APPENDIX V.

Miss Emily Faithfull wrote as follows in 1874:

In the end of 1859 our attention was directed to the printing trade as offering a field for the employment of women, and early in the following year the Victoria Press was opened in the face of a great and powerful opposition,[A]and we commenced what was then considered a rash experiment, and perhaps might have proved so, but for the liberal support accorded by friends who appreciated the difficulties we had to encounter from those who tried to check the movement by fair means or foul.

[A]Mr. Gladstone in speaking on monopolies (about the date to which we allude) observed;—“Then we come to the printer’s monopoly—a powerful combination, which has for its first principle that no woman shall be employed, for reasons obvious enough—viz., because women are admirably suited for that trade, having a niceness of finger which would enable them to handle type better than men; they are, however, excluded by the printers’ combination.”

The opposition was not only directed against the employer, but the female apprenticeswere subjected to all kinds of petty insults. Unmanly tricks were played upon them; their frames and stools were covered with ink so as to soil their dresses unawares, the letters were mixed in their boxes, and their cases were emptied of “sorts.”

Nevertheless, after some years of work, in spite of foes without and traitors within, property purposely injured, machinery wantonly broken, &c., &c., we have steered our little bark safely through the natural and artificial perils by which it was surrounded, and can now point to an office in thorough working order, producing its own monthly magazine and weekly paper, together with the books, reports of societies, chancery bills, cards, and circulars, with which the friends of the movement from all parts of the country kindly favour us.

Nor does the success of our experiment stop here; we gladly and thankfully recall the fact that female compositors are now employed in several other offices; the applications for “trained hands” are increasing. During the last month we have received letters from different correspondents asking usto send women compositors and proof readers to country offices. For the women who have taken up this trade have proved equal to their work. They “set up type” with expedition and accuracy. We have no hesitation in saying, after our long experience, that young girls learn with greater rapidity than boys of the same age; they are not only more intelligent, but they are far more attentive.

They have another vantage ground which employers will not be slow to recognise—viz., habits of sobriety. They do not ask for a few hours’ leave of absence and remain away a couple of days “on the spree,” which too often forms the man’s excuse for placing the master printer in a position of more or less awkwardness, according to the size of the office.

And in one direction the introduction of women into printing offices may prove beneficial to others as well as to themselves. This has been tested to a great extent in America. Not only did we find women at work in Harper’s splendid office in New York, but during a visit to Harvard, Mr. Houghton, the proprietor of theRiverside Press, kindlytook us over his immense establishment, where we found men and women at work, side by side, setting up type. He spoke not so much of the work executed by the nimble fingers of the women, but of the moral effects of their presence there. The men had been shamed out of the use of bad words and habits, and he declared that it was impossible to over rate the good achieved, adducing that in the interests of his business nothing would induce him to have a room in which men worked alone. And this is justly regarded as a model Press in America. It reminds you of the good old days when the printer was a scholar. The heads of departments are all college men. When we had concluded our tour of inspection, and Mr. Houghton had assured us that his idea of introducing women compositors was due to a visit he had paid to our own Victoria Press, we indeed felt amply rewarded for any anxiety experienced in the establishment of an office which had not only helped English women, but actually influenced the fate of their sisters on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean—far beyond its own immediate centre.

Female compositors can earn from 10s. to 30s., but a good reader sometimes receives £2 2s. a week. Before anyone is qualified to undertake this position they must spend about twelve months in learning the technicalities of the business. Quickness of eye and a thorough knowledge of grammar and punctuation are indispensable, but they are not sufficient qualifications. We must be emphatic on this point, for many ladies come to us, and think because they can detect an error in some newspaper or magazine article, they are capable of filling the very onerous position of a reader[B]in a printing office.

[B]Several ladies have applied for a readership in a printing office lately vacant, stating as their qualification a capacity for reading aloud; another lady stated that “she knew she could undertake it for her father was a solicitor, and she had often copied out legal documents.”

Unfortunately, few ladies ever think, or are allowed to think, of preparing themselves for work; they never dream of it until driven to take it up for self support, and then require immediate payment. Now, charity cannot find an enduring place in the labour market, consequently women cannot be placed in positions of trust and respectability simplybecause they need remuneration, and those who desire to undertake any work in connexion with printing must be prepared to train themselves.

In confirmation of the opinions we have expressed about the position of a proof reader, we quote the following observation from a practical printer, who has always been friendly to the movement, and is a recognised authority on this point. He writes in answer to our enquiry:—“Theremustbe a previous acquaintance with practical printing. A very few people will do without it, but they are exceptions. By rights, there ought to be three or four years’ experience as a compositor first. Then a few months under careful supervision may make a reader.”

SIXPENCE MONTHLY, WITH PHOTOGRAPH.

Annual Subscription, 7/-, post free.

NEW SERIES.

THE VICTORIA MAGAZINE,

Conducted byEMILY FAITHFULL.

It discusses the social questions that affect the status of women with a knowledge and ability altogether its own.—Spectator.

There is not an article in it too dry for a lady’s reading, or too frivolous to interest a man.—Examiner.

Takes high rank among its contemporaries.—Daily Telegraph.

Altogether theVictoriashows traces of increased freshness and power.—Guardian.

Every number of theVictoria Magazineperceptibly furthers the good work.—Oxford Undergraduates’ Journal.

A credit to its conductors.—Liverpool Daily Post.

TheVictoriathoroughly sustains its character as the principal organ in questions relating to women.—Yarmouth Independent.

LONDON:

THE VICTORIA PRESS, PRAED STREET, W.

Simpkin, Marshall & Co., Stationers’ Hall Court,Sold at Railway Bookstalls.

SECOND EDITION.

Price £1 10s.

Dedicated by permission to Her Majesty.

TE DEUM LAUDAMUS,

ILLUMINATED BY

ESTHER FAITHFULL FLEET.

Could not easily be surpassed in beauty of design, or in the finish of their execution.—The Times.

Resplendent with gorgeous colouring and gilding, and the designs have much beauty and variety of form.—Illustrated London News.

We must not omit to state that the book is also a triumph of printing in colour.—Pall Mall Gazette.

THE VICTORIA PRESS, PRAED STREET, LONDON, W.

THIRD EDITION.

Price Sixpence.

PRAYERS, TEXTS, & HYMNS

FOR THOSE IN SERVICE.

By the Author of

“Count up your Mercies,”

AND

“Tracts for Railway Men and others.”

THE VICTORIA PRESS, PRAED STREET, LONDON, W.

AMATEUR

AUTHORS

Can have their Works printed and published

AT THE

VICTORIA PRESS

With advantage to themselves, and at thesame time help in the movement forthe Employment of Women.

ESTIMATES SENT FREE.

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