the date 1473, found in Peter Comestor, Scholastica hystoria.”—pp. xvii.-xviii.

The above considerations go far towards supporting the suggestions I have thrown out (see pages 323-348) in regard to the dates when, and the parties by whom, the Speculum, Donatuses, &c., were printed. And these suggestions are further confirmed by the extracts cited by Dr. Van Der Linde from the archives of Utrecht, in a note on p. 85 of Hessels' Translation, where it is stated that in the year 1466, the name of Peter Direxsz, described as a "beeldedrucker"—a prenter, appears. "Perhaps," adds Dr. Van Der Linde, "the printer of the plates of the Speculum."

IV.-CUT WOODEN, versus CAST METAL TYPES.

However much my views may be found to coincide with those of Dr. Van Der Linde, Mr. Hessels, and Mr. Bradshaw, upon the Origin of Printing, and the date of the production of the so-called Costeriana, there may be wide differences of opinion on the question, whether the types made use of in the production of those works were made of wood or of metal. Dr. Van Der Linde writes upon this point in very dogmatic strains. In his eleventh chapter,-"A Beech in Den Hout,' "-the object of which is to shew the impossibility of Junius's statement about Coster having printed with wooden types, he quotes the following from Enschedé, written about the year 1770.

"I have exercised printing for about fifty years, and wood engraving for about forty-five years, and I have cut letters and figures for my father's and my own printing office in wood of palm, pear, and medlar trees; I have now been a type-founder for upwards of thirty years; but to do such things as those learned gentlemen (Junius and Meerman) pretend that Laurens Coster and his heirs have done, neither I nor Papillon, (the most clever wood engraver of France) are able to understand, nor the artists Albrecht Durer, De Bray, and Iz. Van Der Vinne either; but such learned men, who dream about wooden, moveable letters, make Laurens Janszoon Coster use witchcraft, for the hands of men are not able to do it. To print a book

with capitals of the size of a thumb, as on placards "HOUSE AND GROUND," which are cut in wood, and which I have cut myself by hundreds, would be ridiculous; to do it with wooden letters of the size of a pin's head is impossible. I have made experiments with a few of a somewhat larger size. I made a wooden slip of Text Corpus, and figured the letters on the wood or slip; thereupon I cut the letters; I had left a space of about the size of a saw between each letter on purpose, and I had no want of fine and good tools; the only question now was to saw the letters mathematically square off the slip. I used a very fine little saw, made of a very thin spring of English steel, so cleverly made, that I doubt whether our Laurens Janszoon had a saw half as good; I did all I could to saw the letters straight and parallel, but it was impossible: there was not a single letter which could stand the test of being mathematically square. What now to do? it was impossible to polish or file them; I tried it, but it could not be done by our type-founder's whetstones, as it would have injured the letters. In short, I saw no chance, and I feel sure that no engraver is able to cut separate letters in wood, in such a manner that they retain their quadrature (for that is the main thing of the line in type-casting.) If, however, I wished to give my trouble and time to it, I should be able to execute the three words 'Spiegel onzer Behoudenis,' better than the Rotterdam artist has done in the Latin work of M. Meerman; but it is impossible, ridiculous, and merely chimerical, to print books in this manner.'

The above quotation, in the opinion of Dr. Van Der Linde, settles the matter once for all; and certainly such a statement, from such a man, is enough to deter any one from attempting a similar experiment. Dr. Van Der Linde clinches Enschede's statement, with following remarks:

the

"We cannot wish for a more decisive and competent criticism of the story of Junius than this, given by a Haarlemer and a Costerian; for Junius represents Coster as having

printed the Speculum in Dutch with wooden types; he makes him, in other words, do something impossible, ridiculous, and chimerical. It is true that the wooden types have been patronized until our times; that Camus has given a specimen of printing with wooden types of two lines, Wetter of one column, Schinkel of half a page; that we are able to do much more with the means of the nineteenth than with those of the fifteenth century; but none of those specimens have proved what they should have proved; the practicability of printing a book with moveable wooden letters, i. e. to distribute the forms, to clean the ink from the letters, to submit them to frequent strong pressing, and to retain the usefulness of the letters employed, and without the aid of modern apparatus. They have only proved what men are willing to do for a favorite opinion, for a prejudice which they insist, for once and all, ought to be true." ... "It is high time for criticism to make a fire of these imaginary wooden letters."

Determined that the advocates of wooden letters shall be beaten completely out of the field, the Dr. adds, in a note upon Schinkel in the above quotation.

"In a brochure entitled 'Tweetal Bijdragen,' Schinkel gives some experiments of his foreman H. le Blansch, namely, seven lines, printed with types of palm wood. The xylotypographic text runs:-That the first Dutch Spiegel onzer Behoudenis was printed with cast types, is not to be doubted. Is it possible to print a book of some extension with moveable letters cut of wood? YES.-Le Blansch, sculp.' This YES is an unproved dictum, the contrary of which is evident already from the dancing lines of the experiment. Let a book be produced printed with moveable wooden letters, instead of all those experiments which signify nothing....... But apart from all this Costerian talk, the question may not be put as Schinkel did, but simply: Were ever books printed with moveable wooden letters? No."-pp. 72-73.

It may however be retorted upon the Dr.

that his No! is also an unproved dictum. But he says again, pages 78 and 79:

"Those fatal unhistorical wooden types! Wetter spent nearly the amount of ten shillings on having a number of letters made of the wood of a pear tree, only to please Trithemius, Bergellanus, and Faust of Aschaffenburg, the first two, falsifiers of history in good, the last in bad, faith. His letters, although tied with string, did not remain in the line, but made naughty caprioles. The supposition-that by these few dancing lines the possibility is demonstrated of printing with 40,000 wooden letters, necessary to the printing of a quaternion, a whole folio book--is dreadfully silly. The demonstrating fac-simile demonstrates already the contrary. Wetter's letters not only declined to have themselves regularly printed, but they also retained their pear-treewood-like impatience afterwards. He says, 'I have deposited the wooden types with their forms in the town-library, where they may be seen at any time.' Nothing is more liberal." "I not only deny" [with M. Bernard] adds the Dr., "that they [books printed with moveable wooden characters] exist at present I deny that they ever have existed."

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Nothing can be more emphatic. But, in the first place, "40,000 wooden letters" are not necessary to the printing of a quaternion, a whole folio book,"-and if they were, the supposition is not "dreadfully silly," for it was quite within the power of letter - snyders to cut that number if required. But they were not required. I have already shewn (p. 299), that to print two pages of the Speculum the number of letters necessary was under 3,000. It has also been shewn, that the early printers never printed more than one or two pages of their books at a time; while the impressions taken of such productions as the Speculum would in