Women compositors

by H. G. B.

The compositor takes her place in front of the case, and works standing or sitting, holding in one hand an instrument made of iron, called a composing-stick ([see p. 34]). With the other hand she takes the types as she requires them out of the boxes; ranges them on a slip of brass, called a rule, in her composing-stick, and putting a space to make a blank between each two words, forms one line after another, till the stick is full, when she empties it out upon the galley ([see p. 35]). A certain number of these lines are measured off into pages, several of which being ranged and wedged tight in an iron frame, called a chase ([see p. 34]), are ready for the press.

The composing-stick consists of a plate of iron about six inches long and two inches wide. On the right side of this plate is a ledge, about half an inch high, running the whole length of the plate, and serving to sustain the letters, the backs of which are to rest against it; on the same plate are placed two other lesser pieces, one of which is contrived to slide along it, so that the two pieces may be either approached or withdrawn at pleasure, to adjust the line to the measure intended.

Before the compositor proceeds to compose, a rule, or thin slip of brass plate, cut to the length of the line, and of the same height as the letter, is placed against the ledge of the composing-stick for the letter to bear immediately against.

Being thus prepared, the compositor, with the copy lying before her, and the stick in her left hand, picks up with the right the letters, spaces, &c., and places them against the rule; with the thumb of the left hand she presses them close to the slide, and thus keeps them tight and steady while the other hand is employed in setting in more letters; the whole being performed with a degree of expedition not easily imagined.

A line being thus composed, if it end with a word or syllable and fill the measure, needs no further care; otherwise more spaces are to be put between the several words to justify the lines, i.e., make the measure quite full so that every line may end evenly; and thus she proceeds to another line.

The spaces here used are a sort of blank, of the like dimension as the letters, but not so high, whose faces, therefore, when set, do not appear nor give any impression. They are of several kinds, according to the dimensions of the whites or intervals to be made by them, viz., quadrats, to fill up a break at the end of a paragraph, or the like; em quadrats, which are square and of the thickness of an m, serving to make the distance after a period, or between sentence and sentence; en quadrats, of the thickness of an n, to be placed after colons, semicolons, exclamations, and interrogations; and thick or thin spaces, to be used between the words in justifying, as above.

The first line being completely justified, the compositor advances to the next. In order to do this, she moves the brass rule from behind the line and places it in front, and composes another line against it, after the same manner as the former: and thus she goes on till her stick is full, when she empties it into the galley in the following manner:

Taking the rule from behind the last line, she places it before it; with her two middle fingers she squeezes the lines in the stick close, her two fore-fingers at the same time being applied on the outside of the rule: she then lifts them out of the stick, and placing her thumbs behind the first line, lifts them into the galley; taking care to disengage her thumbs without breaking the lines.

The compositor, having set the proper number of lines in the stick, and emptied them out into the galley, again fills and empties, as before. When a sufficient number of lines have been composed to fill the galley she secures it with side-stick and quoins, and having pulled a proof on the galley-press ([see p. 36]), hands it to the forewoman with copy for reading.

The corrections are written on the margin of the proof, right against the line where the faults are found. There are different characters to express different corrections, as D or δ, dele, for anything to be effaced, or left out. When anything is to be inserted, the place is marked in the line with a caret, ^, and the insertion added in the margin. When a word, syllable, &c., is to be altered, it is erased from the proof, and that to be put in its place written in the margin; always observing, that if there be several mistakes in the same line the corrections in the margin must be separated by bars, or strokes, /. If a space be omitted, its place is marked with a caret, and the margin with #. If a space be wrongly placed, as in the middle of a word, the two parts are connected with a cu‿rve, and this mark ⁐ put in the margin. If a letter be inverted, it is expressed on the margin with ੭. If anything be transposed, it is marked thus: The shortest |are the|follies best; for the shortest follies are the best; and in the margin is added trs. in a circle. If Roman characters are to be changed for italic, or vice versa, a line is drawn under them thus, and Roman or italic added in the margin; if to capitals, a treble line. If a word or sentence is entirely omitted, the place is marked with a caret, and the missing words written in the margin. If the letters of a word stand too far asunder, a curve is drawn under them, and in the margin is put this mark ⁐.