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APPENDIX No. XXVIla.

imperfect: the superintendents of Classes undertook the examination of the proofs, suppliedomissions, and corrected the numerical arrangement; many articles were found in one classthat belonged to another; the exhibitors’ descriptions had again to be curtailed to make roomfor additions amounting to 41 pages ; and a second edition was produced, with greater labourand exertion than the first.

Now returns continued to como in—removals from one class to another were still foundnecessary, and it was not until a third edition was produced, at a cost of labour equal to thetwo preceding, that a correct Catalogue of the Exhibition could be said to exist.

Under these circumstances it was found impracticable either to produce the IllustratedCatalogue in a complete form, or the French and German translations, until a late period ofthe Exhibition : and as the labours of the printer did not really commence until withinfour days of the opening, so neither did they terminate until within four days of the close ofthe Exhibition.

A detail of the progress of the Illustrated Catalogue would be a repetition of the circum-stances connected with tlio small Catalogue ; inasmuch, however, as the larger work is fivotimes the size of the smaller, and the care and attention required more minute, the cost andlabour in the printing-office were at least ten times greater.

French and German compositors were employed on the foreign translations. The Exhibitionof all Nations, however, had created a demand for foreign papers; and the compositors, knowingthat the employment on the Catalogues would not extend over a long period, accepted otherengagements ; and those works wero finally and successfully brought to a close by men whoknew not a word of the respective languages : French and German readers, however, wereretained to ensure correctness. The repeated alterations and transpositions in tho English Catalogue created a great amount of confusion in tho foreign Catalogues. Tho samemechanical classification, applied to tho English , could not be effected : a number of personswero therefore employed to cut up each return separately, and paste them on sheets ofpaper under their respective class and country, and again place them in the compositors’hands for reproduction. Of the Frouoli Catalogue 140 pages, and of tho Gorman 02, wore inthis manner a socond time set up in typo.

Tho time occupied in printing tho various works was 210 days. ( Sec Tables IV. and V.)The whole of the other employments necessary for their production were also completedwithin the same period.

Every alteration in tho small Catalogue created a corresponding alteration in the IllustratedCatalogue, and in tho French and German translations.

Tho cost of these alterations, compared with the usual cost for sotting up the types, was—On the small Catalogue am four to one.

„ Illustrated Catalogue as five to two.

„ French Translation as five to two.

„ German Translation as two to one.

And to this must be added, as an increased element in tho expense of printing, tho extraamount received by tho workmen for night-work, equal to 10 per cent, on the wages paid.

Compositors are paid by the 1,000 for setting up the typos ; and by the hour for corrections:the complete arrangement of 10,000 types is considered an average day’s work for one person.Tabular Statements, similar to the Priced Lists, are attended with extra trouble, and are paiddouble the price of other work ; and works in Foreign languages a small increased price per1,000. From tho circumstance of all the types used for the Catalogues being new, tho com-positor had an advantage of about 10 per cent, on the day’s work.

The hours of attendance are from 8 in the morning until 8 in tho evening. When themen are employed during the night they receive extra payment, equivalent to 40 per cent,on their earnings.

To this branch of printing must bo added readers and reading boys, in the proportion ofono reader and ono boy to each 12 compositors.

From the extraordinary number of proofs required during the progress of the Catalogues,four proof-pullers wero constantly employed so long as the compositors wero at work: 54roams of paper, equal to 27,864 sheets, wero consumed in proofs only.

There are two descriptions of machines employed in printing: tho cylinder machine,attended by one man and two boys, producing on the average 7,000 impressions per day of10J hours ; and tho platten machine, managed by one man and four boys, averaging 4,000 im-pressions per day The machinomon and boys are paid by day-work.

Pressmen are paid by tho roam of 500 sheets, printed on both sides (or 1,000 impressions),the price varying according to tho quality of tho work required. Each press is worked bytwo men ; and it is estimated that, on tho usual description of printing, two men would pro-duce 1,250 perfect copies of one sheet (or 2,500 impressions) per day. Tho IllustratedCatalogue was printed entirely at the hand-press, and required so great an amount of care,that 500 sheets, or 1,000 impressions, wero scarcely obtained from the men in ono day ; and oftho separate engravings, eight of which were printed on one sheet of paper, but 500 im-pressions were produced in a day ; and, in addition to the men engaged in printing, four menwere constantly employed in what is technically called “bringing up” the engravings on wood,preparatory to the printing.