Men of Invention and Industry Part 12

"The first introduction of the invention was considered by some as a difficult and even hazardous step. The Proprietor of The Times having made that his task, the public are aware that it is in good hands."

One would think that Koenig would now feel himself in smooth water, and receive a share of the good fortune which he had so laboriously prepared for others. Nothing of the kind! His merits were disputed; his rights were denied; his patents were infringed; and he never received any solid advantages for his invention, until he left the country and took refuge in Germany. It is true, he remained for a few years longer, in charge of the manufactory in Whitecross Street, but they were years to him of trouble and sorrow.

In 1816, Koenig designed and superintended the construction of a single cylinder registering machine for book-printing. This was supplied to Bensley and Son, and turned out 1000 sheets, printed on both sides, in the hour. Blumenbach's 'Physiology' was the first entire book printed by steam, by this new machine. It was afterwards employed, in 1818, in working off the Literary Gazette. A machine of the same kind was supplied to Mr. Richard Taylor for the purpose of printing the 'Philosophical Magazine,' and books generally. This was afterwards altered to a double machine, and employed for printing the Weekly Dispatch.

But what about Koenig's patents? They proved of little use to him.

They only proclaimed his methods, and enabled other ingenious mechanics to borrow his adaptations. Now that he had succeeded in making machines that would work, the way was clear for everybody else to follow his footsteps. It had taken him more than six years to invent and construct a successful steam printing press; but any clever mechanic, by merely studying his specification, and examining his machine at work, might arrive at the same results in less than a week.

The patents did not protect him. New specifications, embodying some modification or alteration in detail, were lodged by other inventors and new patents taken out. New printing machines were constructed in defiance of his supposed legal rights; and he found himself stripped of the reward that he had been labouring for during so many long and toilsome years. He could not go to law, and increase his own vexation and loss. He might get into Chancery easy enough; but when would he get out of it, and in what condition?

It must also be added, that Koenig was unfortunate in his partner Bensley. While the inventor was taking steps to push the sale of his book-printing machines among the London printers, Bensley, who was himself a book-printer, was hindering him in every way in his negotiations. Koenig was of opinion that Bensley wished to retain the exclusive advantage which the possession of his registering book machine gave him over the other printers, by enabling him to print more quickly and correctly than they could, and thus give him an advantage over them in his printing contracts.

When Koenig, in despair at his position, consulted counsel as to the infringement of his patent, he was told that he might inst.i.tute proceedings with the best prospect of success; but to this end a perfect agreement by the partners was essential. When, however, Koenig asked Bensley to concur with him in taking proceedings in defence of the patent right, the latter positively refused to do so. Indeed, Koenig was under the impression that his partner had even entered into an arrangement with the infringers of the patent to share with them the proceeds of their piracy.

Under these circ.u.mstances, it appeared to Koenig that only two alternatives remained for him to adopt. One was to commence an expensive, and it might be a protracted, suit in Chancery, in defence of his patent rights, with possibly his partner, Bensley, against him; and the other, to abandon his invention in England without further struggle, and settle abroad. He chose the latter alternative, and left England finally in August, 1817.

Mr. Richard Taylor, the other partner in the patent, was an honourable man; but he could not control the proceedings of Bensley. In a memoir published by him in the 'Philosophical Magazine,' "On the Invention and First Introduction of Mr. Koenig's Printing Machine," in which he honestly attributes to him the sole merit of the invention, he says, "Mr. Koenig left England, suddenly, in disgust at the treacherous conduct of Bensley, always shabby and overreaching, and whom he found to be laying a scheme for defrauding his partners in the patents of all the advantages to arise from them. Bensley, however, while he destroyed the prospects of his partners, outwitted himself, and grasping at all, lost all, becoming bankrupt in fortune as well as in character."[6]

Koenig was badly used throughout. His merits as an inventor were denied. On the 3rd of January, 1818, after he had left England, Bensley published a letter in the Literary Gazette, in which he speaks of the printing machine as his own, without mentioning a word of Koenig. The 'British Encyclopaedia,' in describing the inventors of the printing machine, omitted the name of Koenig altogether. The 'Mechanics Magazine,' for September, 1847, attributed the invention to the Proprietors of The Times, though Mr. Walter himself had said that his share in the event had been "only the application of the discovery;" and the late Mr. Bennet Woodcroft, usually a fair man, in his introductory chapter to 'Patents for Inventions in Printing,'

attributes the merit to William Nicholson's patent (No. 1748), which, he said, "produced an entire revolution in the mechanism of the art."

In other publications, the claims of Bacon and Donkin were put forward, while those of the real inventor were ignored. The memoir of Koenig by Mr. Richard Taylor, in the 'Philosophical Magazine,' was honest and satisfactory; and should have set the question at rest.

It may further be mentioned that William Nicholson,--who was a patent agent, and a great taker out of patents, both in his own name and in the names of others,--was the person employed by Koenig as his agent to take the requisite steps for registering his invention. When Koenig consulted him on the subject, Nicholson observed that "seventeen years before he had taken out a patent for machine printing, but he had abandoned it, thinking that it wouldn't do; and had never taken it up again." Indeed, the two machines were on different principles. Nor did Nicholson himself ever make any claim to priority of invention, when the success of Koenig's machine was publicly proclaimed by Mr.

Walter of The Times some seven years later.

When Koenig, now settled abroad, heard of the attempts made in England to deny his merits as an inventor, he merely observed to his friend Bauer, "It is really too bad that these people, who have already robbed me of my invention, should now try to rob me of my reputation." Had he made any reply to the charges against him, it might have been comprised in a very few words: "When I arrived in England, no steam printing machine had ever before been seen; when I left it, the only printing machines in actual work were those which I had constructed." But Koenig never took the trouble to defend the originality of his invention in England, now that he had finally abandoned the field to others.

There can be no question as to the great improvements introduced in the printing machine by Mr. Applegath and Mr. Cowper; by Messrs. Hoe and Sons, of New York; and still later by the present Mr. Walter of The Times, which have brought the art of machine printing to an extraordinary degree of perfection and speed. But the original merits of an invention are not to be determined by a comparison of the first machine of the kind ever made with the last, after some sixty years'

experience and skill have been applied in bringing it to perfection.

Were the first condensing engine made at Soho--now to be seen at the Museum in South Kensington--in like manner to be compared with the last improved pumping-engine made yesterday, even the great James Watt might be made out to have been a very poor contriver. It would be much fairer to compare Koenig's steam-printing machine with the hand-press newspaper printing machine which it superseded. Though there were steam engines before Watt, and steamboats before Fulton, and steam locomotives before Stephenson, there were no steam printing presses before Koenig with which to compare them, Koenig's was undoubtedly the first, and stood unequalled and alone.

The rest of Koenig's life, after he retired to Germany, was spent in industry, if not in peace and quietness. He could not fail to be cast down by the utter failure of his English partnership, and the loss of the fruits of his ingenious labours. But instead of brooding over his troubles, he determined to break away from them, and begin the world anew. He was only forty-three when he left England, and he might yet be able to establish himself prosperously in life. He had his own head and hands to help him.

Though England was virtually closed against him, the whole continent of Europe was open to him, and presented a wide field for the sale of his printing machines.

While residing in England, Koenig had received many communications from influential printers in Germany. Johann Spencer and George Decker wrote to him in 1815, asking for particulars about his invention; but finding his machine too expensive,[7] the latter commissioned Koenig to send him a Stanhope printing press--the first ever introduced into Germany--the price of which was 95L. Koenig did this service for his friend, for although he stood by the superior merits of his own invention, he was sufficiently liberal to recognise the merits of the inventions of others. Now that he was about to settle in Germany, he was able to supply his friends and patrons on the spot.

The question arose, where was he to settle? He made enquiries about sites along the Rhine, the Neckar, and the Main. At last he was attracted by a specially interesting spot at Oberzell on the Main, near Wurzburg. It was an old disused convent of the Praemonstratensian monks. The place was conveniently situated for business, being nearly in the centre of Germany. The Bavarian Government, desirous of giving encouragement to so useful a genius, granted Koenig the use of the secularised monastery on easy terms; and there accordingly he began his operations in the course of the following year. Bauer soon joined him, with an order from Mr. Walter for an improved Times machine; and the two men entered into a partnership which lasted for life.

The partners had at first great difficulties to encounter in getting their establishment to work. Oberzell was a rural village, containing only common labourers, from whom they had to select their workmen.

Every person taken into the concern had to be trained and educated to mechanical work by the partners themselves. With indescribable patience they taught these labourers the use of the hammer, the file, the turning-lathe, and other tools, which the greater number of them had never before seen, and of whose uses they were entirely ignorant.

The machinery of the workshop was got together with equal difficulty piece by piece, some of the parts from a great distance,--the mechanical arts being then at a very low ebb in Germany, which was still suffering from the effects of the long continental war.

At length the workshop was fitted up, the old barn of the monastery being converted into an iron foundry.

Orders for printing machines were gradually obtained. The first came from Brockhaus, of Leipzig. By the end of the fourth year two other single-cylinder machines were completed and sent to Berlin, for use in the State printing office. By the end of the eighth year seven double-cylinder steam presses had been manufactured for the largest newspaper printers in Germany. The recognised excellence of Koenig and Bauer's book-printing machines--their perfect register, and the quality of the work they turned out--secured for them an increasing demand, and by the year 1829 the firm had manufactured fifty-one machines for the leading book printers throughout Germany. The Oberzell manufactory was now in full work, and gave regular employment to about 120 men.

A period of considerable depression followed. As was the case in England, the introduction of the printing machine in Germany excited considerable hostility among the pressmen. In some of the princ.i.p.al towns they entered into combinations to destroy them, and several printing machines were broken by violence and irretrievably injured.

But progress could not be stopped; the printing machine had been fairly born, and must eventually do its work for mankind. These combinations, however, had an effect for a time. They deterred other printers from giving orders for the machines; and Koenig and Bauer were under the necessity of suspending their manufacture to a considerable extent. To keep their men employed, the partners proceeded to fit up a paper manufactory, Mr. Cotta, of Stuttgart, joining them in the adventure; and a mill was fitted up, embodying all the latest improvements in paper-making.

Koenig, however, did not live to enjoy the fruits or all his study, labour, toil, and anxiety; for, while this enterprise was still in progress, and before the machine trade had revived, he was taken ill, and confined to bed. He became sleepless; his nerves were unstrung; and no wonder. Brain disease carried him off on the 17th of January, 1833; and this good, ingenious, and admirable inventor was removed from all further care and trouble.

He died at the early age of fifty-eight, respected and beloved by all who knew him.

His partner Bauer survived to continue the business for twenty years longer. It was during this later period that the Oberzell manufactory enjoyed its greatest prosperity. The prejudices of the workmen gradually subsided when they found that machine printing, instead of abridging employment, as they feared it would do, enormously increased it; and orders accordingly flowed in from Berlin, Vienna, and all the leading towns and cities of Germany, Austria, Denmark, Russia, and Sweden. The six hundredth machine, turned out in 1847, was capable of printing 6000 impressions in the hour. In March, 1865, the thousandth machine was completed at Oberzell, on the occasion of the celebration of the fifty years' jubilee of the invention of the steam press by Koenig.

The sons of Koenig carried on the business; and in the biography by Goebel, it is stated that the manufactory of Oberzell has now turned out no fewer than 3000 printing machines. The greater number have been supplied to Germany; but 660 were sent to Russia, 61 to Asia, 12 to England, and 11 to America. The rest were despatched to Italy, Switzerland, Sweden, Spain, Holland, and other countries.

It remains to be said that Koenig and Bauer, united in life, were not divided by death. Bauer died on February 27, 1860, and the remains of the partners now lie side by side in the little cemetery at Oberzell, close to the scene of their labours and the valuable establishment which they founded.

Footnotes for Chapter VI.

[1] Koenig's letter in The Times, 8th December, 1814

[2] Koenig's letter in The Times, 8th December, 1814.

[3] Date of Patent, 29th April, 1790, No. 1748,

[4] Koenig's letter in The Times, 8th December, 1814.

[5] Mr. Richard Taylor, one of the partners in the patent, says, "Mr.

Perry declined, alleging that he did not consider a newspaper worth so many years' purchase as would equal the cost of the machine."

[6] Mr. Richard Taylor, F.S.A., memoir in 'Philosophical Magazine' for October 1847, p. 300.

[7] The price of a single cylinder non-registering machine was advertised at 900L.; of a double ditto, 1400L.; and of a cylinder registering machine, 2000L.; added to which was 250L., 350L., and 500L.

per annum for each of these machines so long as the patent lasted, or an agreed sum to be paid down at once.

CHAPTER VII.

THE WALTERS OF THE TIMES: INVENTION OF THE WALTER PRESS.

"Intellect and industry are never incompatible. There is more wisdom, and will be more benefit, in combining them than scholars like to believe, or than the common world imagine. Life has time enough for both, and its happiness will be increased by the union."--SHARON TURNER.

"I have beheld with most respect the man Who knew himself, and knew the ways before him, And from among them chose considerately, With a clear foresight, not a blindfold courage; And, having chosen, with a steadfast mind Pursued his purpose." HENRY TAYLOR--Philip van Artevelde.

The late John Walter, who adopted Koenig's steam printing press in printing The Times, was virtually the inventor of the modern newspaper.

The first John Walter, his father, learnt the art of printing in the office of Dodsley, the proprietor of the 'Annual Register.' He afterwards pursued the profession of an underwriter, but his fortunes were literally shipwrecked by the capture of a fleet of merchantmen by a French squadron. Compelled by this loss to return to his trade, he succeeded in obtaining the publication of 'Lloyd's List,' as well as the printing of the Board of Customs. He also established himself as a publisher and bookseller at No. 8, Charing Cross. But his princ.i.p.al achievement was in founding The Times newspaper.

The Daily Universal Register was started on the 1st of January, 1785, and was described in the heading as "printed logographically." The type had still to be composed, letter by letter, each placed alongside of its predecessor by human fingers. Mr. Walter's invention consisted in using stereotyped words and parts of words instead of separate metal letters, by which a certain saving of time and labour was effected.

The name of the 'Register' did not suit, there being many other publications bearing a similar t.i.tle. Accordingly, it was re-named The Times, and the first number was issued from Printing House Square on the 1st of January, 1788.

The Times was at first a very meagre publication. It was not much bigger than a number of the old 'Penny Magazine,' containing a single short leader on some current topic, without any pretensions to excellence; some driblets of news spread out in large type; half a column of foreign intelligence, with a column of facetious paragraphs under the heading of "The Cuckoo;" while the rest of each number consisted of advertis.e.m.e.nts. Notwithstanding the comparative innocence of the contents of the early numbers of the paper, certain pa.s.sages which appeared in it on two occasions subjected the publisher to imprisonment in Newgate. The extent of the offence, on one occasion, consisted in the publication of a short paragraph intimating that their Royal Highnesses the Prince of Wales and the Duke of York had "so demeaned themselves as to incur the just disapprobation of his Majesty!" For such slight offences were printers sent to gaol in those days.

Although the first Mr. Walter was a man of considerable business ability, his exertions were probably too much divided amongst a variety of pursuits to enable him to devote that exclusive attention to The Times which was necessary to ensure its success.