Typesetter
Set the pages of a book by hand, letter by letter, backward, in metal type. Then mind your p's and q's, which is where the phrase comes from, probably.
c. 1450 – 1980About the role
When Gutenberg began printing in Mainz in the 1450s, every page had to be assembled by hand from thousands of small metal letters. Typesetters did it fast, backward and letter by letter. Capitals were kept in the upper case and small letters in the lower case, which is where those names come from too.
In the Mainz Print Shop Replica, you'll work at a type case with a composing stick, setting one page a day of a book being printed for members. You'll proofread it in a mirror, lock it into the press and pull the first sheet yourself. Then you'll put every letter back where it came from.
What you'll do
- Set one page of type a day, backward, from a case of metal letters.
- Proofread the page in mirror image before it goes to the press.
- Ink the type and pull proofs with the pressman.
- Mind your p's and q's, and your b's and d's.
- Sort every letter back into the case at the end of the job.
What we're looking for
- Excellent eyesight and attention to detail.
- The ability to read backward and upside down.
- Nimble fingers.
- A tolerance for ink, which is persistent.
Perks
- A type caseThe original keyboard. Every letter in its own compartment.
- Your name in the colophonOn the last page of the finished book.
- A tankard after workPrint shops were famous for it. We keep the tradition.
