ordinary auxiliary material, like type borders, ornaments, small electros, etc. Small cases, with their lesser weight of contents in type metal, often give distinct advantage in the ease with which they may be handled.

Structure of Type Cases

Type cases are made of wood thoroughly seasoned to prevent as much as possible any shrinking after they are finished and have remained for some time in the usually dry air of a composing room. It is not so common a custom now, as it was formerly, to sponge type on the galley before distributing and to allow the surplus water to flow into the case, thus subjecting parts of the case to excessive dampness. The old type cases, under such careless usage, were quickly warped and cracked. The splitting of the bottom and the separation of the partitions allowed small types to drop out and to shift under the partitions. These defects were partially overcome by papering the bottoms of the boxes, the proper accomplishment of which was at one time considered a part of the compositor's duty.

Fig. 3. Section Showing Triple-Veneer Bottom of Case. The modern American type case is better made than its predecessors, being so far superior in several essential particulars as to be a distinct achievement in factory woodwork. A type case, with 49 to 100 or more small boxes, is not a simple thing to make by hand labor. While the making of the outside frame and the bottom involve no special difficulties, the box partitions and their proper fastening to each other and to the bottom of the case require patience and skill. Only a highly developed system of specialization could provide the cases of today at the prevailing cost.

Fig. 4. Detail of Type Case, showing at A how bottom is fitted to side frame. Fig. 5. Clasp and Pin Fastening at corners of boxes in modern type case. The bottom of the old-time case warped and split easily because it was made of a single thin board. The modern case has a bottom made of three-ply wood, the middle layer having the grain across that of the other two. (Fig. 3.) These three layers are thoroughly glued together and the upper side is smoothly covered with a strong paper before the partitions are fastened to the bottom. The common styles of case have a strong bar of the same thickness as the outside frame across the middle. In several styles there are two or even more crossbars. These crossbars serve not only to divide the main sections of boxes, but they also act as strong braces to which the bottoms are fastened, giving greater rigidity to the entire case.

The bottom of the case is fitted into a groove made in the outside frame, so that it cannot be easily separated. This groove being slightly higher than the lower face of the side frame, upon which the case slides back and forth in the rack, keeps the bottom up far enough to allow it to pass clear of the runs, or of any case or shelf below. The partitions are made by strips across the full width of each section of the case from outer frame to outer frame or to crossbar. The strips are crossed at the corners of the boxes by mortising each piece one half of its depth at the proper place—one from above and the other from below—and dovetailing the cross pieces together. (Fig. 4.) The corners of the boxes are then re-enforced by brass clasps made to fit over the top of the partitions and held by a long pin driven down through the dovetailed partitions and clinched at the bottom of the case. (See Fig. 5.).

Cases for Various Purposes

Fig. 6. Italic Case. Fig. 7. New York Job Case. Fig. 8. Triple Case. Fig. 9. Greek Case. Fig. 10. Space and Quad Case.

While wooden cases are used by printers chiefly for holding type fonts, they are now also used for a large variety of auxiliary material which it is necessary to keep more or less carefully classified in convenient containers. The increasing quantities and varieties of this material now needed in an average composing-room make convenient receptacles and orderly, systematic arrangement a necessity if the work is to be carried on without excessive waste. In no other trade is there a greater multiplicity of details to be considered in order to obtain a finished product, and a thoughtless, unnecessary waste of time, effort, or material in attending to these details adds enormously to the expense of the product. And so it is becoming the practice of good managers to use cases more abundantly than formerly and to store them in convenient racks and cabinets, so that this large mass of material may be kept classified and may be obtained quickly when needed.

Fig. 11. Lead and Slug Case. Fig. 12. Wood Type Case.