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Rh by Peter Schoeffer at Mainz before 1456, which, according to its colophon, was finished “Arte nova imprimendi seu caracterizandi (from character＝letter) absque calami exaratione.” Fust and Schoeffer said of the Mainz Psalter of 1457 that

it was formed by an “adinventio artificiosa imprimendi ac caracterizandi absque calami ulla exaratione.” The colophon of the Catholicon of 1460 says that the book was printed “non calami, stili, aut pennae suffragio, sed mira patronarum formarumque concordia, proporcione, ac modulo.” In 1462 Albrecht Pfister says that he had “gedrucket” the Four Histories. Fust and Schoeffer say of the Liber Sextus Decretalium, published in 1465, that it was completed “non atramento (“atramento communi” in the Justinianus of 1468 and 1472), plumali canna neque aerea, sed artificiosa quadam adinventione imprimendi seu caracterizandi,” which phrase they slightly varied in Cicero’s Officia, issued in the same year: “non atramento, plumali canna neque aerea, sed arte quadam perpulcra.” The edition of St Jerome’s Epistles of 1470 is said to have been completed by an “ars impressoria,” the Decretum Gratiani of 1472 by an “ars quaedam ingeniosa imprimendi,” the Dyalogus of 1478 by an “ars magistra.” We find further—“ars sancta” or “divina,” “nova ars scribendi,” “novum exscribendi genus prope divinum,” “sculptoria archetyporum ars,” “ars mirifica formandi,” “ars excusoria,” “nova imprimendi ratio,” “ars pressurae,” “chalcotypa ars,” “chalcographia” (1472 and later), “chalcographia excusoria impressoriaque,” “libraria impressio,” “empryntynge” (Caxton, 1482), “prenterei (Schoeffer, 1492), “truckery” (1505), “impression des livres” (1498), and “prenten.”

The early printers called themselves, or were called by others, “librorum prothocaragmatici” (Gramm. Rhythm., 1468), “impressores librorum,” “exsculptor librorum” (Jenson, 1471), “chalcographus” (1463; Hain 13036), “magister artis impressoriae,” “boeckprinter”; and during the 16th century we find them still frequently called “chalcotypus” and

“chalcographus.”

The types were at first designated more by negative than positive expressions. In 1468 they were called “caragma,” later on “caracter” or “character,” “archetipae notae” (1473; Hain 13036), “sculptoria archetyporum ars,” “chalcotypa ars,” “formae,” “artificiosissimae imprimendorum librorum formae.” We soon hear also of the process and material by which

they were produced. The Grammatica of 1468, published by Schoeffer, says that it was “cast” (sum fusus libellus). In 1471 "aeneae formulae” are spoken of; and Bernardus Cenninus and his son testify that they had printed the Virgil “expressis ante calibe caracteribus et deinde fusis literis” (with letters first cut into steel and then cast). In 1473 Friedrich Creusner at Nuremberg states that he had “cut” (sculpsit) the work of Diogenes (Hain 6192). Johan Zeiner of Ulm says in 1474 that he had perfected a book, not with the pen, but with letters of metal (stagneis caracteribus). In 1474 Joh. Ph. de Lignamine speaks of “metallicae formae.” In 1476 Husner of Strassburg represents the Nider as being printed with “letters cut of metal (litteris sculptis artificiali certe conatu ex aere).” Nicolas Jenson printed in 1480 with letters “cut and cast” (sculptis ac conflatis).

The word typographus seems to occur for the first time in 1486, in the preface of P. Stephanus Dulcinius Scalae to the Astronomicon of Manilius, printed in that year at Milan by Antonius Zarotus; in 1498 Erasmus uses it in a letter (dated Feb. 13) to Christianus, a Lübeck merchant; and in 1517

Johan Schoeffer applies the word to himself in the colophon of the Aeneas Sylvius published by him. But of the use of the word typographia no earlier instance is known than 1520, in which year Gerardus Noviomagus (＝Geldenhaurius) in his Lucubratiuncula de Batavorum Insula (pref. to Nicol. Buscoducensis, dated 1520) says: “inventa Germanorum. . . bombarda videlicet, typographia, pyxis chartaque nautica”; and Johan Schott, a printer of Strassburg, in the ''Geogr. Ptolem.'' published by him, describes his grandfather, Johan Mentelin, as “primus typographiae inventor.” Gerardus, it may be added, borrowed the whole passage from Pet. Montanus (li. 1 Adag., published an. 1504), who has chalcographia instead of typographia. Meerman indeed speaks of a use of the word typographia (or at least of typographus) earlier than 1520, and refers to the preface of Bernardinus Veronensis in the edition of Tibullus, Catullus and Propertius published at Venice in 1493 by Symon Bevilaqua, “at least,” Meerman adds, “as it (the preface) is read in the ''Annal. typogr.'' of Maittaire, i. 560, 2nd ed.” But on page 560 Maittaire quotes the first two lines of Bernardinus’s preface (till dicit) and then adds: “Graecis characteribus destitutus, typographus necesse habuit hiatus in commentario hic illic relinquere,” which is evidently Maittaire’s own remark, not that of Bernardinus. The present writer at least has been unable to find such a passage in the Tibullus.

When we, for the moment, leave out of sight the question as to when, where, and by whom the art was invented, and

take our stand on well-authenticated dates in such printed documents as have been preserved, we find that the first printed date, 1454, occurs in two different editions of the same letter of indulgence issued in that year by Pope Nicholas V. in behalf of the kingdom of Cyprus.

Basing ourselves on the above Indulgences with their printed date, and four different types, we subjoin two lists of the books which the German bibliographers of the present day regard as having all been printed by Johan Gutenberg at Mainz, in the types or “developments” of them, employed for these Indulgences. They are arranged in two columns (A and B) according to types, but without regard to strict or supposed chronology. For further details cf. Hessels, Gutenberg (1882), p. 150 sqq.; Schwenke, Berlin Festschr. (and in the Veröffentl. of the Mainz Gutenberg-Gesellsch.); Zedler (Gutenberg-Forsch. and in the Veröffentl.), &c.