Some years afterwards, Lord Stanhope, to whom the art
of printing is much indebted, greatly improved the art of
stereotyping, though it was still quite inapplicable to newspaper
printing. The merit of this latter invention is due to the
enterprise of the present proprietor of The Times.
Mr. Walter began his experiments, aided by an ingenious Italian
founder named Dellagana, early in 1856. It was ascertained that
when papier-mache matrices were rapidly dried and placed in a
mould, separate columns might be cast in them with stereotype
metal, type high, planed flat, and finished with sufficient speed
to get up the duplicate of a forme of four pages fitted for
printing. Steps were taken to adapt these type-high columns to
the Applegath Presses, then worked with polygonal chases. When
the Hoe machines were introduced, instead of dealing with the
separate columns, the papier-mache matrix was taken from the
whole page at one operation, by roller-presses constructed for
the purpose. The impression taken off in this manner is as
perfect as if it had been made in the finest wax. The matrix is
rapidly dried on heating surfaces, and then accurately adjusted
in a casting machine curved to the exact circumference of the
main drum of the printing press, and fitted with a terra-cotta
top to secure a casting of uniform thickness. On pouring
stereotype metal into this mould, a curved plate was obtained,
which, after undergoing a certain amount of trimming at two
machines, could be taken to press and set to work within
twenty-five minutes from the time at which the process began.
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