How long has stereotyping been around?

In 1745, an attempt at stereotypeprinting was made in Philadelphia by BENJAMIN MECOM,nephew of the great Benjamin Franklin. Mecom cast plates for several pages of the New Testament and made considerable progress towards the completion of the book, but he never finished it. In 1804, before the introduction of stereotyping into this country, MATHEW CAREY, the well-known enterprising publisher in Philadelphia, had The Bible in quarto set up entire, and regularly imposed in chases, to print from at convenience, according to the demand for the volume. The type was cast by Binny & Ronaldson. Stereotyping would have saved a vast proportion of the immense outlay required to carry out the scheme, which, nevertheless, even under these circumstances, was doubtless highly remunerative. The weight of type must have amounted to 25,000 pounds, to say nothing of the number of chases and column rules required.

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