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Recent Specimens.

Why do not the English founders send out specimen sheets to the trade? In these colonies, for one English specimen that reaches us, we have a dozen from America and Germany. Formerly the founders used to exhibit new styles in the Printers' Register and other trade papers—now they leave that method of publicity to the enterprising German. Their travellers make the round of the English offices; hut what about colonial printers? We have before us No. 43 of Caslon's Circular. This quarterly was started twelve years ago to represent the English typefounding industry. This it has very imperfectly done. The other associated foundries are always referred to in the Circular in the most friendly style (in striking contrast to the American trade organs)—but not one of them has ever made use of its columns to advertise a novelty. Again and again we have asked English founders to send us from time to time their new specimens. Not one (Caslon excepted) has ever done so. What they have done has been sometimes to post us a great book—differing, perhaps, by only two or three pages from what we had already—with five-shillings-worth of stamps on the wrapper. Some of the founders have colonial agents; but do not even keep them posted. What on earth is the use of producing new and useful designs, if they will not let their would-be customers know what they are doing? We sent once to an English foundry for a good-sized book-fount, adding: « Be sure and enclose sheets of your novelties—our latest from your house are about three years old. » The type duly arrived—there was half-a-bushel of sawdust in the case—but not a scrap of printed matter!

We cannot quite except Caslon from this category, though he is enterprising enough to publish his beautiful Circular. It does not do justice to his own productions. The one before us is a good number. It shows first some « peculiar » italic caps, such as may be seen in books of the 17th century printed from Dutch type. These can now be supplied to all old-face founts from two-line great primer to minion. Those who admire old-face letters will lose no time in adding them to stock. We do not. A series of « Plantagenet » is shown—an elegant round hand italic for circulars, with enough of the old-style character to give it a quaint appearance. The cap. O is a little ambiguous—it is too much like an old-style V. A pretty « Ivy » border on two-line pica is shown. The design represents the ivy leaves (in silhouette) on a trellis. The light and shade are artistically balanced, and as there is but one character, the border is economical enough. We have only one fault with it—it does not join up quite perfectly. There is just the faintest white line between the pieces, marking off the pattern into squares. Next we have a series (No. 16) of combination ornaments. It is quite in the American style, but with an artistic refinement which is not American. We congratulate the Caslon Foundry on its inconsistency. Turning back the pages of our valued file to January 1881, we read: « To draw the line accurately at the happy medium where useful practicability ends and extravagance begins is no doubt a difficult task.… The border-line above indicated has, in our judgment been reached, if not passed, by such productions as the Ribbon and Scroll Borders, the Banner and Book Borders, Filigree and Combination Ornaments. But now we see type pictures introduced—very clever and pretty in their way, but, we venture to think, of little and certainly only transient benefit to the letter-press printer. »—And so on, for a column. In Autumn 1882, introducing a new and elaborate geometrical border, it is favorably contrasted with « ornaments of the picture character, » which « soon pall upon the taste. » A year passes, and we are startled by the « Classic » corners, with flower-pots, butterflies, beetles, obelisks, palms, Pallas, Flora, Penelope, &c., introduced with a half apology, but in full assurance that they will be received with « universal admiration and satisfaction » on account of their « beauty and purity of design. » After this the « Oriental » Series, with fountains, flights of steps, rising sun, &c., did not surprise us. But what of series 16? What would Caslon of 1881 say to Caslon of 1887 with his black teapot in the corner and his row of little tea-cups on pica body! What of those exceedingly queer fish in silhouette—eels, skates, squids, &c., with a background of wavy lines, to represent their native element? Typo has the « Classic » and the « Oriental » corners; and will have the teapot and the fish, too, erelong—for odd as it may read in description, the series is a capital one for decorative effects. Next, we are told that a series of six animal drawings by Harrison Weir have been brought out in three sizes by the Caslon Foundry; but by that inexplicable perversity of which English founders alone are capable, not one of them is shown! We have a half-column of disquisition, and not a specimen. The founder « will be pleased to send specimens to any who will apply for them. » Does the editor think of possible buyers sixteen thousand miles away, who would require to write a letter, put a sixpenny stamp on the envelope, and then wait three months for a reply and another four months for the blocks—or else order them blindfold?

One more grumble. Why do not founders mortise their corners and other ornaments? It took a good deal of time, with saw, chisel, and file, to cut the notch in the corner of the ornament at the beginning of this article; and every stage of the operation was accompanied with risk to the type. It should have been done in the casting. The Cleveland Foundry show this piece with a figure printed right in the corner, tacitly implying that it is mortised; but they supply it quite square, with a waste space of 3×2 ems inside the line. This is not fair to the printer.

Messrs. Baber & Rawlings send us specimens of initials (seventh series) from the Fann-street Foundry. The initial is white on an ornamental ground, enclosed in a square—a well-designed series, shown in two sizes. Also initial ornaments in three sizes, Nos. 25 to 42. These are the same as the series 1 to 24 (specimen on p. 25 of this volume), with the addition of handsome ornaments at head and foot. For our own part, we would prefer the ornaments separate, to use at discretion with the first series.

The Typographic Advertiser (Springtime) is full of new things, and is nevertheless disappointing—the fantastic rather than the useful predominating. We must except a very pretty series of outline trade cuts, of which twelve are shown in a supplement. We have seen nothing better in American specimens—and English houses have not yet produced an original set. We expect more of this series will follow, and will he appreciated as they deserve. Some outline index cuts are shown in the same supplement; also a set of weather signals, as used in the United States. A good legible newspaper series of type is shown in four sizes. In display types we have « Cadmus, » a flourished roman, very like half-a-dozen other late American styles; « Hansard, » an extended skeleton with lower-case, of very irregular device, some of the letters being ornamented and others perfectly plain—not nearly as useful as an entirely plain letter; « Pynson, » an ornamental letter difficult to classify; partaking of the qualities of ronde, roman, and black,—an effective style; « Recherche, » a neat hair-line with lower-case, in which the ornamentation is not overdone—pretty and really useful; but with tremendous beard to head and foot of lower-case letters. (These founts, in which the character occupies so small a portion of the body, are profitable letters to sell by the pound.) Lastly we have « Grolier, » a detestable script with extravagant initials. Five pages are taken up with a combination border (No. 96) in three divisions. The ornaments are of the kind which the average customer marks out of his page 53proof, and will not tolerate on any consideration. The first division has some barbaric corners, and sections of landscape representing an inundated country. Houses and trees rise from the waste of waters; wild ducks are flying past, and a lady in a small boat is rowing a little boy across the scene of desolation. These pieces are to four-line pica—a boundary line above and below preventing them being used except in a continuous line, and avoiding the amazing possibilities of perspective developed in the « Egyptian » combination. Here are nine pieces of landscape, so the comp has the privilege of arranging boat, waterweeds, tree, and flooded buildings in any order of precedence he may choose. The drawing of the buildings is absurd, and is in bad perspective. For what class of work (save perhaps as a headpiece to a magazine article), this design could be used, we cannot imagine. Section 2 is a ribbon combination, so contrived as to combine with sections 1 and 3—so that the aforesaid lady, &c., may be represented as adorning a band or garter. We have seen a good many ribbon combinations; but this—the Johnson Foundry's first attempt—is the stiffest, raggedest, and most ungraceful yet produced. Section 3 goes far to redeem the whole. We have here three or four really useful borders, with original and artistic effects of light and shade; but for a fount to be of practical use, some sixteen or twenty pounds of this section alone would be required. There are 68 pieces in the whole combination, most of which might with advantage have been omitted. As compared with the pretty and useful series 95, this combination shows a decided retrogression.

The Cleveland Foundry show their useful « Magic » border on pica body. The new size is, to our taste, prettier and more attractive than the two-line pica already noted.

Herr Julius Klinkhardt, of Leipzig, in the specimens acknowledged in our earlier numbers, shows founts of chess-type, with a novel character to represent the « bishop. » Another novelty is a very neat fount of domino type. Through the courtesy of the founder, we are able to show specimens of both these designs. We also show a black and a white bishop of the ordinary style, for comparison.