in 1963, during the first children's book fair in Bologna, that I found a
broadsheet type specimen from a Bolognese printer, folded in four, in an
antique shop. I think I paid the equivalent of about 20 euros (30 U. S.
dollars) for it, calculating backwards—a lot of money for me at that time.
The specimen had lain in a drawer for years until collecting became all
the rage. I sent a photocopy of it to the University of Bologna, asking for
information. The specimen proved to be from the Benacci printing family,
which was active in Bologna in the 16th and early 17th Centuries. The Bolog¬
nese university library informed me that they had many specimens from
these printers, but not this one. I now flatter myself with the thought that it
is a unique copy and one of the very oldest type specimens. The antiquarian
bookseller Herzberger offered me a good price for it, but I'm glad I resisted
the temptation. A couple of years ago, I was able to purchase an extremely
rare duodecimo publication of madrigals printed and published by
Alessandro and Vittorio Benacci between 1588 and 1590, with lavish, whimsi¬
cal use of their vignettes. That's what really brings a type specimen to life.
In principle, 1 collect anything in the way of specimens, from any
country and from any period, the only restriction being the lead era.
There are various producers: type foundries, printers, and bookbinders—
although the last group is small. The specimens demonstrate type cast in
lead or made from materials such as wood, brass, and iron (for impres¬
sions). There are also vignettes and ornaments, stereotypes of woodcuts,
and all kinds of copper lines. I do have a number of photosetting speci¬
mens, but I pay little or nothing for them. In most cases, they excel in
their dullness, if not ugliness. But there are, naturally, exceptions. One
lovely example is the three-part Compugraphic specimen, printed in two
colors and designed by Jost Hochuli, with a playful, humorous applica¬
tion of the type on each right-hand page.
Type specimens come in all shapes and sizes. Those with a complete
range are often bound in a hard cover. One extremely large specimen is
Stempel's 1925 Hauptprobe. It is around 1,200 pages long and more than
10 centimeters thick; it weighs 7 kilos and is bound in half parchment.
There are also slim volumes eulogizing the qualities of a single typeface
each. Often, they are stapled, but some are sewn with cahier stitch, in
a soft binding. Years ago, I bought two boxes of this kind of specimen
from the bookseller Horodisch, who had evidently just acquired them
at an auction. He remarked at the time that those thin booklets with a
specimen of a single type each were far more beautiful and interesting
36--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1785, Specimen of Printing Types,
William Caslon, London
Shown here is a complete, eight-page
proof of a type specimen by His Majesty's
¡etter-founder, including Greek, Latin,
Hebrew, music, and floral decorations.
Dieser Druckbogen des königlichen
Schriftgießers William Caslon präsen¬
tiert auf seinen acht - hier vollständig
abgebildeten - Seiten griechische, latei¬
nische und hebräische Schriftbeispiele
sowie Noten und florale Ziermuster.
L'épreuve complète de huit pages d'un
spécimen de caractères du fondeur de
lettres de sa Majesté, comprenant du
grec, du latin, de l'hébreu, de la musique
et des décorations florales.
than the thick volumes. He was quite right. They show various applica¬
tions of the type and are often extremely stylishly designed, sometimes
by the type designer himself. The use of color was not shunned.
Type specimens are, naturally, not only found in special publications;
they were also incorporated into the foundries' in-house magazines, such
as the Amsterdam Type Foundry's Typografische Mededeelingen; Johannes
Enschedé & Zonen's Letterproef; Nebiolo's Archivio tipografico; Schelter &
Giesecke's Typographische Mitteilungen; and La crònica by Richard Gans
in Madrid. There are also the world-famous publications: the Monotype
Recorder and the Linotype Bulletin. Type specimens can also be found as
advertisements in trade journals such as Graphicus, The British Printer,
Typographische Jahrbücher, Deutscher Buch- und Steindrucker, and the Swiss
Les archives de l'imprimerie. The French type foundries had a joint maga¬
zine in the early 1900s called La fonderie typographique. They displayed
magnificent examples of all the new types, ornaments, and so forth, often
pure Art Nouveau. In Germany, there was the Journalfür Buchdruckerkunst,
Schriftgießerei und die verwandten Fächer in the mid-i9th Century, and, later
in the century, Archiv für Buchdruckerkunst und verwandte Geschäftszweige.
Innumerable appendices were bound into them, sometimes folding out
to big broadsheets, with the most complicated setting and printed in sev¬
eral colors—beautiful enough to frame. Today, the appendices are often
missing, but the volumes in my collection are complete.
Type specimens were also printed in manuals and encyclopedias. One
36-page Caslon specimen from 1763 was included in P. Luckombe's The
History and Art of Printing (1770). Eight pages from 1785 were featured in
Chambers's Cyclopaedia, which also includes a Fry broadsheet. In 1767,10
pages by Fournier were incorporated into the Enyclopédie élémentaire
{"Tableau des vingt corps de caractères, d'usage ordinaire dans l'imprimerie")
and, naturally, into the second part of his Manuel typographique, printed in
1766. Die so nöthig als nützliche Buchdruckerkunst und Schriftgießerey present¬
ed the "Schrift-Probe, oder kurzes Verzeichniss derjenigen Hebräisch-, Griechisch-,
Lateinisch-, und Teutschen Schriften, welche in Herrn Bernhard Christoph Breit¬
kopfs Schriftgießerey allhier befindlich sind. Dabey man mehrentheils bemerket
hat, von wem eine jede Schrift in Messing oder Stahl ist geschnidten worden."
A treatise by Ernesti on typecasting and printing from 1721 [Die wol-ein-
gerichtete Buchdruckerey) features type specimens probably by Endters, who
printed and published the book.
Following the chronology of my collection for a moment: I bought an
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Jan Tholenaar
Ëriglifh Syriac.
ïfcào )LjL >>, vr
J_i_io_*_a, )__i—üj) i)i ■■ ^ )oot_i ijLcuja
o_» wj_Qjámt Ць&ы^ч >i» cao) L_^-,Lb іЩ
L j 1' "i ■) -, • "■"■ " ^*. con, гч ню )- .1- \э
NL_sJ. Jjjo v ■ л ■ -»N. у n, л fu T-J-« <2
Lju-і-л ,-io 4j2 j)) V"" m ' ""** V
Long-Primer Syria«.
лчѵ^. Ц\о . 4.Vu 1 уоо^ .ось;/ : PfJ ч1
coi .)joi y¿Co ^ .a»a ^û . eA ¿o)o Hi
\a¿¿\ .1*>о£Л \\b-> joj^i ^oAjI ' ^Сьг V ■ ,o¿u|
5c¿c • ^ h&*& i'üuojto ,J¡o¿ ,j*» . Vb] 001
,-^.™v. cuocio . -oaj lo\ ^io J¡2u fccos : *> -->
Engliíh Arabic.
Д^ІлІІ и-.»! ¿1 * v-tíW фШІ і_л*хіі ¿Я ЦЛ fb!
jL-ïï i- ï«^! ЯШ -*£- jyS.UaiSl'.djjjJ«!! o-^Üül
¿_ »t.b- üixil^J, £»í»tó LU3Ì C-Jf I л» * X^LàlI
^ЛІ v^i¿)! ¡¡¿оШ * лл»*!І jli»Sl, **ДО "т-ЯП ^Uai
ÄJU j^li * «даііі &¡£¿J j^*~U« & щ^У.' * Spi
tica Armenian.
Quibpuu/uin- fuiunuißJhL. Ъи шитШ-шЬ-ш/ЬпдЬ
V"V -P1J №'"дй£міЪпдц. ц_^шр4-ЛаЛи hmhkuij
'р хь,і\і q.kçbgbk fr^wy* »»""í fmi ѵП-
шрЗьп/tfi, ч£пц.ипІц.(;ЬІ1шіЬи>і_ ¡¡b-iuboPnl-Pli.
npu.uppk¡fr рЛідри^ uifunpj-u.^mgut, """-»>-.
kj li.li uni¿npni-PÍgut 4.ÎT npnj, lun¿_Jpuyti ç._
Fica Samaritan.
¡алкала /rtaA аа»» "тѵпг : ангара1» чіпгал-
^іачгіД ••■т^л-а iat аета>"а <\»>лй ait дач пготг
лл til Чі^ -.а^пгэс ?аД ал ta^nra am <\a<ï
2,л* -.талча-;1« гггд^ад taxuÀ <\>»ла тілчэч^
al ma :^°ia tìi-ms ал ma ¡ічпг^АД ^ілпгал-
:аал- anraZt^ аД^і 'гсаа? ï«sî3Tï лтада*
¡ал^ада л-гал иа»» »»^гт :anta»»a"» ^ііігал
, Pica Gothic.
ЛТТД rwSAK ФП IN ЬіМШДМ : ѴбЛ-
nAi nAmä феіи ; иімДі фіПс\інД88№
Фешэ: ѵДіКФДі Ѵ!Д9Д фешв sve ïn
ііімшД дДИ ДыД ДіКФДі: ЬЛДф пм-
бДкДмД ФДиД sintgimAn гф nNS
ЬіммДс\ДгД: дДЬ Ді^Ает rms фДтеі
SKnAANS siQM'MA. svA syegAii ve¬
is А1=АетАм ФАім sküAAm nNSAKA-
Ріса Сор(іс.
Пепіизт eT¿jenrti фно-«*- *».¿-peq Toirß.-
orbce пекралт *- дхіресігисет-еклье-Готро*-
ne*reg,rti.K ju.¿.peqttju)m ¿лфргсг ¿ей Тф-
ertejuL gJxertntK¿.¿,i}- Пепсоік ttTepicf дл-
HiqrtA.rt лхфоот 01ГО& xiltKe'rePoft nirt ß^"
oX дд.фрк+8>1и птеях"3 e^°^ пкнете-!--
o-íoo iXnepxerte ¿o-r етрл-сдлос ** ¿.ХХг.
n¿.g,JU(.ert è&oX ¿екшпетадлотг-î~ Пега-
Pica ^Ethiopie.
<Ш^П'.: Zivi; íííh: ПП<»: ПЛ^£: ФП^«^:: Etrufcan. эягпяяз tqn-TYíi-r гптап q-i «l-i га ІЙ8Ю )1AYH<15 Wf ï ?TMtö +B «1fí14 A38)ia ЭАВТ a© ^d^t hiy +А>ан іит <ШѲН1Ч TV Игй M35lt4 ©З TaIÍI Md Ênglim Saïiùft. Fasttçn upe J?u be eape on heopenum. Si J5111 Pica Saxon. Long Primer Sáxon. Faeberi upe Ju pe eajVc on heopenum. Si pm nama jehaljob. Brevier Saxon, Fstbeji ufie (jó Jjfc eàfit òn heopenum. Si bm nama jehaljob. To-becume Two-Line Great-Primer Black. &nu be tt further be Double Pica Black. &ttò be tt further ЬегеЬ^ епа^ öreat Primer Black. ^ttû Ы it futfljet tjereb^ епййео> Engliíh Black. ano be it futtbet berebg епабЬги, Cbat tie щ&> Englifli Black. No 2. 9nb be it futttjeï öetebg matten, Coat t\yt Pica Black. ano be it furtber bevíbp enafteu, Cbat tbe Ш* Pica Black. Ño 2. anu be it íuirB« betebp enatteu, Cßat tjjc ^apojiS, . Small Pica Black. ЯпК be it futtfotr. fierebj enalten, Щм tí»e äCa»o?sf, Long Primer Black, Brevier Black. ant> íe It futtíet ttttij ernia, <№t rtje £g«{a(i, TBaitifft. o; alia lenti Collecting Type Specimens 37
h,Wh: НЛЛ: (¡Wh: Vñh: f^:: SSCÌ: M: г\ПМ:
n<^: ithhh.: \*iX1\ ЛН: ЛПЛ: Л^:: ЪсхЪЮЛ:
(Tríit: o^ihjX-M ЛЛ: ¡YTW: (Dflftm^: n^îï-iV:
АП-^î: Лп^: МП: £Лѣ: »^(Ш^: *t£iSì Ф7ИІ
rh^: ЛЧЛ«: °,Г\(Ь-. ¡\<ЪЛ:: !\М: НП°Чгі^^: В
^•f^ri: пг^-Л:: ^РЪгм o»M
nama gehalgot). To-becumè bin pice. Dep-
ujiBe bm pilla ön eopbaiii j-pa j-pa on heo¬
penum. Uj-ne toasghpamlioan hlap j-yle up
со ъщ. Кпъ рорзур "Г иЛЕ Zfitar- ГРа Г^
pa ре pop-çipâu unum gylrentjum. Ants ne
ЗеІагЪЪе Jju up on copenunje. ас alyp up op
FœbÈn une J>ü pe éajvc on heopènum, Si pin na¬
ma gehalgo». To-becume pm pice. EepuprSe pin
pilla on еодрап. ppa ppa on heopenum. Upne bs-
jhpamlican hlap pyle up to fcsej. ЯпЪ popjyp up
upe gyltap. ppa ppa pe popgipaB upurn jylten-
Cum. ÄntJ ne gèliétitie pù up òn coprnunje. ac
To-becume pin nice. Eepunfce pin pilla on eonpan. rpa rpa
on heopenum. Upne basjhpamhcan hlap pyle up го ьшт.
Жпь Fopsyp up une ayltap. ppa ppa pe ponjipa« unum 5y-
kenoum. Ало ne jetee-be pu up on coptnunge. ас alyp up
tin nice. Depute bin pilla on eop>an. ppa ppa on heopenum. Upne
ofeShpatnllcan hlap pjle up to о*х. Knb FoniyF up upe іуквг. ppa ppa
peFÓpsipaeupurn jylrenDum. Knb he jeUcbbebu up on сортпипзе. ас
alyp up op yFele. So Alice. Fjebep upe bu be eapt on heopenum. Si p-
tteli, Cíwt tíje 01щ)Щ8, Ш*
Ж\>іА ttje ¿Шаро^, Batlife, о? о*
роій, TBaüíffis, otothetbeau2Dfficetsofeöetg
Coton anö place cocpoeate, ano Citp toitbm
^lagojö, TBailtffö, n etijet tjeaö SDfficetö aï '
mtve Coton anu place tubolate, anu Citp
ms, 'lBailíffie, o?utberbeaöä)fficer£iefeuecp
Coton ano piace соірогасе, ano Cits toitbin
ffinilitEs, o? atgít; gean ÍDíEitecá of etìerp ©oton ano
»late coipoiatc, ano Cito uutlnn tins Kealm, beius
ШіШ$, oí ot^er Ijeaö ФЯсегй of eOetj Coton anö
place co3pocate, ano Cítg toítljln tíjís Etalm, bcíns
an* be it Шгфег Ijnebp enaaeo, tíjiat the SPacojo, »affiffe, Of 0.
гьеі Seau ФШсег» of ebete ШШ anï piate coipojate, ano eitr ttu'tb.
in гьів iReal*, Ьеіпц ЗІііСКсе u> ЗІиШсео of peace, Ibatt haue the fame
аифоіІіЕ be ttrtue of фія aa, toitbm the Шпіш ánB píetineo of феіе
Мшг of am Soum ano place га(ро;і(с, èlio íltp mithin this ізсаіиі.
Wills Jufflñ ó? Juillets of Jätne, ftall haut tic fume «itthoprp. ip berme of
this Яа, toitlm tic íimltí «га рг»сіп«а of fielt Juiimiaions, as tocTI ont
of ®еГмп», as at thtlc «effions, Iftlep lolo anp, as is Ictelnlmilteo, pre.
fcrfteo aim appoime» W autticei of tie JPeue of tie uountp, ог ар? ti»»