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 TEXT (Lat. textum, woven fabric, from texere, to weave), a term which is applied with several varieties of meaning to the actual words of an author as written; it is thus used of the original composition as opposed to the commentary, paraphrase, notes, &c., written by others upon it, and to the written printed matter as opposed to the illustrations, diagrams, &c., accompanying it (see below). A specific meaning is that of a passage of Scripture used as the subject of a sermon or discourse, as an argument or illustration in theological discussion or as a means of edification, exhortation or admonition. Technically the term is also applied to a particular form of writing in MSS. before the age of printing, and so, in composition, in such uses as “text-hand,” “text-writer,” &c. A “text-book” is a manual or handbook of instruction, such as

is used by students as the standard book on the subject which they may be studying.  TEXTILE-PRINTING. “Textile” (see ) is a general name for all woven fabrics (Lat. texere, to weave), and the art of ornamenting such fabrics by printing on designs or patterns in colour is very ancient, probably originating in the East. It has been practised in some form, with considerable success, in China and India from time immemorial, and the Chinese, at least, are known to have made use of engraved wood-blocks many centuries before any kind of printing was known in Europe. That the early Egyptians, too, were acquainted with the art is proved not merely by the writings of Pliny but by the discovery, in the Pyramids and other Egyptian tombs, of fragments of cloth which were undoubtedly decorated by some method of printing.

The Incas of Peru, Chile and Mexico also practised textile printing previous to the Spanish Invasion in 1519; but, owing to the imperfect character of their records before that date, it is impossible to say whether they discovered the art for themselves, or, in some way, learnt its principles from the Asiatics.

There is no doubt that India was the source from which, by two different channels, Europeans derived their knowledge of block-printing. By land its practice spread slowly westwards through Persia, Asia Minor and the Levant, until it was taken up in Europe—during the latter half of the 17th century. Almost at the same time the French brought directly by sea, from their colonies on the east coast of India, samples of Indian blue and white “resist” prints, and along with them, particulars of the processes by which they had been produced.

Textile-printing was introduced into England in 1676 by a French refugee who opened works, in that year, on the banks of the Thames near Richmond. Curiously enough this is the first print-works on record; but the nationality and political status of its founder are sufficient to prove that printing was previously carried on in France. In Germany, too, textile printing was in all probability well established before it spread to England, for, towards the end of the 17th century, the district of Augsburg was celebrated for its printed linens—a reputation not likely to have been built up had the industry been introduced later than 1676.

On the continent of Europe the commercial importance of calico-printing seems to have been almost immediately recognized, and in consequence it spread and developed there much more rapidly than in England, where it was neglected and practically at a standstill for nearly ninety years after its introduction. During the last two decades of the 17th century and the earlier ones of the 18th new works were started in France, Germany, Switzerland and Austria; but it was only in 1738 that calico-printing was first practised in Scotland, and not until twenty-six years later that Messrs Clayton of Bamber Bridge, near Preston, established in 1764 the first print-works in Lancashire, and thus laid the foundation of what has since become one of the most important industries of the county and indeed of the country. At the present time calico-printing is carried on extensively in every quarter of the globe, and it is pretty safe to say that there is scarcely a civilized country in either hemisphere where a print-works does not exist.

From an artistic point of view most of the pioneer work in calico-printing was done by the French; and so rapid was their advance in this branch of the business that they soon came to be acknowledged as its leading exponents. Their styles of design and schemes of colour were closely followed—even deliberately copied—by all other European printers; and, from the early days of the industry down to the latter half of the 19th century, the productions of the French printers in Jouy, Beauvais, Rouen, Alsace-Lorraine, &c., were looked upon as representing “all that was best” in artistic calico-printing. This reputation was established by the superiority of their earlier work, which, whatever else it may have lacked, possessed in a high degree the two main qualities essential to all good