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Recent Specimens.

Great as is the variety of more or less ornate scripts for circular work, new faces are still being produced. Messrs V. & J. Figgins have sent us some sheets of their latest productions, and the first thing that strikes us is « Circular No. 3. » The lower-case does not differ very materially from an ordinary old-style italic, but the caps are more in the nature of script. The type is cut with the care and accuracy characteristic of English letter-founding. We do not like the cap F—it slopes too far away from the work to which it belongs, leaving an unsightly gap at the foot of the letter, and in a lesser degree the P has the same fault. It is difficult to suggest a remedy, except the American device of a « mortise, » but this would not improve matters when the capital was followed by the letter l. Double-pica ronde is a fine legible letter, without kerns. Nonpareil italic sans completes a useful series, and minion antique—cast also on brevier to line with roman—is a letter which suits any kind of work. « Sanserif No. 7, » with caps, small caps, and lower-case, is as good as any letter of the kind ever produced. « Open Memorial » is in the missal style—its distinguishing character being that the letters are open instead of black; and an appearance of solidity is given by shading and outlining. The « Primrose » borders—21 characters in all—are somewhat heavy and stiff. The two centre-pieces, 10 and 12, are the best. English founders have not been very successful with the primrose from a decorative point of view.—We take this opportunity to correct an error—not of our own—in our October issue, relating to the ornaments of the late Austin Foundry. Messrs Figgins inform us that they bought the entire stock-in-trade, punches, matrices, electros, ornaments, &c, with the sole right of reproducing them.

Messrs J. M. Powell & Co. send us a broadsheet containing specimens of large zinc combination rules, with fine sets of square corners from 4 to 8 ems.

Herr Poppelbaum, of the Krebs Foundry, Frankfort on the Main, shows in the Neuigkeiten some original faces. « Halbfette Mediæval Kursiv » is a heavy old-style italic,—a face we have not hitherto seen attempted. It is bold and striking, and is shown in five sizes—6- to 18-point. « Bismarck-Fraktur » is a new and beautiful face in the old German character, which seems likely to hold its ground against the roman letter for years to come. « Schmale fette Gotisch, » seven sizes, is a biack condensed German of very neat appearance. « Alt-deutsche » initials is a set in the heavy scrollwork style, very similar to the letters we described last month in our notice of Klinkhardt's novelties. A double page is occupied by some fine headpieces and pierced ornaments; there is a pretty set of seventeen silhouette vignettes; thirteen pretty and simple original borders (three characters each) in the new « leaflet » style; and lastly the « Deutschen » border, a new combination on 8- and 6-line emerald bodies, containing 46 characters. The border consists of arabesques on a tint ground, and with the exception of a few justifying sorts, consists of square pieces. It is very artistic in conception, and well wrought out, and there is nothing gaudy or meretricious in the design, which ought to become a favorite. In a double page it is effectively displayed in colors, enforced by outlines in rule-work and finished off by smaller borders.

The Lindsay Typefoundry, of New York, has shown a good many new styles lately—all useful and in good taste. « Mathilde, » 18- and 24-point, with lower-case, is a new and graceful face, and larger and smaller sizes are in hand. « Priscilla » is a neat and light-faced French clarendon, with lower-case, pica body.

The Dickinson Foundry show in seven sizes « Quaint Open. » This is an uncouth style, and we cannot but regard it as a mistake.

Open letters are coming into sudden favor in the United States. Marder, Luse, & Co. show four styles—all on the same principle—in outline, the line of uniform thickness throughout. « Contour » No. 1 is a thick sans with lower-case, seven sizes; No. 2, four sizes, an ornamented antique; No. 5, a wide sans, three sizes; No. 6, four sizes, an ornamental antique. With letters like these much larger lines can be introduced in light display work than with solid or tint-faced styles. It does not appear whether or not they correspond accurately in design with solid-faced founts by the same firm—if they do, it will be a great inducement to printers to huy, as fine effects might be produced in two-color work.

Under the title of « Sansom, » the Johnson Foundry have brought out a rather pretty old-fashioned script, with a little more flourish about the caps than is in good taste. It is in three sizes, 18-, 24-, and 30-point. There is something seriously wrong in the metal or the kerning of the two larger sizes. There is a dismal display of broken letters in the specimens in the Inland Printer. The fault does not appear to lie in the printing, as the 18-point size in the same page as the 24-, comes off unscathed, and the delicate « Grace » script in the same sheet has suffered no damage.

Barnhart Bros. & Spindler have brought out a new and very pretty script called « Grace. » It is on 30-point body, is light and delicate in appearance, and has two sizes of lower-case. « Arcade » is a good expanded ornamental latin, with several original features. « Huron, » with lower-case, three sizes, is an eccentric style, but not too fantastic to be readily legible. « Freak » is not badly named. It is shown in four sizes, all with lower-case, and looks more like the work of a fantastic penman than a type design. « Vandyke » in three sizes, is irregular, but effective. « Dante » is a fanciful expanded latin in seven sizes. For all purposes we would prefer a plainer style.

« Gazelle » is a rather pretty fancy light italic brought out by the Cleveland Foundry in three somewhat large sizes—24-, 36-, and 48-point.

The Illinois Typefounding Company show two new styles— « Alpha, » in four sizes—an old-style titling, with the serifs sharply spiked—and a good « Condensed Old-style, » in six sizes.