Anastatic printing is a mode of obtaining facsimile impressions of any printed page or engraving by transferring it to a plate of zinc, which, on being subjected to the action of an acid, is etched or eaten away with the exception of the parts covered with the ink, which parts, being thus protected from the action of the acid, are left in relief so that they can readily be printed from. Research Anastatic Printing
An Apostle jug is an old fashioned kind of jug the outer surface of which is divided into twelve panels, each decorated in more or less high relief with a representation of one of the apostles. Research Apostle Jug
Bid-ale was an invitation to friends to assemble at the home of a poor man to drink ale, and thus to raise alms for his relief. Bid-ales were a popular pastime in England in the 17th century. Research Bid-Ale
The blind are those who want, or are deficient in, the sense of sight. Blindness may vary in degree from the slightest impairment of vision to total loss of sight; it may also be temporary or permanent. It is caused by defect, disease, or injury to the eye, to the optic nerve, or to that part of the brain connected with it. Old age is sometimes accompanied with blindness, occasioned by the drying up of the humours of the eye, or by the opacity of the cornea, the crystalline lens, etc. The blind are often distinguished for a remarkable mental activity, and a wonderful development of the intellectual powers. Their touch and hearing, particularly, become very acute.
As early as 1260 an asylum for the blind (L'hospice des Quinze-Vingts) was founded in Paris by St Louis for the relief of the Crusaders who lost their sight in Egypt and Syria; but the first institution for the instruction of the blind was the idea of Valentin Hauy, brother of the celebrated mineralogist. In 1784 he opened an institution in which the blind were instructed not only in appropriate mechanical employments, as spinning, knitting, making ropes or fringes, and working in paste-board, but also in music, in reading, writing, ciphering, geography, and the sciences. For instruction in reading he procured raised letters of metal; for writing he used particular writing-cases, in which a frame, with wires to separate the lines, could be fastened upon the paper; for ciphering there were movable figures of metal, and ciphering-boards in which the figures could be fixed; for teaching geographymaps were prepared upon which mountains, rivers, cities, and the boundaries of countries were indicated to the sense of touch in various ways, etc.
Similar institutions were soon afterwards founded in Amsterdam, Berlin, Brussels, Copenhagen, Dresden, Edinburgh, Liverpool, London, Vienna, and in many towns of the United States. By 1900 there were comparatively few large cities that did not possess a school or institution of some kind for the blind.
At the start of the 20th century the attitude towards the blind was rather patronising, and one source may be quoted as saying 'the occupations in which the blind are found capable of engaging are such as the making of baskets and other kinds of wicker-work, brushmaking, rope and twine making, the making of mats and matting, knitting, netting, fancy work of various kinds, cutting fire-wood, the sewing of sacks and bags; the carving of articles in wood, etc'. However, it was also recognised that more skilled tasks could also be performed by blind persons, and the same source notes that 'Piano-tuning is also successfully carried on by some, and the cleaning of clocks and watches has even been occasionally practised by them'.
Around 1900 an impetus was given, in Britain, to the higher education of the blind by the formation of the British and Foreign Blind Association, the establishment of a college for the Blind Sons of Gentlemen at Worcester, and the Royal Normal College and Academy of Music for the Blind, Upper Norwood.
Various systems were devised for the purpose of teaching the blind to read, some of which consisted in the use of the ordinary Roman alphabet, with more or less modification, and some of which employ types quite arbitrary in form. In all systems the characters rise above the surface of the paper so as to be felt by the fingers. The type adopted by Hauy was the script or italic form of the Roman letter. This was introduced into England by Sir C. Lowther, who printed the Gospel of St. Matthew in 1832 with type obtained from Paris. Before this Gall of Edinburgh made use of an embossed alphabet based on the ordinary Roman small letters, in which all curves were replaced by angular lines, and in 1834 he published the Gospel of St John in this character. Subsequently he introduced various improvements, and in particular the letters were produced with serrated surfaces, thus giving greater distinctness. Alston of Glasgow, Howe of Boston, and others also used the Roman form; but the former (who was the first to print the whole Bible, in 1840) adopted the Roman capitals, while the latter adopted the small letters, printing in this type the Bible and many other books. Of alphabets deviating entirely or nearly so from the Roman letter, one consists of a stenographic shorthand invented by Lucas of Bristol; another was a phonetic shorthand devised by Frere of London. In Dr. Moon's alphabet some of the characters are Roman, others are based on or suggested by the Roman characters. The Braille system, widely adopted by the laye 20th century, is one in which the letters are formed by a combination of dots. Dr. Moon's system from its simplicity and the size of its characters is in very general use in books for the blind. There are also systems by which the blind are enabled to write, and the writing may be either in relief so as to be read by the blind, or in characters that may be read by those who see. Research Blind
Before and for a short time after the invention of printing, books printed from wooden blocks each the size of a page and having the matter to be reproduced, whether text or picture, cut in relief on the surface are termed block-books. Research Block-Books
Cameo is a general name for all gems cut in relief, in contradistinction to those hollowed out, or intaglios. More particularly, a cameo is a gem composed of several different-coloured layers having a subject in relief cut upon one or more of the upper layers, an under layer of a different colour forming the ground. Eor this purpose the ancients used the onyx, sardonyx, agate, etc. The shells of various molluscs are now much used for making cameos; and they are also imitated on glass and other materials. Research Cameo
Chasing is the art of working decorative forms in low-relief in gold, silver or other metals. It is generally practised in connection with repousse work, in which the figures are punched out from behind and are then sculptured on the front or chased with the graver.
The Chatham Chest (later GreenwichChest) was a fund established in 1590 on the recommendation of Sir Francis Drake and Sir John Hawkins for the relief of sick and wounded seamen. The deduction of money from seamen's pay to the fund ceased in 1829 by which time the fund was practically merged in the general relief funds of the GreenwichHospital. Research Chatham Chest
The Commedia dell Arte (Also known as the Commedia dell'Arte or Commedia dell-Arte) was a type of comedy popular in Italy in the 1500s and 1600s, performed by speciality troupes who improvised on stock characters in stock situations. It influenced French farce, English pantomime, harlequinade and punch-and-Judy. The characters included: Arlecchino (Harlequin), the young male suitor of the beautiful young ingenue Columbine; Pantaloon (comic relief father of Columbine), Pierrot (Pedrolino, a childlike character in a dunce cap), and Pulcinella, a humpback servant in a striped costume, who later evolved into Punch in Punch-and-Judy. Research Commedia dell Arte
The Probert Encyclopaedia was designed, edited and programed by
Matt and Leela Probert
Abbreviations
Research Anastatic Printing
