The early type cases are shown in pictures of the time as made of a single tray containing all the characters of the font and resting in a slanting position on a rude frame or “horse,” at which the compositor is usually seated. All the boxes of the case are represented as of the same size, which probably was not the fact even in early practice any more than it is today. Early designers and artists no doubt overlooked or ignored what they considered an unimportant detail, just as today they often persist in misrepresenting the true outline of the printer's lower-case. One does not need to take much thought or to have much experience to understand that in all printed languages some characters are used more than others and therefore more types of these letters and larger boxes to hold them should be provided.
For a long time the large single case with boxes for the entire list of characters was used, and these are still common in many European composing rooms. In English and American workshops, however, the pair of cases, one above the other, for many years has been the rule for large fonts in book and news work. These cases, being smaller and holding but a part of the font, are more convenient for storing and for moving from place to place about the room as they are needed for use.
The cases described by Moxon in 1683 are in pairs, and the arrangement of the letters in the lower case, as shown in his illustrations, bear a close similarity to the plan of English cases of today.
Early American cases came from England and naturally they conformed to the customs of the time and place of origin. Probably in no other important particular has the tendency of printers to hold to past methods been more strongly emphasized than in their refusal to adopt any important change in the style of the most used type cases and the arrangement of the types in the boxes. Force of habit and dislike for innovation have kept practically unchanged for two and a half centuries the relative positions of the chief characters in the case. At the same time there has been universal acknowledgment that the adoption of some of the suggested improvements would add greatly to convenience and economy; and further, that many of these improvements could be adopted with an effort and expense so small as to be out of all proportion to the advantages obtained.
Sizes of Type Cases
Other sizes of cases, however, have been made and quite commonly used during the last half century. Those now listed in the dealers' catalogs are known as three-quarter size (26½ inches wide by 16⅝ inches front to back) and two-third size (21¾ by 16⅝ inches). There is also another size known as the Rooker case, used to some extent in newspaper composing rooms, the dimensions being 28½ x 14 inches, which is about one-fifth smaller than the standard case. It holds nearly the same quantity of the smaller sizes of type and has the advantage of occupying less room.
When printing offices employed but few workmen and there was small equipment, the need for economizing space did not seem a pressing one. Large cases with small fonts, and open-frame working stands with few or no racks or shelves for storage of extra material, were not considered extravagant so long as the original cost was small. The employment of larger numbers of workmen, however, and the consequent additional equipment of cases, with racks, cabinets, imposing tables, and other facilities concentrated in city buildings where the cost of rent, light, heat, etc., is high and constantly increasing, have made the utilization of waste space a matter of urgent necessity. The three-quarter, two-third cases, and even smaller sizes, which can be kept in smaller racks and cabinets, have therefore been found convenient in many places, but these must be provided with suitable racks or cabinets of the proper size. The smaller cases are sufficient to hold many of the usual small fonts, as well as the ordinary auxiliary material, like type borders, ornaments, small electros, etc. Small cases, with their lesser weight of contents in type metal, often give distinct advantage in the ease with which they may be handled.