[54] Very few premiums are reported upon. In one case it was said that £10 were asked as a premium in relief stamping, but the informant admitted that the sum varied; in another well-known stationery firm a premium of £2 is asked for, but is returned with 5 per cent. interest at the end of three years. The premiums of £50 or £100 charged by certain bookbinding teachers are of course quite special.
LEADING LONDON HIGH-CLASS STATIONERY FIRM:
Paging Department.—Girls come for a few months for nothing, i.e. six months, no premium. They go on getting quicker.
Lithographic Department.—Girls come in and pick it up: show one another how to do it.
Vellum-binding Department.—Girls come for three years and are paid 5s. per week.
LEADING EDUCATIONAL SUPPLY FIRM:
Copybook and similar Work.—"Has several little girls running about on errands for a few shillings a week, and if any of them seem promising they are helped on. Training nothing like what it used to be; girls learn only one branch."
LARGE LONDON PRINTING FIRM:
Vellum-sewing Department.—"Regular apprenticeship still the system here." Three years given as the period for training and during this time no wages are paid. Girls come straight from school.