Printing and bookbinding for schools

by Samuel Jesse Vaughn

The various faces are distinguished by names applied by the foundries, as “Caslon Old Style,” “Engraver’s Old English,” “Banker’s Script,” etc.

The extreme length of type from the face to the foot is .918 inches, or about eleven-twelfths of an inch.

Fig. 1.

The column of metal on which the letter or character rests is the body or shank of the type (a, Fig. 1) and the distance which the body extends beyond the edge of the letter or character is the shoulder (b, Fig. 1).

On the side of the body next the base of the letter or character are one or more nicks (d, Fig. 1). The chief purpose of such nicks is to indicate the base of the letter or character, and thus to aid the compositor in keeping the type right side up without constantly referring to the face of the type.

To the manufacturer, these nicks indicate other things in addition to that mentioned above, but these need not be detailed here.

The size of the type has to do with the body, and signifies the vertical distance through the body, or the distance from the nick side to the opposite side, as from x to x´, Fig. 1.

Of course it is clear that among the large amount of type manufactured, there must be a great number of different faces on the same size of body; and that there may be two or three sizes of the same face on the same size of body.

In order to indicate a specific type, it is necessary to mention its size and the name by which that particular face is distinguished; as, “10 point Author’s Roman Wide,” “18 point Pabst Old Style,” “6 point Caslon Bold Italic,” etc.