Triumphs and wonders of the 19th century, the true mirror of a phenomenal era, a volume of original, entertaining and instructive historic and descriptive writings, showing the many and marvellous achievements which distinguish an hundred years of material, intellectual, social and moral progress .. . an international reputation. In all that pertains to the printing business there is nothing with whichthe name of Franklin is connected as inventor; yet he is referred to invari-ably as in the highest degree representative of the art preservative of allarts. Were the distinguished scientist, stat
Triumphs and wonders of the 19th century, the true mirror of a phenomenal era, a volume of original, entertaining and instructive historic and descriptive writings, showing the many and marvellous achievements which distinguish an hundred years of material, intellectual, social and moral progress .. . an international reputation. In all that pertains to the printing business there is nothing with whichthe name of Franklin is connected as inventor; yet he is referred to invari-ably as in the highest degree representative of the art preservative of allarts. Were the distinguished scientist, statesman, diplomat, printer, and philo-sopher to come forth from his gravein the cemetery of Christ Church,at Fifth and Arch Streets, Phila-delphia, and go into one of thegreat printing houses of the coun-try, how astounding to him wouldbe the revelation ! No more thewooden types or the unsymmetri-rical metal pieces; no more thewooden hand-press, the wood en-gravings, the ink balls, and theprocess of printing a few hundredsheets an hour. The terrific rapid-ity with which the newspapers areturned out to-day, printed, , and folded; the fineness ofthe work done on books and maga-zines ; the wonder of one press EARLY printing press as used byputting on different colors at the min 544 TRIUMPHS AND WONDERS OF THE XIXth CENTURY same time; the setting of type by machines seemingly possessed of humanintelligence; the rapidity and the simplicity of making stereotype plates;the dexterity of forming ordinary metal types into all kinds of forms; themillions of books, — secular and religious. — papers, and general literaryproductions turned out daily, would so puzzle the gigantic brain and cloudthe understanding of the philosopher as to cause him to exclaim : Take meback, 0 spirit of death, and let me forever rest from this seething, surging,whirling sphere of inventive progression. When the genius of invention was turned toward the printing art, it isworthy of note tha
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1890, bookidtri, booksubjectinventions
