A History of the Old English Letter Foundries / with Notes, Historical and Bibliographical, on the Rise and Progress of English Typography.

by Talbot Baines Reed

[Μ] 49. Old Blacks from R. Andrews’ Foundry, 1706. (From the original matrices.)

He also possessed the Hebrews and the Ethiopic[369] used in Walton’s Polyglot; the Irish cut by Moxon for Boyle’s New Testament, and a curious alphabet of Great Primer Anglo-Norman; besides a fine specimen of old Blacks (two of which are here shown), probably handed down from some of the early English {195} printers, whose character they strongly resemble. His son, Silvester Andrews, as we shall notice later on, founded at Oxford, whither he appears to have taken matrices of some of the Romans and one fount of Hebrew from his father’s foundry.

The following is the list of matrices in the foundry in 1706, as given by Mores. Founts of which the punches or matrices are still in existence are distinguished by an asterisk; those descended from the Polyglot foundry are marked [P.], and those from Moxon’s [M.]:—

• “Mr. ROBERT ANDREWS’ FOUNDERY, 1706.
  • ORIENTALS.
    • Hebrew.—
      • 2-line English, 32. [P.?]
      • Double Pica, 68. [P.?]
      • Great Primer, 35.
      • English (the common German face), 47.
      • English, 73. [P.?]
      • Pica, 65.
      • Long Primer, 35.
      • Brevier, 35.
      • Small Pica, old, 42.
      • Small Pica, another, 77.
      • Small Pica, another, 73.
      • Nonpareil, 35.
    • Rabbinical Hebrew.—
      • English (German), 30.
      • Rashi, Pica, 29.
      • Rashi, Long Primer,* 30.
      • Rashi, Brevier,* 29.
      • Rashi, Nonpareil,* 29.
      • Large face points, 42.
      • Accents, 27.
      • Small face points, 28.
    • Samaritan.—
      • (Leusdenian), 21.
    • Syriac.—
      • Great Primer, 47; Points, 13.
    • Arabic.—
      • Great Primer, 104.
      • English, 62.
  • MERIDIONALS.
    • Æthiopic.— Great Primer,* 212. [P.]
  • OCCIDENTALS.
    • Greek.—
      • English.‡
      • Long Primer.‡
      • Brevier.‡
      • Long Primer, 457.
      • Brevier, 331.
      • Nonpareil, 329.
      • ‡ “These three were purchased by Thos. James, 20th April 1724, ten years before the sale of the foundery.”
    • Roman and Italic.—
      • 2-line English full face caps, 31.
      • 2-line English Roman, 147.
      • 2-line English Italic, 108.
      • Double Pica large face Roman, 122.
      • Double Pica small face Roman, 115.
      • Double Pica Italic, 107.
      • Double Pica 2, Roman, 118.
      • Double Pica 2, Italic, 66.
      • Another, 126.
      • Great Primer 1, Roman, 114.
      • Great Primer 1, Italic, 102.
      • Great Primer 2, Roman, 110.
      • Great Primer 2, Italic, 66.
      • English Roman and Italic, ...
      • English 2, Roman, 92.
      • English 3, Roman, 96.
      • English Roman lower-case, 32.
      • Pica Roman, 117.
      • Pica Roman, lower-case, 27.
      • Pica Roman, and Italic, long face, ...
      • Long Primer Roman, 84.
      • Long Primer Italic, 80.
      • Long Primer Roman lower-case, 42.
      • Long Primer Roman lower-case, another, 38.
      • Long Primer Italic capitals and double-letters, 45.
      • Brevier Roman lower-case, 57.
      • Brevier Roman lower-case, another, 57.
      • Brevier Italic, ...
    • Title Letters and Irregulars.—
      • 4-line Pica full face caps, 30.
      • Canon Roman, 27. [M.]
      • Canon Italic, 74. [M.]
      • 2-line Double Pica Roman, 127.
      • 2-line Great Primer full face caps, 31.
      • 2-line Pica full face caps, 31.
      • 2-line Pica Roman lean face, 58.
      • Paragon Roman, 122.
      • Paragon Italic, 100.
      • Small Pica Roman, 76.
      • Small Pica Italic, 82.
      • Small Pica Italic, another, 98.
      • Small Pica Italic, another, 80.
      • Small Pica Roman and Italic, ...
      • Bourgeois Italic, 72.
      • Nonpareil Roman, 80.
      • Pearl Roman, 2 sets.
  • SEPTENTRIONALS.
    • Anglo-Saxon.—
      • Pica, 16.
      • Pica, another, 21.
    • Anglo-Norman.—
      • Great Primer capitals, 24.
    • English.—
      • Great Primer with law, 116.
      • English* with law, 106.
      • Pica with law, 125.
      • Pica small face, 71.
      • Long Primer,* 78.
      • Brevier with law, 118.
      • Small Pica* with law, 120.
      • Small Pica,* 58.
      • Nonpareil,* 43.
    • Secretary.—
      • Great Primer capitals, 15.
    • Hibernian.—
      • Pica,* 60. [M.]
      • Bishop Wilkins’ Real Character, English, 160. [M.]
      • Mr. Adam’s symbols, 20. [M.]
      • Mr. Moxon’s correcting marks, English, 16. [M.]
      • Mathematical Characters, English and Small Pica, 42. [M.]
      • Astronomical and Astrological, 31. [M.]
    • Music.—
      • 2-line Great Primer, 54.
      • Paragon, square-headed, 44.
      • Large old square-headed, 61.
      • Sundry old square-headed, 155.

[Μ] 48. Saxon cut by R. Andrews for Miss Elstob’s Grammar, 1715. (From the original matrices.)

Although he accumulated a large quantity of matrices, Robert Andrews does not appear to have been a good workman. The very indifferent manner in which he cut the punches for Miss Elstob’s Saxon Grammar has been elsewhere recorded,[370] and the fact that his apprentice, Thomas James, after quitting his {197} service and setting up for himself, furnished his new foundry entirely with foreign matrices, speaks somewhat unfavourably for the merits of the English letter then in common use.

Three of the Greek founts, however, James did subsequently purchase, in 1724, for his own use; and nine years later, on Andrews’ retirement from business, he purchased the whole of his foundry, and that of his son, with the exception of the Canon Roman and Italic, which were acquired by Mr. Caslon.

Robert Andrews was one of the Assistants of the Stationers’ Company. He only survived his retirement two years, and died November 27th, 1735, at the age of 80.

His name appears as a contributor of £5 5s. towards the subscription raised by Mr. Bowyer’s friends in 1712, after the destruction by fire of that eminent printer’s office.