Online Type Specimens at St. Bride Library—Fold-outs
In digitizing their pre-1831 type specimen books St. Bride Library in London—arguably the preeminent repository of material on the history of type—was unable to fit some elements of the books into the Internet Archive format. Various fold-outs and inserted items had to be placed on the site as TIFFs rather than included in the complete book download options. Roughly one-fifth of the specimens digitized and uploaded to the Internet Archive fall into this category. The fold-out material includes type samples too large or wide to fit an octavo or quarto page, music type, vignettes, illustrations, charts and tables, correspondence, and documents. Here is a sampling of the fold-outs to tease your interest and excite your curiosity.
Typefaces
Unidentified German type specimen fold-out 1740. Image from Internet Archive / St. Bride Library.
Gros Canon Maîgre ordinaire / Numero LVIII fold-out from Épreuves Générales des qui se trouvent Chez Caractères Claude Lamesle Fondeur de Caractères d’Imprimerie (Paris 1742). Image from Internet Archive / St. Bride Library.
Petit Canon Romain and Italique fold-out from Épreuves des Caractères de le Fonderie de Joseph Gillé… (Paris 1773). Internet Archive / St. Bride Library.
Bâtarde Coulée script fold-out from Essai d’une Nouvelle Typographie, Ornée de Vignettes, Fleurons, Trophées, Filets, Cadres et Cartels, inventés, dessinés et executés par L. Luce, Graveur du Roi, pour son Imprimerie Royale (Paris: Imprimerie de J. Barbou, 1771). Image from Internet Archive / St. Bride Library.
Caractère d’Écriture sur Le Corps de petit Parangon fold-out from Caractères de la Fonderie de J. Gillé, Graveur et Fondeur du Roi pour Les Caractères de l’Imprimerie de la Loterie Royale de France et autres (Paris 1778). Image from Internet Archive / St. Bride Library.
Fry & Steele’s Twelve-Lines Pica fold-out from first specimen of types from Fry & Steele [London 1798]. Image from Internet Archive / St. Bride Library.
14 Line Pica, No. 2. Cast in Mould and Matrixes fold-out from New Specimen of Printing Types from the Fann Street Letter Foundry, London (London: W. Thorowgood, 1825). Image from Internet Archive / St. Bride Library.
Doubles Grosses de Fonte Ombrées and Chiffres de Doubles Grosses de Fonte fold-out from Spécimen des Caractères de la Fonderie Polyamatype de H. Didot, Legrand et Cie (Paris: Imprimerie de E. Duverger, 1828). Image from Internet Archive / St. Bride Library.
Nro. 12 and Nro. 13 from Schriftproben der Hof-Buchdruckerei von C. Macklot (Karlsruhe 1840). Image from Internet Archive / St. Bride Library.
Non-Latin Types
Table Des Ligatures des Caractères Syriaque et Garschouni… fold-out from Specimens of Oriental Types (France 1810). Image from Internet Archive / St. Bride Library.
Fold-out from Épreuves des Caractères, Vignettes et Polytypages de l’Imprimerie et Fonderie d’Auguste Semen (Moscow 1818). Image from Internet Archive / St. Bride Library.
Music Type
Plein-Chant. Note de Quatre Points de Gros Romain fold-out from Les Caractères de l’Imprimerie par Fournier le jeune (Paris 1764). Image from Internet Archive / St. Bride Library.
“Plan de la Casse de Musique” from Spécimen des Caractères, Vignettes, Armes, Trophées et Fleurons de l’Imprimerie Royale (Paris: Imprimerie Royale, 1819). Image from Internet Archive / St. Bride Library.
Maps, Diagrams and Charts
Developpemens de la Presse fold-out from Description d’une Nouvelle Presse d’Imprimerie by Philippe-Denis Pierres (Paris 1786). Image from Internet Archive / St. Bride Library.
Fold-out Plan of the Building & Ground of the University Printing Office, Villa-Field, Glasgow: August 1816 from Specimens of Types, and Inventory of Printing Materials, Belonging to the University Printing Office of Glasgow… (Glasgow n.d). Image from Internet Archive / St. Bride Library.
Illustrations and Vignettes
Fold-out view of the Enschedé foundry from Proef van Letteren… Lettergietery van J. Enschedé [Haarlem]: 1768. Image from Internet Archive / St. Bride Library.
Wood engraved vignette fold-out from First Part of a Specimen of Printing Types Cast at the Foundry of S. and C. Stephenson… (London 1796). Image from Internet Archive / St. Bride Library.
Fold-out sheet of wood-engraved vignettes nos. 25 to 34 from A Specimen of Printing Types, Cast at the Letter-Foundry of D. and G. Bruce, in Chamber, near Chatham Street (New York 1818). Image Internet Archive / Dt. Bride Library/.
Documents
“Prices of Printing Types, &c.” February 1, 1825 fold-out from Specimen of Printing Types from Caslon & Livermore… (London: Bensley, Printer, 1825). Image from Internet Archive / St. Bride Library.
Letter from Talbot B. Reed to William Blades November 28, 1883 from A Specimen of Printing Types from Fry & Steele… (London: T. Rickaby, 1795). “I have put a paper mark in the 1795 spec where the Hibernian type is shown which was cut by Moxon for Bedels Old Test 1685—We have the matrices here.” Image from Internet Archive / St. Bride Library.
Acknowledgements
Thanks to Alicia Chilcott of St. Bride Library for explaining how to find the fold-outs.
TO TOP