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 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 Gaenseaugen, 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.