed on fine and expensive paper, register is usually made with proof paper; and it is not till the form is completely made ready that they use its own paper.

REGLET.

Is a sort of furniture of an equal thickness all its length. It is quadrat high, of several thicknesses, viz. Nonpareil, Brevier, Long Primer, Pica, &c thick.—M.

Reglet and all other furniture, except side and foot sticks, are made in lengths of three feet each, and are always styled a yard of reglet, a yard of broad, &c.; the use of reglet is to branch out titles, jobs, and other matter, to economise the use of quadrats: it is preferable to quadrats for this purpose, it keeping the lines more even; for different founts of the same size being often mixed, and the quadrats frequently battered, are not so true as a piece of reglet, which I would always have put next to a line of capitals; it is also used in making margin.

The thinnest reglet used is called card reglet, a substitute for scaleboard; the regular sizes commence with Pearl and go up to Two Lines Great Primer, with the exception of Ruby, Minion, Bourgeois, Small Pica, English, Paragon, and Two Lines Pica, which are sizes not used.

REITERATION.

The second form, or the form printed on the backside of the white paper.—M. This is a term generally used for press work; when the second form is working, that is, perfecting the sheet, the pressmen say they are working the reiteration.

Reviews.

See Newspaper Postage.

REVISE.

An impression of each form printed on proof paper the first thing after it is laid on, and taken by the pressman to the reader or overseer, for him to examine that all the corrections in the press proof are made, previously to the impression being worked off. The compositor frequently takes the revise for waste paper; but this should never be done with that of the first form; the pressman should put it into the heap, so that it may be readily found, which keeps it damp, and the revise of the second form ought always to be pulled on it; the reader, in revising the second form, then sees the sheet perfect, which is necessary to ascertain that the matter follows, and that the furniture is right.

RIBS.

In wooden presses, long pieces of steel, polished on the upper surface, which is a little rounded, on which the carriage traverses in 702 being run in and run out; they are fastened down upon long pieces of wood, which are called Wooden Ribs.

RIDES.

Leads are said to ride, when one end projects over another; this will occasionally take place when two or more are used in the same measure. It ought to be guarded against, as, when it happens, it prevents the page rising, or if by tightening the quoins the form is made to rise, it causes the lines to be crooked.

RINSE THE FORM.

Laying up the form, and washing the lye and ink away to make the letter clean.—M. This is always done by the pressman as soon as a form is off; he takes it to the lye trough, and brushes the ink from off the face of the letter, the furniture, and chase, with the lye brush and lye; he then lifts it out of the trough and sets it on its edge, resting against the side of the trough or against some other support, and rinses it well with water, to wash away the lye and the ink it has dissolved, and thus leaves the face of the letter, the furniture, and the chase clean, ready for the compositor to lay up preparatory to distributing.—See Lay up.

RINSING TROUGH.

The trough forms are rinsed in.—M. It is two troughs combined in one; the smallest and deepest is for the water, and in some offices has an iron ladle chained to the near upper corner, to prevent its being displaced; the shallow part is used to lay up forms in; they are both lined with lead, and the shallow one has a loose deal bottom to preserve the lead, and in general is bound with iron, particularly at the front, to prevent the edge of a chase, when being lifted upon the letter board, from cutting the lead; they both have an opening with a short pipe at the bottom to convey away the water; that in the water trough having a brass plug in it, for the convenience of letting the water off to clean it out. They stand on a frame, which is usually placed in a platform raised at the edges a few inches, lined with lead, styled the sink, with a loose bottom of boards, which leads into a pipe for drainage.

RISE.

A form is said to rise, when in rearing it off the correcting stone no letter or furniture, &c. stay behind.—M. When every thing is properly justified, and the form properly quoined and locked up, so that nothing falls out in lifting it up.

RISERS.

The material upon which stereotype plates are fixed, in order to be printed.

These risers are sometimes made of wood, with the plates screwed, or otherwise fastened upon them; sometimes of brass, bell metal, gun metal, or type metal; and occasionally of gypsum, or Roman cement: 703 but, of whatever substance they may be formed, the riser and the plate together should be of the same height as types.

Mr. James Fergusson took out a patent for risers made of elastic substances, of which he published the following description, or specification:—“Now know ye, that I the said James Fergusson, in compliance with the said Proviso, do hereby declare, that the nature of my said Invention, and the manner in which the same is to be performed, are particularly described and ascertained by the following explanation thereof, that is to say: In the process of printing from Stereotype Plates, the plates are put upon, and fastened to, certain materials or apparatus, called by different names, such as blocks, matrix-plates, risers, &c., which are made either of iron, brass, type-metal, bell-metal, Roman cement, gypsum, wood of various kinds, or some other suitable substance; or, without using any such materials or apparatus, the plates are, or may be, put upon, and fastened to, the coffins or tables of such printing presses as are in general use, or upon cylindrical or any other sort of printing machines. In all cases, however, of printing from Stereotype Plates, it is necessary to apply some remedy to the unequal thickness of the plates; and the operation usually adopted is that of putting layers or pieces of paper, or other material, under the thinner places of the plates, or over the same, upon the tympan, which operation is technically termed underlaying and overlaying. Now, the nature or object of my Invention is that of saving the time and expence unavoidably sacrificed in the operation of underlaying and overlaying; and this object I accomplish by putting elastic substances under the Stereotype Plates, whereby the printed impressions from them are immediately equalized wholly or in part; for the elastic substances yield to the pressure upon the thicker parts of the plates, and at the same time afford the necessary resistance for obtaining sufficient strength of impressions from the thinner parts. It must be evident, that the elastic substances are to be inter­posed between the Stereotype Plates and whatever solid or firm substance may be made use of, whether blocks, matrix-plates, risers, cylinders, printing presses, printing machines, or any other apparatus whatsoever. So far as I have made experiments and trials of different elastic substances, I have hitherto found Cork to be the best calculated for the purposes of my Invention; but, in virtue of the Letters Patent granted unto me, I claim the exclusive right and privilege of applying Cork, and any other elastic substance, to all kinds of printing apparatus and machines, with the view of remedying the inequalities in the thickness of Stereotype Plates; and I also claim the sole right and privilege of manufacturing the elastic articles requisite for the attainment of this object, of vending such articles, and of granting Licenses for the use of the same. In further explanation of the manner in which my Invention is to be performed, it may be proper to state, that the Cork is prepared by cutting, sawing, rasping, and filing; and by these means it is wrought to such a uniform thickness as is required. I consider a quarter of an inch as a proper thickness, but a lesser or a greater may be adopted. If, when a determinate thickness has been fixed upon, the Cork is to be applied to some apparatus now in use, that apparatus should of course be diminished as much as is the thickness of the Cork, in order that the same height to paper may be preserved. The layers or beds of Cork may be formed either of single pieces, cut to the respective sizes of pages, or made up by several slips, whereby they may be adjusted to various widths and lengths. Whether the Cork be laid loose upon the blocks, &c., or be attached by soft pitch, shoemakers’ wax, or other adhesive substance, is 704 unimportant; but I prefer attaching it, so as to keep it in its place. Although my Invention essentially consists in discovering the applicability of Elastic Substances for the purpose of remedying inequalities in the thickness of Stereotype Plates, yet, in this Specification, I have necessarily given my explanations by particu­larising Cork, that being the material which I now manufacture and prefer. How to adapt any other elastic substance, which may answer the purpose equally well as Cork, cannot be a matter of doubt or difficulty to any person practically acquainted with apparatus used in Stereotype Press-work.——In witness whereof, &c.”

Mr. T. C. Hansard took out a patent for improvements on, and additions to, Printing Presses, and various processes relative to Printing; these improvements included “Stereotype-Plate Risers, with Holdfasts or Claws,” of which Mr. Hansard published the following description:—“The Risers are made of Type Metal, or with any other metal or substance, cast in a Type-founder’s mould, having somewhat the form of what are called Quotations. I take the usual standard for Printer’s admeasurement, and cast them quadrilateral to four Pica m’s; then longer ones as parallelograms, four by eight, four by twelve, four by sixteen, and smaller ones, four by two, four by one, and four by a half; in height they are about three-fourths of an inch, or sufficient to raise the Plate to the usual height, or somewhat higher than common Type; these being cast and dressed perfectly true, in body and height, may be easily combined to form the size of any page necessary, with the certainty of having a uniform plain surface for all the plates, however numerous; they are cast as hollow cubes, the larger combinations having divisions to give sufficient support to every square against any pressure which can be brought upon them.

“The Holdfasts or Claws are formed of Brass or other hard metal, accurately adjusted in thickness to a Brevier, or any other body chosen, with a projecting Bevil at the top. They may be of various lengths, as to 4, 8, 16, 24, or more or less, Pica m’s, the elongated parts of the larger ones being to the height of ordinary Reglet, having the Holdfast or Claw in the centre, or towards each end. They may be opened, or pierced, as well to make them lighter, as to cause them, by pressing and indenting into the furniture of the forme, to be less liable to be drawn out: the height of the Claw is about seven-eighths of an inch, or sufficient for the projecting bevil of about one-eighth of an inch to lay upon the flanch of the plate when resting on the Risers. To prepare plates for working, form with the Risers the requisite number of pages for the forme or sheet to the nearest size they may make by the various combinations, and add any difference wanting by reglet, leads, or scale-board; then lay on the Plates, and place at the head, foot, and sides of each plate as many Holdfasts as may, from the size of the plate, be deemed sufficient for proper fastening; thus for small pages, as in Octadecimos and Duodecimos, one at each side and end will be sufficient; for larger pages two or more may be thought necessary; making up the parts which they may be deficient of the length and breadth of the pages with quadrats or reglet of the same body; then proceed to make margin, or dress the formes, and lock-up in the usual mode. To change the Plates; when worked, unlock the forme, draw out the Holdfast at the head or foot of the plate, slide off the done-with plate, replace by the new one; lock up again; and if the Plates have all been cast true to one gauge in thickness, width, and length, you will have throughout the whole work exact and uniform register, and equal impression;—when 705 the Work is completed, the same material of Risers and Holdfasts, by admitting every combination of size, will form into any other sized pages for any other sized plates.”

Robbery.

See Stolen Property.

ROLL UP BALL LEATHERS.

When the pressman leaves work at noon he draws half the nails out of the balls, and takes the wool out; then doubles the loose half of the leather over the remaining nailed-on half, with the inky sides of each half next each other, and rolls up the leathers close, and lays them in a bowl or pan of water to soak till he has dined—M. This plan is entirely discontinued; the ball nails now are never drawn nor the covering taken off till it is worn out, owing to the different composition of the ink.

ROLLER.

A cylinder coated with composition, fixed in an iron frame, and revolving upon an iron rod running through it, with which to ink the forms, preparatory to taking an impression.

The roller has almost entirely superseded the use of balls in printing; and, since the introduction of composition, I may venture to say it has completely superseded the use of pelts for balls. See Pelts.

The use of the roller is less laborious to the pressman than balls; and for common work, and indeed all work where weak ink is used, it coats the surface of the types, &c. more uniformly, perhaps, than balls; but for fine work, where strong ink must be used, and really fine work cannot be produced without strong ink, the roller is decidedly inferior to the ball, partly owing to the difficulty of taking ink and distributing it on the inking table; and partly owing to the inferiority of rolling to beating with balls, in coating the surface of the types with strong ink.

The introduction of composition in lieu of pelts has been the cause of a complete change in printing; but for this article, machine or cylindrical printing would never have been accomplished, as all the first attempts were made with skins to coat the roller, and all failed, owing to the imperfection of joining the edges; it was this that baffled Nicholson, who died before its introduction; and it was the introduction of this article that enabled König to avail himself of Nicholson’s invention and to reduce it to practice, after he had failed in his project of applying steam to the working of presses.

The composition was first introduced in printing by Mr. B. Foster, who spread it in a melted state on canvass, and then formed it into balls in the usual manner. I have been informed that Mr. Foster obtained his knowledge of its properties from a cotton manufactory, where it was used in some part of the machinery; but Mr. T. C. Hansard says that it was in the Staffordshire potteries, in which they use what are there called dabbers, that Mr. Foster first observed it.

Composition.—Mr. Hansard, a printer of extensive practice, in his Typographia, says, “The composition consists principally of glue and molasses, or treacle. I have seen various receipts of ingredients and proportions, some possessing the recommen­dations which distinguish the recipes of ancient physicians; namely, a vast variety of articles with counteracting properties. But the simple prescription which my experience 706 has proved best, is, to provide glue of the finest quality, made from the cuttings of parchment or vellum; fine green molasses, pure from the sugar refiner, at least not adulterated for the bakers’ or grocers’ shops; and a small quantity of the substance called Paris-white [carbonate of barytes], and you will have every ingredient requisite for the compo. The proportions have been so variously stated, and so different from what I have found to be eligible, that I am wholly at a loss to account for such differences.

	Pounds of
	Glue.	Molasses.
One receipt which now lies before me in print, says	2	1
Another, MS.	2	3
I find a mixture of	2	6
or	2	7

and about half a pound of the Paris-white, will make the compo of a superior quality to any other proportions, and will be sufficient for two demy rollers. The great disparity which appears in these receipts may perhaps be attributed to a difference in the quality of the materials, and to the mode of management.” Thus far Mr. Hansard on the component parts of the composition.

The late Mr. Robert Branston, an eminent engraver on wood, and who was also very skilful in printing his productions in a superior manner, told me that he made his balls of glue, treacle, and a little shoemakers wax, and that they answered as well as Foster’s. The Cave of Despair, in my Practical Hints on Decorative Printing, will serve as a specimen of his abilities in both these departments.

An ingenious printer in the country, and a good workman, sent me the following receipt, from which he used to make balls for his own use:—Take a pound and a half of glue, let it soak in cold water twelve hours, boil it without any additional water; when it is hot add half a pound of treacle, half an ounce of turpentine, and a quarter of a pound of tar; this quantity is sufficient for a pair of balls. Prepare your canvass or coarse cloth of the size the balls are wanted, by rubbing on it bees wax, (or common paste will answer the purpose after it has been allowed to dry,) to prevent the composition running through the pores; when the mixture is nearly cold, pour it on the canvass, held in a concave manner, in order that it may be the thickest in the middle, and thinner at the edges; then knock up the balls in the usual way.

Another receipt, from which a large establishment in London made their balls and rollers, and the latter both for their machines and presses, is equal parts of glue and treacle; but as the composition is affected by the state of the atmosphere, it is found by experience that in cold weather a greater proportion of treacle is required, and in warm weather a greater proportion of glue.

This establishment was of opinion that the glue known by the name of London Glue is the strongest and best.

These different receipts, each of which was held in high estimation by the party who made use of it on account of its individual superiority over others, tend to show that different proportions of the same materials with different ingredients incorporated with the mixture, produce a composition that possesses all the requisite qualities.

Casting Rollers.—Mr. Hansard gives the following directions:—“The cylinder upon which the compo is cast is made of alder-wood, turned to a requisite diameter, so that the coat of compo which it receives is half an inch. The cylinder is perforated through its centre, having a brass bush or collar driven into each end, through which is 707 passed an iron rod, as an axis, with an enlarged head at one end, and tapped with a screw at the other.

“It is necessary to procure a mould very accurately made and well finished. Mine is made of brass, in two parts, adjusted to each other with rebates, the inside being finely turned and polished, and having flanches projecting by which the parts are screwed together by the screw and lock-burr. To each end is also fitted a collar; and a circular plate of iron is accommodated with great precision to the bore of the mould, having a projection in its centre to enter a cylinder of wood about which the compo is to attach itself, and to hold it exactly in the centre of the mould, and the other end of which is kept in a corresponding position by means of a brass piece to allow of the compo passing down between the interior surface of the mould and the wooden cylinder. There are little projections on the sides of the mould, which serve as feet to support each half in a steady position while lying upon a table or elsewhere. Previous to joining, the parts of the mould must be nicely cleaned and oiled, and the greatest care taken that no particle of compo, grit, or dirt, remain in the rebate. The parts being carefully placed on each other, and the wooden cylinder fixed inside, the screws must be put into their respective places in the flanches, and when all is properly made tight the mould is to be set upright for receiving the compo.

“The next material part of the apparatus is the melting kettle. This must be a double vessel like a glue-kettle, so that the compo in the interior may be melted by the heat of the boiling water in the exterior. For this purpose a strong boiler may be the best or readiest thing found, into which let a tin vessel be fitted, with a flanch to rest on the rim, so as to leave one or two inches clear under it. This vessel may be six or eight inches above the top of the boiler, so that the lid of the one may fit the other; and it must have a handle on each side; also a large lip for pouring out the compo.

“Being thus prepared, put the glue into a little water for a few hours to soak. Pour off all the liquid, and put the glue into the inner vessel, the boiler having in it as much water as it will contain when the inner vessel is in its place. Put it on the fire, and boil the water as quick as you please, the heat of which will soon cause the glue to dissolve, and evaporate part of the water. When the glue is all melted, add the molasses, and let them be well incorporated together for at least an hour, receiving heat from the boiling water, which is an uniform degree that cannot exceed 212° of Fahrenheit. Then with a very fine sieve, mix the white powder, frequently stirring the compo. In another hour, or less, it will be fit to pour off; and when it is, take the inner vessel out of the boiler, and pour the mixture gently into the mould through the opened brass keeper. In about an hour, if the weather be dry and favourable you may take the roller out of the mould; hang it in a cool, dry, situation, or lay it horizontally in a rack made for the purpose, and the next day it will be sufficiently hardened for use. As there will be rather more of the compo at each end of the cylinder than would work clear of the frame in which it is to revolve, cut off from each extremity about half an inch, by encircling it with a piece of fine twine.”

There is a serious practical disadvantage in the mould being formed of two pieces; that of having a seam or ridge running the whole length on both sides of the roller. This seam prevents that accurate distribution of the ink which is essentially necessary, and increases the probability and danger of producing monks in the impression, which ought to be avoided as much as possible, as destructive to good printing.

708

I have at different times heard complaints of the difficulty of drawing the roller out of the mould, and of the injury it frequently receives from the surface being damaged, which spoils it, and makes it necessary to be recast. This accident occasions disappointment and loss of time; as cleaning the mould from the composition which adheres to it when this happens is tedious. I attribute this to the mould being made too thin, which expands when the hot mixture is poured into it, and contracts as the mixture cools, thus becoming, by the contraction, too small for the roller, and binding it so tight as to prevent its being drawn out with facility, and without great risk of injury.

I know one house in the Metropolis that makes rollers in the most perfect manner, and experiences little or no trouble in drawing them from the mould; and I know a person who had a mould made, with the same result. These moulds were made out of a solid cylinder of metal (tin, or type metal is equally good for the purpose, and more durable), the aperture bored to the size of the required roller, and carefully polished on the inside, the tube being thick, in some instances two inches, so that it was not much affected by the heat of the composition, the expansion being very trifling, and of course the contraction small in proportion; so that the roller when cold was not compressed by the mould, or so slightly as not to cause any inconvenience or damage to it in drawing out. The inside of the mould should be carefully wiped out before using, so as to be perfectly free from dust or dirt, and slightly oiled, which causes the roller to quit it more readily.

Preservation.—Mr. Hansard says, “To keep the rollers in good condition for working, a place should be chosen where the air has free circulation, without being subject to the extreme heat of the sun in Summer, or the freezing damp air in winter; in short, in as even a temperature as possible. It will be necessary to keep a stock of more rollers than are at work; as it is frequently found, when a roller is sick, or greasy, or soft, or you do not know what is its ailment, that washing it clean, and hanging it to rest for a time, restores it to as good a state as ever.

“One other circumstance must be noticed, namely, the influence of the variable temperatures of different situations on this composition. This I have had particular opportunities of knowing, from having carried on business in two distant offices. It frequently happened that when the compo was working kindly at one office, nothing could be more teazing than its progress at the other. Indeed, while I was supplied by those who make for the trade, one of my houses frequently gave them a great deal of trouble. I have heard both Foster and Harrild say, ‘that they were obliged to make a harder compo on purpose for my house and one or two others similarly situated, than the customary temper of the mixture:’ and, frequently, the only alternative was, to find me a roller that had got hard and useless at some other house, to suit the low temperature of mine. The difference was this—one of my houses had the press-room on the ground-floor, the joists and flooring lying on the earth; the sink room adjoining; wet sheets hanging very low; very little influence from the sun, and no thorough ventilation; consequently, from the humidity of the atmosphere engendered by these circumstances, it was a constant complaint that the compo was too soft. At my other house the press-room was on the two-pair floor; the poles very high; the sun’s rays had free admittance, and the ventilation was very complete. Here the compo, complained of as too soft at the former house, was all that could be wished: hence it became the roller-nursery; and by sending them to hang up a day or two, when out of order at the other place, they became firm and fit for work.”

709

From this statement it appears that any fixed proportions of the materials for the composition cannot answer generally, and that they must vary according to circumstances. And it may cause us to cease wondering at the number of recipes, and of the different proportions of the various articles, and at being told that they all answered very well; for it is evidently owing to the situation, whether moist or dry, of the press-room of a printing office, that different proportions of ingredients are requisite to make a roller work well, under different circumstances.

The usual method of keeping rollers in working condition is to cover them at night, and when they are not likely to be wanted for some time, with a coating of common or refuse ink; this does not dry, and prevents evaporation, and thus keeps them in working condition: the ink must be scraped off when they are required for use. A roller will get foul in the course of working, or become too hard, it should then be washed well with lye and the lye brush, which will remove the foulness, and it may be further washed with clean water and the hand to remove the lye, and to give it a clean surface; it would then be necessary to distribute it well on a clean table. It would be now advisable to proceed with the presswork with a fresh roller, and allow the one that was washed to have a rest, which generally improves its working condition. If a roller become too hard, and the surface is clean, then washing it with clean water and the hand, distributing it on a clean table, and placing it in a damp situation, will restore it; in fact, when the press-room is dry and well ventilated, keeping the rollers in a damp situation when not in use is preferable, in my opinion, to softening them with water, as the moisture is gradually imbibed by the composition, and makes it more uniformly soft and kind.

When rollers get too soft, the general practice is to hang them up in a current of cool dry air, which evaporates the superabundant moisture, cools the composition if the room has been too warm, and brings them to a good working state. But a more expeditious and effective method, is to sponge them with spirit of turpentine, which restores them to a proper condition sooner than any other method, and also cleans them more effectually than lye. If the same rollers are required to be used when it is necessary to change the colour of the ink, there is not any article that will clean them so expeditiously, and take the ink which had been used out of them so completely, as spirit of turpentine.

Occasionally the pressman finds that he cannot produce good and clear impressions with all the care and attention that he can bestow upon his work, and this when his roller seems to be in good condition, and no apparent cause can be assigned for the deficiency of quality; the roller is then said to be sick, or tired; and the only remedy that has yet answered to remove this inconvenience is to give the roller rest; that is, to hang it up, and take another roller for the work in hand; after resting for some time, it will be found that the sick or tired roller has resumed its original qualities, and will again produce good work.

Rollers, when not in use, should always be hung up in a shady place, which is generally done by one end of the frame, for if left on the inking table they would stick to it, and the composition would be torn in the act of separation; neither should they be exposed to the action of the rays of the sun in summer, which will soften the composition so much as to cause it to run, and thus spoil the roller. These observations apply equally to composition balls.

The following is an abstract of the French method of making and treating rollers.

710

The French roller-makers proportions are eight pounds of glue and twelve pounds of treacle, which is sufficient for four rollers used at press; the quantity required for those used at machines will vary according to their length and diameter.

Paris made glue is the best: it ought to be transparent, have little colour, and break like glass. Flexibility in glue is a proof of its weakness; and it is injured by being left in a damp place.

The treacle ought to be pure; the most compact is the best. To avoid being deceived, it is best to buy the refined. The old is weak, and not of a good quality for rollers.

In preparing to make four rollers, two pounds of good glue must be soaked in river water; the strength of the glue must determine how long; but if too long the glue loses its strength, and the rollers are injured.

This portion of the glue, thus soaked, is then put into the melting kettle, and placed over a fire, and stirred with a spatula; and when it is quite melted, the rest of the glue is added in similar portions, till the whole eight pounds are melted, which ought to have an hour’s boiling before adding the twelve pounds of treacle. The treacle is then gently poured into the melted glue, stirring them until they are well incorporated. This done, they are left over a moderate fire for an hour, stirring them with a spatula every ten minutes. The surface must be skimmed, and afterwards the vessel must be left a little time to slightly cool, before being poured into the mould.

The cylindrical tube in which the rollers are cast should be smeared in the inside with a brush with oil; neatsfoot oil is the best; and it is necessary that every part should be carefully oiled, and that the wooden cylinder should be well cleaned and free from moisture.

These observations can only apply generally to the making of rollers; it is practice which can alone furnish the particulars. The temperature varying in each season must be the object of special attention, as it renders the materials more or less flexible, and requires the composition to be more or less boiled.

It is a fault with rollers when they lug too much, as it detaches the composition from the wooden cylinder. When they are moist they should not be too much washed, as that also tends to make them lug, and detaches the composition. If they are used too soon after making, they distribute the ink badly, fill up the letters, and last but a very little time. They ought to be exposed to a current of air to dry them, and to be carefully scraped before being used, and again afterwards. If they are too dry they must be sponged all over and distributed upon the table until the water has disappeared, and then on a clean table, before taking ink. When they begin to grow old and hard by work, they must be washed in proper lye without being rinsed in water, and care and attention given to their wiping; and by these means they may be preserved for a considerable time. Rollers, when not in use, should be suspended in a place neither too dry nor too damp.

Recasting.—Before recasting old rollers, take great care to wash them well with lye, in order to detach the ink with which they are coated: if they are dry they must be scraped with a knife, as grease deteriorates the matter. Afterwards cut the composition all over with a knife, and it will then be easily detached from the wood. If it is new it will not need cutting, it will easily dissolve; if old it must be cut into little pieces, that it may dissolve more easily, and with less loss: if the composition is very strong, the little pieces must be washed in a pail of water, warm water is better than cold; add to it two pounds of treacle, for four rollers, 711 and so in proportion: when the matter draws out well in threads, the composition is good.

If the rollers have been recast many times, and they draw too much, they may be recast without adding fresh treacle or glue. Rollers which are recast are better than new; they are more elastic and less melting. With three pounds of glue, five pounds of treacle, and the matter of three old rollers, four rollers can be made; if a small glass of spirits of wine be added it will facilitate the dissolving.

The rollers fail the most frequently at the ends. They ought to be dry, and clear from grease. It is a good plan before using them to scrape them clean, and to sponge the ends for about an inch and a half with spirits of wine, and to leave them to dry; the gelatine draws better.

ROSE ENGINE.

The rose engine is, I believe, a French invention, and has long been used for turning ornaments on metal, for instance, watch cases and other articles of plate; it was afterwards applied to produce them to print from by the rolling press: during the sitting of the commission for inquiring into the best means for preventing the forgery of bank notes, about twenty years ago, Mr. Perkins introduced a specimen bank note which was partly executed by this machine; and the late Mr. Branston, then of the firm of Whiting and Branston, was, if I am not mistaken, the first to engrave by its means for letterpress printing, and the tickets and shares for the last state lottery were executed by it at Beaufort House. Its great value for the prevention of forgery is, that all circles, curved and angular lines produced by this machine are precisely similar to each other and true, however numerous, and however small or large; it would be next to impossible to produce the same designs, with the same accuracy, by the hand, and the operation would also be uncommonly tedious.

By the kindness of Mr. Holtzapffel I am enabled to introduce into this work a number of different patterns; only one specimen of each individual apparatus is given. The patterns which are capable of being produced are almost endless, and depend on the skill and taste of the operator; the variations in the designs being caused by different chucks being used in the operation; and the combinations of the effect produced by each chuck, either in straight lines, circles, ellipses, or as a ground covering the whole surface, in many instances are very delicate and have a beautiful effect. The following enumeration shows how the annexed specimens were produced.

Figs. 1. 10. Holtzapffel and Co.’s compound oval and eccentric chuck:—1. Two eccentric movements; 10. One oval and one eccentric movement. 2. 6. 8. Ibbetson’s geometric chuck, parts first, second and third. 3. Rose engine. 4. Straight line chuck. 5. Segment engine. 7. Oval chuck. 9. Eccentric chuck. 11. Eccentric chuck with the rose engine. 12. 15. Holtzapffel and Co.’s compound oval and eccentric chuck with the rose engine:—12. One oval and one eccentric movement; 15. Two eccentric movements. 13. Oval chuck with the rose engine. 14. Ibbetson’s compound eccentric chuck. 16. Geometric chuck combined with the rose engine. 17. Straight line chuck combined with the rose engine.

For details and descriptions of the various chucks, with the methods of operating with them, the reader is referred to Manuel de Tourneur, published by Bergeron in 1792, and to “Specimens in Eccentric Turning, with Practical Instructions. By John Holt Ibbetson, Esq.” Third Edition, 8vo. London. [1840.]

Mr. Ibbetson observes, “The number of beautiful designs which may be obtained by combining, on this principle, two circular adjusting movements 712 is inconceivable. Consecutive circles, &c. may be arranged, not only in elliptical curves, but in the shape of hearts—in straight lines—in triangles—in squares—in polygons, and in both inward and outward looped figures.”

713

714

ROUNCE.

The handle by means of which the carriage of the press is run in and out.

RUB OUT INK.

Rubbing the ink out smooth and even on the ink-block with the brayer, for the purpose of taking small quantities with the balls tolerably diffused over their face.—M. The thinner and more equally it is rubbed out on the ink-block the better, as it in a great measure prevents monks and friars in working. In fine works, where strong ink is used, the pressman who beats should occupy his spare time in using the brayer, as it not only diffuses the ink more equably on the block, but causes it to work better.

RUBY.

The name of a type, the next in size larger than Pearl and smaller than Nonpareil; it is half a Small Pica. Mr. Hansard, in his “Typographia,” gives the following account of its origin and name:—“It was, in fact, originally a Nonpareil with short ascenders and descenders, cast on a smaller body, or sometimes a Pearl, on a larger, to look open; but now some founders have a distinct specimen for this size. This name has but very lately been adopted in the type-founders’ specimens, but some years ago it was found, by the writer of this, absolutely necessary to give some distinguishing appellation to this size, as the letter-founders had given him one-nick Pearls of two bodies, viz. one fount half Small Pica, another half Long Primer; the mistakes arising from this circumstance in a house much in the habit of using small type occasioned the expedient of inventing a new name, and as the neighbouring sizes were called Pearl and Diamond, it seemed not very inapplicable to take the name of Ruby.”

RUCK.

In printing at machines, the paper, particularly if it be soft and not flat, in travelling round the cylinders frequently wrinkles; this is termed Rucking, or the Paper Rucks, or the Paper is Rucked; when this takes place, the sheets may be looked on as spoiled when it is for book work: the best preventative is to press the wet paper well in a powerful press for an hour or two, with small quantities between the boards, just before it goes to the machine. I would not recommend more than five quires in each portion, although I am aware that a ream is generally put in; but the smaller the quantity between each two boards the flatter the paper will be, and less likely to ruck.

RULES and REGULATIONS

proper to be observed in a Printing Office.

Compositors.

1. Compositors to receive their cases from the Overseer, or other person appointed by him, free from all pie, or other heterogeneous matter, with clean quadrat and space boxes to both roman and italic, which they are to return to him in the same clean state.

2. When a Compositor receives letter, furniture, &c. from the Overseer, he is to return what he does not use, in a satisfactory state.

715

3. Compositors to impose their matter when desired by the Employer or Overseer; and the same for proofs that are desired to be corrected; unless in either case it shall appear that all the stones are engaged.

4. When the Compositor imposes from a form, he is directly to tie up the pages of loose matter.

5. Forms, immediately after they are imposed, to be carried to the proof press; and the proofs, when pulled, to be given to the Reader, or carried into the reading closet, with, if a first proof, the copy, and, if a second, the foul proof.

6. No Compositor shall leave a foul stone, of letter, furniture, &c.

7. No Compositor to detain an imposing stone longer than the nature of the business may require.

8. When any cases are taken out of the racks, the Compositor is to return them into their proper place immediately after he has done with the same.

9. No cases to be placed over others, or under the frames.

10. Galleys with head lines, or other useful materials used during the course of a piece of work, to be cleared at furthest the day after the work is all completely at press.

11. When a work is finishing, the Compositor or Compositors concerned shall, as the forms are finally worked, clear them away; taking from them the head lines, white lines, and direction lines, as also the leads and reglets, which, with the furniture of each sheet, the matter being properly tied up for papering, are to be given to the Overseer, or any person he may appoint.

12. Sweepings of frames to be cleared away before one o’clock every day. Matter broken by accident to be cleared away on the same day.

13. No Compositor to mix two separate founts, without an express order from the Overseer.

14. When a Compositor carries his form down for press, he is not to put two forms together without a partition between them.

15. The saw, saw block, bowl, sponge, letter brush, shears, bellows, &c., to be returned to their respective places as soon as done with.

16. No person to take a candlestick, bodkin, snuffers, composing stick, &c., not his own, without permission of the owner.

17. No person to misplace cases in the rack, or take an upper without the lower case, or vice versâ.

18. Pie of any sort, on boards, windows, frames, &c., to be cleared after five minutes notice.

19. No person to take sorts from the frames or cases of another without leave; nor to hoard useful sorts, not immediately wanting them.

20. No person (except the Master or Overseer) to call off the errand boy while he is sweeping his rooms.

21. No candle to be left by any one, except in charge of some proper person; and the boundaries of the office to be considered, in all cases, the open air.

22. Jobs to be cleared away immediately after notice having been given by the Overseer.

23. These regulations, in cases of extreme hurry of business, by leave from the Master or Overseer, may be suspended; but, when that has ceased, to be immediately resumed.

24. No Compositor to throw for money or liquor.

25. Not to throw letters, quadrats, quoins, or furniture at each other.

716

Pressmen.

1. All proofs to be pulled within five minutes after notice, by the Pressmen who are in proofs.

2. Immediately after pulling a proof, the Pressmen to rub over the forms and chases with a lye brush, and place them against the Compositor’s frame to whom they belong, where they are to leave the proof.

3. Not to work without a figure unless particularly ordered.

4. As soon as a form is wrought off, the pressman to carry it to the lye trough, and there completely rub it over with lye, rinse it, and then carry it to the wrought-off place, or to the end of the Compositor’s frame it belongs to.

5. Not to leave the lye jar uncovered.

These rules may be varied to suit the business of the office in which they may be adopted, or the size of the establishment; in practice it will be found essentially necessary to have established rules and regulations, that the business may be carried on with method and good order.

Rules.

See Brass Rule. Metal Rules.

RUN IN THE CARRIAGE.

Running the form under the platen, by turning the rounce.—M. This corroborates my opinion that the coffin, plank, &c., and not the long ribs, constitute the carriage, and that it was so understood in the seventeenth century. See Carriage.

RUN OUT.

The running of the carriage from under the platen, by turning the rounce.

Run out from Copy.

—M. See Drive Out. This term is not now used.

RUNIC.

“Authors are much divided, as to the antiquity of the Runic characters; some suppose them to be very ancient, whilst others contend, that they are more modern than the ancient Gothic. Several writers affirm, that they were brought from Asia by the celebrated Woden. Olaus Wormius and Rudbeck contend, that they are older than the Greek. Mr. Wise says, that the Runic letters are found on coins, and on stone monuments, some of which may be near two thousand years old. He also supposes this alphabet to have been exceedingly ancient, and that it was formed from some alphabet of the Greeks, whilst it consisted of sixteen letters only, and before they had left the Eastern way of writing, from the right hand.

“The judicious Celsius was of opinion, that the Runic letters were nothing more than Roman letters, with the curves changed into straight lines, for the ease of engraving on hard substances. The learned and ingenious author of the History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire says, that the oldest Runic inscriptions are supposed to be of the third century; and he adds, that the most ancient writer, who mentions the Runic characters, is Venantius Fortunatus, who lived towards the end of the sixth century. Our opinion on the evidence before us, is, that the report of Woden having brought the Runic letters from Asia is entirely fabulous; that the tales of Rudbeck and Olaus Wormius, do not deserve the least attention; that Mr. Wise, though a respectable writer, is mistaken as to the antiquity of the Runic letters; that the opinion of the learned Celsius is nearly true, and that the Runic characters are composed partly of ancient Gothic and Greek letters, and partly of Roman, deformed and corrupted, probably by the Necromancers of the north, who used them in their spells and incantations, to which they were greatly addicted. The forms of several Runic letters, compared with the Greek and Gothic alphabets, sufficiently prove this observation. For instance, the Runic F or Fei, is a rude imitation of the 717 Roman F, with the same vocal powers. The O or Oys, is an inverted digamma, with the power of the Roman U, that is of ou or W. R or Ridhur, is evidently the Roman R, with the same powers. I or Iis, is the Gothic and Roman I. S or Sol, is a resemblance of the ancient Greek Σ, with the same power. T or Tyr is an imitation of the Greek Tau, or Roman T. B or Biarkan is the Greek Beta, or Roman B; and L or Lagur appears to have been taken from the Grecian Lambda. We are of opinion, that the resemblances above pointed out, sufficiently evince, that the Runic characters are derived from the Greek, Gothic, and Roman letters.

“In the year 1001, the Swedes were persuaded by the Pope to lay aside the Runic letters, and to adopt the Roman in their room. In the year 1115, the Runic letters were condemned in Spain, by the council of Toledo. They were abolished in Denmark in the beginning of the fourteenth century, and in Iceland soon after.

“The order of the old Runic alphabet, which consisted of sixteen letters, was as follows: F, U, D, O, R, K, H, N, I, A, S, T, B, L, M, YR. It is not known when the order of the Runic alphabet was confounded, but we do not suppose that it is of greater antiquity upon that account.”—Astle.

Milman has the following remarks on the opinion of Gibbon quoted above by Mr. Astle: “The obscure subject of the Runic characters has exercised the industry and ingenuity of the modern scholars of the north. There are three distinct theories; one, maintained by Schlözer (Nordische Geschichte, p. 481, &c.), considers their sixteen letters to be a corruption of the Roman alphabet, post-Christian in their date, and Schlözer would attribute their introduction into the north to the Alemanni. The second, that of Frederick Schlegel (Vorlesungen über alte und neue Literatur), supposes that these characters were left on the coasts of the Mediterranean and Northern Seas by the Phœnicians, preserved by the priestly castes, and employed for purposes of magic. Their common origin from the Phœnician would account for their similarity to the Roman letters. The last, to which we incline, claims a much higher and more venerable antiquity for the Runic, and supposes them to have been the original characters of the Indo-Teutonic tribes, brought from the East, and preserved among the different races of that stock. See Über Deutsche Runen, von W. C. Grimm, 1821. A Memoir by Dr. Legis. Fundgruben des alten Nordens. Foreign Quarterly Review, vol. ix. p. 438.”—Gibbon, chap. ix. note ¹⁶.

The University of Oxford are in possession of the matrices of a Pica Runic, which is the only one in England.

Running Title.

See Head Line.

RUNS ON SORTS.

When matter runs much on some few sorts of letters, they say it runs on sorts. See Sorts.—M.

RUSSIAN.

In the Russian alphabet there are thirty-four letters.

The English letters, made use of in explaining the sound of the Russian characters, are to be pronounced as follows:

ā as in fate.

a as in far.

ē as in me.

é as in met.

e as e mute.

ō as in no.

o as in not.

oo as in mood.

u as in pure.

g as in game.

j as the French j.

z as in zephyr.

ch as the Scotch pronunciation of ch in loch, och! &c.

tch as in fetch.

sh as in shame.

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The Russian Alphabet.

The Russian Alphabet.

А а	ah,	ex. ба́ба, an old woman, baba.
Б б	bā,	ба́бочка, a butterfly, babotchka.
В в	vā,	вода́, water, voda.
Г г	gā,	годъ, a year, goad.
Д д	dā,	домъ, a house, dōm.
Е е	ā,	ведро́, a pail, védrō.
Ж ж	jā,	жена́, a woman, jéna.
З з	zā,	зо́лото, gold, zolotō.
И и	ē,	видъ, a view, vēēdd.
І і	ē,	used before a vowel only, ex. мнѣ̀ніе, opinion, mnānēā.
К к	ka,	ex, Коро́ль, a king, Korole.
Л л	él,	ма́ло, little, malō.
М м	ém,	ма́рморъ, marble, marmor.
Н н	én,	нашъ, our, nash.
О о	o,	окно́, a window, oknō.
П п	pā,	пе́пелъ, ashes, pépéll.
Р р	r,	ра́но, early, ranō.
С с	s,	спасе́ніе, salvation, spasānēā.
Т т	ta,	тве́рдость, hardness, tvérdoste.
У у	oo,	у̀тро, morning, ootrō.
Ф ф	éf,	флагъ, a flag, flagg.
Х х	kha,	a guttural sound, resembling the Scotch pronunciation of ch in loch, &c., ex. хитрость, cunning, chēētroste.
Ц ц	tsā,	(a combination of т and с,) ex. Царь, a king, tsar.
Ч ч	tcha,	ex. человѣ̀къ, a man, tchélovayk.
Ш ш	sha,	шерсть, wool, schārste.
Щ щ	sh-tcha,	(a combination of ш and ч) ex. ще́дрость, bounty, sh-tchédroste.
ъ	yerr,	used at the end of words terminating in a consonant, to which it gives a hard sound, ex. столъ, a table, stoll.
ы	u͡ē	guttural, ex. ры̀ба, a fish, ru͡eba.
ь	yāre,	used at the end of words terminating in a consonant, to which it gives a soft sound, nearly corresponding to the English e mute, ex. ра́дость, joy, radoste.
Ѣ ѣ	yā,	ex. рѣка́, a river, rāyka.
Э э	ē,	эконо́мъ, a land-steward, ékōnom.
Ю ю	you,	ю̀ноша, a youth, younosha.
Я я	ya,	я̀рость, fury, yaroste.
Ѳ ѳ	fā,	ариѳме́тика, arithmetic, arēfmétēka.

719

Most of the above letters invariably retain their proper sound, the following however are subject to slight variations.

Г, gā. In some instances bears the sound of a strongly aspirated h: геро́й, a hero, héroy; генера́лъ, a general, héneral; Госпо́дь, Lord, Hospod, and in the terminations of adjectives and pronouns, in the genitive case, may be pronounced either as v or h, его́, yāho or yāvo; что но́ваго? what news, tchtō nōvahō, or nōvavō?

Е, ā. At the commencement of words bears the sound of yā, ex. есть, it is, yaste; едва́, scarcely, yādva. When it precedes two consonants, or a consonant followed by the hard sign, ъ, it generally bears the sound of yeo, as in yeoman, the accent falling upon o, ex. медъ, honey, me͡odd; ленъ, flax, le͡onn; орелъ, an eagle, ore͡oll.

ѣ, yā. Is pronounced like yā at the commencement of a word, and like ā in the middle or at the end, ex. ѣхать, to ride, yachat; лѣность, idleness, lānoste; настолѣ, on the table, na stollāy.

There are eleven vowels in the Russian alphabet, which are divided into hard and soft.

Hard а, о, у, ы.

Soft я, е, ю, и, і, з, ѣ.

In the combination of vowels with consonants, they are subject to the following variations:

The letter	ы	following	г, к, х, ж, ч, ш, or щ changes into		u
—	я	—	г, к, х, ж, ч, ш, щ, or ц	—	a
—	ю	—	г, к, х, ж, ч, ш, щ, or ц	—	y
—	о	—	ж, ч, ш, щ, or ц	—	e
—	е	—	г, к, х,	—	o
—	и	before another vowel		—	i

The only diphthongs in the Russian language are those formed by the combination of и with the other vowels: ай, ей, ій, ой, ый, яй. When и occurs without the ˘ it must be pronounced separately from the vowel, which precedes it, ex. воинъ, a warrior, vo-een. Whenever two vowels occur together in a word (excepting the above-mentioned diphthongs) each bears its full and separate sound, ex. воображе́ніе, imagination, vō-ob-ra-jā-nē-ā—A Practical Grammar of the Russian Language, by James Heard. 2 Parts, 12mo. St. Petersburg, 1827.

RUTHVEN’S PRESS.

Ruthven’s patent press differs materially from all others. Instead of the form of types being rolled under the platen, and back again when the impression has been made, the type form remains stationary upon the iron table, the platen is drawn over it, and the impression is obtained by means of a lever working vertically like the handle of a pump, and acting by connecting levers upon both sides of the platen, so as to draw it down with ease and effect. It is a good and powerful press, but the head and platen are heavy and require exertion to push them back off the form, and more particularly as the ribs, if the grooves in which the wheels attached to the head and platen travel may be so called, form an inclined plane, which causes the platen to come forward over the form with but little exertion.