their being distinguished by marks, reckon the French ç, the Spanish u, the Welch w, andy, in the class of accented letters, though not vowels. As the longs and shorts are used only in particular works, they are not cast to a fount of letter unless ordered.

NUMERAL LETTERS.

NUMERAL LETTERS were used by the Romans to account by, and were seven in number, IVX LCD M. The reason for choosing these figures seems to be this: M being the first letter of mille, stands for 1,000, which M was formerly written CIO Half of that, viz. I or D, is 500.-C, the first letter of centum, stands for 100; which C was anciently written E, and so half of it will be 50, L. X denotes 10, which is twice 5, made of two V's, one at top and the other at bottom. V stands for 5, because their measure of five ounces was of that shape; and—I stands for 1. because it is made by one stroke of the pen. The Romans also expressed any number of thousands by a line drawn over any numeral less than a thousand; thus, V denotes 5,000, LX 60,000: so likewise Mis 1,000,000, MM 2,000,000, &c. Upon the discovery of printing, and before capitals were invented, small letters served for numerals, which they have done ever since; not only when the Gothic characters were in their perfection, but even after they had ceased, and the Roman was become the prevailing one.

Instead of seven letters used by the Romans, the Greeks employed their whole alphabet, and more than the alphabet; for they contrived three symbols more, and made their numerals to consist of twenty-seven sorts, which they divided into three classes; the first, to contain units; the second, tens; and the third, hundreds.

The manner of counting by letters is derived from the Hebrews, who for that made use of the letters of their alphabet, without the assistance of other symbols.

ARITHMETICAL FIGURES.

purpose

ARITHMETICAL OF Arabic figures are nine in number, besides the cypher, or nought, which, though of itself of no signification, makes a great increase in the figure to which it is joined, either singly or progressively. The excellence of figures does not consist in their having soft and fine strokes, but rather in such circles and lines as bear a proportion with the strength of their face. Both Scratched and Italic figures, though once used, are now entirely laid aside in England, yet the latter still prevails in some parts abroad.

SPACES.

THE use of spaces is, to separate one word from another, so that the reading may appear easy and distinct, As they are cast to all thicknesses, from hair space to five to an m, the compositor can find no difficulty in keeping a uniformity in spacing of his matter.

QUADRATS.

As m-quadrat is the square of the letter to whatever fount it may belong; an n-quadrat is half that size. They are much used in figure work, and unless cast true, the most fing variation is instantly discovered. The same observation holds good with respect to gures M-quadrats generally begin a paragraph, by indenting the first line; it is likeproper space after a full point, when it terminates a sentence within a paragraph.

we the

N-quadrats are generally used after the comma, semicolon, &c. and sometimes after a kerned letter; but the use of the n-quadrat in spacing must be guided by circumstances. Two-m, three-in, and four-m quadrats are likewise cast for break lines, but particularly for poetry, for which purpose they require to be as exact in their depth as the m or n-quadrat, or the matter will stand uneven where a number of them come together. The inconvenience arising from founts of the same body not agreeing in depth is great, where the quadrats, through necessity, are sometimes mixed. It is a serious evil, and much to be deplored that some method cannot be adopted to check it. One cause, and too often the chief one, of sorts being mixed in a printing-office, is that of borrowing and lending, a system, which every printer having any regard for his material will never adopt, as the expense of the sorts required would be less than the injury done to his type.

Reglets, of the same body with the letter of the work, are sometimes used, instead of quadrats, for white lines; but, from being often wetted, are apt to swell, and cannot be depended on; it would be better, therefore, (except for large jobs) to use space leads, which are cast from four, six, and eight to a pica, and from four m's to any length required.

RULES.

RULES are either brass, metal, or space rules; the first are made by printers' smiths and joiners, out of rolled sheet brass, and the other two cast by letter-founders.

BRASS RULES ought to be exactly letter high; and being generally cut to the length of sixteen inches, their equality, as to height, from end to end, is not always to be depended on from every one who sets up for a printer's joiner, or brass-rule cutter. When brass rule is placed between matter, a thin lead or scaleboard should be placed at the side to bear it off. In mixt matter, or italic, a thin lead, at least, is required before and after a brass rule, to prevent it touching upon d, f, l, at the fore-side, and upon ƒ, g, j, p, y, at the hind-side. If driven to the necessity of piecing brass rule, the compositor should endeavour to dress the shorter pieces, by rubbing them on the stone, so as they appear as one length. Mr. William Muff, printers' joiner and brass-rule cutter, at Bradford, in Yorkshire, has introduced to the trade a beautiful wared brass rule,* and, when used with judgment has a very pretty effect.

METAL RULES, like quadrats, are cast to m's, from the size of one to four, sometimes to an n, and are used in schemes of accounts, to direct and connect each article with its summary contents, where they stand opposite, and distant from each other; m rules sometimes stand for noughts in columns of figures. Sometimes a rule stands for a sign of repetition, in catalogues of books, goods, &c. where it implies ditto or ejusdem, instead of repeating an author's name, with the title of every separate treatise of his writing: but it must be observed, that no sign of repetition, eitheir ditto, ejusdem, idem, or the rule, must be used at the top of a page or column; but that the name of the author, or the merchandise, must be set out again at length; and then if their series continues, to denote the continuation thereof, at every article subsequent, by a rule of three or four m's, so as to range, instead of extending the rule to the different lengths of names. A metal rule likewise stands for to, or till, as chap. XVI. 9—25. that is, verse nine to twenty-five. At

• Invented and first introduced by J. Muff, Music Seller, Leeds.

other times it serves for an index, to give notice that what follows it is a corollary of what has preceded; or otherwise matter of import and consequence. When made to line and join aurately, metal rules are very useful, as they serve not only for rectilinear, but also perpendicular progressions, where no other rules are to touch them.

SPACE RULES may be cast to various widths, from one m to six, to whatever body ordered; and when they are of a neat look, and made to join well, may be considered valuable sorts. Two of them generally answer to the depth of a pearl body.

SUPERIORS.

SUPERIOR LETTERS and FIGURES have already been treated of under the head of References, it is only requisite further to notice them here, than to observe, that they should contain no more than the bare alphabet, without any double letters. Neither ought thej to be used as a reference, on account of its being a descending letter.

FRACTIONS.

FRACTIONS, or broken numbers in arithmetic, may be had to any body required; their goodness does not consist in their having a small and fine face, so much as in showing thetaselves full and clear, and preserving due proportion. When a fraction happens with large-bodied figures, such as great-primer, and upwards, it is usually set out at length, Liess nonpareil figures can be conveniently had, which may be justified with neatness.

QUOTATIONS.

QUOTATIONS are cast to two sizes, of unequal squares, which, as they are formed for use, are called broad and narrow, and when properly dressed and finished, are useful in a printing-office. They should not be cast so high as they sometimes are, for no other purpose than to increase their weight. Justifiers are cast for broad and narrow quotations, to all sizes, from double to pearl inclusive, for the purpose of ranging the side-note with its proper text, in doing which great care is requisite when many come in a page.

METAL FURNITURE.

METAL FURNITURE has been introduced to the trade, and for book-work is of the greatest utility, when kept solely for that purpose. It is cast to all requisite sizes and thicknesses, from thirty-twos to octavo.

LEADS

form a very important part of a printer's stock in trade, since it is scarcely possible to tup a single page in which they may not be usefully employed. The bodies are Plated by pica standard, and they are usually cast four, six, or eight to pica; but are casionally varied from one down to fourteen to pica. The lengths also vary according le convenience; twenty m's pica may be called about the average length for common use; gh they are cut to almost every length, in order that, by being combined, they may at every measure. With 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 13, 15, and 20, every combination of leads, fron four to one hundred, can be formed. Both for leads and brass rule, a small machine be had of the printer's joiners, for cutting them to exact lengths, with accuracy.

TWO-LINE LETTERS.

THEY are cut to all the bodies in general use, and are found extremely useful in titles, the beginning of chapters, &c. A very great improvement has of late taken place in the cut of two-line letters,-being condensed, they add both to the beauty and variety in titles.

FLOWERS.

FLOWERS are used for borders, and these, with the great variety of new corners, are certainly much improved; they are cast to all the regular bodies of letter.

OF ITALIC LETTER.

ITALIC letters owe their invention to Aldus Manutius, who, in the year 1490, erected a printing-office in Venice, where he introduced the Roman types of a neater cut, and invented that beautiful letter which we and most of the nations in Europe know by the name of italic, though some of the German writers and their followers have attempted to call it the cursive, to obliterate the memory of its original descent. Manutius invented this sort of letter in order to accomplish the design he had conceived of executing a collection of the best works in a smaller form (8vo.) than was at that time in use, the first idea of which, we are assured, was given to him by Petrarch's writing; and he employed Francisco di Bologna, an able engraver, who had engraven all the other characters in his printing-office, to execute them, and which was for some time called after the name of the inventor, Aldine. He obtained several privileges for the exclusive use of this italic type from the senate of Venice, as well as the pontiffs, Alexander VI, Fabius II, and Leo X. Italic type was originally designed to distinguish such parts of a book as might be said not strictly to belong to the body of the work, as prefaces, introductions, extracts, annotations, &c. all of which it was the custom formerly to print in italics, so that at least two-fifths of a work appeared in that character. In the present age it is used more sparingly, the necessity being supplied by the more elegant mode of introducing extracts within inverted commas, and poetry and annotations in a smaller-sized type. It is of service often in displaying a title-page, (though for that purpose at present very sparingly introduced) or distinguishing the head or subject matter of a chapter from the chapter itself; but it is mostly used in spelling-books, grammars, dictionaries, &c. to distinguish more readily to the learner the different languages or parts of specch. It is greatly to be wished that the use of it could be governed by some rules. Blair, in his Belles Lettres, justly observes, that crowding all the pages of a book with italic characters, is the same with using no such distinction at all. It also very materially retards the progress of the compositor, who has the trouble of repeatedly moving from one case to another. Not only does italic confuse the reader, but it destroys, in a great degree, the beauty of printing, because the bold face of the Roman suffers by being contrasted with the fine strokes of the italic; that symmetry is destroyed which it is necessary and desirable to preserve, the position of the Roman being perpendicular, and that of the italic, oblique. A comparison of the agreeable appearance of a page in which no italic words are seen straggling, with one in which the pleasing regularity of the Roman print is here and there broken in upon by the intrusions of a discordant type, will be at once sufficient to mark the abuse of using it without regard either to uniformity, or where the sence requires a

distinguishing mark on a particular word or subject, such as in critical and satirical works. In the above observations I wish it to be understood, as arguing not against the use of type, but the abuse of it.

italic

Black Letter.

THE BLACK LETTER which is used in England, descended from the Gothic characters; it is called Gothic by some; and Old English by others; but printers call it black letter, on account of its taking a larger compass than either roman or italic, the full and preading strokes thereof appearing more black upon paper. On the introduction of the Roman character,* its use began to decline, and it was seldom used except in law works, particularly statute law; it was at length expelled from these, and only made its appearance in the heads of statutes, &c. The improved modern blacks, produced by the founders, has been the means of rescuing it from oblivion, to which the old characters had been nearly consigned. It is cast to all the various sizes, both full-faced and open.

Script Type.

SCRIPT was in former times called Cursive, and upon which, the observation of Rowe Mores will still apply. He says, "The cursorial is a flimsy type, imitating a pseudoItalian hand-writing, and fitted for ladies and beaux-candidates for fair places donative, bo court a plattin to save unnecessary trouble, and to conceal their management of a pa." Though great improvements have been made in script types, their use is likely to be superseded by the invention of lithographic circulars. +

Ronde Type.

RONDE TYPE, in imitation of secretary, has been very lately introduced to the notice of the profession, and, may, in some particular circulars, be of service. The specimen here given is cast on English body. A type called German Text has also been lately introduced.

PROPERTIES AND SHAPES OF TYPES.

In the early ages of printing, the uniform character used was in imitation of the old Gothic, or German, from which our old English, or Black, was afterwards formed, and still merits our veneration as the character in which our immortal Caxton, and the early professors of the art printed their books. That good Roman makes the best figure in a cren of typography, cannot be disputed; and this superiority is now greatly improved. A printer, in his choice of types, should not only attend to the cut of the letter, but

observe that its shape be perfectly true, and that it lines or ranges with accuracy. Th-ingenious Mr. Moxon says "that the Roman letters were originally intended to be ale to consist of circles, arcs of circles, and straight lines; and that, therefore, those

In the year 1980, Alphonsus VI., king of Spain, introduced the Latin, and put an end to writing in Gothic fbout his dominions.

M. Firmin Didot has the merit of inventing or introducing a script of a peculiar form; but a great obstacle ging it into general use, was the difficulty of composition, in learning the necessary variations and combios of character; as some characters, the r for instance, have eight variations; but, when properly combined, appearance which scarcely admits of improvement. M. Boileau, an ingenious French engraver, invented the tendency of which is, to unite the beauty of Didot's plan with greater facility of composition.