AUTHOR'S FEAT.

Rangitikei Advocate and Manawatu Argus, Volume XXXIV, Issue 9342, 11 January 1909, Page 7

AUTHOR'S FEAT.

young geologist as his OWN TYPESETTER. “When you want a thing don well, do it yourself. ” No man ha given completer practical illnstratioi of the utility of such a course thai Dr Felix Oswald, whose “Tieatisi on’the Geology of Armenia” ha just procured for him the degree o doctor of science of the University of London. Eight years ago Mr Oswald (now District Registrar of the Probau Registry, Notts) was a clerk u Somerset House, with a passion foj botany, geology, and the making of -naps There came to him one da^ an invitation from his friend, Mr H F B. Lynch, now Liberal M.P. for the Ripon Division of the West Riding of Yorkshire, to join him in an expedition to the untrodden wilds of Armenia. Although the expedition was intended to last only a few months it was not easy for a Somerset House clerk to procure so long a holiday But Mr Oswald’s appeal to his chief; the late Sir Francis .Teune. tor an extension of leave Was at once granted. Sir Francis expressing the keenest interest in the proposed visit of the amateur geologist to the regions around Mount Ararat. The expedition went, saw. and conquered many of the secrets of that great highway from Central Asia to Southern Europe. . ~ Difficult and laborious as was the work undertaken by Mr Oswald in his capacity of geologist tp the expedition, it was childis play compared to the task that faced him on his return- He bad already made many maps and plans for Mr Lvnch’s volume on Armenia; he now decided to publish the results of his own scientific researches, and to place them before the University of London (of which he was already 5 A ), as the thesis which should entitle him to the coveted degree of doctor of science. The University demands that such a thesis shall the printed, but naturally it makes no provision {for meeting the expense. No publisher. Mr Oswald found, would undertake the risk of printing a volume on the geology of Armenia, and the heavy cost was beyond Mr Oswald’s means. LEARNING TYPESETTING. He therefore determined to print it himself. Knowing nothing of the art of printing, he received a few lessons from a man who did. Having learned bow to set type and use a printing press, he bought a case of pica, with italics, a small hand-press, a quantity of paper, ink, and an autooopyist apparatus for the reproduction of maps and plans. _ Then he sat down in front of his case, and for three years, with infinite patience, set up his hook, line by line and page by page. His book grew slowly to completion day by day, for as the stock of type was limited and tbe hand-press could take only two pages at a time, it was necessary to print in order to release the type for another couple of pages. It mast be remembered also that the time at Mr Oswald’s disposal for his labour of love was curtailed by the time necessarily given to his official duties. The early morning and the hours of midnight found him at his task. , To friends who dropped in upon him at his charming house at Dulwich, with its old-world garden, the student would be found slowly picking np his “stamps”—for, of course,

it takes years to make an compositor—gradually building up his monumental book. It was a glad day when, ;the five hundred odd pages printed. Mr Oswald packed up his precious parcel, and despatched it to the binder. He had made 104 copies, and the cost in cash for the production of tbe edition may be expressed thus £ s. d. , Press, type, ink, cases 11 10 6 SSSng v. v. 1 i 5. Autocopyist .. 2 10 0 £2l 10 10 Thus Mr Oswald’s edition cost him in raw material about 4s a copy. His price for the copies that remain is one guinea. NOT AN “AMATEURISH” BOOK. What of the craftsmanship? It is safe to say that no one bat a technical expert couldgidentify it as the work of an amateur. The printing is bold and clear, and the tables are set out with all the skill of a practised hand. Just as Mr Oswald holds his own with the professional printer, so in the contents of his book does he bold his own with the professional geologist. He has taken the work of previous observers, thoroughly digested it, and conferred upon all

students the immeasurable boon of.} 00-reJating it with his own and other j recent discoveries. These discoveries are neither few nor unimportant. Like Coleridge’s Mariner, “tie was the first that ever burst” into the silent depths of the crater of Nimrod, five miles in diameter, with its great protecting wall 4000 feet high. This remarkable volcano is usually the haunt of brigands, but the Sultan’s troops carefully protected the little band of pioneers from harm during their work of exploration, This is not the place to dwell upon the high scientific achievements of Mr Oswald. Suffice it to say that they are sufficient to entitle him to the thanks of every earnest student. Dr. Oswald is one of those slim, athletic young'.'meu of England born to be equally at home injbbe laboratory or on the slopes of the Himalayas. With the patience and keenness of an intellectual sleuthhound he combines the capacity for work of a drayhorse. To hear him speak of his adventures in Armenia or of his long-drawn out labour in printing his extraordinary book is to listen to an unassuming mortal, unconscious of having performed anything very wonderful. Although Mr Oswald's book is published from his present house in Nottingham, it had, as has been said, its creation and birch at Dulwich. TIME FOR GARDENING. In spite |of the engrossing nature of his task the anchor found time — all great workers appear to be the masters of time—-to become his own gardener, and to make his somewhat

liberal plot of ground as fertile and business-like as his book. The botanical secrets of his garden he as readily revealed to the curious, in his gentle, careful fashion, as he disclosed the secrets Of his printing Dr. Oswald might well be claimed as an example of the virtue of heredity. His father. Mr Eugene Oswald, author of many books and translations, and a descendant of the French Hugeunots who settled at Heidelberg, has for many years filled a distinguished and honourable place in the teaching profession in this country. His mother is an Englishwoman, a relative of the late Sir Rowland Hill. In the near future we may expect Dr. Oswald to increase the hold which he has gained on the affections of all devoted students of science. In marriyng a Scotswoman who to her entire sympathy with her husband’s work combines the gift of song, one may be certain that he has not lessened his capacity for painstaking industry.