Page:The American Bookmaker - Volume 7-8.djvu/82

72 last for a century. A newer style came in shortly after the close of the war, and then began the rage for brass rule. The latter still remains to a great extent, and the value of the present style of borders is more to supplement the rules than to do original work. Hollows are filled up, corners are rounded, lines are made to join, words are separated and backgrounds are devised. These purposes will be well served by the styles shown. Without possessing any intrinsic beauty they enable devices for typographic effect to be utilized. Ornaments closely resembling these were shown a month or two ago.

The Foster gothic is really a runic, with lines curving away from the centre, and having the centre of the letter or its cross-bar raised still higher up, as fashionable ladies a century ago had the waists of their dresses come up under their armpits. This will prove a useful, hardworking letter, not improved perhaps because of these freaks, but valuable as all jobbing type must be which has no very thin lines and has much space between them. Ink does not then fill up the face. Capitals only are made of these. There are four sizes. The pica will give nine letters to the inch, the great primer six, the double pica four and a half, and the double great primer three and a half.

Philip Heinrich displays some new faces of Hebrew, which are an addition to the small stock of Oriental faces made by American founders. Indeed very few faces other than English and German are cast by our letter founders, and if works in many languages which have a considerable literature were to be attempted the type must be imported for them. Our Greeks have been improved of late by drives from Miller & Richard's foundry, and we had before Saxon, Hebrew, Coptic, Cherokee and one or two others, few, however, in all. The faces just brought out by Mr. Heinrich range from nonpareil to double english, the last being the largest made in this country and chiefly valuable for titles and handbills. Strange as it may seem to people from the interior, enough Jews live in New York city to render it worth while to print theatre programmes, business cards, notices and much miscellaneous job work in Hebrew. There are besides a number of newspapers in that language, either wholly or partially. The sizes are nonpareil, brevier, long primer, pica, great primer and double english. The main stroke is heavy, but the minor strokes are lighter than in other Hebrews made by American founders, and the highest and lowest ascending and descending letters are kerned. The long primer and brevier are larger as to face in proportion than the nonpareil and pica. No points are shown on any of the sizes.

HE recent sale in London of the magnificent library of Robert Samuel Turner was an event of more than common interest to lovers of good binding. The collection included many important works relating to America, some very fine Aldines, Torrentinos and Elzevirs, valuable illuminated and other manuscripts, and rare editions of the principal authors in English, Italian, Spanish, French and Portuguese, all in the finest condition and many of them splendidly bound.

Mr. Turner had acquired a considerable number of volumes formerly in the possession of Marguerite de Valois, Diane de Poictiers, Maioli, Grolier, Girardot de Prefond, Madame de Pompadour and other eminent collectors, and among these were many notable bindings displaying the taste and skill of Clovis Eve, Du Seuil, Derôme and Padeloup. A large proportion of the finest bindings were by the more modern French artists—Trauz-Bauzonnet, Lortic and Capé. The specimens of Trauz-Bauzonnet were remarkable as showing unusual skill in the binding of very thin volumes. Some of those seen at the Turner sale consisted of only half a dozen leaves, including end papers. These were very firmly bound in thin, hard boards and covered in red morocco, highly polished and tastefully finished. Even in cases where the volume might be only an eighth of an inch in thickness the title was lettered across and not up the back. English binders would do well, when they have the opportunity, to observe with what extreme care old books bound by Trauz-Bauzonnet are "washed and mended." Some of the volumes in the Turner library exhibit the very perfection of the art of book restoring. The elegant bindings of Lortic have always been in great request. Mr. Turner was fortunate enough to procure a considerable number of them. They are remarkable for solid forwarding and fineness of finish. The leather used is always of the most perfect quality, and the gilding is invariably clean, tasteful and exact. The best example of workmanship of Capé was an octavo volume ("Orlando Inamorato," Milan, 1539), bound in crimson morocco, the sides being fully ornamented with a diamond formed centre inclosed within a beautiful border made up with lines and semicircles and filled in with delicate tooling of Le Gascon design. The board lining of green morocco is embellished with a rich dentelle border executed with great precision. The English binders—notably Roger Payne, Lewis, Hering, Hayday, Zaehnsdorf, Riviere and Bedford—were well represented. The specimens of Roger Payne's work were, with few exceptions, of an inferior kind. One worthy example may be noticed. It is a copy of Corneille, bound in dark blue morocco and decorated with small sprig tools in the style associated with Roger Payne's name. The binder's bill for this work is preserved:

Mr. Turner was a liberal patron of the late Francis Bedford, and he acquired a large quantity of this master's excellent bindings in stained calf, antique pigskin and extra morocco. Among the latter may be mentioned a fine folio copy of "Fabritii Proverbi," covered in rich brown levant. This volume is without bands, and the back and sides are decorated with a very graceful scroll design in the Grolier style, in which the owner's initial, T, is introduced. The workmanship is thoroughly good, the impressions being made with rare precision and solidity.

NE of the simplest methods of getting rid of electricity in the pressroom is said to have been introduced by Mr. Overend, of the firm of Sherman & Co., of Boston. He says: There is no difficulty before the sheet reaches the fly, as it is securely held by points, tapes and contact wheels. When, however, it reaches the fingers of the fly it acts in a most ungovernable manner, and continues to do so when it has been deposited on the heap. He prevents this nearly entirely by saturating the fingers or sticks of the fly with glycerine and water. This is put on with a sponge while the press is at rest. The next time it is stopped it is again wet, until finally the wood is completely saturated and there is no longer any need of repeating the process.

HE condition of the printing trade in this city is exceedingly slack. Great numbers of compositors are out of work, and are likely to remain so for some time. Several hundred hands were brought into this city by the late strike, and are still here, while the high prices, which were determined upon before anything was known about a contest, have diminished the power of this city to compete with other centres.