Women in the Printing Trades Part 2

The trade has increased enormously of late years, and a new process has been introduced which renders it possible to employ the printing press.

This, however, is only worth while when the order to be executed is a very large one; and most stamping is done by hand machines, a die being fixed into the machine and impressed by tightly s.c.r.e.w.i.n.g down. The machine is worked (like an ordinary copying press) by a horizontal bar, having a ball at each end, and swung from right to left. The lighter machines can be worked by one hand; the heavier require two, and are found fatiguing. Some are so heavy that they can only be worked by men.

Practice is necessary in order to get the stamp in exactly the right place, and, in relief or cameo work, in order to mix the colours, which are rubbed on the die, to precisely the right thickness.

Plain stamping--the easiest process--is that in which letters, a coat of arms, or a trade mark, are raised but not coloured; in relief stamping the raised surface is coloured; and in cameo stamping (of which the registered letter envelope is an example) a white device stands out from a coloured background.

When two or more colours are employed considerable care, skill, and patience are needed. This work, in two or more colours, is called _illuminating_; in one branch of it--the highest--gold and silver are employed on a coloured surface, and here women are not employed.

_Show-card Mounting._--Card mounting is a distinct trade, and is almost entirely in female hands. Almanacs, advertis.e.m.e.nts, and texts for hanging up, all belong to the province of the card mounter, whose main business is to unite the picture and cardboard that arrive separately in her workshop. The board is first cut either by a man at a cutting machine--or "guillotine"--or occasionally by a girl at a rotary machine adjustable to different gauges; then "lined," by having paper pasted over the back and edges. Inferior work is not lined. Finally, the picture or print is pasted on the card, the backs of three or four pictures being pasted at once, and each in succession being applied to its own card. Some means of hanging up is still needed, and various methods are in use. Sometimes eyelets are inserted into a punched hole by means of a small machine which a girl works by hand. Sometimes the edge is bound with a strip of tin, having loops attached to it; in this case the tin strips are cut by men, and applied by hand machines, again worked by girls. Sometimes, as in the case of maps, charts, and large diagrams, a wooden rod is fixed at the top, this fixing being done by girls.

The trade is not, it will readily be perceived, one that demands great skill, practice or intelligence, and the majority of the workers are very young. Still, a certain degree of experience is necessary, since the application of either too much or too little paste results in a "blister," and blistered work is spoiled. One investigator was shown a lot of 500 cards, the estimated value of which was 6_d._ each, no less than 385 of which had thus been spoiled and rendered quite useless. The workers stand at their work and report that it exhausts them. It used, till about twenty-eight years ago, to be done by men; but the trade was at that time a much smaller one. Night work, when considered necessary, is still done by men.

A little laying-on of gold is done in connection with card mounting. The process has been described already under bookbinding.

The Christmas card industry (which may be considered as a variety of show-card mounting) serves to exemplify one of the anomalies of the Factory Act. These cards may be sorted, packed, etc., to any hours of the night, because mere packing is not regarded as manufacture; but if a "bow of ribbon" is to be affixed to each card, the process becomes "preparation for sale," and the regulations of the Act apply.[3]

[Footnote 3: Cf. pp. 76,77.]

_Typefounding._--Typefounding is a small, ancient and conservative trade into which women have only crept during the last few years. In London there are only about eight typefoundries proper, and in these labour is elaborately subdivided, every workman performing but one process.

Recently, however, some large printing houses have begun to cast their own type, and in these the few men employed perform all the processes, or, to use their own term, "do the work through," thus, curiously enough, reverting to an earlier stage in the development of the trade.

Women are employed in the large foundries, where they perform certain subsidiary parts of the work. Each type when it comes from the machine wherein it has been cast has a little superfluous bit of thin metal, known as a "break" on its end or "foot." These bits are broken off by girls, the "foot" of the type being pressed against a table and the "break" snapped off. No great skill is required, but quickness only comes with practice. The type is also "set-up"--_i.e._, put in rows in a long stick or "galley"--by girls; here, again, nothing is needed beyond a certain manual dexterity. Sometimes another stage, "rubbing,"

intervenes between the "breaking" and the "setting-up." Rubbing is merely the smoothing off on a flat grindstone of any roughness that may be left by the machine round the "face" end of the type. In one case, in London, one or two women were once employed in rubbing, but none appear to be so engaged at present, and the newer appliances have made rubbing unnecessary. "Dressing," the final process through which the type pa.s.ses, is said to be in some places performed by women; but no such instances have been found in London in the course of this investigation.

The dresser receives the lines or sticks of type, polishes the sides, measures their length and breadth with a delicate spanner, "nicks" the foot of each type, and finally "picks over" the type--that is, scans the row of "faces" through a magnifying gla.s.s, and rejects any on which the letters are not absolutely truly placed.

One large London firm, employing many girls, has a different process.

The types are cast in long lines and have to be divided, no breaking or setting-up being required. As one of the workers said, "This is not a trade; just any one can do it!"

Girls began to do "breaking" and "setting-up" in London about thirteen years ago. There were then but thirteen so employed. During the last few years their numbers have increased, and it is estimated that those now employed number from 100 to 150. One firm is known to employ fifty and another forty. They have superseded boys, and were mainly introduced because boys were difficult to get. The chances of rising being small for boys, they were disinclined to enter the trade. The chances for girls are _nil_, but this consideration does not weigh much with girls belonging to the cla.s.s that supplies workers to typefounding. The female workers are all young, and at present no married women seem to be employed, a fact which may perhaps be due to the comparatively recent entrance of women into the trade.

The occupation has a special feature of unhealthiness--the danger of lead-poisoning; and the Factory Act, recognising this, prohibits women, young persons or children, from taking a meal upon the premises where typefounding is carried on. As in other lead industries, much depends on the care and cleanliness of the worker. To eat with hands lead-blackened by some hours of "breaking-off" is to run considerable risk of lead-poisoning. It is suggested that girls, being more fastidious than boys upon such points, may possibly suffer less frequently from the dangers involved in the industry of typefounding.

CHAPTER II.

_WOMEN IN THE TRADES._

[Sidenote: Census figures.]

Before 1841 the census occupation tables do not state the numbers employed in the detailed trades, and even in that year we find either that no separate return was made for some of the industries with which this volume deals, or that no women were employed at all. Presumably, therefore, previous statistics would not have shown that women were employed in these industries to any appreciable extent.

The following tables show the employment of women in England and Wales and Scotland in the Printing and Kindred Trades according to the census returns from 1841 to 1901. The figures must be used with caution, as they include employers as well as employed (an error, however, which is immaterial in the case of women workers). Subsidiary helpers are also cla.s.sified with those actually ent.i.tled to be regarded as members of the trade, and the tables do not discriminate sufficiently between the various subdivisions of occupations. These last two errors considerably affect the figures relating to women. In the bookbinding section, for instance,[4] the figures are altogether misleading, since by far the greater number of women included as bookbinders are really paper and book-folders, and are no more ent.i.tled to the name bookbinder than a bricklayer's labourer is to that of bricklayer.

[Footnote 4: Since 1881 in the Scottish returns.]

ENGLAND AND WALES.

Males. Females.

_Census 1841. (Employers and Employed included.)_ Booksellers, bookbinders, etc. 8,873 2,035 Printers 15,582 161 Lithographers, etc. 667 12 Paper manufacture 4,375 1,287 Paper rulers 113 16 Paper stainers 1,243 92 Type founders 629 6 Vellum binders 131 3

_Census 1851._ (_Employers and Employed included._) Bookbinders 5,501 } 3,926 Printers, etc 23,568 } Lithographers (Great Britain) 1,984 6 Paper manufacture 6,123 4,686 Paper stainers 2,001 Not enumerated.

_Census 1861._ (_Employers and Employed included._) Bookbinders 6,556 5,364 Printers 30,171 419 Lithographers, etc. 3,588 -- Paper manufacture 7,746 5,611 Machine rulers 564 54 Envelope makers 179 860 Paper stainers 1,556 399 Type founders 863 11

_Census 1871._ (_Employers and Employed included._) Bookbinders 7,917 7,557 Printers 44,073 741 Lithographers, etc 3,785 Not enumerated.

Paper manufacture 10,142 6,630 Envelope makers Not enumerated. 1,477 Paper stainers 1,311 448

_Census 1881._ (_Employers and Employed included._) Bookbinders 9,505 10,592 Printers 59,088 2,202 Lithographers, etc 6,009 147 Paper manufacture 10,352 8,277 Envelope makers 175 1,933 Paper stainers 1,822 445 Type cutters and founders 1,137 32

+-----------+----------+---------+----------+--------+--------+ _Census Employ- Employ- Working Others TOTAL. 1891._ ers. ed. on not Own Speci- Account. fied. +-----------+----------+---------+----------+--------+--------+ Book- M. 615 10,038 355 479 11,487 binders F. 72 13,401 74 702 14,249 +-----------+----------+---------+----------+--------+--------+ Printers M. 3,979 73,288 1,052 3,640 81,959 F. 158 4,133 32 204 4,527 +-----------+----------+---------+----------+--------+--------+ Litho- M. 499 7,486 359 292 8,636 graphers, F. 9 309 7 24 349 etc. +-----------+----------+---------+----------+--------+--------+ Paper M. 396 11,081 97 440 12,014 manu- F. 12 7,598 29 390 8,029 facture +-----------+----------+---------+----------+--------+--------+ Envelope M. 9 260 6 14 289 makers F. 2 2,339 13 104 2,458 +-----------+----------+---------+----------+--------+--------+ Paper M. 135 1,861 60 78 2,134 stainers F. 10 370 7 16 403 +-----------+----------+---------+----------+--------+--------+ Type M. 35 1,204 23 52 1,314 cutters F. 1 49 0 5 55 and founders +-----------+----------+---------+----------+--------+--------+ _Census Employ- Employ- Working Others TOTAL. 1901._ ers. ed. on not Own Speci- Account. fied. +-----------+----------+---------+----------+--------+--------+ Book- M. 554 11,609 388 113 12,664 binders F. 46 18,933 82 162 19,223 +-----------+----------+---------+----------+--------+--------+ Printers M. 4,805 89,306 1,603 774 96,488 F. 117 9,463 48 65 9,693 +-----------+----------+---------+----------+--------+--------+ Litho- M. 496 9,648 445 93 10,682 graphers, F. 7 1,015 14 7 1,043 etc. +-----------+----------+---------+----------+--------+--------+ Paper M. 337 14,920 47 55 15,359 manu- F. 11 8,815 7 18 8,851 facture +-----------+----------+---------+----------+--------+--------+ Envelope M. 14 352 1 3 370 makers F. 6 3,113 1 23 3,143 +-----------+----------+---------+----------+--------+--------+ Paper M. 45 1,928 34 25 2,032 stainers F. 2 280 1 4 287 +-----------+----------+---------+----------+--------+--------+ Type M. 35 1,223 15 14 1,287 cutters F. 0 181 0 2 183 and founders +-----------+----------+---------+----------+--------+--------+ Sta- M. 352 3,910 91 28 4,381 tionary F. 24 4,615 12 47 4,698 manu- facture +-----------+----------+---------+----------+--------+--------+

SCOTLAND.

Males. Females.

_Census 1841. (Employers and Employed included.)_ Booksellers, etc. 2,164 283 Printers 2,446 21 Lithographers, etc. 234 1 Paper manufacture 732 738 Paper rulers 61 8 Paper stainers 31 1 Type founders 292 --

_Census 1851._ (_Employers and Employed included._) Bookbinders 1,09 } 710 Printers, etc. 3,526 } Paper manufacture 1,265 2,159 Paper stainers 49 Not enumerated.

_Census 1861._ (_Employers and Employed included._) Bookbinders 1,174 100 Printers 4,400 70 Lithographers, etc. 1,101 2 Engravers 651 6 Bookfolders 2 1,094 Machine rulers 171 18 Paper manufacture 1,648 2,773 Envelope makers 5 309 Paper stainers 77 -- Type founders 434 --

_Census 1871._ (_Employers and Employed included._) Bookbinders 1,293 174 Printers 5,476 113 Lithographers, etc. 1,125 36 Print and map colourers 192 57 Bookfolders -- 1,646 Paper manufacture 2,770 3,504 Envelope makers 7 412 Paper rulers 214 100 Paper stainers 110 50 Type founders 496 --

_Census 1881._ (_Employers and Employed included._) Bookbinders 1,433 2,587(a) Printers 6,936 839 Lithographers, etc. 1,269 153 Map and print colourers and sellers 50 41 Paper rulers 188 115 Paper manufacture 3,363 4,612 Envelope makers 32 580 Paper stainers 34 97 Type cutters and founders 471 71

(a) Bookfolders are included here.

+-----------+----------+---------+----------+--------+--------+ _Census Employ- Employ- Working Not TOTAL. 1891._ ers. ed. on Speci- Own fied. Account. +-----------+----------+---------+----------+--------+--------+ Book- M. 68 1,413 13 22 1,516 binders F. 3 2,865 3 18 2,889 +-----------+----------+---------+----------+--------+--------+ Printers M. 322 8,367 69 84 8,842 F. 5 1,417 1 7 1,430 +-----------+----------+---------+----------+--------+--------+ Litho M. 109 1,516 22 10 1,657 graphers, F. -- 397 1 2 400 etc. +-----------+----------+---------+----------+--------+--------+ Paper M. 10 315 1 13 339 rulers F. 1 192 -- 4 197 +-----------+----------+---------+----------+--------+--------+ Paper M. 107 4,332 21 51 4,511 manu- F. 3 4,546 4 66 4,619 facture +-----------+----------+---------+----------+--------+--------+ Envelope M. 3 33 2 -- 38 makers F. -- 698 1 -- 699 +-----------+----------+---------+----------+--------+--------+ Paper M. 6 113 1 -- 120 stainers F. -- 28 -- -- 28 +-----------+----------+---------+----------+--------+--------+ Type M. 9 496 3 4 512 cutters F. -- 75 -- -- 75 and founders +-----------+----------+---------+----------+--------+--------+ _Census Employ- Employ- Working Not TOTAL. 1901._ ers. ed. on Speci- Own fied. Account. +-----------+----------+---------+----------+--------+--------+ Book M. 67 1,422 16 -- 1,505 binders F. 4 3,522 4 -- 3,530 +-----------+----------+---------+----------+--------+--------+ Printers M. 378 9,643 54 2 10,077 F. 7 2,852 1 -- 2,860 +-----------+----------+---------+----------+--------+--------+ Litho M. 87 1,640 25 -- 1,752 graphers, F. 2 728 1 -- 731 etc. +-----------+----------+---------+----------+--------+--------+ Paper M. 103 4,860 6 1 5,000 manu- F. 2 4,653 -- -- 4,655 facture +-----------+----------+---------+----------+--------+--------+ Envelope M. 4 53 -- -- 57 makers F. 1 895 -- -- 896 +-----------+----------+---------+----------+--------+--------+ Paper M. 1 120 1 -- 122 stainers F. -- 52 1 -- 53 +-----------+----------+---------+----------+--------+--------+ Type M. 6 419 5 -- 430 cutters F. -- 53 -- -- 53 and founders +-----------+----------+---------+----------+--------+--------+ Sta- M. 22 95 1 -- 118 tionery F. 1 492 3 -- 496 manu- facture +-----------+----------+---------+----------+--------+--------+

[Sidenote: Chief Factory Inspector's figures.]

In 1896 the Home Office began to publish as an appendix to the Chief Factory Inspector's Report a series of figures of occupation which were exceedingly valuable for purposes of comparison, and in time would have been the best existing statistical index of industrial movements.

Unfortunately these figures have not been published since 1899; but for the years that they were issued, those relating to the printing trades were as follows:--

FACTORY INSPECTOR'S REPORTS.

_Paper, Printing, Stationery, Etc. (Includes all the industries under this section.)_

Total Total Male Female Male. Female. over 18. over 18.

1895 Factories 159,987 63,626 123,895 42,904 Workshops 3,355 4,692 2,224 3,073 ------- ------ ------- ------ Total 163,342 68,318 126,119 45,977

1896 Factories 169,500 68,769 131,166 45,632 Workshops 4,508 5,919 3,152 3,898 ------- ------ ------- ------ Total 174,008 74,688 134,318 49,530

1897 Factories 171,151 69,898 134,221 45,479 Workshops 4,458 6,305 3,192 4,192 ------- ------ ------- ------ Total 175,609 76,203 137,413 49,671

1898-99(a) 173,964 72,833 137,504 46,681