Promoting the industry ~ Focused on Members Success
Promoting the industry ~ Focused on Members Success
Printing - the art preservative of all arts.
Alligator Press - a job press used between 1845 and 1860. “It closed the tympan and platen very rapidly and often seriously injured the feeder.”
Beating - to apply ink to a form by means of inking balls.
Old Pelt - an old pressman.
Out of Truth - a book that is not cut square.
Out of His Time - an apprentice who has completed his apprenticeship.
Mackle - an accidental double impression or image on a press sheet. (Sounds like the crumpling of a sheet of paper)
Mutton Fist - the pointing hand used to draw attention. It is similar to the *return to sender* stamp used by the post office. (Mutton Fist?)
Mutton Thumper - A bad workman. (There is a lot of it going around)
Naked Form - A form of type waiting for or stripped of the wooden furniture that held it in place on the press.
Note of Admiration - an old name for an exclamation mark!
Objectional Man - the person who distributes or returns type to the case that is more difficult than usual. This type was objectional to the other typesetters. The objectional man got a higher wage.
Polling Backwards - a typesetter who intentionally works slowly.
Polyautography - printing one’s own handwriting from a lithographic stone.
Scabby - uneven or rotten color in printing.
Short Sort - type that is about to run out.
Twicer - a term of contempt for a person who professes to work both as a typesetter and press operator. This term applied when there was severe competition between the pressroom and composing room.
Unfair Fonts - foundry type that is very thin. It took more letters to fill a page so the compositor had to work harder for his wages.
Wetting Down - The process of wetting paper in water prior to printing. Printing papers sometimes had a rough surface and the process of wetting allowed the metal type to make a better impression.
Working in Pocket - Typesetters who worked on a job together and split the pay equally.
Wayzgoose - (or Wayzegoose) a holiday or party for the benefit of the printers. Originally it meant a fat goose suitable for stuffing. Another name for a printer’s party was “beanfest”. (Supposedly the later originated in a less prosperous shop.)
