Stereotype (printing)
Encyclopedia
In printing, a stereotype, also known as a cliché, stereoplate or simply a stereo, was originally a "solid plate or type-metal, cast from a papier-mâché
or plaster mould taken from the surface of a forme of type" used for printing
instead of the original. The compositing of individual cast metal sorts
of type into lines with leading
and furniture
tightly bound into a page
forme was labor-intensive and costly. The printer would incur further expense through loss of the sorts for other uses once held in formes. With the growth in popularity of the novel, printers who did not accurately predict sales were forced into the expense of resetting type for subsequent editions. The stereotype radically changed the way novels were reprinted, saving the printer's recompositing expense while freeing the sorts for other jobs.
in 1725.
Over time, this became a metaphor
for any set of ideas repeated identically, en bloc, with minor changes. In fact, cliché
and stereotype were both originally printers' words, and in their literal printers' meanings were synonymous. Specifically, cliché
was an onomatopoeic word for the sound that was made during the stereotyping process when the matrix hit molten metal. This was known as 'dabbing' in English. Precisely, the forme was placed on molten lead at the point of cooling to make the cast.
The term "stereotype" derives from Greek
στερεός (stereos) "solid, firm + τύπος (tupos) "blow, impression, engraved mark" and in its modern sense was coined in 1798.
Papier-mâché
Papier-mâché , alternatively, paper-mache, is a composite material consisting of paper pieces or pulp, sometimes reinforced with textiles, bound with an adhesive, such as glue, starch, or wallpaper paste....
or plaster mould taken from the surface of a forme of type" used for printing
Printing
Printing is a process for reproducing text and image, typically with ink on paper using a printing press. It is often carried out as a large-scale industrial process, and is an essential part of publishing and transaction printing....
instead of the original. The compositing of individual cast metal sorts
Sort (typesetting)
In typesetting by hand compositing, a sort is a piece of type representing a particular letter or symbol, cast from a matrix mould and assembled with other sorts bearing additional letters into lines of type to make up a forme from which a page is printed.-See also:* History of western typography*...
of type into lines with leading
Leading
In typography, leading refers to the distance between the baselines of successive lines of type. The term originated in the days of hand-typesetting, when thin strips of lead were inserted into the formes to increase the vertical distance between lines of type...
and furniture
Furniture
Furniture is the mass noun for the movable objects intended to support various human activities such as seating and sleeping in beds, to hold objects at a convenient height for work using horizontal surfaces above the ground, or to store things...
tightly bound into a page
Page
-Position or occupation:* Page , a traditionally young male servant* Page * Page of Honour, a ceremonial position in the Royal Household of the Sovereign of the United Kingdom* A participant in any of the following programs:...
forme was labor-intensive and costly. The printer would incur further expense through loss of the sorts for other uses once held in formes. With the growth in popularity of the novel, printers who did not accurately predict sales were forced into the expense of resetting type for subsequent editions. The stereotype radically changed the way novels were reprinted, saving the printer's recompositing expense while freeing the sorts for other jobs.
...while Nathaniel Hawthorne's publishers assumed that The Scarlet Letter (1850) would do well, printing an uncharacteristically large edition of 2,500 copies, popular demand for Hawthorne's controversial "Custom House" introduction outstripped supply, prompting Ticknor & Fields to reset the type and to reprint another 2,500 copies within two months of the first publication. Still unaware that they had an incipient classic on their hands, Ticknor & Fields neglected at this time to invest in stereotype plates, and thus were forced to pay to reset the type for a third time just four months later when they finally stereotyped the book.
Origin
Stereotyping was invented by William GedWilliam Ged
William Ged was a Scottish goldsmith who invented stereotyping.Ged was born in Edinburgh, where he carried on business as a goldsmith...
in 1725.
Over time, this became a metaphor
Metaphor
A metaphor is a literary figure of speech that uses an image, story or tangible thing to represent a less tangible thing or some intangible quality or idea; e.g., "Her eyes were glistening jewels." Metaphor may also be used for any rhetorical figures of speech that achieve their effects via...
for any set of ideas repeated identically, en bloc, with minor changes. In fact, cliché
Cliché
A cliché or cliche is an expression, idea, or element of an artistic work which has been overused to the point of losing its original meaning or effect, especially when at some earlier time it was considered meaningful or novel. In phraseology, the term has taken on a more technical meaning,...
and stereotype were both originally printers' words, and in their literal printers' meanings were synonymous. Specifically, cliché
Cliché
A cliché or cliche is an expression, idea, or element of an artistic work which has been overused to the point of losing its original meaning or effect, especially when at some earlier time it was considered meaningful or novel. In phraseology, the term has taken on a more technical meaning,...
was an onomatopoeic word for the sound that was made during the stereotyping process when the matrix hit molten metal. This was known as 'dabbing' in English. Precisely, the forme was placed on molten lead at the point of cooling to make the cast.
The term "stereotype" derives from Greek
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
στερεός (stereos) "solid, firm + τύπος (tupos) "blow, impression, engraved mark" and in its modern sense was coined in 1798.