In 19th-century typesetting by hand, the race went to the “Swifts.” That was their nickname: journeymen printers of America’s press who were marvels at what is now virtually a lost art. Letter by ...

IF YOU imagine there’s nothing less exciting than watching paint dry, imagine the hordes who poured into middle-brow entertainment centres called dime museums in the 1880s to watch compositors set ...

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