High Contrast Display Face Used in Two 19th Century Books

bowfinpw
16 Nov 2008 — 8:40am

I looked through the Jaspert "Encyclopaedia of Type Faces" and did not see this one. Updike's "Printing Types" did not show it either, as far as I could find.

It's probably reasonable to think it comes from a French foundry, but unfortunately, I have no good references for their specimens, other than the two books I mentioned.

- Mike Yanega

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all about seb
16 Nov 2008 — 11:06am

Jeff, please let us know if you find out somewhere else. I'd like to know too :)

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tupper
17 Nov 2008 — 1:49pm

Mike, thanks for looking.

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hrant
17 Nov 2008 — 3:59pm

This -or something very close- is shown in Thibaudeau's "La Lettre d'Imprimerie". IIRC the rounded corners he calls a "fad" that some French font houses adopted to differentiate themselves from the damn Brits. I'll look it up in a few hours.

hhp

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hrant
17 Nov 2008 — 7:27pm

Well, the passage in Thibaudeau isn't very helpful - here's a scan/collage:

Basically I guess you'll have to track down the Plon font house.

There's also nothing about what I thought I remembered, although
I might have read that elsewhere. Don't ask me where though.

hhp

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hrant
17 Nov 2008 — 10:01pm

When I didn't find all of what I thought I would in Thibaudeau, I faintly started remembering that there might have been something in De Vinne as well. Well, lo and behold in his "Treatise on Title-Pages" of 1902 there's the following footnote: