to strike a blank die of soft metal to make a negative letter mould, called a matrix. Casting The matrix is inserted into the bottom of a device called a hand mould. The mould is clamped shut and molten type metal alloy (consisting mostly of lead and tin, with a small amount of antimony for hardening) is poured into a cavity from the top. Antimony has the rare property of expanding as it cools, giving the casting sharp edges. When the type metal has sufficiently cooled, the mould is unlocked and a rectangular block approximately long, called a sort, is extracted. Excess casting on the end of the sort, called the tang, is later removed to make the sort the precise height required for printing, known as "type height". National traditions The type-height varied in different countries. The Monotype Corporation Limited in London UK produced moulds in various heights: : United Kingdom, Canada, U.S. : France, Germany, Switzerland and most other European countries : Belgium height : Dutch height A Dutch printer's manual mentions a tiny difference between French and German Height: 62.027 points Didot = = English height 62.666 points Didot = = French height 62.685 points Didot = = German height 66.047 points Didot = = Dutch Height Tiny differences in type-height can cause quite bold images of characters. At the end of the 19th century there were only two typefoundries left in the Netherlands: Johan Enschedé & Zonen, at Haarlem, and Lettergieterij Amsterdam, voorheen Tetterode. They both had their own type-height: Enschedé: 65 23/24 points Didot, and Amsterdam: 66 1/24 points Didot – enough difference to prevent a combined use of fonts from the two typefoundries: Enschede would be too light, or otherwise the Amsterdam-font would print rather bold. This was a way of keeping clients. In 1905 the Dutch governmental , later: "State-printery" () decided during a reorganisation to use a standard type-height of 63 points Didot. , actually Belgium-height, but this fact was not widely known. Typesetting Modern, factory-produced movable type was available in the late 19th century. It was held in the printing shop in a job case, a drawer about 2 inches high, a yard wide, and about two feet deep, with many small compartments for the various letters and ligatures. The most popular and accepted of the job case designs in America was the California Job Case, which took its name from