Type Specimens.

As an artistic production, the new specimen-book of Ramm & Seemann, Leipzig, takes high rank. It contains 66 quarto pages, filled with headpieces, art vignettes, initials, and borders. Many of the designs we have already seen, on the large and somewhat inconvenient early specimen sheets; here they are arranged in a compact and accessible manner. The whole book is printed in art shades, each page exhibiting some particular ink of a leading Leipzig factory, and the cover is a choice piece of zinco-chromo printing. The headpieces include geometrical, floral, landscape, animal subjects, realistic and conventional, and many pretty amoret designs. Most of the subjects are in two or more sizes. A pretty novel effect is produced in the case of landscape panels and circles, with floral sprays, by supplying them for two colors. Worked in art shades, they look exceedingly well, with the advantage that the circular and other panel blocks are interchangeable. There is also an artistic set of calendar-blocks, in three sizes, with a mortised circle in the centre. The name of the month is absent, which is an advantage: « März, » for example, in an English calendar, gives a somewhat foreign appearance to the work. There are some ordinary running borders, and sets of initials, roman and gothic. The roman series we admire greatly, especially in the larger sizes. The most novel and perhaps the most useful exhibits, however, are the Ivy electro border, about 60·, of 15 characters—one piece three inches long—and the Rose border, also of fifteen pieces, about 48· and 72·. There is so little stiffness or formality in these designs that they would not be suspected to be combinations at all, unless so badly justified as to show breaks; and a border for a quarto circular could be put together in five minutes.

We have already noted the pretty Card-Stand combination of the Actiengesellschaft, Offenbach. We are now able to show it in use, and we think that from its simplicity and effectiveness it will be appreciated by printers. The following is the synopsis of charac- ters. The justification is very simple, the rule in the case of the smaller designs being brought to the centre of the character, as shown in the margin.—From the same house we have another small parcel of specimens. Antike Kanzlei, 10· to 60·, nine sizes, is a pretty German text, with flourished caps, in a style popular with English penmen. Zeitungs Grotesque is a sans with lowercase, quite plain, notable for its exceeding thinness. Seven sizes, 16· to 72·. A very useful face. The Electa is a light ornamental script, with an extra set of caps, scrolled in a most curious manner. The fonts comprise the following ligatures: Fl, Th, Vi, Wi, fi, fl, ft. Four sizes, 16· to 32·. A new series of borders, numbered 76, is shown, containing 16 characters, on 12· body, and a second section, with the same on 24·. They are in the early style — square, circular, and star designs, square body, each comprising a running border of one character. As they are shown, we do not value them highly; but good original effects might be produced by superposition of the various designs in color-work, as for example, 215, (12·) worked on the centre of 225 (24·).

A very useful novelty is shown by Herr Julius Klinkhardt, under the name of Stumpffeine Linien Ornamente. It consists of medium-faced rule ornaments—centres, corners, variously-curved terminals, &c., 50 characters in all, from 3· to 36· body, put up with a convenient-sized font of rule to correspond. The idea is worked out with characteristic thoroughness, and the display of the ornaments in practical use on a double-quarto page is enough to tempt any printer who likes not only to keep up with the times, but to be somewhat ahead.

Messrs MÜller & HÖlemann, Dresden, show a second series of Newspaper Borders. These are simply solid silhouette curves and angles, with which striking though heavy effects may be produced. For gold and color work they would be serviceable. 20 characters.

The Berlin Messinglinien - Fabrik Aktiengesellschaft have issued a double sheet of brass-rule specimens, showing great diversity of style. Many of the braces, flourishes, corners, and ornamental dashes might easily be mistaken for cast metal types. All the usual styles of tinted, checkered, and combination rules are shown, also a variety of broad rules showing floral and scroll patterns in white on solid and tint grounds—a variety which this house (we think) was the first to introduce.

A. D. Farmer & Co. show Typal, a condensed italic, of the old-style character, with heavy body-marks—a neat and useful job letter: 12·, 18·, and 24·. Also the Adlet borders, eight in number, one character each, solid circles, circles with white square in centre, &c., much like the German newspaper borders.

In Press and Paper for September, the Tokyo Tsukiji Foundry show about a dozen outline floral corner ornaments in electrotypes. They are genuine Japanese designs, and are very pretty.

Messrs Palmer & Rey, San Francisco, send us a little pamphlet set entirely in their Eastman series, from 8· to 36·. This letter has become very popular, and we think will remain so. It is a heavy form of old-face with bracketed serifs, and is exceedingly clean cut, harmonious, and legible. It would not fall in well with modern-face body letter; but as a display face with old style, we do not think it has been surpassed.

From Nops' Electrotype Agency we have eight sheets containing nearly a hundred new vignettes, initials, &c., for art printing. Birds, flowers, and children figure freely in these designs, and there is variety enough to suit all tastes. All imaginable subjects can be supplied by this firm.

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The Caslon Foundry has sent us their latest « epitome » specimen book, large quarto, in which all their modern and some of their old job faces are set forth in very small compass, with full particulars as to weight, number of m's, &c. The only new addition since the last Circular appears to be the Latin Italic (the pretty and useful Victoria Italic of the Central Foundry, noticed in our issue of last January.)

Italiennes Droites and Italiennes Penchees are the names of two complementary styles, upright and sloping, recently brought out by the Mayeur Foundry, Paris. What is known in England and America as « French Antique » is in France called « Italian. » The special features of the present style, which is moderately condensed, are that the serifs are bracketed as in the English clarendons, and that the vertical lines bear a fair proportion in thickness to the heavy serifs, and are not, as is usually the case, absurdly attenuated. The sloping series is made to match and line accurately with the upright, and the letter is cast in eleven series, 6· to 72·. It is a thoroughly serviceable style.