Roman letters were employed in MSS. from the fifth to about the close of
the twelfth century, when what are called Gothic letters (afterward Old
English) came gradually into use; these continued for several centuries,
when, in most countries, they were superseded by the Roman characters.
All printing was in black letter down to 1465, when Sweinheim & Pannartz,
in Subiaco near Rome, produced a volume entitled _Lactantius_, in a
character approaching to the actual forms of our modern types. In 1467,
they made an improved set of characters, and printed about forty volumes
within the five years following. About 1469 John of Spires, in Venice,
made a great advance in improving the form of the Roman character, and
printed the _Natural History of Pliny_: the execution of this work is
very remarkable. But Nicholas Jenson may fairly be considered the father
of the style of Roman letter now in vogue. He printed in Venice four
works in the year 1470, the first of which was _Eusebii Præparatio
Novorum_, &c., in types which were cut by him, more perfect in form than
those of any earlier printer. The printers named above were all of them
Germans.
The Roman letters consist of circles, arcs of circles, and straight
lines; and, therefore, on the score of simplicity, precision, and
elegance, they certainly deserve to be adopted as the standard for all
nations.
A printer, in choosing type, should not only attend to the cut of the
letter, but should also observe that its shank is perfectly true, and
that it lines or ranges with accuracy, and is of equal height. The
quality of the metal of which it is composed and the finish of the letter
demand particular attention, as the competition among some of the smaller
foundries (which have sprung into existence through the facilities
afforded of multiplying _matrices_ by the electrotype process) has led
them to use an inferior metal, and produce types without due regard to
nicety of finish and exactness of body and standing.
It is important that types should have a deep face, with strong, bevelled
bases or foundations under the ceriphs or hairlines, and that the letters
should have a deep nick, which should be different from other founts of
like body in the same house.