Note 36 — INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER THE TYPES AND TYPEFOUNDING OF THE FIRST PRINTERS.
Reading edition
It has been suggested by some that wood could be struck into lead or pewter; but the possibility of producing a successful matrix in this manner is, we consider, out of the question. In 1816 Robert Clayton proposed to cast types in metal out of wooden matrices punched in wood with a cross grain, which has been previously slightly charred or baked.