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Type Specimens.

Eighteen months ago we noted the receipt of a parcel of beautiful border-specimens from the Rudhard Foundry, Offenbach-on-the-Main. We have now received, through our home agent, a fine quarto specimen-book from the same house, containing all we then noted with later novelties. As usual with German specimen-books, it opens with a full variety of Frakteur or German fonts, followed by Romans of all styles and sizes. We note a full series of the modern Schwabacher, a style for which we have a liking, and two well-cut Greeks, 8· and 10· respectively. In the section devoted to fancy letter, American faces, as usual, figure largely. There are several series of ornamental initials, series 3 and a large alphabet with no distinctive number being new to us. There are several pages of miscellaneous signs, one series of about twenty characters, called Correspondence-Signs, being extraordinarily heavy. A page of tint-grounds is remarkable for tasteful arrangement, and the harmony of its colors. Some of the finest combinations in the book—the Herbaria, National, &c., we noted last year. The Deutsche Border, 24·, is a pretty design and economical, consisting of three characters only. A new and original combination is the Gothic Architectural, a minimum font of which weighs about 251b. As we looked at the synopsis of its 71 characters, occupying an entire page, we thought that we should require a working-model if we had to compose it. Such is provided in a large folding-sheet, where this handsome design is wrought out in tints, and some of its capabilities displayed. The Renaissance border, 13 characters, is neat but not striking, its detail being rather minute. The Silhouette border, of 46 characters, fourteen on 12· and the rest on 6·, is somewhat heavy for the English taste, but looks well in colors. Excellent head- and side-pieces could be made up from it. In the double-page specimen it is displayed with great skill. The latest novelty—the Humorous Fancy border of 50 characters, we are able to exhibit, the house having been good enough to enclose a complete font along with the specimen-book, and we have devoted our chapter on « Design » this month to its consideration in detail. The border is in the latest German style, and some of our readers, we know, will not be content till they have a font of it. The head-piece on this page is adapted from an example in the founder's specimen-sheet. There is some satisfaction in showing new designs—no description can give a true idea of them. There is a comical set of calendar-vignettes, and numerous religious emblems and grotesque carnival cuts, among the latter being a complete alphabet supported by silhouette figures. Nine sets of sporting corners, several pretty floral corners and vignettes, and a collection of national emblems, complete a very interesting volume.

It is impossible in the space at our disposal to do justice to the supplementary specimen-book, containing nearly two hundred pages, just issued by Schelter & Giesecke. Very few of the designs here collected appear in the earlier volume, and this supplement displays an activity and fertility of production to which we know no parallel. Many of the novelties we have noted as we saw them in our exchanges, but many more are quite new to us. We note eight series of Line Ornaments, containing in all 175 character, and adapted to certain new ornamental fonts and initials. Some Shadow Tints, for groundworks, representing a sky with clouds, are novel and pretty. Gothic Border, Series 79, is a grand floral scroll combination, admirably wrought out. It is on bodies of 72·, 60·, 48· and 36·, each provided with corners to connect and combine with the larger or smaller bodies. It contains 49 characters. Four small Gothic borders, containing 13 characters, appear on the same page. Fonts of Cards, ordinary and German, are shown, also Draughts (which curiously enough are not included in the former book, which contains chess and dominoes). The greater part of the book is occupied by vignettes, single and in series. Large mortised pieces are shown, business cuts, headpieces, initials, &c., in almost bewildering variety. The devices are in most cases of great artistic merit; but many have the scratchy appearance suggestive of process-work. Some of the Art Vignettes are arranged for as many as five colors, and are so shown; the founders having thoughtfully indicated the colors used and the order of impressions, on little rectangles in the margin. The large light Groundwork Vignettes (pp. 458-460) are a useful novelty in typography, producing an effect hitherto only obtainable with the aid of the lithographer. There are two sets of Stations of the Cross, finely engraved, and two series of printers' headpieces, for one or two colors. There are Japanese vignettes, gnomes, floral subjects, costume figures, comic silhouettes, and bird and insect subjects. Altogether the book is a delight and a temptation to the artist-printer, and is a monument of the typographic progress of the past four years. The prominence given to color-subjects is significant.

The Flinsch foundry, Frankfort-on-the-Main, sends us a large parcel of specimen-sheets. Two beautifully-cut fonts of Grotesque (light sanserif with lower case) are shown, both on 4· body. Halbfette Mediæval, a sharply-cut heavy-faced old-style roman, a little exaggerated, like the American « Ronaldsons, » is shown in series, 8· to 36·. Mediæval Clarendon, shown in three new sizes, 48· to 96·, and Schmale Mediæval Clarendon, a thin old-style clarendon, we recognize as new and very useful plain faces. Ten sizes, 6· up to 40·. Broad Athenian is either the same or a close copy of an American face of the same name. Eight sizes, 9· to 48·. Concave, with lower case, closely resembles Reed's letter of the same letter of the same style, but is, we think, lighter: 12· to 32·. Mikado is an eccentric but rather pretty condensed style, with lower case, 12· to 48·. We find nothing to object to but the name. This is the third Mikado series we have in our books, and they are all widely different. Mediæval Script is a fine sloped ronde, 10· to 60·; Fette Mediæval Script is the same face, in bolder style, useful for emphasising words in circular, &c., set in the lighter letter; and a third variation is the Ornamented Mediæval Script, working well with the others. Of this letter only one size, 39·, is shown. All three series are evidently cast on rhomboidal or oblique bodies. A sheet finely displayed in colors, exhibits twelve sets of new corners, some very handsome, on square, triangular, and quadrant bodies, and a quadruple page, in colors, shows ten Mortised Borders, in æsthetic style, some of them large enough for an octavo program.

J. H. Rust & Co., Vienna, show in three sizes, 8·, 10·, and 12·, an original face of Greek, entitled Drugulin's Mediæval. It is in several respects different from any we have seen elsewhere. It is very light-faced, and upright; the caps correspond with the ordinary Roman old-style; but the chief peculiarity is, that wherever possible, the lower case letters are provided with serifs, cut somewhat obliquely, as in the old-style Roman. The effect is peculiar, and not unpleasing.

Meyer& Scleicher, Vienna, send us a neat specimen-book, commencing with body-founts in Roman, German, Schwabacher, and the quaint fourteenth-century letter, the original Schwabacher. Most of the job-styles shown, and many of the ornaments, are already familiar to us, and we do not find anywhere a note setting forth that the productions to which it applies are original. The series of Ornamented Initials (42) is new to us; it is a pretty set; the letters are old English, and adorned with vignettes of infants, animals, flowers, and fruit. There are two series of calendar-vignettes, the set 2071-2082 being very well engraved; and a collection of ecclesiastical and national cuts. New to us also is a varied collection of headpieces, sidepieces, and corner vignettes, in which the edelweiss figures largely. They are sketchy in style, and artistic in design.

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Caslon shows a complete series, five sizes, pica to 4-line, of a very old face, Perspective, concerning which he has something interesting to say in his Circular. « The double-pica size, » he says, « has appeared in our specimen book for many years. It was engraved by the celebrated French typefounder and engraver, Charles Derriey, who, however, never produced any other sizes…. It is somewhat late now to complete the series, but the new sizes may prove useful…. The late Charles Derriey, whose artistic genius is so well shown in the superb album of specimens, made it a rule never to sell drives of his punches; but as a special favor made the late Mr H. W. Caslon a present of strikes for the one size of Perspective. » The fact that Derriey never sold drives of his designs surprises us, as some of his faces appear in all the English specimen-books. They have not been re-engraved, that is certain. As for the Perspective series, when Bruce of New York completed it more than three years ago, we felt some surprise at his taking the trouble to engrave this and another obsolete face (styles 1087-88). The Caslon series is identical with that of Bruce, but will of course vary slightly in body.

The Patent Typefoundry, Red Lion Square, London, W.C., have sent us a little book, noticeable for its beautiful printing, containing their latest specimens, including novel American faces of type, tint-grounds, and new combination rule borders. Of the fonts we have already, through the courtesy of Messrs Shanks & Co., shown several lines, as also of the excellent pica tint-border, with which some beautiful effects are produced in the specimens before us. We must not forget the pretty and original series of Typographic Ornaments— a series of 25 little figures, with an accompanying pica border.

The Mackellar, Smiths, and Jordan Company show, in their Advertiser, in addition to novelties already noted, a neat electro of the Bartholdi statue of Liberty; some larger sizes of the Ronaldson Title Slope; and a very square style of ornamental caps called Luray. This letter has a tint-face, surrounded by a thin white line, with a very thick solid blocking on two sides, giving the letters unusually bold relief. It is effective; but without the finest ink and most careful printing, the tint-face would be certain to fill up. The squareness of form is carried too far. It requires close inspection to detect the minute difference between D and O. Four sizes, 18· to 36·. There is a series of twenty Index Business Corners, the hands being beautifully drawn and engraved, with accessories representing jewels, cigars, musical instruments, workmen's tools, &c. They are not of the same practical value as the original index corners.

Barnhart Bros. & Spindler have not been idle. In the current issue of the Typefounder, they show six sizes of the West old-style, a book-face that cannot fail to please those who admire the old-style character. The figures are uniform in height and line. Old-style Condensed is a useful style which the foundry has purchased, and to which they have added two sizes, 60· and 72·. It is now complete in eight sizes, 12· to 72·. A thin face, but very legible. Princeton is completed up to 60·. Worth, five sizes, 18· to 60·, is a condensed form of the « Dante » designed by the same house, with the addition of lowercase. A new script, the Hazlett, is designed after the handwriting of a gentleman of that name. It is light-faced and somewhat broken, in the italic style, and has a neat appearance. In Capital ornaments, 24 characters, we have one more type-combination imitating twisted brass-rule.

Cushing Old Style, by the Central Foundry, is much in the same line as the condensed old-style Clarendon of the Flinsch Foundry; but with this difference—it is not consistent. About half the letters are modern and half old style, the effect being distressing. Complete with lower case, twelve sizes, 6· to 48·.

Opal, caps only, by Farmer, Little & Co., is an irregular outline style with a good deal to commend it. The outline is uniformly thick all round, and thicker than usual, causing the white letter to stand out distinctly without the usual artifice of blocking. Four sizes, 24· to 48·.

Specimens of the productions of the typefoundry of Ceferino Gorchs, Barcelona, appear in the Correo Tipográfico. Many of the standard job lines—antiques, &c., would be considered antiquated in England and America. The faces are, we judge, mostly original, as they are unlike those in other Continental specimen-books in our possession. A series of Bastarda Española, in six sizes, 12· to 48·, does not impress us favorably. It is a heavy engrossing script, cramped in style. The figures are curiously flourished, and uniform in size, except the 0, which is half the height of the others. The 1 is something like a script s, and without the other figures, as in the example [unclear: 11], is not readily recognized. Some good electros are shown, including twenty-five figures of saints, and numerous crosses and mortuary emblems, besides a large and varied display of prize-medals and cuts of the Eiffel Tower.

[Notices of other specimens to hand have to stand over.]