Linotype machines were revolutionary. The New York Times used them for 127 years until 1978 and this documentary shows them in action for the last time:
replyLineotype they use lead letters. They use an alloy. There was a lot of lead, but there's also other metals in it because lead is too soft to be useful in a press. The alloy had the interest stream property that it has very low shrinkage when it cooled.
replyClassic letterpress type is lead, antimony and tin, but I don’t know if the so-called hot lead machines used that particular alloy. People usually just call it all “lead type” though.
replyClassic letter writing is dread, acrimony and gin.
reply> It absolutely isn't. Paige was actually the engineer ...
replyIt glosses over it and Twains autobiography goes into more detail.
What impressed Twain about it was the demonstration had an operator typing at high speed.
When he got the device, he discovered the operator was typing the same phase over and over. They had memorised it so as to type faster.
So one of the overlooked lessons is don't believe product demos.
The wedge-shaped expander bars you mention are a brilliant bit of engineering: they deliver perfectly equal spacing across the entire line without any calculation or measurement needed.
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