Duty.
  £   s.   d.

0    0   10

0    1    7

0    1    7

“The same Duties from the East Indies.

“No Drawback.”

Paper Bench.—M. See Bank, also Horse.

PAPER BOARD.

Boards made of deal plank, on which to place paper when wetted for printing. They have two slips of deal nailed to the bottom of each to strengthen them, and to prevent the joining from giving way; these slips are broader and not so thick as those inserted in letter boards. The general sizes are, demy boards, twenty-six inches by twenty-two; royal, thirty inches by twenty-six.

PAPER THE CASE.

Lining the bottom of the boxes in the cases with paper.—M. This was formerly done by the compositor; it is now done by the printer’s joiner before the bottom is nailed on.

PAPER UP LETTER.

To wrap the pages up in paper after a work is finished.—M.

In all book houses, there are bulks appropriated for the letter that is cleared away; so that when it is dry it may be papered up. In small houses this is generally done by the overseer; but in houses with large establishments, there is a person appointed to take care of the letter, furniture, chases, &c. which he keeps locked up, and delivers out as wanted: he also papers up the letter; that is, he wraps up each piece in the waste of some work, which he procures from the warehouse, and on which he writes the name of the type; it also tends to save trouble if he add whether it be open matter, Italic, or figures, as the case may be, as it prevents the necessity of opening the pieces out, when particular kinds only are wanted for distribution.

PAPER STOOL.

A stool with a large square top, on which to lay printed paper after it has been worked off, while the warehouseman is hanging it up to dry. There is a notch cut in the top to admit the fingers, for the greater convenience of moving it about.

Paper Windows. See Ancient Customs.

PARAGON.

The name of a type, one size larger than Great Primer, and one smaller than Double Pica. Moxon does not enumerate this size in his list. It is equal to two Long Primers. See Types.

PARAGRAPH.

A paragraph ¶ denotes the beginning of a new subject, or a sentence not connected with the foregoing. This character is chiefly used in the Old and in the New Testament.—Murray.

It is also used as a reference to notes, in printing.

PARAGRAPHS.

As a compositor is sometimes allowed to divide a paragraph in his manuscript copy, for the convenience of workmanship, the following observations on the subject, by Lindley Murray, may be serviceable:—

“Different subjects, unless they are very short, or very numerous in small compass, should be separated into paragraphs.

“When one subject is continued to a considerable length, the larger divisions of it should be put into paragraphs. And it will have a good effect to form the breaks, when it can properly be done, at sentiments of the most weight, or that call for peculiar attention.

“The facts, premises, and conclusions, of a subject, sometimes naturally point out the separations into paragraphs: and each of these, when of great length, will again require subdivisions at their most distinctive parts.

“In cases which require a connected subject to be formed into several paragraphs, a suitable turn of expression, exhibiting the connexion of the broken parts, will give beauty and force to the division.”

PARALLEL.

Marked thus ‖, is used as a reference to notes in the margin, or at the bottom of the page.

PARCHMENT.

Parchment is used for covering the tympans, both inner and outer: care should be used in selecting it, that the skins are free from any imperfections or cuts, and that they are of an uniform thickness, as nearly as possible. The parchment for the inner tympan may be a little thinner than that for the outer. Dealers in printing materials generally keep a stock of old deeds, leases, &c. which are cheaper than new parchment, and are frequently used for common work.

Parenthesis. See Punctuation.

PARLIAMENTARY PAPERS.

Parliamentary Proceedings. See Newspaper Postage.

PASTE BOWL.

A small wooden bowl to hold paste for the use of the press room; it is usually the bowl of an old ball stock.

PEARL.

The name of a type, one size larger than Diamond, and one smaller than Ruby. It is the smallest size that Moxon mentions.—See Types.

PEEL.

An article to hang up the wet paper, upon the poles, to dry. The head is made of thin wainscot, and the upper edge is the thinnest, and rounded; the handle is of ash, with a groove cut in the upper end, to receive the head, which is secured to it by wooden pins going through the whole; and that part of the handle which receives the head is planed down, so that at the upper end of it, it is rendered quite thin, that there may be no shoulder to derange the paper. In large offices they have them with handles of different lengths, to suit the heights of the rooms in which paper is hung up to dry.

PELT POT.

Generally a large jar, in which urine is kept, to steep the pelts in previous to making the balls; as also to steep the blankets in, in which the balls are wrapped up at night. This only refers to pelt balls, for where composition balls are used, this offensive article is discarded.

PELTS.

Sheep skins untanned used for ball leathers.—M. The pelts that were used previous to the introduction of composition, were sheep skins, with the wool taken off, dressed with lime, and dried. They are nearly superseded by composition balls and rollers.

When they are wanted for use, they are steeped in urine to soften them, then rubbed through a twisted iron to supple them, and to take out part of the moisture, which is termed currying; and afterwards trodden under foot at the press side, by the pressman who is beating, to expel the superfluous moisture; they are then scraped, to clean the surface, and made up into balls, stuffed with carded wool, having a lining made of a pelt taken from an old ball. This lining keeps the outer skin moist, and makes the ball firmer on the stock.

The softer a pelt is, so long as it is not surcharged with moisture, the better it will cover the surface of the type or engraving with ink: and it will also retain on its surface particles of dust, wool, or other extraneous matter, without parting with them to the letter or engraving; so that the work will be better and clearer of picks, than when the pelt is drier and harder.

In knocking-up balls, it is not necessary to tread the pelts, as is usually done, and which is inconvenient when a man is working at half press: it will answer equally well if the pelts be well curried, and, after the balls are made, well scraped; which may be done by placing the ball on the knees, with its handle against the stomach, to hold it firm; then taking a sharp table knife, the handle of which is held with one hand and the point with the other, and scraping from the stock over the edge of the ball to the centre; by which operation the superfluous moisture will be got rid of, and the ball will work equally well as those that have been trod by the pressman.

It is customary for pressmen to throw aside pelts that are greasy, and not to use them, till the last, in consequence of an opinion general among them, that they will not take ink: but, from repeated experiments that I have made, I could not perceive the least difference between the most greasy pelts and those that were free from grease; the one taking ink and retaining it on its surface, equally as well as the other. Since then I have frequently mentioned the subject to some of the most experienced pressmen, who all allow that a greasy pelt is more durable than one clear of grease.

A greasy pelt requires more currying than one that is not greasy; and it is better to let it remain longer in the pelt pot, currying it occasionally, which act the pressmen term giving it exercise. It is an advantage also to curry, occasionally, any pelts that are in the pelt pot; as it improves their condition, and prevents their spoiling, so soon as they would otherwise do, by being in soak, when not immediately wanted.

In the country I have found it more convenient to get sheep’s skins from the skinners, without any other preparation than having the wool taken off; and these were more durable, and made softer and better balls, than when dressed and dried in the usual way. See Currying.

PENULTIMATE.

The last syllable but one of a word.

PERFECTING.

Printing the second form of a sheet; called also working the reiteration.

PERFECT PAPER.

Paper sent in to print on, in which there is an extra quantity, to allow for waste, &c.; thus a bundle consists of 43 quires, or 1032 sheets; and a ream of 21½ quires, or 516 sheets; without any outside quires, and the whole consists of perfect sheets.

Period. See Punctuation.

Periodical Publications. See Newspaper Postage. Publications.

PERMITS (Excise.)

PERSIAN.

The Persians write their characters from the right hand to the left. There are thirty-two Persian letters. The alphabet and following observations are in the Tâleek character.

The second and fourth columns of these letters from the right hand are used only when they are connected with a preceding letter. Every letter should be connected with that which follows it, except these seven; ا‎ alif, د‎ dal, ذ‎ zal, ر‎ ra, ز‎ za, ژ‎ zha, and و‎ vau, which are never joined to the following letter.

The short vowels are expressed by small marks, two of which are placed above the letter, and one below it, as بَ‎ ba or be, بِ‎ be or bi, بُ‎ bo or bu.

The mark ﹾ‎ placed above a consonant shows that the syllable ends with it. The short vowels are very seldom written in the Persian books; and the other orthographical marks are likewise usually suppressed, except Mudda ۤ ‎, Humzaٴ ,‎ and Tushdeed ﹼ‎; the two first of which are most common.

The most usual combination of letters are formed with خ‎ ج‎ چ‎ ح‎, which have the singular property of causing all the preceding letters to rise above the line, as بخارا‎ bokhára, نحچير‎ nakhcheer, تصحيح‎ tas-héeh. The letters that precede م‎ m are also sometimes raised. Lam-alif لا‎ is compounded of ل‎ l and ا‎ a.

The Arabic characters, like those of the Europeans, are written in a variety of different hands; but the most common of them are the Nuskhee, the Tâleek , or hanging, and the Shekesteh, or broken. Our books have hitherto been printed in the Nuskhee hand, and all Arabic manuscripts, as well as most Persian and Turkish histories, are written in it; but the Persians write their poetical works in the Tâleek, which answers to the most elegant of our Italic hands. As to the Shekesteh, it is very irregular and inelegant, and is chiefly used by the idle Indians, who will not take time to form their letters perfectly, or even to insert the diacritical points; but this hand, however difficult and barbarous, must be learned by all men of business in India, as the letters from the princes of the country are seldom written in any other manner.

Numbers.—The following are the most common of the Persian numbers:—

Niskhi.—This is the form of writing used by the Arabians, who invented the characters: as every Persian student should acquire a knowledge of the Arabic, it ought therefore to be learned. This hand is frequently employed by the Persians, and the history of Nader Shah was written in it. The Niskhi is the parent of the Tâleek, and of all the other hands in which the Arabic and Persian languages are now written.

Tâleek.—The Tâleek is the most beautiful hand writing used by the Persians. In the manuscripts written in the Tâleek hand, the strokes of the reed are extremely fine, and the initial letters ﺑ‎ ﺗ‎ ز‎ are scarcely perceptible. As the Persians always write their lines of an equal length, they are obliged to place their words in a very irregular manner; if the line be too short, they lengthen it by a fine stroke of the reed; if too long, they write the words one above another. In the Persian poems the transcribers place both members of a couplet on the same line, and not the first above the second, as we do: a Persian would write the following verses in this order:

It must be confessed, that this irregularity in writing, joined to the confusion of the diacritical points, which are often placed at random, and sometimes omitted, makes it very difficult to read the Persian MSS., till the language becomes familiar to us; but this difficulty, like all others in the world, will be insensibly surmounted by the habit of industry and perseverance, without which no great design was ever accomplished.

Nustaleek.—The character called Nustaleek is compounded of the Niskhi and Tâleek. It differs, however, considerably from the graceful turns and beautiful flourishes of several of the manuscripts. The Nustaleek character may be as easily read by Europeans as the Niskhi.

Shekesteh.—In this inelegant hand all order and analogy are neglected; the points which distinguish ف‎ from ق‎, خ‎ from ج‎, and ب‎ from ت‎, ث‎ and پ‎, &c., are for the most part omitted, and these seven
letters ا‎د‎ذ‎ر‎ز‎ژ‎و‎ are connected with those that follow them in a most irregular manner. This is, certainly, a considerable difficulty, which must be surmounted before the learner can translate an Indian letter.

The preceding remarks on the Persian characters are extracted from Sir William Jones’s Grammar of the Persian Language, 4to. 5th edition. London, 1801.

Persian in the British Founderies.

PHRASES.

Latin and French Words and Phrases, with their explanation in English.

PICA.

The name of a type, one size larger than Small Pica, and one smaller than English. In Moxon’s time seventy-five Pica bodies measured a foot. All the sizes of types larger than Canon, are named from the number of Pica bodies contained in their depth, as Four Line Pica, Five Line Pica, and so on indefinitely. Leads or space lines are also cast to proportionate parts of Pica, as four to Pica, six to Pica, &c.

PICK BRUSH.

A hard brush with rather fine hairs; it is used to brush picks or dirt out of a form, when working, and each press is generally supplied with one.

PICKER.

A fine pointed bodkin, or a needle, with which to take picks out of a form.

PICKS.

When either pieces of the skin or film that grows on ink with standing by, or any dirt, get into the hollows of the face of the letter, that film or dirt will fill or choke up the face of the letter, and print black; and is called a pick, because the pressman with the point of a needle picks it out.—M.

PIE.

When a page is broken, those broken letters are called pie. See Broken Letters.—M. We now call it Pie when the letters are all mixed indiscriminately together.

It is equally the interest of the employer and the workman to prevent the accumulation of pie in a printing office, for it swallows up useful sorts, to the delay, loss, and disappointment of both parties; and if a strict method be not enforced to prevent its increase, a master may be continually casting sorts; and at last it becomes an Herculean task to clear it away. No receptacle for it should ever be accessible to the workmen; and no types should ever be put into the waste metal box but by the person who has the care of the materials, that he may be enabled to prevent any abuse of this kind; for it is too common a practice, both for boys and men, when an accident happens, to throw a great part of the pie into the waste metal box, to save themselves the trouble of distributing it.

PIG.

Pressmen are called pigs by compositors, sometimes by way of sport, and sometimes by way of irritation; in the same way the press room is called a pigstye. When the compositors wish to teaze them, they will grunt when a pressman goes into the composing room; but they rarely venture to do this in the press room. In Moxon’s time they were called Horses. See Ancient Customs.

PIGEON HOLES.

Wide whites between words, are by compositors (in way of scandal) called pigeon-holes, and are by none accounted good workmanship, unless in cases of necessity.—M. Cases of necessity do not make them good workmanship; and the only instances in which they are tolerated are when a page is small, and the type is large in proportion to it, and in columns of table work. In marginal notes they are avoided, by not of necessity spacing every line full out.

PILE OF BOOKS.

When a work is finished at the press, it is gathered, collated, folded, and put into books, pressed, and then piled up in some convenient part of the warehouse, in readiness for delivery.

The piles are erected as a stone mason would build, in layers of four, five, six, or more books to each layer, according to the number printed, and the convenience in the warehouse; the books forming these layers are turned back and fore edge alternately, so that a single copy can be readily got, and in removing them they are less liable to get confused; the upper layer should always be laid in a different order from that below it, so that the book should invariably cross a joining of that under it; and when the pile is high, I would recommend some wrappers to be placed occasionally between the layers, they prevent the sides bulging out, and make the pile firm. It is necessary to wrap up each parcel of the bottom layer in brown paper or wrappers, to preserve the edges and backs of the books clean. For the protection of this bottom layer, the pile should be erected on a stage, or, in default of that, some wrappers and waste paper should be spread on the floor upon which to place it; for the pile should never be raised without something interposed between the books and the floor.

PILE OF PAPER

is made similar to a pile of books; but, as the paper always comes in to a printing office cased in wrappers, the precautions used in keeping a pile of books clean are not necessary. The number of bundles in the foundation will be determined by the quantity received. The warehouseman should invariably mark the wrapper of each bundle with the name of the work it is intended for, before it is piled away.

PILE OF PRINTED PAPER.

During the progress of printing a work, the sheets are, after being dried, placed in piles, generally resting against a wall of the building.

When the sheets are taken down dry from the poles, they are knocked up even, and piled against a wall generally, upon a stage to keep the bottom of the pile out of the way of harm, or, in want of a stage, upon some wrappers and waste paper to keep the bottom sheets from the floor, one wrapper always placed so as to project and turn over about a ream of paper, and turned into the heap, to preserve the edges clean, the first signature being always at the bottom, and the following ones piled in consecutive order upon it; between each signature a label is inserted in front, with the name of the work and the signature. What are called tops are placed on the pile, and some waste paper, to preserve the top sheets from dust and other matters that might soil them. It is usual to place the bottom a few inches from, and to gradually incline it to, the wall, so that the upper part may rest against it: this causes the pile to stand firmer than it would do if piled perpendicularly.

MR. PITT’S MARK.

The printer’s name and residence affixed to printed books or other articles, by the enactment of the act of parliament of 39 Geo. 3. c. 79., was technically so called.

PLANE DOWN.

To make the face of all the types in a form even, by passing the face of the planer over them, and striking the back of it with a mallet.

When the quoins are pushed up with the fingers, previous to locking the form up, I would plane it down gently, striking the back of the planer with the side of my doubled hand, lifting the planer a little up each time it is advanced; after the quoins are tightened round the form, I would plane it down again gently with the mallet; and finally with firmer blows after it is locked up; always lifting the planer clear of the form at every advance that is made with it; if any thing be under the form, it will be perceived when you plane down with the hand; that part should be omitted being struck upon; and when the form is locked up it ought to be lifted, the substance that is under it taken away, the form then laid down again, the quoins of that quarter slackened, and planed down: but types that stand up from any cause should never be planed down while tightly locked up, as it is almost a certainty that they will be destroyed.

PLANER.

A piece of beech wood, planed smooth and even on the face, to plane the types in a form down with, by striking it on the top with a mallet, to prevent any of them from standing up. It is usually made 9 inches long, 4¼ broad, out of 2 inch stuff, a little thicker in the crown, and the edges hollowed the long way, to facilitate the lifting of it about.

PLANETS.

The names of seven planets are used in some instances for the seven days of the week, in the following manner:—