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FRENCH RENAISSANCE PRINTING TYPES: A CONSPECTUS
Vervliet, Hendrik D.L.
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A majority of today's Western text types, whether Roman, Italic, Greek, or Hebrew, derive from type designs conceived or perfected in sixteenth-century France. They became available all over Europe from the 1540s onwards. Their design, often going by the name of Garamont, remained unchanged for two centuries. Their pleasant serenity and excellent readability triggered a revival from the 1850s onwards.
This conspectus aims at surveying exhaustively and regardless of aesthetics, all Roman, Italic, Greek, Hebrew, and Arabic typefaces made in France during the sixteenth century. Such a survey will be of interest to historians, bibliographers, and philologists wishing to identify the types used in the imprints they are investigating, as well as to type historians or type designers wishing to base their attributions on documentary evidence.
The conspectus consists of introductory chapters on the sources available, the evolution of sixteenth-century type-casting and letter-engraving, biographical notices of 17 punchcutters (both famous ones, such as Colines, Garamont, Granjon, and lesser known ones, such as Vatel, Gryphius, or Du Boys) and the methodology used. The main part of the book consists of the facsimiles of 409 typefaces (216 Romans, 88 Italics, 61 Greeks, 41 Hebrews, 2 Arabics, and one phonetic) each with a short identifying notice, describing their letter family, size, punchcutter (or eponym), their first appearance in books or type-specimens, the surviving materials such as punches or matrices, and finally (for about two-thirds of them), the recent literature. Every typeface has been illustrated, several with multiple examples of their use.
Author Henrik D.L. Vervliet was previously Librarian at the University of Antwerp and a professor at the University of Amsterdam. His work includes bibliography and books on humanism and book history.
Available in the UK from The Bibliographical Society.
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AN ENQUIRY INTO THE NATURE OF CERTAIN NINETEENTH CENTURY ...
by Carter, John and Graham Pollard
First edition. A classic piece of literary detective work in which the authors expose Thomas J. Wise as a forger by their work in type specimens, paper and study of the text of various 19th century pamphlets. A landmark book in the history of literary forgery. This copy has been inscribed by both authors on the free endpaper. Very rare to find a copy signed by both authors. Carter has written in his typical red ink "Unread, I notice, but I appreciate the goodwill. John Carter, 7 dec 70" and Pollard has added in blue ink beneath Carter's inscription "Signature authenicated by Graham Pollard, 29 Nov. 1973." With the bookplate of the noted collector, Abel Berland. Jacket rubbed along spine and hinges but rather well preserved.
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