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Our Exchanges.

The Paper and Printing Trades Journal is as original as ever. In the September issue the initial beginning each article is a lower-case five-line letter, in a brass-rule frame. It contains another of the clever optical illusions suitable for advertising purposes. (We have electros of the former examples, but have not yet found space to shew them in Typo). Here is a specimen of the notices to correspondents: "G.G., hailing from the canny town of Newcastle-on-the-Tyne, is going to put in for a heavy local printing contract, and the estimate will take him he thinks about two days in calculating. As a subscriber to this journal, G.G. asks whether, when he has finished, we will put in a couple of days and verify his figures.—We will see G.G. considerably hanged first."

The Printers' Register takes up the subject of the attitude of the English founders towards trade journalism. The Associated Founders, it says. « were pleased to quarrel with Mr Powell shortly before his death. Since then, they have studiously ignored not only this, but every other trade paper. What is the reason of this? Pique and false pride are no doubt at the bottom of it, but these alone, strong as they are, will hardly account for its continuance. » The Register is very severe upon them. « Rich and proud beyond measure, they are cursed with the shortsightedness, the want of enterprise, and the stupidity which riches and pride engender. Wealthy as they are, they have allowed all the best designers and punch-cutters to be enticed from the country, into the service of those who now prove formidable rivals, and they have taken little pains to foster skill in others to replace them. »

The Printing Times, under its new management, is fully as practical, while more readable, than of old. Referring to a recent article in our columns, the editor predicts that unless English typefounders change some of their present methods, « we shall hear a prolonged chorus of woe one of these days as the Teuton and his Yankee confrère dance a pas de deux upon the ruins of our once flourishing typefoundries. »

Caslon's Circular is a little disappointing. The entire space occupied by literary matter is taken up with the account of William Caslon, (to be continued), all of which we have already read in Reed's History. If the English founders thought a little more of present requirements and dwelt less on the glories of English type-founding a century-and-a-half ago, it would be better for all concerned. What is wanted is a man of the original Caslon stamp in the industry now— he would revolutionize its methods. We are glad to see that the « Enchorial » is to be had to the point system in all the eleven sizes.

The Superior Printer for August is as finely printed as usual. Its special feature is four pages of brass-rule borders and ornaments formed by the « wrinkler, » a rule-torturing machine invented by one of the proprietors.

No. 1 vol. ii of the American Art Printer (Jan.-Feb.'88), reached us by last mail—a month after No. 2 came to hand. The color supplement is a portrait of a lady, worked in delicate tints by Haight and Dudley. The border is added by the publishers, and is one of those unaccountable mistakes sometimes to be found in art-printing. It is a discord of blotches of primary colors on a grey ground, two inches wide, panelled off with blank lines. It is very like the repulsive pictures of the inflamed lining of « the drunkard's stomach, » exhibited by temperance lecturers. It is needless to add that all the beautiful and well-judged arrangement of tints in the central vignette is marred by the overpowering effect of this unpleasant border. Everything else in the magazine is in exquisite taste, except that the color-scheme of the job on page 10 is somewhat « loud; » but this defect is intentional, and is pointed out in the text. The « Science of Imposition » is dealt with by N. I. Weinstein, Paris, in an article translated from the original. This is the first attempt we have seen to reduce the science of imposition to its mathematical principles. There is an interesting engraving of the gold medal presented to Isaac Pitman by his American admirers to celebrate the Jubilee of Phonography.

With the October number, the Inland Printer completes its fifth volume. No words of ours can do justice to this admirable periodical, which we consider stands at the head not only of the journalism of the craft, but of the practical trade journalism of the world. Thoughtful intelligence and consummate technical skill are visible on every page. Every printer who wishes to keep pace with the progress of his art, and to realize its possibilities, should subscribe to the Inland Printer. The number before us contains 88 large quarto pages, besides the wrapper, and a very original and striking inset in three colors.

Paper and Press for October is as finely-printed as ever, and as usual contains some exquisite specimens of engraving. The first article is a very interesting account of the Homer Lee Bank-note Company's establishment.

The Paper World is as usual full of interesting and valuable trade and literary matter.

The National Printer and Publisher, Louisville, is chiefly occupied with the proceedings of the second annual meeting of the Typo-thetæ at New York. This paper is the organ of the master printers of the United States, and is well worth the annual dollar subscription.