Tallis, John: Tallis's history and description of the Crystal Palace and the exhibition of the world's industry in 1851 (Band 2) (London, 1851)

OF THE WORLD'S INDUSTRY. 109

system, and have been gradually improving it. The following year the types and printing
apparatus were transferred from Bristol to London: and in 1841 the society issued
The Epistle to the Romans. Since then their press has not been idle, and the printing
is now done by the blind at the institution in the Avenue-road, R-egenfs-park.

In May, 1838, the /'London and Blackheath Association for Embossing the Scrip-
tures in various languages, and for Teaching the Blind to Read on the Phonetic System,"
was established. Its object is to stereotype the Holy Scriptures in James Hartley Frere^
phonetic characters. About the year 1839, Mr. Frere devised a cheap plan for embos-
sing or stereotyping. It consists simply of small wires, drawn with angles, laid down
upon tin plates. The wires are bent, and cut by means of ingenious spindles to form
the characters, which are similar to those of Gurney's system of short-hand. The wires
are attached to the plate by heating it sufficiently to melt the coating of tin, into which
the wire sinks, and is fast when cold. The common printing press is used in em-
bossing. Mr. Frere's books are read from left to right and back, after the manner of
the ancient Greek boustrophedon writing. Mr. Frere's books are well embossed, and
from his plates the books can be printed as they are wanted. , The objections to phonetic
alphabets are obvious. Mr. Frere, however, does not claim to supersede the common
spelling, or the common printing, or common embossing, but to form an easy introduc-
tion to them. More recently still, another system has been devised by Mr. W. Moon,
master of the Brighton Blind Asylum. The characters are arbitrary, though Mr. Moon
defines them as the " Common Alphabet Simplified." He claims also a new mode of
stereotyping, by which the characters are rendered sharp and prominent. The lines are
read forwards and back like Frere's plan, and it is even more bulky and expensive than
his. The new mode of stereotyping is believed to be quite the same ss Frere's,, by means
of wires laid on tin plates.

CHAPT-EK XVI.

ADDITIONAL REMARKS DPOBT PBINCE ALBEET's MODEL HOUSES—ESTIMATE OF THEIR COST—
OltlGlNAL IDEA OF THE GREAT EXHIBITION" BY PRINCE ALBERT—THE PEINCE'S EEPLT TO THE
EEPOET OF LOED CANNING.—BENNETT'S DESIGN FOE A NATIONAL MONUMENT TO PEINCE
ALBERT.

"VVe have already in an earlier part of this work noticed at some length Prince Albert's
Model Houses. The building was designed and practically superintended by Mr. Roberts,
the honorary architect to the excellent " Society for Improving the Condition of the
"Working Classes," the president, Prince Albert, having supplied the means, and obtained
the advantageous site on which it stood. The following additional particulars are from
those drawn up by the architect:—" In its general arrangement the building is adapted
for the occupation of four families of the class of manufacturing and mechanical opera-
tives, who usually reside in towns, or in their immediate vicinity; and as the value
of land, which leads to the economising of space, by the placing of more than one family
under the same roof, in some cases, renders the addition of a third, and even of a
fourth story desirable, the plan has been suited to such an arrangement, without any
other alteration than the requisite increase in the strength of the walls. The most
prominent peculiarity of the design is that of the receding and protected central open
staircase, with the connecting gallery on the first floor, formed of slate, and sheltered

VOL. II. 2 F