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by which the late Mr. Walter applied steam-power to the printing press, and certainly equal to that by which the rotary press superseded the reciprocatory action of the flat machine.
Stereotyping has a curious history. Many attempts were made to obtain solid printing-surfaces by transfer from similar surfaces, composed, in the first place, of movable types. The first who really succeeded was one Ged, an Edinburgh goldsmith, who, after a series of difficult experiments, arrived at a knowledge of the art of stereotyping. The first method employed was to pour liquid stucco, of the consistency of cream, over the types; and this, when solid, gave a perfect mould. Into this the molten metal was poured, and a plate was produced, accurately resembling the page of type. As long ago as 1730, Ged obtained a privilege from the University of Cambridge for printing Bibles and Prayer-books after this method. But the workmen were dead against it, as they thought it would destroy their trade. The compositors and the pressmen purposely battered the letters in the absence of their employers. In consequence of this interference Ged was ruined, and died in poverty.
The art had, however, been born, and could not be kept down. It was revived in France, in Germany, and in America. Fifty years after the discovery of Ged, Tilloch and Foulis, of Glasgow, patented a similar invention, without knowing anything of what Ged had done; and after great labour and many experiments, they produced plates, the impressions from which could not be distinguished from those taken from the types from which they were cast. Some years afterwards, Lord Stanhope, to whom the art of printing is much indebted, greatly improved the art of stereotyping, though it was still quite inapplicable to newspaper printing. The merit of this latter invention is due to the enterprise of the present proprietor of The Times.
Mr. Walter began his experiments, aided by an ingenious Italian founder named Dellagana, early in 1856. It was ascertained that when papier-mache matrices were rapidly dried and placed in a mould, separate columns might be cast in them with stereotype metal, type high, planed flat, and finished with sufficient speed to get up the duplicate of a forme of four pages fitted for printing. Steps were taken to adapt these type-high columns to the Applegath Presses, then worked with polygonal chases. When the Hoe machines were introduced, instead of dealing with the separate columns, the papier-mache matrix was taken from the whole page at one operation, by roller-presses constructed for the purpose. The impression taken off in this manner is as perfect as if it had been made in the finest wax. The matrix is rapidly dried on heating surfaces, and then accurately adjusted in a casting machine curved to the exact circumference of the main drum of the printing press, and fitted with a terra-cotta top to secure a casting of uniform thickness. On pouring stereotype metal into this mould, a curved plate was obtained, which, after undergoing a certain amount of trimming at two machines, could be taken to press and set to work within twenty-five minutes from the time at which the process began.