The first fount of this character was that presented by Queen Elizabeth to O’Kearney in 1571, and used to print the Catechism, which appeared in that year in Dublin, at the press of Franckton. The fount, which is on English body, is only partially Irish, many of the letters being ordinary Roman or Italic. Its general appearance is, however, neat. It was used in several works during the early years of the seventeenth century, notably in the Daniel’s New Testament, printed by Franckton in 1602, and the Common Prayer, issued from the same press in 1608. This interesting fount was stated by some to have been secured by the Jesuits, and transferred by them to one of their seminaries abroad; but there appears to be no foundation for such a statement. As late as 1652 it was used in Godfrey Daniels’ Christian Doctrine, printed in Dublin; and still later occasional words mark its gradual extinction. The Irish seminaries abroad, meanwhile, were better supplied with Irish type than our countrymen. At Antwerp, in 1611, O’Hussey’s Catechism was printed in an Irish fount, which subsequently reappeared in 1616 at Louvain, and was afterwards used to print a number of works published by the Irish College in that place. In 1645 a second and larger Irish fount appeared at Louvain, in Colgan’s Acta Sanctorum Hiberniæ. In 1676 the press of the Propaganda at Rome published Molloy’s Lucerna Fidelium in a handsome and bold character, Great Primer in body, which was used again in the following year in Molloy’s Grammar, and in 1707 for the Catechism of O’Hussey. Previous to this, however, Irish printing had revived in England, and Moxon, in 1680, had cut the curious fount of Small Pica Irish,[148] used in Boyle’s New Testament, printed by Robert Everingham in 1681, followed by Bedell’s Old Testament in 1685, and in several further publications from the same press. Until the year 1800 this fount was the only Irish in this country. Abroad, a new fount appeared at Paris in 1732, where it was used in McCuirtin’s Dictionary, and in 1742 in Donlevey’s Catechism, printed by Jas. Guerin. The matrices for this fount appear to have been held, if not prepared, by Fournier, as in the Manuale Typographique (ii, p. 196), issued by him in 1766, a specimen of it appears among the foreign founts of his foundry. The fate of this fount is a matter of uncertainty. After 1742 a general cessation of Irish typography at home and abroad took place; and the few Irish works which appeared between that date and 1800 were for the most part in Roman type (like O’Brien’s Dictionary, Paris, 1768), or with the Irish {76} characters in copperplate (like Vallancey’s Grammar). In 1804, however, a revival took place, beginning in Paris, where Marcel, being at that time in possession of several of the founts belonging to the press of the Propaganda, which Napoleon had impounded for the use of the press of the Republic, repaired and re-cast the Irish founts of the Lucerna Fidelium, and issued a short sketch of the character and language, illustrated with readings in this type. In his beautiful Oratio Dominica, printed in 1805 in presence of Napoleon, the same type is used. “Strikes” of these founts were retained in Paris, and the letter has reappeared in specimens issued in 1819 and 1840. The matrices probably remain part of the stock of the Imprimerie Nationale to this day. The revival in our kingdom was more rapid. Moxon’s fount, which had passed through the hands of Robert Andrews, came in 1733 into the foundry of Thomas James, at the sale of which, in 1782, the punches and matrices were purchased in a somewhat defective condition by Dr. Fry. A specimen was shown in Dr. Fry’s specimen of 1794, and in his Pantographia, 1799, after which the fount occasionally reappeared until 1820, when it was last seen in O’Reilly’s Catalogue of Irish Writers, printed in Dublin in that year. By this time, however, there were some six new founts in the country. Neilson’s Grammar, printed at Dublin in 1808, appeared in a type apparently privately cut, as it is not found in the specimens of any of the British founders. Vincent Figgins cut an elegant fount after the copperplate models in Vallancey’s Grammar; Dr. Fry, under the inspection of Thaddeus Conellan, cut a Long Primer, Small Pica, and Pica, and Watts shortly afterwards added three others.
MUSIC.
The earliest specimen of music-type occurs in Higden’s Polychronicon, printed by De Worde at Westminster in 1495. The square notes appear to have been formed of ordinary quadrats, and the staff-lines of metal rules imperfectly joined. In Caxton’s edition of the same work in 1482 the space had been left blank, to be filled up by the illuminator or scribe. In other countries music was occasionally shown, but not in type. The plain chant in the Mentz Psalter of 1490, printed in two colours, was probably cut on wood. Hans Froschauer of Augsburg printed music from wooden blocks in 1473, and the notes in Burtius’ Opusculum Musices, printed at Bologna in 1487, appear to have been produced in the same manner[149]; while at Lyons, the Missal printed by Matthias Hus in 1485 had the staff only printed, the notes being intended to be filled in by hand, {77} either with a pen or by means of an inked stamp or punch. About 1500 a musical press was established at Venice by Ottavio Petrucci, at which were produced a series of Mass-books. In 1513 he removed to Fossombrone, and obtained a patent from Leo X for his invention of types for the sole printing of figurative song (cantus figuratus). Petrucci’s notes were lozenge-shaped, and each was cast complete, with its correspondent proportion of staff-lines. Before 1550 several European presses followed Petrucci’s example, and music-type, among other places, was used at Augsburg in 1506 and 1511, Parma in 1526, Lyons in 1532, and Nuremburg in 1549. In 1525 Pierre Hautin cut punches of lozenge-shaped music at Paris. Round notes were used at Avignon in 1532, and Granjon cut this kind at Paris about 1559. In 1552, Adrian Leroy, musician to Henri II of France, and Robert Ballard were appointed King’s printers for music. Their types are said to have been engraved by Le Bé. In England, after its first use, music-printing did not become general till 1550, when Grafton printed Marbecke’s Book of Common Prayer, “noted” in movable type; the four staff lines being printed in red, and the notes in black. There are only four different sorts of notes used,—three square and one lozenge. The appearance of the music is very bold and distinct. Day, Vautrollier, and East, all printed with music-type, which was of the kind generally used during the sixteenth century in Italy, Germany and France. Vautrollier was the printer for Tallis and Bird, who obtained a patent from Elizabeth for the sole printing of music. After the expiration of their patent, and another granted to Morley in 1598, music-printing was exercised (as Sir John Hawkins states) by every printer who chose it. A larger variety of founts appeared, and in some works two or more founts of music appear mixed in the same work. About 1660 the detached notes hitherto used began to give place to the “new tyed note,” by which the heads of sets of quavers could be joined. But at the close of the seventeenth century music-printing from type became less common, on account of the introduction of stamping and engraving plates for the purpose. There was music-type in Aberdeen in 1666 at the press of Forbes. Oxford University possessed music matrices, some apparently presented by Dr. Fell about 1667, and others cut by Walpergen. The punches and matrices of the latter are still preserved,[150] and are very curious; many of the matrices being without sides in the copper, and justified so that the mould shall supply the side, and the lines thus be cast so as to join continuously in the composition. Grover’s foundry also had a Great Primer music, and Andrews had matrices of several sizes of the square-headed or plain chant character. Caslon possessed a set {78} of round-headed matrices in two sizes, which came to him from Mitchell’s foundry. In 1764 Breitkopf of Leipsic succeeded in casting a music-type, in which the notes were composed of several pieces, which were “built up” by the compositor. Fleischman cut an improved music on the same principle for the Enschedés at Haarlem. Rosart of Brussels, and Fournier of Paris, succeeded in reducing the number of pieces of a fount to three hundred and one hundred, respectively. Henry Fought, in our own country in 1767, invented sectional types, which divided so as to admit the staff lines. The principal improvements after Fought’s time aimed at overcoming the hiatus caused by the joining of the lines. Attempts were made to cast the notes separately from the lines, or to adopt a logographic system of casting several notes in one piece. After the beginning of the present century the production of music-type was left in the hands of specialists, amongst whom Mr. Hughes, as late as 1841, had the reputation of possessing the best founts in the trade. Of the plain chant and psalm music, both Dr. Fry and Hughes had matrices in several sizes.
BLIND.
Printing for the blind was first introduced in 1784, by Valentin Haüy, the founder of the Asylum for Blind Children in Paris. He made use of a large script character, from which impressions were taken on a prepared paper, the impressions so deeply sunk as to leave their marks in strong relief, and legible to the touch. Haüy’s pupils not only read in this way, but executed their own typography, and in 1786 printed an Essai giving an account of their institution and labours, as a specimen of their press.[151]
The first School for the Blind in England was opened in Liverpool in 1791, but printing in raised characters was not successfully accomplished till 1827, when Mr. Gall, of the Edinburgh Asylum, printed the Gospel of St. John from angular types. Mr. Alston, the Treasurer of the Glasgow Asylum, introduced the ordinary Roman capitals in relief, and this system was subsequently improved upon by the addition of the “lower-case” letters by Dr. Fry, the type-founder, whose specimen gained the prize of the Edinburgh Society of Arts in 1837.
A considerable number of rival systems have competed in this country for adoption, greatly to the prejudice of the cause of education among the blind. The most important of these we here briefly summarize: {79}
- 1. LUCAS SYSTEM. The letters were represented by curves and lines, having no connection with the form of the characters they denoted. In this type the Scriptures occupied about 36 volumes.
- 2. FRERE’S SYSTEM. Wholly phonetic, the sounds being represented by circles, angles, and lines. These symbols were cut in copper wire, and soldered upon sheets of tin. From this form a stereotype-plate was taken.
- 3. MOON’S SYSTEM. Based upon the two preceding, but professed to be alphabetic. Nearly each symbol represents the form of a portion of the Roman letter it denotes. The plates were prepared by Frere’s method.
- 4. BRAILLE’S SYSTEM. A series of dots in various combinations, designed as a universal system. This system was introduced in the “Institution pour les jeunes aveugles” in Paris, in place of the alphabetical system which had prevailed since Haüy’s time.
- 5. CARTON’S SYSTEM. Also arbitrary, though following somewhat the form of the lower-case alphabet.
- 6. ALSTON’S SYSTEM. This great improvement consisted in the rejection of all arbitrary symbols, and the adoption of the plain Roman alphabet of capitals. In addition to the simplicity both to the teacher and the scholar, its adaptability to typography was obvious. Instead of soldering the wire outlines on to tin, the letters were now cut and cast by the ordinary process of typefounding.
The subsequent alphabetical systems have all been modifications of or attempted improvements on that of Alston, as perfected by Dr. Fry, and there seems every probability that this system will eventually become the recognised method of printing for the blind in all European countries.