Abridged Specimen Book: Type, Borders, Brass Rules, Ornaments and Price List of Printing Machinery, Furniture, Fixtures and Material
A 436-page trade specimen and price list from A. D. Farmer & Son Type Founding Co., printed in black and red and issued from its Chicago house.
What it is
A 436-page trade specimen and price list from A. D. Farmer & Son Type Founding Co., printed in black and red and issued from its Chicago house. The title page gives 1804 as the founding date and states that the firm has no connection with the Type Trust. The front matter covers font weights, a standing stock of at least ten tons of sorts, how to order sorts, claims, and money terms: no cash discount after ten days, monthly settlement, references for new accounts. A price list of type by size leads into body and display faces, one face per page, each shown in four or five sizes with its font price, such as Poster Ionic No. 2, Telescopic Gothic and Beekman. Borders, brass rule and ornaments follow, priced by the five feet, then presses, cases, cabinets and tools, and a discount sheet dated December 1, 1898.
Why read it now
The lesson is in the page system. Every specimen page uses the same frame: face name, size on the left, price on the right, and sample lines that fill the measure. With the frame fixed, the buyer compares only letterform and cost, which is how a good pricing page works today. The sample lines also sell. One face opens with a notice asking job printers to look at the new job letters in this book; another promises a complete outfit from the old reliable New York type foundry. The positioning is worth study too. The repeated line that the firm has no connection with the Type Trust turns independence from a dominant rival into a reason to buy, a move challenger brands still make. The ten-day cash discount is close to the early-payment terms still common in B2B trade. What has dated is the product, and the habit of padding sample text with jokes and mock headlines, which a modern buyer would find noisy. To use it, fix one template for every variant you sell and put the price in the same place on each.
Passages worth keeping
This firm has no connection whatever with the Type Trust.
تعلن الشركة استقلالها عن التكتل الذي جمع معظم المسابك، فتجعل ذلك ميزة تبيع بها.
We carry in stock continually not less than ten tons of sorts for our body type faces, and you get ’em quick from us
وعد بالسرعة مدعوم برقم محدد، فالمخزون الكبير يعني أن العميل لا ينتظر صب حروف جديدة.
The best and quickest way to get a satisfactory estimate for a printing outfit of any size, and for any purpose, is to send us a complete list of the items wanted.
دعوة واضحة إلى خطوة تالية سهلة: أرسل قائمة بما تحتاجه ونعيدها إليك مسعرة.
Because you have no account with us is no reason why you should not HAVE.
دعوة ودية للعميل الجديد إلى فتح حساب، بشرط مراجع موثوقة وتسوية شهرية.
It can be hurled at a brick wall if the spirit moves the manipulator, or subjected to most any kind of abuse.
ادعاء المتانة يقدم بصورة حسية مبالغ فيها يسهل تذكرها بدل وصف مجرد للجودة.
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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