Supplement to Specimen, 1827
A 13-page supplement issued by the Sheffield type foundry Blake, Garnett & Co. to show printers its newest faces.
What it is
A 13-page supplement issued by the Sheffield type foundry Blake, Garnett & Co. to show printers its newest faces. Only 693 words survive in the transcription, since most pages are the type itself. Display sizes come first: Twelve Lines Pica, Six Lines Pica Italic, Six Lines Pica Antique and Double Pica, shown with single words or fragments. Text sizes follow, Pica No. 6 and Long Primer No. 2, set in the standard Latin passage from Cicero's first speech against Catiline, with full alphabets and figures, and a stanza from James Beattie's poem The Minstrel. In the middle sits a short letter headed To Printers, presenting a series of founts from English to Pearl cut on a new principle. Its one claim is durability, backed by the satisfaction of every printer who has tried them, and it ends by inviting a close inspection and a side-by-side comparison with rival foundries.
Why read it now
The sales logic is sound and still in use. The product is its own proof: a printer can judge the cut, weight and texture of a face on the page before buying, which is the same reason software firms offer free trials and paint makers send swatches. The letter picks one benefit that touches the buyer's costs, durability, since worn type meant buying new metal, and it leaves the question of looks to the customer's own eye. Splitting a claimed benefit from a shown one is a useful discipline. The weak point is the proof of the durability claim: every printer who has tried them is an unnamed, uncounted testimonial, the kind buyers now discount. A figure such as impressions before wear would carry more weight. The call for an impartial comparison is a comparative challenge, and that still works when the product can win it. Use: for a B2B product whose quality can be seen, send a physical or digital sample with a one-page letter that names one cost-saving benefit and asks the buyer to test it against the current supplier.
Passages worth keeping
Allow us to submit to your notice this Specimen of our new Pica; being one of a Series of Founts from English to Pearl, cut upon a principle entirely new.
يقدم المسبك حرف البايكا الجديد بوصفه جزءًا من سلسلة كاملة بأحجام متدرجة، ويَعِد بطريقة قطع جديدة.
none have hitherto appeared which excel them in point of durability; and few, if any, to equal them in that most essential Quality.
الحجة المركزية هي المتانة، ويقدمها المسبك على أنها أهم صفة في حرف الطباعة لأنها تمس تكلفة الطابع.
As to their appearance in print, we must appeal to the judgment of our Customers
لا يحكم المسبك بنفسه على جمال الحروف، بل يترك ذلك لعين العميل وهو يرى العينة أمامه.
We would therefore respectfully solicit a minute inspection of the Specimens, and an impartial comparison with those of our Contemporaries.
تنتهي الرسالة بدعوة واثقة إلى الفحص الدقيق والمقارنة مع المنافسين، فالعينة نفسها هي الدليل.
The scanned text has OCR errors. The passages are quoted from it, with only obvious slips fixed.
What it teaches best
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