Wonderful! Is it true that, like typists, compositors are not supposed to look at the composing stick as they work but instead to focus on the copy of the text they are composing?

Dunno, but we certainly looked! (Actually, the "nick," which Francois was asking about, is a little groove cut into one side of the type so the compositor can tell which way it's facing by touch alone--which lends credence to the idea. Touch-typesetting as it were.)

Hi Matt,

Thanks for the wonderful photographs! I hope that you had a great time in the class. Helen sends her regards and says to tell you that you are "The Best".

Matt:

Is this the way you plan to set type for your book?

bk/kk

Hi Matt
You automatically felt for the nick as you picked each piece of type out of the case and you rolled it around between your fingers until the nick faced away from you as you put it into the stick, following your copy at all times. Its also a bit like riding a bike you never forget, as I recently found out setting out of a case for the first time in almost thirty years. Hope you enjoyed the experience.

Okay, to revisit my question above: I was taking a break in the British Library today, looking at the "Words, Sound, & Images" workshop located in the basement. According to the exhibit, and in accordance with what Stan writes above, the compositor does not look at the type as it is placed in the stick, but feels where the nick is in order to correctly orient the type while staying focused on the copy. *And* ... the type is composed upside down and backwards, which you probably already knew.

http://www.bl.uk/whatson/exhibitions/workshop.html
It's a small but very cool exhibit.

I'm giddy this week because I also had the opportunity to visit Musee de L'Imprimerie in Lyon, France:
http://www.bm-lyon.fr/musee/imprimerie.htm
I highly recommend it!

When are you and Kari going to start attending SHARP?