Specimen of Printing Types by Alexander Wilson & Sons, Letter Founders, Glasgow
An 8-page specimen from the Glasgow letter foundry of Alexander Wilson & Sons.
What it is
An 8-page specimen from the Glasgow letter foundry of Alexander Wilson & Sons. The first page packs display type into two columns: Five-line and Four-line Pica, a run of Two-line capitals from Great Primer down to Pearl, 'Two-line English, Ornamented', and open (outlined) capitals in three sizes. Text faces follow, roman and italic, from French Canon through Double Pica, Great Primer, English, Pica, Small Pica, Long Primer, Bourgeois, Brevier and Minion to Nonpareil and Pearl. Many carry cut numbers (English No. 4 and No. 5, Long Primer No. 4 to 6) or the word 'New', and most show a line of figures. As in Caslon's book, every size is set with Cicero's speech against Catiline, now with the round s. Later pages hold Greek, including 'Glasgow Homer Greek', Anglo-Saxon, Hebrew, black letter set with an English statute, a script, and flowers.
Why read it now
Read it beside the 1785 Caslon specimen and the change in the trade shows. Wilson still sells by demonstration, with the same Latin text in every size, but the first page now leads with display letters, ornamented and open capitals suited to posters, notices and title lines more than to book pages. The numbered and 'New' cuts show a foundry selling a refreshed line alongside the old one, so printers could match existing work or upgrade. A line of figures under most text sizes signals that jobbing work with prices and dates mattered. The Greek named after a Glasgow Homer borrows credit from a famous job, a naming habit brands still use. What has dated: named sizes, Latin filler, and no prices or ordering terms. How to use it: lead a catalogue with the items that do the most visible work, show versions side by side with plain labels such as No. 4 and New so a returning buyer finds the one already in use, and name a product after a well-known client job only when the claim is true.
Passages worth keeping
Specimen of Printing Types, BY ALEXANDER WILSON & SONS, Letter Founders, Glasgow.
عنوان الكتاب: عينات حروف الطباعة من ألكسندر ويلسون وأبنائه، صناع الحروف في غلاسكو.
Two-line English, Ornamented.
حرف كبير مزخرف بضعف حجم «إنجليش»، مخصص للعناوين التي تحتاج إلى لفت النظر.
Quousque tandem abutere, Catilina, patientia nostra ? quamdiu nos etiam furor iste tuus eludet?
مطلع خطبة شيشرون ضد كاتلين، مطبوع هنا بحرف s المستدير بدل الطويل، وهو النص الثابت الذي يقارن به الطابع بين الأحجام.
New Bourgeois Roman, No. 4.
إصدار جديد من حجم «بورجوا» يحمل رقمًا يميزه عن القطع الأقدم من الحجم نفسه.
Glasgow Homer Greek.
حرف يوناني يحمل اسم طبعة غلاسكو من ملحمة هوميروس، فيستعير سمعة عمل مشهور.
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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