The Technology Of The First Printing
THE TECHNOLOGY OF THE FIRST PRINTING
The first printing of the King James Bible in 1611 was carried out at Barker's printing house, located at Northumberland House in Aldersgate Street, close to the center of London, using newly cast type on high-quality linen and rag paper. The volume consisted of 123 signatures—that is, gatherings of paper—with 366 sheets of paper, each folded to yield two “leaves” of paper, consisting of four printed pages, measuring 16 by 10½ inches. Most of the signatures consisted of three sheets of paper, folded over and sewn together to yield six leaves (that is, twelve printed pages). It is clear that the Bible was printed section by section, with binding taking place at the end of the printing process. Barker does not appear to have possessed the resources needed to allow simultaneous printing of each section of the work.
Printing methods had not changed substantially since the time of Gutenberg or Caxton, a century and a half earlier. Although the cost of producing printed books was still substantially less than handwritten manuscripts, the process was still immensely time-consuming and labor-intensive. Although we do not know the precise production methods used in Barker's printing house, it is likely that the first printing of the King James Bible would have taken place along the following lines.
First, the type would have to be cast. The type used in the first printing gave a very clear impression, which strongly suggests that it was cast especially for this project. The first printing used black letter type, despite the fact that this was beginning to fall out of favor, being increasingly seen as archaic. It is possible that the selection of this type was intended to add to the gravity of the final text. A small amount of roman type was used to set words inserted by the translators (to distinguish this from the remainder of the text). Roman characters were also used for the summaries that appeared at the head of each chapter, cross-references in the margins, and the subject headlines at the top of each page. The basic intention was that the authentic words of Scripture itself should be set in black letter, with additional material in roman. A small amount of italic type was also required to indicate alternative translations of difficult or obscure words.
The production of sufficient type would have required a substantial financial investment, and would need to have begun well in advance of the printing process itself. The technology for this had been set in place by Gutenberg, and had advanced relatively little in the intervening period. Gutenberg's type mold allowed type to be produced of uniform height yet with varying widths, to accommodate the different horizontal sizes of letters. For example, the letters l and m take up a significantly different horizontal space; Gutenberg's type mold was sufficiently flexible to allow for this variation in width.
A relief pattern for each letter was then cut into a copper matrix, often using a punch. This created a matrix in which each letter was imprinted as an indented mirror image of its normal form. The matrix was then fitted to the bottom of the type mold, which generally took the form of a metal box, enclosed in wood to insulate the typecaster's hands from the heat of the molten metal that was used in the typecasting process. Once the mold had been adjusted for width, the process of typecasting could begin.
The typecaster would typically hold the mold in his right hand, pouring liquid type metal into the mold from a ladle. The mold was immediately jerked upward, to ensure that that molten metal was forced into the indentation on the copper matrix. Contemporary records indicate that the technique of jerking the mold at just the right moment was not easily mastered, and made considerable demands of the typesetter. In particular, it demanded extensive use of the wrist muscles, as an experienced typecaster is reckoned to have been capable of producing up to four thousand pieces of type a day. Once the typecaster had produced sufficient stock of one letter or character, he would insert a different matrix, and repeat the process. It is assumed that Barker would have ensured that this process was completed in advance of receiving the text of the King James Bible from Bancroft, so that his printers could proceed directly to the process of composition.
Composition is the process by which a page is constructed, including the layout of the type itself, along with any illustrations or ornaments. A typical page of the King James Bible was laid out as follows. The text is laid out in two columns, each of which is enclosed within ruled margins, containing fifty-nine lines of text per column. Each verse began on a new line, with its number clearly indicated at the beginning of the line, in the same size of type as the remainder of the verse itself. At the top, the title of the biblical book is displayed as a central headline, with the subject matter of the pages being displayed on either side. No page numbers were provided.
With this basic pattern in mind, the compositor would set up the type for each page. The type was stored in cases adjacent to the composing table. Since the time of the famous Venetian printer Manutius Aldus, type had been stored in two cases: capital letters in the upper case, and minuscule letters in the lower case. The compositor would assemble the type using a “composing stick,” which is best thought of as a small tray, equal to the width of the printed line. As each line was assembled, it was transferred to the galley tray. Once the two columns of text were completely assembled, headlines and other marginal material was added. Two pages would be printed at a time. During the stage of “imposition,” two completely set pages would be placed together on what was often known as the “imposing stone.” After ensuring that the pages were aligned correctly, they were enclosed within a metal or wooden frame known as a “chase.” Padding would be inserted to ensure that the type did not move during the printing process. The result of this process was known as a “forme.” A draft sheet was then printed from the forme, and checked against the original copy for errors. There is substantial evidence to suggest that many late Renaissance printers checked their text by having the original copy read aloud to them while they checked the proof text against what they heard being read.
In the meantime, paper would have been prepared for the printing process. Limitations in ink technology meant that it was difficult to apply ink evenly to dry paper. The solution to this particular difficulty was to dampen the paper in advance. Typically 250 sheets of paper were dampened on the day before printing was due, and allowed to stand overnight to ensure even distribution of the moisture.
The forme would then be placed on the bed of the printing press. A series of devices (including the “tympan” and “frisket”) had been developed over the years to ensure that ink smudges were avoided, and that the paper was correctly aligned—a matter of no small importance, if both sides of the paper were to be printed. In the early days of printing, up to ten small pricked holes in the margins of the paper had to be aligned with corresponding pinpoints on the press itself. By the early seventeenth century, things had improved considerably; only two points were now generally used, located in the middle of the forme. These would subsequently become invisible as a result of the binding process.
Two men were required to operate a typical printing press of the period. One applied ink to the type using an “inkball;” the other operated the lever that forced the platen on top of the paper, and thus ensured its smooth contact with the inked type. The “inkballs” were leather pads, mounted in wooden cups with handles attached, which were stuffed with wool or horsehair. These were dipped in ink, then rolled over the type to ensure even distribution of the ink. Once this was done, paper was inserted into the press and aligned correctly. The pressman then pulled the lever of the press toward him, which operated the screw that brought the platen into contact with the paper, forcing it against the inked forme. The platen ensured that pressure was evenly distributed across the paper, thus avoiding uneven impressions. However, difficulties in technology meant that a platen could not be constructed wide enough to print both pages in the forme simultaneously. The first pressman thus made two pulls to print each forme, allowing his colleague to realign the forme between the pulls. Pulling required considerable physical effort, and was very tiring. The two pressmen would thus swap tasks halfway through the process.
Once the first side of a sheet of paper was printed, it was important to print the second as quickly as possible. The paper was still wet at this stage; if it was allowed to dry out, any changes in shape would make realignment very difficult. A second forme would, therefore, be inserted, and the entire process repeated until four pages had been printed. Once this was done, the paper was hung up to dry, while the ink was removed from the forme and the type broken down, ready to be used again in a new forme.
In order to ensure that the Bible was assembled in the correct order, the pages were then assembled into “gatherings” or “signatures.” With occasional exceptions, the King James Bible was printed in gatherings of three sheets of paper, to yield twelve pages of text. (As explained earlier, each sheet of paper was printed with two pages on each side.) These were then gathered and sewn together. To ensure that the many gatherings that went to make up the King James Bible were assembled in the correct order, the first page of each was given a “signature.” Traditionally, this took the form of a letter of the alphabet. Thus a short book consisting of five “gatherings” or “signatures” would be arranged in “gatherings” signed as follows: A; B; C; D; E. Where there were more gatherings than letters of the alphabet, later “gatherings” would be signed Aa; Bb; Cc; and so forth. The first printing of the King James Bible of 1611 was arranged as follows:
Front matter: A-D
Old Testament and Apocrypha:
A-Z; Aa-Zz; Aaa-Zzz; Aaaa-Zzzz; Aaaaa-Ccccc.
New Testament: A-Z; Aa.
Finally, the work was bound. It had long been customary to offer printed Bibles in two forms: bound, or as sheets. The latter were cheaper, and allowed purchasers to make their own arrangements for the precise form of binding they wanted. Thus in 1541, the Great Bible could be purchased for ten shillings in sheet form, or twelve shillings bound.
Barker produced additional versions of the work from 1612, with the needs of private readers in mind. The smaller quarto and octavo editions appeared in 1612; an even smaller duodecimo version in 1617. Two important differences should be noted between these later versions and the original version of 1611. First, they were smaller than the original folio edition. The octavo version was one quarter of the size of the original. Whereas these later editions were designed to be laid on a table or desk, or even held in the hand, the original folio edition was meant to be placed on a substantial church lectern, capable of bearing its weight and supporting its large pages. The trend toward smaller editions continued unabated throughout the remainder of the seventeenth century. In 1620, Norton and Bill published a vicesimoquarto edition—that is, with forty-eight printed pages per sheet of paper—which was a mere 4 by 2 inches, capable of being carried in the pocket.
The second development of interest relates to the type used to set these smaller Bibles. As noted above, the folio edition of 1611—designed to be read in churches—used the archaic black letter type, modeled on German Gothic types of the fifteenth century. The smaller editions followed the practice of the Geneva Bible, and used the more modern and legible roman type.