The principal bodies to which printing letters are cast in England and
America are the following:—
1. Diamond.
2. Pearl.
3. Agate.
4. Nonpareil.
5. Minion.
6. Brevier.
7. Bourgeois.
8. Long Primer.
9. Small Pica.
10. Pica.
11. English.
12. Columbian.
13. Great Primer.
14. Paragon.
15. Double Small Pica.
16. Double Pica.
17. Double English.
18. Double Great Primer.
19. Double Paragon.
20. Canon.
Besides the foregoing, a smaller size than Diamond, called Brilliant, is
now cast in the foundry of MacKellar, Smiths & Jordan of Philadelphia,
the body of which is just one-half of Minion. Even this is surpassed in
smallness by a music type cast in the same foundry, named Excelsior,
which is precisely one-half the size of Nonpareil. Another size omitted
in the list is Minionette, (equivalent to six of the Didot points,) which
is next above Nonpareil.
Canon is conceded to have been first produced by a French artisan, and
was probably used in some work relating to the canons of the church; to
which the German title, Missal, alludes.
Two-line Great Primer, Two-line English, and Two-line Pica, owe their
names to the respective bodies of which the depth of two em quadrates
answers to one of the double sizes.
Paragon was probably first cut in France. It is known as Text by the
Germans.
Pica is universally considered as the standard type, and by it furniture,
quotations and labour-saving rules are graduated. A line 83 Pica ems long
is equivalent to 35 centimeters. The twelfth part of Pica is the unit,
called a Point, by which type-bodies are measured. MacKellar, Smiths &
Jordan cast their new borders, ornaments, and job type on Pica, and its
subdivisions of Nonpareil, (½ Pica,) and Excelsior, (¼ Pica,) and their
multiples.
[Illustration: Transcriber’s Note: In the original, each paragraph was
printed in the size of type that it describes (they run from largest to
smallest).]
Great Primer, called Tertia in Germany, is one of the major
sizes of type which were early used for printing considerable
works, and especially the Bible; on which account some persons
term it Bible Text. The French name is Gros Romain.
English is called Mittel by the Germans, and St. Augustin by
the French and Dutch; the word Mittel (Middle) intimating that
the former sizes of letter were seven in number, the centre of
which was English, with Prima, Secunda, and Tertia on one side,
and Pica, Long Primer, and Brevier on the other. The name St.
Augustin was probably given because the writings of that Father
were the first works done in that letter.
Pica is called Cicero by the French and Germans. As the
preceding size was distinguished by the name of St. Augustin,
so this has been honoured with that of Cicero, on account of
the Epistles of that writer having been first done in letter
of this size. It is doubtful whether the name was given by the
French or the Germans.
Small Pica is a grade below Pica, and is now generally employed
in octavo volumes, and is, indeed, almost the only size used
for printing legal reports and other law books. The French call
this letter Philosophie, which, however, is merely a Pica face
on Small Pica body. The Germans call it Kleine Cicero.
Long Primer. Upon the supposition that some bodies of letter
took their names from works in which they were first employed,
we are induced to believe that the Germans gave the name of
Corpus to this character on account of their Corpus Juris being
first done in this size. The French call this letter Petit
Romain.
Bourgeois is a very useful and convenient size of letter. It
is frequently used in double-column octavo pages. The name
indicates that it originated in France; although type of this
body is now called Gaillarde by French printers. Two lines of
this letter are equivalent to one line of Great Primer, or four
lines of Diamond.
Brevier was first used for printing the Breviaries, or Roman
Catholic Church books, and hence its name. The Germans call it
Petit, and Jungfer (maiden letter). It is an admirable type,
and cannot conveniently be dispensed with in any considerable
printing-office.
Minion follows Brevier, and is commonly used for newspapers,
and for notes and indexes in book-work. Its name is due
probably to its being smaller than any type in use at the
period of its invention. It fills a useful place in a
printing-office.
Nonpareil came next in order; and its originator, supposing
that he had reached the extreme of diminutiveness, gave it
this triumphant title. It is extensively used, though mostly
on newspapers, and for notes and indexes for duodecimo books
and smaller. It is certainly the smallest type that should be
allowed in book-work.
Agate probably arose from the necessities of newspaper
publishers. As patronage increased, it became desirable to have
a type less in size than Nonpareil, for the advertisements,
shipping news, markets, &c.; and Agate was made to meet the
emergency. It is now extensively used for pocket editions of
the Bible and Prayer Books.
Pearl may be said to have been born of ambition. As
punch-cutters became more expert, some one possessed of a keen
eye and a delicate mechanical finger determined to surpass
in smallness the achievements of his predecessors. Hence the
origin of this type. This type is also employed in printing
miniature volumes.
Diamond followed, as a matter of course; for human ingenuity,
when provoked, seems determined to go to the utmost verge of
possibility. This type is so minute that a pound of it will
contain more than 3300 of the letter i; yet, to produce each
letter of an alphabet, a steel punch has to be cut and a matrix
made, in which the types are cast one by one, and, being set up
in lines, are rubbed and dressed by the founder for the use of
the compositor.
Brilliant. Expert penmen, it is said, have succeeded in
writing the Lord’s Prayer upon the edge of a sheet of paper.
A type-setter in Berlin, most surprisingly, has formed a type
so minute as to be scarcely readable without a good magnifying
glass. The type of this paragraph, though not so small as the
microscopic letters produced in Prussia, is yet so diminutive
that even Diamond is large by comparison. Of the letter i
nearly 4600 go to a pound.