William Ged
William Ged (169919 October 1749) was a Scottish goldsmith who has been credited with the invention of stereotyping. However, he was not the first to use the process. Ged was born in Edinburgh, where he carried on business as a goldsmith.
William Ged
- Born
- 1690 · Edinburgh.
- Died
- 1749 · Leith.
- Nationality
- Kingdom of Great Britain
- Occupation
- inventor · goldsmith
- Languages
- English
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Documentary summary
William Ged (169919 October 1749) was a Scottish goldsmith who has been credited with the invention of stereotyping. However, he was not the first to use the process. Ged was born in Edinburgh, where he carried on business as a goldsmith.
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wikidata · Q2578957 · wikipedia · William Ged
In this article
Biography
Biography
In 1725 he patented his process, and tried but failed to persuade printers in Edinburgh to take up his invention. In 1729 he endeavoured to push his new process of printing, on which he was still working, in London by joining in partnership with a stationer and a type-founder but, disappointed in his workmen and his partners, he returned despondent to Edinburgh. Although he had offers for use of his process from Dutch printers, he turned them down from patriotic motives. He died in poverty in Edinburgh and was buried in Greyfriars Kirkyard. The grave was unmarked. An edition of Sallust and two prayer-books (for the University of Cambridge) were stereotyped by him.
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 2 entries
1690
William Ged born at Edinburgh.
1749
William Ged died at Leith.
Places
Named by the record
Places
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Edinburgh.
Birth place
Leith.
Death place
Primary material
Documents and archives
scholarly publication
- Ged, William (1684/5–1749), goldsmith and stereotype founder, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, 2004
Scholarly · Crossref registry · 2004
- Inventor of Stereotyping—William Ged, Scientific American, 1869
Scholarly · Crossref registry · 1869
reference work
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q2578957: William Ged
Reputable secondary · Wikidata
- “William Ged”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
Literature
Scholarly footprint
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Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Ged, William. 11. 547.
- 2.Bertha Porter. James, John (d.1746). 29. 213. 215.
- 3.William Ged, Edward Rowe Mores. Biographical memoirs of William Ged – including a particular account of his progress in the art of block-printing. 1781.
- 4.William Ged – Scottish goldsmith. Encyclopædia Britannica.
- 5.Metz, Küntzel: Geschichte des Buchhandels und der Buchdruckerkunst. S. 273 (books.google.de).
- 6.openlibrary.org
References
Citations
References
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scholarly publication
Ged, William (1684/5–1749), goldsmith and stereotype founder, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, 2004Crossref registry
Institutional witnessscholarly publication
Inventor of Stereotyping—William Ged, Scientific American, 1869Crossref registry
Institutional witnessreference work
Secondary witnessreference work
Secondary witness
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 16 August 2026.
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