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And of this, Schceffer, or Schcfer, firft, Servant, and after wards Parmer, and Son- in- Law, of Fuji, at Mentz, above- mentioned j is pretty generally allow'd the Inventor. So that be was properly the fir ft Printer ; and, in ftriclnefs, the Bible, which was printed with moveable Letters in 1450, was the firil printed Book ; tbe next was Augujtw ds Cibi~ tatefDei, then TziUy'sOjfises, &c. about the Xear 1^61.
But the Art being yet in its Infancy, there were fame Imperfections in the Books they printed; among the reil was the want of Capital Letters : hence they left the places of the initial Letters blank, and gave 'era to the Illuminers ro paint in Gold, or Azure: Tho', others fay, this was done defignedly, to enable 'em to pafs off their Books for Manufcripts.
Some Authors tell us, that Fuji carrying a parcel of his Bibles to Paris, and offering 'em to fale as MSS. the French, upon confidering the number of Books, and their exact Conformity with one another, even to a Point ; and that the beft Book-Writers could not be near fo exact 5 con- cluded there was Witchcraft in the cafe 5 and, by either actu- ally indicting him as a Conjurer, or threaming to do fo, extorted the Secret. And hence the Origin of the po- pular Story of Dr. Faztjius.
From Mentz, the Art of Printing foon fpread itfelf throughout a good part of Europe 3 Haerkra and Straf- I'Olirg had it very early ; which, as the current of Authors reprefent it, occafion'd their pretending to the honour of the Invention.
From Haerlem it pafs*d to Rome in 14.S7 ; and into Eng- land m 1468, by means of Tho. Sourchier, Archbifhop of Canterbury, who fent TV. Turner, Mafler of the Robes, and W.Caxton, Merchant 5 to Haerlem, to learn the Art : Thefe privately prevailing with Corfeles, an Under- workman, to come over, a Prefs was fet up at Oxford ; and an Edi- tion of RujfinitS on the Creed printed the fame Year in a broad Octavo on Paper.
From Oxford, Caxtott brought it to London about the Year 147c. In the fame Year it was carried to Venice, and ro Paris, where Gering, Grants*, and Friburger, all Ger- mans, invited thither by two Doctors of the Sorbonm 5 fet up a Prefs in that learned Houfe.
Hitherto there had been nothing printed but in Latin, and the vulgar Tongues 5 firft in Roman Characters, then in Gothic, and at laft tn Italic. But in 148c, and, as fome fay, in 147^ tho, Italians caft a Set of Greek Typesj and it
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was at Pimve, or, as fome fay, at Milan or Florence, that
%l t f- dmons ,n tn « Language appeared.
- Iheltahms, too, have the honour of the firft Hebrew
Editions, which were printed about the fame time with the Greek, at Souc^io, a little City i„ , ne Dutcv of Milan ;. under the direction oftwoje-^ R ab bi„ s , Jofiua^i Mo- fes whofe Works are dated in the lear of the Wo, Id ; 24 o, anfwermgto the Year 14S0 of the Christian JEra . To ™ a J rd . s theend of th <-' '«'•> Centurv, there appeared va- rious Editions of Books in Syricc, Arabic, Tertian Arme- nian, Coptic, or Egyptian Charaflers ; fome out' of the Curiofity of the Learned, and others for the Liturgic Ufes otthe Chriflians of the Levant, printed chiefly at Paw ; whither Puncheons and Matrices were fent from Conlianti- nople by M.Savary, then Ambaffador at the Tort. - Oat o{ Europe, the Art of Priming, has been carried into the three other Quarters of the World : For Alia, we fee Impreflii.ns of Books at Goa, and in the Philippines i at Lima, Softon, Mexico, &c. for America ; and at Morocco for AJrica.
The -Turks, indeed, rigorouily prohibit Printing through- out their Empire, as imagining that the too free Commu- nication with Books, might occafion fome change in Religion or Government ; yet the Jews have feveral Eoiiioas of their Books printed ixConftantinople, Thejfalonica, &c.
Method of Printi n a.
The Printing Letters, Charaflers, or Types as they are fometimes call'd, we have already fpoke of, under the Ar- ticles Letter and Character.
Of the Method of forming or calling them, under the Article Ze^er-FouNDERY.
And of the Art of Engraving the Puncheons, Ma'rice-, iSc. in otder thereto, tinder the Articles Engravino Puncheon, Matbice,&.
There are Lettets of feveral Sizes, or Sorties ; each of which, again, are fometimes caft with the Roman, fome- times an Italick, and fometimes an Englifa Face. Thern are alfo Bodies with Greek, Hebrew, and the Mutic Face. J
The molt ufual Sizes, or Bodies, with their Proportions, are ftiewn and exemplify 'd in the following Table ; where, it is to be obferved, that the Verfe anfwering to each is compofed in the refpe<5cive Letter
li% h'mif. bllficn.
Gnat Primer.
Double Pica. Tw lined-)
Whit* vi'ich at knew, ;nd Ml o»r fccMc Reair:,
Emboli with Bale, and bitter biting Grief. Which Love had laiinced with his deadly Darts ;
With wounding Words, and Terms of foul Ecprief,
He pluck'd from us all hope of due relief,
That erft us held in love of lingering Life.
The Hopclefs, heartlefs gan the cunning Thief
Perfuade to die to flint all further ftrife :
To me he lent this Rope, to him a rutty Knife: With which lad Inftrument of hafty Death,
That woful Lover lothinp'--
A Set or Fount of any of thefe Sizes, includes current Letters, Capitals, numeral Figures, Points, Spaces, i£c. See
tOUNT.
The Wotkmen employ'd in Trinting are of two kinds ; Wi'pofiiars, who range and difpofe rhc Letters into Words, Lines, Pages, efc. according to the Copy deliver'd them by ™- Auihor: And Trefsmen, who apply Ink upon the fame, an <t take off the Impreffion. See Composition,^.
Office of the Compofitor.
\,r \ r Types being caft, Jjfc are diftributed, each kind b
'tlelt. !lm, .L~ K- ■!. f . I t -n
di-
1- j- ~ "Jr" ueui^ catr, zyc. are outriuuteo, eacn Kind oy
- among the Divifions of two long wooden Frames, an
Pr«, and under one, call'd Cafes; each of which met! , nt0 i ittle Cd , S) M S(jxeh of different Sizes .
_ The Boxes of the upper Cafe arc in Number 08 ; and in thefe are difpofed the Capitals, fmall Capitals accented Lettets, ££?c
In the Cells of the lower Cafe, which are fifty f our , are difpofed the common running Letters, with the Points, Com- ma's, Spaces, Quadrates, £2c.
Each Cafe is placed a little Hope, like a reading Desk, that the Operator may reach the upper Boxes the better j and be in lefs danger of mixing the Letters by ftretchins his Arm over them. See Case.
The Compofitor's Poll is againft the middle of the Cafe, and he wotks Handing : holding an Inftrument, call'd the Comfofing- Stick, in one Hand, with the other he takes out the Letters, Points, Comma's, (Sic. as he needs them out of the Boxes 5 ranges them on his Compofing-Stick j and, put- ting
