GAELIC.

The Gaelic alphabet consists of eighteen letters: a, b, c, d, e, f, g, h, i, l, m, n, o, p, r, s, t, u. Of these, five are vowels, a, e, i, o, u; the rest consonants.—Stewart’s Gaelic Grammar. 8vo. 2d. edit. 1812.

“It may be explanatory to mention, that the syllable Kil is supposed to mark the residence (the Cella), in ancient times of an ecclesiastical recluse; and that Kin, Ken (Cean) means head. Ken-loch-Spelvie, &c. the Head of Loch Spelvie, &c. The letter C is always pronounced K in Welsh and Gaelic”—Sixth Report of Commissioners for Building Churches in the Highlands of Scotland. Appendix, 1831. Note.

GALLEY.

Pieces of thin boards of different sizes, with ledges about three fifth parts of the height of the letter on one end and one side, for the types to rest against; others are made with a slice to slide out, and keep a large page on without disturbing it, the coffin having several slices fitted to it.—M. The use of the galley is to receive the matter as it is composed, and to afford a level on which to make up the pages.

Galleys are made of different sizes to suit the different works on which a compositor may be employed; if it be a reprint, page for page, he avoids encumbering his cases with large galleys, but takes one that will hold a page comfortably, completes his page, ties it up, and slips it upon a page paper, and thus proceeds; but if the work be not a mere reprint, and is done in a companionship, then, as each compositor must be setting at random, the work will require different sorts of galleys, which must contain more matter; in the latter case he will take one of the proper width for the page, but that will contain two pages or more, in length, or one double that width with a ledge down the middle, so as to hold two pages in width.

For works in quarto or folio he must have galleys of a greater width, so as to enable him to have a quantity of matter at random till he gets the making up; in doing this, where the page is in folio and large, it is safer to make up on a slice galley, when he draws the slice out with the page on it and places it under his frame, and thus proceeds till he has made up a sheet, when he slides his pages off the slice upon the stone to impose them; he must in this case have four slices at least. The following is a representation of a slice galley:

For newspaper work brass galleys are employed, the bottoms thin, and the ledges of brass which are on both sides and one end, while the other end has a moveable ledge which fits into mortises in the sides; by this means the compositor is enabled, when a galley full is composed, to put a sidestick and footstick to it and quoin it, and pull a proof in the galley.

Galleys are generally made of mahogany: those made of the old panels of coaches are held to be the best, as the wood, being well seasoned, is less apt to split or bend, and keeping their flat level surface is requisite.

Galley Slave. See Ancient Customs.

GALLOWS.

In wooden presses, a frame made of two pieces of wood and a transverse piece, placed behind the tympans, to support them at a proper angle when they are turned up. The transverse piece is nearly as long as the tympans are wide, so that the frame can rest upon it: they are inclined towards the tympans and form an abutment, and are placed in sockets so as to be easily taken out when necessary.

GALLOWS SOCKETS.

Two pieces of wood with square mortises in them, to receive the ends of the gallows; they are nailed or screwed upon the plank behind the tympans. The mortises are inclined towards the tympans.

GALVANISM.

Another great discovery has been published, in addition to those important ones of Sir Humphry Davy, which he made at the Royal Institution, of the decomposing powers of galvanism, the brilliant effects of which, I well remember, excited wonder and astonishment in the crowded audiences that assembled in the lecture room of that establishment.

The one that is the subject of the present article, promises to be of great utility in the arts, by giving the means of obtaining facsimiles of engraved copper plates, of engravings on wood, of coins, medals, embossings, in short, of any engraved article, whether in cameo or intaglio. The productions by this process have been named Electrotype.

This is effected by placing the object to be copied in a solution of any metal, when the galvanic action precipitates the metal from the liquid that held it in solution, upon the engraving that is to be copied. This precipitation or deposition assumes the form of a cake of pure metal, with every line, however delicate, and every inequality, however minute, on its surface, so as to form a matrix or mould in the highest state of perfection.

When the matrix is thus formed, the engraving is withdrawn from the solution of metal, and the matrix substituted; the galvanic action is again renewed; a deposition of the metal upon the matrix now takes place; and the result is, a perfect facsimile of the original.

This is a short sketch of the principle of this discovery. It belongs to chemistry rather than to printing, to explain why the metal is precipitated in a solid mass and not in a fine powder; but such is the fact. The discovery has been applied to the production of facsimiles of engraved copper plates with the most complete success; and as it is now in a state of progress to produce copies of engravings on wood, and pages of types, so as to be applicable to letterpress printing, I will endeavour to give the present state of knowledge with respect to this application of the discovery, the process, and also specimens.

It is said that the discovery of this application of galvanism originated in perceiving a thin deposition of copper at the bottom of a galvanic battery, which, on being removed, displayed on its under surface a perfect cast of the bottom of the cell, and suggested an extended application. Be this as it may, the fact was noticed by Mr. Warren De la Rue, of Bunhill Row, in a communication to the Philosophical Magazine of September, 15, 1836, (vol. 9. p. 484,) where he says, “The zinc plate is always partially covered with a coating of copper, which, however, is not detrimental to the power of the battery: the copper plate is also covered with a coating of metallic copper, which is continually being deposited; and so perfect is the sheet of copper thus formed, that on being stripped off, it has the polish and even a counterpart of every scratch of the plate on which it is deposited.” The discovery of the application is claimed by two persons, M. Jacobi, a Russian, and Mr. Thomas Spencer of Liverpool. The latter presented a pamphlet containing the results of his discovery, and an account of his experiments, to the British Association in 1839, at which time M. Jacobi’s specimens were present and exhibited at the same meeting. Mr. Spencer has since prosecuted his experiments, and liberally given the details and the results to the public, in different publications; so that it is in fact to this latter gentleman that we are indebted for our information on the subject; but as it is now in the hands of a number of persons of ingenuity and ability, who are prosecuting experiments on it, there is little doubt but that it will soon be brought to a state approaching nearly to perfection.

As copper is usually employed for engravings, and is equally applicable to letterpress printing as to that of the rolling press; as it is easily obtained in solution, and is not an expensive article for this purpose, the process as here described is with that metal; other metals have been used for experiments, and it has been stated that articles in silver or gold may be produced with equal facility where facsimiles of them may be required, but the production of them in gold is doubtful.

In the process there are various things to be considered. Among which may be particularly mentioned the fact, that the solidity of the deposited metal entirely depends on the weakness or intensity of the electric action. This action may be regulated by increasing or decreasing the thickness of the plaster of Paris which separates the two metals, and by the coarseness or fineness of the material. Mr. Cooper states, “I made three similar experiments, altering the texture and thickness of the plaster each time, by which I ascertained that if the plaster partitions were thin and coarse, the metallic deposition proceeded with great rapidity, but the crystals were friable and easily separated; on the other hand, if I made the partition thicker, and of a little finer material, the action was much slower, and the metallic deposition was as solid and ductile as copper formed by the usual methods; indeed the action was exceedingly slow. I have made a metallic deposition apparently much harder than common sheet copper; but more brittle.”

A friend of mine used a common garden pot, with a cork in the perforation through the bottom, which answered very well, the copper deposited being fine and tough. I think a wine cooler would be a good vessel for that purpose, being porous; and either may be at hand, when there is not a suitable glass, or any plaster of Paris.

Mr. Crosse has stated, in the account of his experiments on the crystallization of metals, that he succeeded best when the solutions were kept at a boiling temperature; and Mr. Spencer informs us, that by keeping the solutions he employed at a temperature of from one hundred and twenty to one hundred and eighty degrees of Fahrenheit, he was able to abridge the time otherwise required, three or four fold.

In all scientific experiments, care and attention are requisite for a successful result: in this instance, let an uninterrupted circuit be maintained for the electricity, and let the wire have a perfect metallic contact with the plates which it connects; when it is an engraving on wood, bore a hole in the side of the block, and insert the wire in it. The zinc may be with advantage occasionally taken out of the saline solution during the operation, and cleaned in water. In the choice and application of the plates, it is better that they should be, as nearly as possible, of the same size, and it is of importance that the zinc should be as thick as the required deposition of copper, but it is easy when necessary to renew the zinc again and again. That the solution of the sulphate of copper may be continued in the necessary state, crystals of that substance should be occasionally added. When the process is long continued, the solution should be changed, for the sulphuric acid, which is set free by the deposition of the metallic copper, prevents the further action.

This was the first method; the plan now practised, to prevent any stoppage of the galvanic action by an excess of sulphuric acid occasioned by the decomposition of the sulphate of copper and the deposition of its copper in a metallic state, is to put into the acid a piece of copper in connexion with the positive pole, and thus, as the acid is set free by the galvanic action, it forms a new combination with the copper, and continues the supply of the sulphate without the necessity of changing the contents of the vessel.

In obtaining casts by this process, it must be borne in mind, that no metallic deposition can be made by voltaic electricity without the presence of a metallic surface or nucleus upon which to deposit: but this metallic surface should be given only to the part which is to be copied; the sides and bottom of the block may be covered with a varnish composed of shell lac dissolved in spirit of wine, which will prevent any metallic deposition from taking place upon those parts, as also the moisture from penetrating into the wood, and the deposition will in consequence be confined to the engraved surface.

In the management of the simple apparatus which is employed in electrotype, it is necessary to have the binding-screws, wires, and all the metallic surfaces, quite clean and bright, as also to avoid touching with the fingers that part on which the metal is to be deposited.

With regard to the first application of galvanism to the production of facsimiles of engravings on wood, Mr. Spencer states, after the publication of his pamphlet, “The wood engraving being given, take a piece of lead the required size; let its superfice be about one-eighth of an inch larger all round than that of the wood block. The lead must now be planed, just as a piece of soft wood; (the tool termed by a joiner a try plane does best;) a clear bright surface is thus obtained, such as I have been unable to get by any other means. The engraved surface of the wood must now be laid on the planed surface of the lead, and both put carefully in a press; should the engraving have more than two inches of superfices, a copying press is not powerful enough. Whatever press is used, the subject to be copied must be cautiously laid in the centre of the pressure, as a very slight lateral force will in some degree injure the process; the pressure to be applied regularly, and not with a jerk. When the pressure is deemed complete, they may be taken out, and if, on examination, the lead is not found to be completely up, the wood engraving may be neatly relaid on the lead, and again submitted to the press, using the same precaution as before. When the lead is taken out, a wire should be soldered to it immediately, and it should then be put into the apparatus without loss of time, as the less it is subjected to the action of the atmosphere the better: care should also be taken not to touch the surface with the fingers.”

Mr. Spencer also states that plumbers, who have handled lead for the greater portion of their lives, are astonished to find it so susceptible of pressure. On the contrary, wood engravers did not, until now, imagine that their blocks would stand the pressure of a screw press on a lead surface without injury; but such is the fact in both instances. In the manner in which box wood is used for wood engravings, being in horizontal sections, it will sustain a pressure of 8,000 lbs. without injury, provided the pressure is perfectly perpendicular.

Mr. Spencer has omitted to mention the size of the engraving; if it were one inch square, it would have a pressure of 8,000 lbs. on that inch; if it were nine inches square, it would only have a pressure of 100 lbs. on the square inch: with my experience of printing engravings on wood, I would not venture to submit one to a pressure of 8,000 lbs. to the inch for fear of crushing the lines. I mention this as a caution; it may prevent an accident.

This appears to have been the first method tried to produce a facsimile of an engraving on wood by means of galvanism, with a metallic mould obtained by impressing the engraved block upon a piece of lead. This not appearing to be perfectly satisfactory, other persons were induced to endeavour to make the discovery available for letterpress printing without the risk of injury to the engraving, to which this plan seemed liable; and the next advance towards the perfection of the process was an important one, being the introduction of the real object intended to be copied in the stead of the substituted mould, and obtaining a matrix from it at once by means of the galvanic process without resorting to any intermediate measures. This improvement was made by Mr. Robert Murray, who proposed “in January last to cover the surface of the wood with plumbago [black lead], so as to render it a conductor; and then to proceed in the usual manner for obtaining an electrotype copy,” as he informed me in a communication of the 21st of July, 1840. It is but fair to state, that this use of black lead has been objected to by some engravers on wood, as having a tendency to fill up the lines of a delicate engraving, and so to deteriorate the impressions taken from it; but I am now furnishing the public with the means of deciding on this question, by presenting an impression from an electrotype copy, executed by Mr. Murray according to his own ingenious plan, by the side of one from the original wood engraving, and I leave it to bear witness for itself. I cannot perceive any deterioration in the copy, nor any difference between the two impressions: in fact they appear as if they were duplicate impressions from the same engraving.

The following letter, addressed to the editor of the Athenæum, by Mr. Spencer, which appeared in that publication on the 4th of July, 1840, details another method of obtaining a metallic surface for an engraving on wood, &c. for the purpose of inducing the galvanic deposition of copper upon it and obtaining a copper mould, which appears to be free from the objections that have been raised to gilding, bronzing, and to black lead.

“In my pamphlet, printed last September, I there stated I considered the process comparatively incomplete, unless we were able to apply it to the multiplication of models in clay or wood, castings in plaster, wood engravings, &c., as the fact, that galvanic deposition always requires a metallic surface to act on, seemed to set bounds to those branches of its application. I then resorted to various expedients to surmount the difficulty; among others, that of gilding and bronzing the surfaces of such materials to a limited extent: this was successful, but still troublesome and expensive, and, more than all, the sharpness and beauty of the original was necessarily injured. I have since attempted to metallize surfaces by the use of plumbago (suggested to me many months ago by Mr. Parry of Manchester).

“Should I be desirous of obtaining a copper mould or cast from a piece of wood, plaster, or clay, or, indeed, any non-metallic material, I proceed as follows:—Suppose it is an engraved wooden block, and I am desirous of metallizing it, in order that I may be able to deposit copper on its surface (this example will hold good for any other material), the first operation is to take strong alcohol in a corked glass vessel, and add to it a piece of phosphorus (a common phial corked will answer the purpose); the vessel must now be placed in hot water for a few minutes, and occasionally shaken. By this means the alcohol will take up about a 300th of its bulk of phosphorus, and we thus obtain what I would term an alcoholic solution of phosphorus. The next operation is to procure a weak solution of nitrate of silver; place it in a flat dish or a saucer; the engraved face of the block must now be dipped in this solution, and let remain for a few seconds, to allow capillary action to draw it into the wood.

“This operation being performed, a small portion of the alcoholic solution of phosphorus must now be poured in a capsule or watch-glass, and this placed on a sand-bath, that it may be suffered to evaporate. The block must now be held with its surface over the vapour, and an immediate change takes place; the nitrate of silver becomes deoxidized and gives place to a metallic phosphoret of silver, which allows the voltaic deposit to go on with as much rapidity and certainty as the purest silver or copper.

“The whole process may be performed in a few minutes, and with absolute certainty of success. The interior or exterior surface of a plaster or clay mould of a statue, no matter what size, may be thus metallized with equal facility. For the process of vaporizing, and should the material to be acted on not be very large, I prefer fastening it to the top of a bell glass receiver with a bit of pitch or cement, and thus placing it over the capsule on the sand-bath; the phosphoric vapour is by this means equally diffused and not dissipated. An ethereal solution of phosphorus also answers; and a solution of either of the chlorides of gold or platinum may be used. I am inclined to think this process, independent of its uses in galvanic precipitation, may be applicable to other branches of art. I would recommend those curious of testing its effects, to try a small and sharp plaster of Paris medallion: dip its surface in a weak solution of nitrate of silver and take it out immediately; fasten it to the bottom of a glass tumbler, and at the same time have a little hot sand ready in a dish; lay the watch glass containing a few drops of the phosphoric solution on it; now place the mouth of the tumbler over all, and the medallion will be observed almost instantly to change colour. The operation is now completed. A piece of pottery ware in the state of biscuit may be acted on in a similar manner.

“Liverpool, June 27.

Thomas Spencer.”

Apparatus and process.—The annexed figure and explanation will afford an example of the action of a voltaic apparatus, and will be sufficient to render the subsequent details intelligible. a is a vessel filled with a solution of common salt, which is a compound of chlorine and sodium; b is a tube immersed therein, closed at the lower end with a piece of bladder stretched over it and firmly tied; this tube is filled with a solution of blue vitriol, that is, a compound of sulphuric acid and oxide of copper. A plate of copper c, and one of zinc z, connected by means of the wire w, are immersed in those fluids. The zinc decomposes the salt, with the chlorine of which it unites, forming chloride of zinc, while the sodium of the salt is repelled, and passing through the bladder, enters the solution of sulphate of copper, which it decomposes, uniting with the sulphuric acid and oxygen to form sulphate of soda, and setting free pure copper in the form of beautiful crystals, which are deposited on the plate c. The connecting wire w serves to convey electricity from c to z, and thus the action is maintained so long as any common salt and sulphate of copper remain undecomposed.

Mr. Spencer’s first attempt was made with a piece of thin copper plate, which he covered with a cement of beeswax, resin, and Indian or Calcutta red. The plate received its coating while hot, and on becoming cool, the experimenter scratched the initials of his name upon the plate, being careful to clear away all the cement from the scratches, so as to expose the copper below. A piece of zinc was attached to this plate by a copper wire, and the voltaic current was set in action by means of the simple apparatus shown in the adjoining figure.

a may be supposed to represent a glass vessel of convenient form. b a gas glass stopped at the lower end p, by a piece of plaster of Paris, to the depth of three quarters of an inch, z a plate of zinc, and c a similar piece of copper, a coin or any other metallic substance to be acted upon; and these two are connected by a copper wire, w. The inner vessel may be kept in its place by a cork, or any other means that may happen to be more convenient. A solution of sulphate of soda is poured into the gas glass, and the wire connecting the zinc and copper plates being bent, as shown in the figure, the zinc plate is immersed into the solution of sulphate of soda, and the copper plate into the solution of sulphate of copper.

In a few hours Mr. Spencer, in his experiments, found that the portion of the copper rendered bare by the scratches was coated with the pure bright deposited metal, while those portions which were still covered with cement were not acted on. It now became an important inquiry whether the deposition would retain its hold on the plate, and whether it would be of sufficient solidity to bear working from; that is, supposing an etching or engraving to be made, and the lines to be afterwards filled up with copper by the voltaic process, whether such lines could be printed from.

In order to answer this last question, Mr. Spencer coated with cement a piece of copper, and with a steel point endeavoured to draw lines in the form of network, so as to penetrate the cement and expose the copper. After this plate had been exposed to voltaic action, and then heated, so as to get off the covering of cement, the copper network came off with it. This happened many times; but by an accident it occurred to the experimenter to employ nitric acid to the plate, after it had been cemented and engraved on as before. It was then subjected to the voltaic process for forty-eight hours, when the lines were found to be entirely filled with copper. On applying heat, and then turpentine to get off the cement, it was found that the voltaic copper had completely combined with the plate on which it was deposited.

A plate was then coated with cement, and lines worked upon it by an engraver; but these lines were of a wedge-shaped form, leaving only a hair line of the copper exposed at the bottom, and a broad space near the surface; and where the turn of the letters took place, the top edges of the lines were galled and rendered rugged by the action of the graver. All this was objectionable; but another plate, similarly prepared, and engraved on with a sharp point, had the copper deposited on the lines; and this was printed from successfully.

This was an attempt to deposit lines upon a plate of copper by the galvanic action, and thus form an engraving in relief, which I have doubts of being successfully practised with finished subjects.

The application of heat separates the two metals, in consequence of their different expansibility when subjected to its influence.

Mr. Spencer gives the form of another apparatus on a more extended scale, which he recommends, as it may be employed in large works.

a is an earthenware vessel to receive the copper plate and the solution of sulphate of copper, in which it is to be exposed. b is another vessel of earthenware or wood, of such a size that it may fit into the outer one, as shown in the drawing; the bottom of this vessel being formed of plaster of Paris, or some other porous substance, which while it retains the solution of common salt may permit the voltaic action to go on without impediment. c is the copper plate to be acted on by the electricity upon which copper is to be deposited. z is the zinc plate, and the two are united by the wire w, which may either be done in the manner exhibited in the second engraving, or by the use of a binding screw s.

I have been anxious to give specimens of this discovery in its application to letterpress printing, with some account of the process by which copies are obtained from engravings on wood. I am gratified in being enabled to do this, and to give two subjects, by different processes in producing the matrices or moulds.

No. 1. is an impression from an engraving on wood by the late Mr. Branston, which I give for the purpose of comparing the copy with the original. From this engraving Mr. Murray, having metallized the surface with plumbago, according to his method, to induce a deposition of the copper upon it, obtained a copper mould by galvanic action; from this mould No. 2. was produced by the same process, and is an impression from the electrotype copy of No. 1.

No. 3. is an impression from an engraving on wood, from which a matrix was prepared in type metal by the process called polytype; this matrix was submitted to the galvanic action by Mr. Murray, and the deposition of copper produced the electrotype copy from which the impression No. 4. is printed.

No. 5. is a polytype copy in type metal from the same matrix as No. 4. These impressions are placed in juxtaposition, for the purpose of giving an opportunity of comparing them, and forming a true estimate of their respective merits.

There have been many attempts in London to obtain an electrotype copy of a page of types, but hitherto, I believe, without success; the difficulty arising from the deposition of copper getting under the projecting parts of the kerned letters, and also penetrating into the interstices between the letters and the words, and thus preventing the mould from being disengaged from the types, without using force and destroying a great number of letters. The following, No. 6., is an imperfect specimen of a page of diamond types, by Mr. Robert Branston, an engraver of eminence in wood, and Mr. Warren De la Rue. There are many difficulties yet to be overcome in the process of obtaining electrotype copies of types; but it will show what has already been accomplished, and I have not the least doubt that the combined skill and perseverance of Mr. Branston and Mr. De la Rue will in a short time overcome those difficulties, and produce perfect copies with ease and certainty.

The method adopted to procure this was as follows:—A mould in plaster of Paris was first obtained, and a stereotype plate was cast in it; high spaces and quadrats were used, to prevent as much as possible the inconvenience before spoken of; a mould was then obtained from the stereotype plate by the polytype process, in type metal, and from that mould, by the galvanic action, the electrotype copy from which the specimen No. 6. was printed.

In the first instance, the plan recommended by Mr. Spencer in the Athenæum of the 4th of July, 1840, of preparing the surface of the mould with silver, was adopted, but the sulphuric acid acted on the plaster of Paris of which it was formed, and rendered it useless.

Since the preceding was written and in print, I have been informed that Mr. Spencer has been more successful than the London experimenters, for, in a letter to me, dated Glasgow, September 17th, 1840, he says, “Had I been at home I should have sent you a copy of the first pamphlet, where you would have seen an octavo page of stereotyping by the Voltaic process.”

In the present early state of electrotyping we find that, as it is formed by the solution in water of a salt composed of sulphuric acid and copper, it is of course thinner and the copper more attenuated than type metal is when in a state of fusion; it will necessarily penetrate into all the delicately engraved parts of a subject more completely than melted metal, and must therefore produce a more perfect facsimile than a casting; I believe this is undeniable, for copies of copper plate engravings of great fineness have been produced in the highest state of perfection as facsimiles. Another point is, that copper is tougher than type metal, and not so liable to have the letters break off and fail in the process of printing, and of consequence will be more durable. But it appears to me that one of its most valuable applications will be to the printing of Bibles, for by obtaining copper matrices of the pages by this process new editions may be multiplied to any extent, and when the plates are much worn they may be renewed at any future time, without incurring the expense of recomposing the book; which is not the case with stereotype plates. But the applicability of the discovery is as yet in its infancy, as these specimens are, I believe, the first that have been published of impressions of letterpress electrotype plates, and the ingenuity of man is at work to extend and improve the discovery.

In giving the foregoing account of experiments that have been made on this discovery of the application of galvanism to the production of copies of the works of art, and more particularly with respect to engravings on wood, as connected with letterpress printing, to which this work is confined, it is evident that the persons making these experiments are not availing themselves of the information which may easily be procured, that is, of ascertaining what are the requisites to enable a printer to make use of these copies in the regular way of business; excepting this be done, the discovery will not be available for general purposes, and will be viewed only as a curiosity: one point, to which I would particularly draw their attention, is the difficulty experienced in separating the matrix from the original, and again of separating the copy from the matrix; in both these cases they have the deposition of copper too thin, and in the act of separation both the matrix and the copy are twisted and distorted; they are then filled in at the back with some soft metal, which is planed in a rough manner, and delivered in this condition, unfit for the press, at which it is almost impossible to obtain a good impression. I would suggest that the deposition of copper should be continued for a longer time, so as to have the metal thicker, both in the matrix and the copy; if any irregularity in the surface then take place in the act of separation, it ought to be reduced before it is filled in with metal at the back; when that is done it should be turned in a lathe, as stereotype plates now are; it would thus be of an equal thickness throughout without any unevenness on the surface or back, and when mounted type-high might be printed without more trouble than wood cuts or stereotype plates are; thus enabling the printer to produce impressions without difficulty that would show the merits of the discovery in a fair manner, which at present cannot be done without great trouble and loss of time.

GARTER.

In wooden presses, two flat pieces of iron with a semicircle cut in one end of each, and a projecting part at the other ends; in the projecting parts there is a hole at each end, those in the front piece for a screw to go through, and those in the back piece are tapped to receive a screw.

The hose has a horizontal mortise through it, exactly at the groove in the spindle; this mortise is to receive the garter, which, when driven close up from back and front, clasps the spindle in the groove by means of its semicircular ends, which are made to fit into this groove; and the two parts are kept firmly together by the screws that pass through the projecting ends on two sides of the hose.

Its use is to lift up the platen on the return of the bar, to admit the carriage to be run in and out.

GATHER BOOKS.

Gathering of books is to take one sheet off every heap, beginning at the last sheet first, viz. at the left hand end of the range.—M. We now reverse the heaps, and place the first signature where they used to place the last; they then gathered, placing each sheet upon the other: we now gather under each sheet, which is a much quicker way. See Gathering.

Gather Corrections. See Corrections.

GATHERING.

In making the printed sheets of a work up into copies in the warehouse for delivery, a number of them in orderly succession are folded together, which is called a gathering; a volume may be complete in one gathering, or it may consist of two, three, four, or more.

When there are more than one gathering in a volume, the warehouseman endeavours to have the number of sheets in each nearly equal; and he very rarely puts less than ten, or more than fifteen, in one gathering.

He lays down upon the gathering table a heap of each signature, commencing with B, or whatever signature the body of the work may begin with, following each other in regular order, according to the letters of the alphabet, and as many as he intends to include in the first gathering, with the first page of each to the front of the table. If it be a long number, he seldom lays down more than a bundle of each signature at once, that the top sheets may not be higher than the boys can conveniently reach.

The first signature is placed at the extreme end of the table to the left hand, that if there be any space more than is actually wanted upon the table, it may be at the end where the gathering concludes, to allow the boys to knock up the sheets without crowding each other.

In commencing gathering it is necessary that the boys should have clean hands, otherwise they will dirty many sheets with the end of the right thumb.

A boy wets the end of his right thumb with the tip of his tongue, and pushes up with it the right hand corner of the first sheet, the fingers of his left hand being laid upon the sheet to prevent its slipping away, and he catches it up with the thumb of his left hand underneath it, and draws it upon the next heap; he does the same by this, and so continues drawing the accumulating sheets in his left hand over the successive heaps, and taking one from each, till he gets to the end; he then knocks this gathering up even at the ends and sides, and lays it down at the end of the table, which being what is styled a horse-shoe table, he has only to turn himself round, when he is again facing the first signature, to recommence the operation, always knocking up his gathering, and laying it evenly upon the other, till it accumulates to a pile.

In the regular routine of business, where despatch is necessary, three or four boys are generally put to one gathering table, who follow each other regularly, knocking up their gatherings, and piling them up on the end of the table. Among them there is frequently an inexperienced boy; to prevent delay, this boy is ordered to lay his gathering down at the end, and the next boy knocks it up with his own: if the boy has quickness and spirit, he exerts himself to become expert, and to equal the others.

If the collation of the book is going on at the same time, it prevents the pile of gatherings from accumulating too much; if it be not, the pile must be removed occasionally, to prevent it getting too high for the boys to deposit their gatherings.

They thus proceed till one, or more, of the heaps is exhausted, when the remnant of the others is folded in the middle, each signature by itself, and tied up in a bundle, enclosed in wrappers; but if the book be collating, the drawn sheets are previously laid down, which enables them generally to gather off a few more copies.

In the course of gathering, if a boy perceives that the sheets in any of the heaps are turned the wrong way, he should immediately announce it, that they may be placed right; he should be likewise very particular to take one sheet from each heap, as also to avoid taking two: any of these errors causes a great deal of extra trouble in collating, and of course a consequent loss of time, in addition to making the work unpleasant.

After the gatherings are collated, they are knocked up carefully at the ends and sides, and folded evenly in the middle; folios, quartos, and octavos, in the regular fold of the paper, and twelves the long way in the back; for a gathering is never folded in a page, neither lengthways nor crossways. They are then put into a press, a moderate quantity being placed between each two boards, and the press wrung well down; after having lain in the press a sufficient time, they are taken out, and piled away till the work is completed, and they are wanted for Booking.

If copies of a work are required to be delivered as soon as the last sheet is put to press, which at the present day is commonly the case, the warehouseman should be prepared to meet the wishes of his employer’s customers, by having the book gathered close up to the last gathering; having them all pressed and booked; and as fast as the last sheet is worked off, keep hanging it up very thin in the most favourable part of his poling for drying, and even dry a few by the fire to commence with. He will thus have the last gathering only to put together, and in some cases he may have part of that done; so that if he put his boys to gather, himself to collate, another to fold the gatherings and put them into the press, he may in less than two hours, in a case of emergency, deliver fifty or a hundred copies of a work without difficulty, and obtain credit to the house and to himself for despatch and attention, both of which cannot but be gratifying to him. See Booking. Collating. Lay Down.

GATHERING TABLE.

A table in the warehouse on which the printed sheets are arranged in the order of their signatures, in order to their being gathered into books. It is usually a horse-shoe table, and the boys gather on the inside, so that when they have completed one gathering they have only to turn round and commence again. Where there is space enough in the warehouse it ought to be sufficiently large to hold at least fifteen sheets, with room at the end for the heap and for the knocking up of each gathering.

GAUGE.

A Gauge, to regulate the margin, is used both by compositors and pressmen, in their respective departments.

When a compositor commences a work, or joins a companionship, it is necessary that he cut a gauge to the length of a regular page of his work; to do this he should take a page without any chapter head lines, of the regular number of lines, and cut his gauge to the exact length, including the head and the direction line; a piece of great primer reglet is a convenient thickness, and marking the name of the work on it may prevent errors. Many compositors mark the length of the page upon a piece of furniture, and make it answer for two, three, or four works; but I have known mistakes occur in making-up, from adopting this method, that have caused a great deal of trouble in remaking up the succeeding pages.

In works that are printed with large letter, and have many head lines in the pages, and much white between the lines, I would advise a gauge to be cut on which the situation of each line should be marked; this will enable the compositor to make up his pages, so that, when the sheet is worked off, line shall fall upon line, which will add a beauty to his work, and save a great deal of trouble, by rendering unnecessary any alteration of the whites.

After the first sheet of a work has been imposed, and the margin made right by the person who has the superintendence of this department, a gauge should be cut to the exact width of the back, and another to that of the head; a piece of thin reglet being used for each, marked with the name of the work, and with the words, “back,” and “head;” a hole may be made in each piece that they may be tied together, so as to hang them upon a nail driven into some part of the frame; and a fresh sheet should never be imposed without trying the margin before it is locked-up. I am aware this is being more particular than is the general custom; but, if a compositor adopt the method, he will find that it will not take more than a minute of additional time, and will eventually be a saving by preventing mistakes, and he will thus send each sheet to press in a workmanlike manner.

The pressmen require a gauge in all folio works, in order to keep the head lines of the pages of each sheet precisely at the same distance from the edge of the paper. This head margin is determined by the overseer, or master printer, when the first sheet goes to press; the pressman should then cut his gauge, mark it with the name of the work, and keep it in some secure place, to lay the succeeding sheets on by, so that the work may have a uniform head margin, which, as the bookbinder always makes the head lines range, will prevent the book being reduced in size by cutting, an object of serious consideration in a library.

GEOMETRICAL CHARACTERS.

+ plus, or more, the sign of addition; signifying that the numbers or quantities between which it is placed are to be added together.

- minus, or less, the sign of subtraction; signifying that the latter of the two quantities between which it is placed is to be taken from the former.

~ denotes the difference of two quantities when it is not known which is the greater.

× into, the sign of multiplication; signifying that the quantities between which it is placed are to be multiplied together.

÷ by, the sign of division; signifying that the former of the two quantities between which it is placed is to be divided by the latter.

: as, or to, :: so is, the sign of an equality of ratios; signifying that the quantities between which they are placed are proportional to each other.

= equal to, the sign of equality; signifying that the quantities between which it is placed are equal to each other.

√ the radical sign; signifying that the quantity before which it is placed is to have some root of it extracted.--Bonnycastle’s Geometry. 12mo. 1823.

[#] Formerly used to denote equal to, but is become obsolete.

△ Triangle; as △ABC = △ADC.

∠ An angle.

⟂ Perpendicular.

▭ Rectangled parallelogram.

⊏ or >, greater than.

⊐ or <, lesser than.

∹ The differences, or excess.

GERMAN.

“It is generally admitted, that the ancient Germans had not the use of letters, before their intercourse with the Romans; the testimony of Tacitus is decisive on this subject. ‘Literarum secreta viri pariter ac fœminæ ignorant.’ Hence we conclude, that the Teutons, who anciently inhabited the neighbouring coast, and islands of the Baltic Sea, had no letters, till their descendants, who settled in Belgic Gaul, obtained them from the Romans. The Teutonic alphabet is evidently deduced from the Roman, and is nothing more than the Roman varied by the Germans, which, having been much deformed, was improved by Charlemagne in the ninth century, and continued till the twelfth, when this kind of writing was succeeded by the modern Gothic, which prevails in Germany, and in several of the northern countries of Europe at this time.”—Astle.

German Alphabet.