Martinsburgh Gazette

TYPOGRAPHY

Whence did the wondrous mystic art arise,
Of painting speech, and music to the eyes?

This question considered as relating to the invention of the art of Printing; is answered variously. But the truth seems to be, that letter press Printing was invented by Lawrence Coster, of Haarlem, in Holland; and that Faust, and Gutenberg, of Mentz in Germany, were the first regular Printers. All of these have some merit in its invention and improvement. Separate wooden types were first used at Haarlem, in 1430, and metal types, were first employed at Mentz, in 1441 or 5, about which time the art was introduced into England, at Oxford.

The particulars of Coster's invention are nearly as follows: As he was sauntering through the woods, he merely to amuse himself cut a few letters on a piece of beech bark, and after his return, impressed them on paper as specimens for his grand children to follow in learning to write.—Incited by this success, he, with the assistance of his son in law, prepared a more glutinous ink than was then used, formed entire pages of wood, with letters properly carved, and disposed in lines. With this stereotype arrangement, he impressed the leaves on one side, which defect was concealed by the blank pages being pasted together.