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Typo: A Monthly Newspaper and Literary Review, Volume 5

Type Specimens

page 135

Type Specimens.

Each mail brings some addition to our library of type specimens, and we have now to acknowledge a large quarto from W. Woellmer, of Berlin. The beauty of some of the designs makes us wish—as we have done on other occasions—that we could show them instead of contenting ourselves with a necessarily imperfect description. Large as the book is, we know from loose specimen-sheets in our possession that important original designs of this foundry are not shown. There is a branch of the establishment at St. Petersburg; and the first section of the book contains a fine collection of Russian faces, plain and ornamental: several of the latter being registered original job styles, adapted to the Russian language. Then follows a section devoted to Fraktur, or the standard German text, followed by Gothics in great variety. We note a series entitled « Amerikansche Gothisch » —a misnomer, the letter being the familiar and popular « Anglo-Saxon, » originated and engraved thirty-five years ago in the Caslon Foundry. It is American only by adoption, having been freely « lifted » by founders in the United States. A light-faced Renaissance Gothic, (929-932) is a pretty and original style. A light old-style roman series from 6• to 16• is a striking letter, and very clean-cut. The thinness of the 1 is noticeable. A good series of italics, cut to correspond, are also shown. There is the usual variety of job-letter, including many original styles, among which are some excellent heavy-faced scripts, cut to correspond and line with the lighter standard styles. The German Cabinet-Script, in four sizes, is quite new to us, and is really pretty. It is an upright rendering of a style which at best is crabbed and far from legible. There are a number of series of ornamental initials, including some good Gothic designs for two colors. There is a very rich and varied collection of borders: but we are surprised to find that the splendid « Renaissance, » one of Woellmer's masterpieces, is not shown. This combination, in six sections, contains 188 characters, and a complete font weighs about a hundredweight. It is easily composed, has no useless sorts, and is much more manageable than some of the popular and equally expensive architectural combinations; but is, perhaps, somewhat too heavy for the English taste. We notice, however, a specimen of the Light Renaissance combination, by which we find that the entire series has been duplicated, without the solid background. It has a beautiful appearance, and though it lacks to some extent the richness characterising the original series, is available for a greater variety of work, and may become still more popular. Other combinations are the Saxonia, a fine design in the Gothic style, with the moderate number of 65 characters. The Franklin combination, 79 characters, is in the rococo style, very striking and pretty, and not easily described. Finest of all, however, is the beautiful Rococo, of 80 characters, introducing the human figures, in the classic style, so much in vogue in modern ornamental printing. Berger's Renaissance, Flinsch's Rokoko, and the Graciosa of the Actiengesellsehaft, are all somewhat in the same style: but Woellmer's is bolder, and has a character all its own. The Raphael, 37 characters, we think we have noted before. It is quite unlike any other border we know; is both original and artistic; yet somehow strikes us as curiously funereal in style. The Italian Renaissance, 7 characters only, in three sizes and two styles—stippled and white background—is a pretty and useful design. The same may be said of the « ungleichsehenklige » or dissected corners.

The Actiengesellschaft, Offenbach a/Main, show a series of neat running borders, and some striking Silhouette Corners, solid, with designs in white.

Genzsch & Heyse, Hamburg, and the affiliated house of E. J. Genzsch, München, show Fette Renaissance Fraktur and Münchener Renaissance Fraktur, in seven and eight sizes respectively, ranging from 8• to 72•. They are broad and narrow faces of a heavy flourished old-fashioned German. Some of the caps—notably the —are peculiar in form. It is, we think, too Teutonic in style to be much in favor with English printers.

Lapidar is a good fancy roman, original in style, by Ludwig & Mayer, Frankfurt a/Main.

C. F. RÜhl, Leipzig, has brought out in four sizes a heavy ornamented job-letter with lowercase, entitled Minerva. It is a good legible style, but difficult to classify, being neither roman, sans, nor Schwabacher, but in some respects resembling each.

Mr E. T. W. Dennis, color printer, Scarborough, has produced a series of beautiful Floral Corners, of his own designing. They are engraved in different sizes, and for one, two, and three colors.

Barnhart Bros. & Spindler send us the latest issue of the Typefounder, which shows considerable activity on the part of the firm. Besides adding more sizes to their Castle series, they show four new styles. Archer is a fancy sans with lowercase, 10• to 48•. Some of the caps are eccentrically formed; but the lowercase letters are mostly of the ordinary type. We must except the descenders, which look almost as if they had lost their tails. In the 48•, for example, the length of the p is 32•, and the tail descends barely 4• below the loop. Of course it is impossible to fairly represent a y, g, or other descending letter when the body of the character occupies seven-eighths of the length. Another peculiarity of the style is the looping of the h, k, 1, &c. Condensed Elzevir is a thin old-style, 18• to 72. The M is somewhat sprawled, and the R is weak; the other letters are good. Crown is a neat fancy sans, outlined on two sides, 12• to 24•. Moorish, caps only, 12• to 36•, is a heavy irregular style, reminding one of the caps of the Primitive.

Mackellar's Typographic Advertiser, No. 134, has been pretty well anticipated, so far as novelties are concerned, by the specimens in American trade papers, noted by us as they appeared. Dynamo, a kind of old-style latin with lowercase, in five sizes, is another of those grim distortions of the alphabet in which neither legibility nor beauty is studied. It is no better nor worse than a score of other American crank styles—produced, we can only suppose, to supply a demand. The multiplication of ungainly and illegible faces must, we think, ere long bring about a reaction—a general reversion to plain styles, which never look so attractive as after one's eyes have been tried with distorted forms. Giraffe, seven sizes, though ugly, has some claim to originality. It is a condensed sans, the horizontals extravagantly thickened. The R is no R at all, but an ill-shaped A. The M and N are also objectionable forms.

The Dickinson Typefoundry show a large number of beautiful headpieces, vignettes, and initials, all drawn in very free and simple style, suggestive of process-work. Of initials eighteen series are illustrated. The prices strike us as high—half-a-crown for a letter 3 ems square, and larger sizes in proportion. We cannot forbear a protest against the way the specimen-sheet is printed. Four pages of ornaments are worked on two—two forms in light tint and two in black over them. The effect is one of indescribable muddle, the ornaments crossing and obliterating each other in the most promiscuous manner. The pages look more like spoiled proof-sheets than founders' specimens.

The Boston Foundry has brought out a series of Epitaph Open, which works in exact register with the original Epitaph, with good effect. The style is not a beautiful one, and the T is decidedly ugly.

Marder, Luse, & Co., show Halftone, a delicately-tinted and shaded fancy sans, with lowercase, in three sizes. Most of the letters are well-shaped, but there is one objectionable character in the font—the R, which curls backwards at the foot instead of forwards, producing the effect of a broken and ill-shapen B.

Farmer, Little, & Co. have rung another change on their popular Fashion. The latest is one of the most useful. It is sufficiently described by its title, Fashion Extra Condensed, and is in five sizes, complete with lowercase, 12• to 36•.