Page:De Vinne, Invention of Printing (1876).djvu/422

412 and his associates. Schwartz said that this must have been the first edition. A still more exact description of this edition was published by Schelhorn in 1760, under the title of The Oldest Edition of the Latin Bible. He said that this must have been the edition described by Zell.

The Bible of 36 lines is a large demy folio of 1764 pages, made up, for the most part, in sections of ten leaves, and usually bound in three volumes. Each page has two columns of 36 lines each. In some sections, a leaf torn out, possibly on account of some error, has been replaced by the insertion of a single leaf or a half sheet. The workmanship of the first section is inferior: the indentation of paper by too hard pressure is very strongly marked; the pages are sadly out of register; on one page the margins and white space between the columns show the marks of a wooden chase and bearers, which were used to equalize impression and prevent undue wear of types. This section has the appearance of experimental or unpractised workmanship. It is apparent, almost at a glance, that the printer did not use a proper chase and bearers, nor a frisket, nor points for making register. All other sections were printed with the proper appliances, with uncommon neatness of presswork, in black ink, with exact register, and with a nicely graduated impression, which shows the sharp edges of the types with clearness.

The types of this book closely resemble, in face and body, many letters being identically the same, the types of the display line in the Letter of Indulgence of 31 lines, and of the Donatus of 1451. In some features they resemble the types of the Bible of 42 lines. It is possible that the types of each edition were designed and made by the same letter cutter, and that they were made for and used by the same printer. This opinion is strengthened after an inspection of the mannerisms of the composition, which are those of the Bible of 42 lines. The colon, period, and hyphen are the only marks of punctuation. The lines of the text are always full: the hyphen