Trade Exchanges.

Nos. 4-5 of the Printing World are to hand. Mr Bassett has fixed a high standard, literary and mechanical, for his paper, and seems to meet with encouraging support. The fashion of cut-in heads in heavy-faced type, adopted in the news-letters, is troublesome, and, we think, mars the page. It is a matter of taste, but to cut-in heads of every description we have a dislike.

The British Printer for March-April is a grand number. It receives hearty support both from subscribers and advertisers. It would be a good thing for the Craft if colonial printers generally appreciated trade journalism as well as their English compatriots.

The Stockholm Tidning för Boktryckarkonst quotes the story of the North Eastern Daily Gazette working off their issue by means of a steam road-roller when their engine had broken down, as an instance of English « rådighet, » and admiringly adds: « Ett praktiskt folk, engelsmännen! »

Under the heading of « Essai de Composition de Vignettes Pratiques, » L'Intermédiare des Imprimeurs shows a page of ingenious borders, thirty-six in all, composed by M. Jacques, of Meaux, entirely from ordinary font characters and brass-rule. The same number contains an interesting facsimile of a letter by Daniel Elzevier, dated 1677.

L'Intermédiare (Lyons) for May is printed throughout in two colors—the text in dark blue, and headings and initials in red. (We would like to work some of our handsome initials in color and thereby brighten our pages; but our readers will for a time yet have to be content with black and white.) A supplemental plate exhibits a decorated initial I, by M, L. Bardey. The letter is nearly four inches long, with ornamental background, a flowering branch, and a graceful female figure. The whole design is 8 x 6 inches, and a very large page would be required for its effective display.