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Firstly, what's in the book? Not surprisingly it takes a chronological view of
the types used by the Press:
Introduction
Before 1669: Collecting exotics
1668-1670: Latin types from England
1669-1672: The search for type on the Continent
1672-1675: The search for a type-founder
1676-1703: Type-founder & punch-cutter Walpergen
1677, 1686, 1695: Acquisitions from Bernard, Junius, and Hyde
1693-1706: The first three Specimens and the status quo
1703-1733: Type-founder Andrews
1733-1780: Type from Caslon
1758-1761: The acquisition of Baskerville’s Greeks
1758-1786: The later Specimens
Type-founding timeline
APPENDICES:
John Hall’s type estimates
Sylvester Andrews’s last bill
Type delivered to the Press from Caslon
Quantifying Caslon’s supply of type to the Press
The question of height-to-paper
The price of type
Secondly, what does it look like?
Although this volume has been printed digitally, people will I hope be pleased
at how closely it follows the first volume in every way possible. Size, papers,
jacket, typeface, typography, ... have all been kept to the standard set by
volume I, and the same will be true of
volume III which we plan to publish later
this year (of which more below). Here is the cover of the standard edition:
In the de luxe edition, the book is quarter bound in brown leather (as volume
I) with a paper marbled by Jemma Lewis on the boards (the colour way is as
volume I but the marbling style this time is nonpareil). The book and portfolio are then
housed in a slip-case. Leather and cloth are in the same colour as for volume I.
To illustrate the changes that occurred in the types used over the period it
seemed most appropriate to use leaves from the actual books. Over the past few
years I have watched online for copies that were advertised as, for example,
'front and back boards missing and title page defaced' or 'severe water damage
to fifty pages' - copies that I felt it
acceptable to break so that they could serve one final purpose!
A leaf or, in some
cases, leaves for a particular book are preserved in a translucent envelope
which itself comes in a paper wrapper giving details of the book and any
pertinent notes about the types used.
Finally, has it been well received? Comments such as 'an outstanding series of
volumes', 'should be awarded prizes', 'a beautifully produced book', 'another
beautiful and important book' give us a warm glow. Look for further details on
price etc at
our website
Volume
III
All
being well, we shall be publishing the third and final part of this trilogy
later this year - the main volume is all ready for digital printing and the text of the extra volume that will
form part of the de luxe edition has gone for typesetting in metal. I
shall be printing the latter letterpress on a hand-made paper that was amongst
the reams that I bought from the defunct monastery print-shop at St Hugh's
Charterhouse. Unfortunately it doesn't carry a watermark but certainly much of
the other papers I bought were from Rives, Van Gelder, and English mills, so I
think it will make a fine addition to the de luxe copies.
That
extra volume is entitled Learning about Printing. When Bishop John Fell
and his three partners took over the University Press in the early 1670s they
knew little of the economics or practicalities of printing books and had a steep
learning curve to climb. They were helped with advice by their foreman, John
Hall, and we are fortunate to find in the Bodleian Library manuscripts by Fell,
one of his partners Thomas Yate, and John Hall, in which they explore those commercial and practical lessons. Although they no doubt
initially saw themselves as would-be entrepreneurs, in the event they proved no
match for the London Stationers who could undercut them and spoil their hopes of
financing the publication of short-run learned texts through the bulk sale of
text-books to the Stationers. Via the fourteen manuscripts I trace that
journey.
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