The Practice of Typography: Plain Printing Types
The first volume of De Vinne's Practice of Typography, copyright 1899; this scan is the second edition, published by the Century Co. in 1902.
What it is
The first volume of De Vinne's Practice of Typography, copyright 1899; this scan is the second edition, published by the Century Co. in 1902. It gathers notes De Vinne had kept since 1860 on plain printing types, with each chapter checked by experts at foundries and presses in New York, Boston, London, Paris, Stuttgart and Lisbon. It explains how type is made, from the punch-cutter's drawing and counter-punch through matrix, mould, casting and dressing, then the old names of type sizes (pica, brevier, nonpareil) and the point system that replaced them. Later chapters describe a font, the faces and their history (old-style, modern, condensed, italic, fat-face, black-letter, gothic, antique), prices, wood type and the Benton punch-cutting machine. It closes with recent styles, from William Morris's Golden type to the Century face L. B. Benton cut for The Century magazine, each shown in a set specimen.
Why read it now
The argument that matters for marketers runs through the chapters on faces: type should be made for the reader, not to show off the founder's or printer's skill. De Vinne tests faces by use. Thorne's fat-face was believed more readable, but in practice it clogged with ink and wore out; hairline moderns dazzle; a very black face that works in one line tires the eye across a page. Legibility research since has broadly agreed that moderate stroke contrast and open counters read best, and the Century family that grew from the face he commissioned is still used in school books. The point-system chapter is a case study in why a shared standard beats each supplier's private measure. What has dated: the metal process, the prices, and asides such as calling hairline faces beautiful by a feminine standard. Use: when choosing a brand typeface, test it at body size in a full paragraph and in the real medium (phone screen, print, Arabic and Latin side by side), not only in a headline.
Passages worth keeping
The beauty of text-types is in their precision.
جمال حروف النص في دقتها، فالحرية المقبولة في الخط اليدوي أو النقش لا مكان لها في حروف الكتب.
It is of the first importance that types should be accurate, yet it is difficult to make them of unvarying accuracy.
دقة الحرف أول شروطه، لكن الحفاظ عليها صعب لأن القوالب والمعدن والحرارة تتغير باستمرار.
It is not a restful type; it attracts attention, but proves wearisome when diligently read.
الحرف الأسود شديد التباين يلفت النظر، لكنه يتعب القارئ حين يقرأ به طويلًا.
The rights of readers deserve more consideration.
للقارئ حق يجب أن يُقدَّم عند صناعة الحروف على استعراض مهارة الحفّار والطابع.
What a reader needs for pleasurable reading is the instant visibility of every stroke in every letter
القراءة المريحة تحتاج أن تظهر كل ضربة في كل حرف بوضوح ومن النظرة الأولى.
The scanned text has OCR errors. The passages are quoted from it, with only obvious slips fixed.
What it teaches best
Read the original archive.org
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