Some time elapsed after this, when Didot, the celebrated French printer, ap plied the stereotype art to logarithroie tables, and afterwards to several of the Latin classics, and to various French pub, lications. It has been said, by the French, that the merit of the invention properly belongs to Didot ; but by what we have already laid before our readers, it is evi dent this cannot have been the case.
Some years after Mr. Tilloch had given up the prosecution of this art, Mr. Wil son, a printer of respectability in London, engaged with Earl Stanhope for the pur pose of bringing it to perfection, and eventually to establish it in this country. His Lordship, it is said, received his in structions from Mr. Tilloch, and had af terwards the personal attendance of Mr. Foulis, for many months, at his seat at Chevening, where his Lordship was initiated in the practical part of the ope ration.
After two years application, Mr. Wilson announced to the public, that the ge nius and perseverance of Earl Stanhope, whom he styles " the Right Honourable Inventor," had overcome every difficul ty; and that, accordingly, the various pro cesses of the stereotype art had been so admirably contrived, combining the most beautiful simplicity with the most desira ble economy, the ne plus ultra of perfec tion with that of cheapness, as to yield the best encouragement to the public for looking forward to the happy period, when an application of this valuable art to the manufacture of books would be the means of reducing the prices of all standard works at least thirty, and in many cases fifty, per cent.
In January, 1804, the stereotype art, (with the approbation of Lord Stanhope,) was offered by Mr. Wilson to the Uni versity of Cambridge, for their adoption and use in the printing of bibles, testa ments, and prayer-books, upon certain terms and conditions highly advantageous to Mr. Wilson ; for, with his Lordship's characteristic generosity, Earl Stanhope has uniforthly declined to accept even the reimbursement of any part of the mo nies by him expended in the prosecution of this ingenious art. Sonic differences, however, arising between Mr. Wilson and the Syndics of the University, the contract was dissolved; and Mr. Wilson published his case in a stereotyped pam phlet, entitled "Arbitration between the University of Cambridge and Andrew Wilson." That Mr. Wilson might make out his case more clearly, he has given a " Com putation of the nonpareil bible,—showing the expenditure by both methods of printing-, upon composition, reading, wear of type, and charges of composi tion; and upon paper, press-work, charges on press-work, and insurance." This com putation is, of course, much in favour of the stereotype art ; amounting, indeed, to nearly one half, or fifty per cent. saved by the new method. In addition to the saving attributed to stereotype printing, it is said that, as every page of the most extensive work has a separate plate, all the pages of the said work must be equally new and beautiful : which can not be the case with single types, which are distributed and recomposed several times over in the course of a large work.
The stereotype art also, it is said, pos sesses a security against error. This ad vantage is much insisted on by the friends of the art ; but with what consistency, we confess, does not immediately appear : fur, strange as it may seem, after all the care that we may naturally suppose was taken to render Mr. Wilson's pamphlet a model of stereotype perfection, it is still not without its errata. The pamphlet consists of about forty-four pages; and on the forty-first page, in a line contain ing only two monosyllables, there is an error : (viz.) viol for void. There are one or two other trifling inaccuracies in the pamphlet, which afford demonstrative proof that " Whoever thinks a faultless piece to see, Thinks what ne'er was, nor is, nor e'er shall be." Indeed, as every work hitherto stereo typed clearly manifests, it is not possible that first editions of works should be more correct when stereotyped than when printed in the common way ; and it ought not to be forgotten, that an error stereotyped in the first edition, is perpe tuated through every subsequent edi. tion. It is said, that stereotype plates admit of alteration : this, however, if car ried to any extent, must be attended with a very considerable expense.
In short, we think that the stereotype art has much the advantage of common printing in standard books of very exten sive circulation and constant demand, and wherein no alteration, as to plan or size, is allowed ever to take place ; but for the common and most general purposes of the art of printing, the method by move able types is incomparably the best.
The precise method adapted in stereo. type printing being hitherto a secret known only to a few, our readers will per ceive that we can only, as we have done, give a general history of the invention. The mode of stereotype printing is, how. ever, generally, first to set up a page, for instance, in the conmain way, with move able types ; and when it is rendered as correct as the nature of the thing will ad mit, a cast is taken from it, and in this cast the metal for the stereotype plate is poured ; and so for every page or sheet of a work intended to be stereotyped. When the plates are prepared, they are printed off at the Stanhope press ; and it must be confessed, that the works hi therto published, that have been printed in this manner, are very beautiful, and to the full as correct as the best editions of books printed according to the common method. But as it does not appear that any actual saving can be obtained in the manufacture of books in general, the London publishers have not yet thought it worth their while to patronize and en courage this curious invention.