De Vinne did much in persuading printers to group the wording of title-pages instead of equally separating the type lines as was done in the middle of the nineteenth century.
Charles T. Jacobi, of the Chiswick Press, London, as an instructor and writer on printing subjects has done much for typography in England. He is not wedded to a particular style of typography, but advocates the adaptation of any style that is good when by so doing clients are pleased and the principles of art are not violated. The title-page reproduced in this connection is unusual in arrangement. The type groups and the device are all squared and their angularity is enhanced by the exclusive use of capitals. Realizing that a page or design is defective if it presents the appearance of disjointed sections, Mr. Jacobi has avoided such results in this instance by arranging the page in the form of a letter Z.
With this chapter the history of typography is brought down to the twentieth century. The modern typographer has great responsibilities. Upon him depends the solution of the problem whether or not our beloved calling is to be ranked with the esthetic arts. Shall the product of the village printer be only of the standard of that of the village blacksmith? Every typographer, regardless of the nature of the work that is his to do, should cultivate a love for the artistic and enlarge his knowledge of the things that make for good printing. The chapters that follow will help to this end.
Because printing as now practiced is in a great degree dependent upon principles and styles developed during the early days of the art, the student should not neglect carefully to read and digest the historical facts and reproductions that have been presented. Too many typographers underrate the value of a knowledge of history. “I do not care what printers of old did; I want to know what the printer of tomorrow is going to do.” This is almost a literal quotation of the remark of a printer who prides himself on his progressiveness, and he is only one of many who imagine that to be up-to-date it is sufficient to use new type-faces, ornaments and borders, caring little if the resulting jobs lack appropriateness, harmony, color, tone, and other elements that are essential to perfect typography.
A BRADLEY PAGE
As produced at the Wayside Press, 1896
A DE VINNE PAGE
This probably presents De Vinne’s idea of title-page arrangement
He who labors without a knowledge of history is much like the young man who started to work on a job press. He was allowed to make ready a form, and after a while the pressman went over and examined the work. On the back of the form he found something that looked like an underlay, but could discover no reason for its use. Mystified, he inquired what it was all about, and was told that the apprentice was doing only what he had seen the pressman often do before—cut out several pieces of paper and place them under the form. It had never occurred to the young man to ask why this was done. Thus it may be with the typographer. He arranges a job of type composition in the style of something good he has seen, but fails to get the quality of the original because he does not comprehend just what has served to produce that quality.
Morris was a student of ancient printing. His thoughts were back in the fifteenth century with Jenson, Aldus and Koburger, and when he began to print, he printed understandingly. There was a well-defined plan, and there was harmony in ornament, type, ink and paper. When the “up-to-date” printer began to imitate Morris he did it with the same degree of comprehension possessed by the young man who made the “underlay.”