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Typo: A Monthly Newspaper and Literary Review, Volume 2

Recent Specimens

page 19

Recent Specimens.

From Messrs. V. & J. Figgins we have a copy of their latest specimen-book of types and catalogue of printing materials. The first thing to strike the printer is the reduction in price of certain classes of fancy founts. In one instance the reduction is from 4s. to 2s. There is no great show of novel styles, either in plain or ornamental letter. We notice a good heavy « Latin Expanded No. 2 » —a letter of the « concave » style, with lower-case; a series of « Memorial, » with small-caps, in the American style of flourished roman; a pretty pica « Circular No. 2, » with small-caps (an unusual feature) and flourished initial and terminal lower-case letters; a fine heavy-faced « Heading » script, 4- and 5-line characters; two larger sizes of the « Condensed Old English, » bringing the series up to 4-line pica (these are probably cut by another hand, as the character differs in several respects from the smaller sizes); one larger and four smaller sizes of « Caxton, » 2-line english to nonpareil; and a very minute « Imprint Sanserif » on nonpareil body. There is a page of « card ornaments, » small silhouette figures, suitable either for word ornaments or ranging in rows in old-style printing; and several new running borders—one for two colors—in the German style. This however, is not Figgin's specialty, and we are not aware that a single one of his border designs originated in his foundry. Among the cuts, we see some new designs for games, and society emblems. The book is chiefly characterized by the great variety of beautiful book and newspaper founts, titling letters, &c., and by the large variety of foreign characters, Greeks, Orientals, &c. In this latter respect the volume now to hand is not so complete as one we recently saw in the hands of an agent; but there are several lines worthy of note. There is an old small pica Greek, containing many sorts no longer cut; a beautiful « uncial » Greek, which is cast on three bodies; a nonpareil « fat-face » Greek, sanserif style, suitable for lexicon work; and a long primer « inscription » Greek—in addition to the ordinary body-founts, ranging from double-pica to diamond. There are also founts of Hebrew, Rabbinical, Coptic, Russian, Polish, Saxon, Irish, and Doomsday, « erased » type, and « peculiars » in all sizes. The completion of the « Caxton » series of black after many years is a sign of the tendency of modern printing. So long ago as 1855, Vincent Figgins cut a two-line long primer face of this letter for a fac-simile reprint of The Game and Playe of the Chesse; but it was regarded only as a curiosity, and for many years had a very limited sale. Latterly, its value in display has been recognized; and last year, Bauer & Co., of Stuttgart, brought out a series, which had a large sale in England; the Johnson Foundry, Philadelphia, and the Dickinson Foundry, Boston, followed; and now we see Figgins has completed the series of a character which has not only merits of its own, but possesses a special interest as that in which some of the first English printer's books appeared.

Barnhardt Bros. & Spindler shew a new dumpy angular script under the name of « Jewel; » « Cadence, » a very light and rather pretty eccentric, with lower-case; « Challenge, » a bold old-face sloping roman; and « Caprice, » a ragged and roughly-cut eccentric expanded, caps only.

Marder, Luse, & Co. have brought out a neat light condensed eccentric under the title of « Assyrian. » The letters are well-shaped, excepting the h, m, n, and u, which are awkwardly sprawled. A pretty condensed flourished roman, « Utopian, » by the same house, has several novel features. The lower-case letters are run from the centre of the caps; all the small sorts are cast on two bodies, the smaller body precisely fitting into a mortise on the right-hand side of the cap A, C, L, K, and seven other sorts. There is an extra cap A and H, with a projecting flourish on the left-hand side, also fitting into the mortised caps; and the effect, with Ch and Th in one piece, is very like engraved work.