Vol. I - The Coptic Orthodox Church

Messrs.
Harrisons'
fount of
Egyptian
type.
Messrs.
Harrisons'
Oriental
compositor.
Ixxiv Introduction.
and privately, to forward my work. During the War, when the
resources of the Firm were strained to their utmost to carry out
the urgent work which was thrust upon them by the Govern-
ment, and when every available hand was pressed into this service,
he somehow managed to keep going the composition of this book,
and found means of machining each sheet when ready for press.
Besides this, he had many hundreds of new characters cut, and
spared no trouble in reproducing my manuscript, and whenever
necessary he cast great quantities of new type to enable
the composing to continue, and so avoided delay during the
distribution of the type of worked-off sheets. At the present
time his fount of Egyptian type is the largest and most compre-
hensive and complete in the world. At my request he has prepared
a list of his Egyptian Hieroglyphic types which will be
found at the end of the volume. On the Continent great printing
firms like Harrison & Sons, who enlarge and complete their founts
of Oriental types, receive subsidies from Governments, or from
Academies, but in England no subsidies or contributions are
given to printers, and the satisfaction which they feel when they
have done a public-spirited act of this kind is their sole reward.
That Messrs. Longman cast at their own expense the fount of
solid Egyptian type that was used for printing Birch's " List
of Hieroglyphics," and his "
Dictionary of Hieroglyphics," and
that Messrs. Harrisons have cut, at their own expense, the very
extensive and complete fount of linear hieroglyphic types used
in the printing of the present work, will ever redound to the credit
of the great company of English publishers and master-printers.
Dedication : the coloured border was drawn by Mr. Alfred Caton.
Finally, I mention with gratitude the help
which I have
received from Mr. A. E. Fish, the able compositor in the employ
of Messrs. Harrisons who set the type of this Dictionary. He has
shown great zeal and interest in the work, and his skill and great
experience have triumphed over many difficulties, and made
the proof reading easier. He is a worthy successor of Mr. Mabey,
Messrs. Harrisons' great Oriental Compositor, who set the type
for George Smith's monumental work The History of Assur-
banipal, London, 1871, and of Mr. Fisher who set the type for
my text volume of the Book of the Dead, London, 1894, published
by the Trustees of the British Museum.
ERNEST WALLIS BUDGE.
BRITISH MUSEUM,
February 25th, 1920.