[Illustration]
THE OXFORD UNIVERSITY FOUNDRY.
Printing was practised at Oxford within a year of the introduction
of the art into England. Setting aside the legend of Corsellis and
the “1468” _Exposicio Simboli_, we find that a printer, presumably
Theodoric Rood, from Cologne, was settled here in 1478, and issued
three works anonymously from his press during that and the following
year. Between 1480 and 1483, Rood printed eight works bearing his own
name, and in 1485 and 1486, in partnership with an Englishman named
Thomas Hunte, he produced six more.
Whether the first Oxford printer made his own type or procured it from
abroad, we have no information, but the distinctly Cologne character of
the two earliest founts favours the supposition that, like Caxton, he
brought at any rate his first types with him from the Continent. The
vague reference which Rood and Hunte make to their labours at the end
of the _Phalaridis Epistolæ_ in 1485,[230] does not throw much light on
the question, although the boast of an independent discovery of the art
of printing there recorded may possibly mean that towards the close of
their career they had arrived at a knowledge of the mystery of making
their own types.
Without attempting a detailed examination of the seventeen works of
the {138} first Oxford printers, we observe that during the eight
years in which they practised their art, they made use of seven
different kinds of type, which arrange themselves chronologically as
follows[231] :
+───────+───────────────────────────────────+───────+──────────────────────+
│ KNOWN │ │ │ │
│ DATE. │ TITLE. │ TYPE. │ GROUP. │
+───────+───────────────────────────────────+───────+──────────────────────+
│“1468”†│_Exposicio Symboli_ │ a │ Group I, “1468”-1479.│
│ 1479 │_Aristotelis Ethica_ │ a │ (No printer’s name.) │
│ 1479 │_Ægidius de peccato originali_ │ a │ │
+───────+───────────────────────────────────+───────+──────────────────────+
│ ... │_Cicero pro Milone_ │ b │ │
│ ... │_Latin Grammar in English_ │ b │ Group II, 1481–82. │
│ 1481 │_Alexander de Ales. Expositio │ │ (Theodoric Rood.) │
│ │ de Animâ._ Two Editions │ b,c │ │
│ 1482 │_Lattebury. Morales._ Two editions │ b,c │ │
+───────+───────────────────────────────────+───────+──────────────────────+
│ ... │_Hampole. Explanationes_ │ d,e │ │
│ ... │_Swyneshed. Insolubilia_ │ d,e │ │
│ ... │_Anwykyll. Compendium._ 1st edition│d[e?]f │ │
│ ... │_Anwykyll. Compendium._ 2nd edition│ d,f │ Group III, 1483–86. │
│ ... │_Lyndewode. Constitutiones_ │c,d,e,f│ (Rood and Hunte.) │
│ 1485 │_Phalaridis Epistolæ_ │ c,f │ │
│ 1486 │_Liber Festivalis_ │ f,g │ │
│ ... │_Textus Alexandri_ │ d,f,g │ │
+───────+───────────────────────────────────+───────+──────────────────────+
│ † Misprint for 1478. │
+───────+───────────────────────────────────+───────+──────────────────────+
It will be noticed from the above list that type [a] was used solely
by the first anonymous Oxford printer, and disappeared entirely as
soon as Rood began to print in his own name. The letter is a Black of
similar character, as Mr. Bradshaw points out, to that used by Zell
and Guldenschaft at Cologne, and was probably brought thence to this
country. The body corresponds closely to the present “English.” One
peculiarity about type [a] is that in the mis-dated _Exposicio Simboli_
the capital [*Q] is always printed sideways ([*Q]), whereas in the two
following books it appears correctly.
During the two years that Rood printed under his own name alone, he
made use of a compressed Black-letter of English body, type [b], with
which, in the _Ales_ and _Lattebury_, he combined a larger Black, type
[c], on Double English body for chapter-headings or initials.
Type [b] disappeared entirely at the close of Rood’s solitary labours.
Type [c], however, was preserved; we find it used in single letters, or
very sparsely in two later works.
[Illustration: 27. Colophon of _Lyndewode’s Constitutiones_. Oxford,
1482 (?). Showing the types [c], [d], [e], [f].]
Rood and Hunte inaugurated their partnership by the introduction of
two {139} new founts of Black-letter, types [d] and [e], or rather
one fount having one size of capitals, and a small and large size of
“lower-case,” all cast on the same body, about a Pica, and capable
of being used interchangeably. Subsequently they used another double
fount, types [f] and [g], cast in the same manner, [f] being the small,
and [g] the large “lower-case,” with one size of capitals for both, all
cast on a body closely corresponding to Great Primer. The character
of this letter is decidedly Caxtonian, and suggests the possibility
that at this stage of their labours the printers may have learned the
art of making their own type. Type [f] had been in use for some time
in combination with [c], [d] and [e], before type [g] appeared. The
accompanying facsimile from the _Lyndewode_ shows types [c], [d], [e]
and [f].
We thus find that the seven early Oxford types reduce themselves to
four principal founts, and one fount of initial letter, of which the
following table will briefly sum up the typographical details :
+─────+──────────────────────────────────────+─────────────+──────────────────────────+
│TYPE.│ CHARACTER. │ APPROXIMATE │ NOTES. │
│ │ │ BODY. │
+─────+──────────────────────────────────────+─────────────+──────────────────────────+
│ a │Cologne Black │English │Used with no other │
│ │ │ │ type. │
+─────+──────────────────────────────────────+─────────────+──────────────────────────+
│ b │Narrow Dutch Black │English │Used alone or with [c] │
│ │ │ │ for headlines. │
+─────+──────────────────────────────────────+─────────────+──────────────────────────+
│ c │Heading and Initial Black │2-line │Used chiefly with [b], │
│ │ │ English │ also with [d], [e], [f].│
+─────+───────────────────────────+──────────+─────────────+──────────────────────────+
│ d │Small lower-case Dutch │With │Pica │Used chiefly with [e], │
│ │ Black │one │ │ also with [f] and [g]. │
+─────+───────────────────────────+set +─────────────+──────────────────────────+
│ e │Large lower-case Dutch │of │Pica │Used chiefly with [d], │
│ │ Black │Capitals. │ │ also with [f]. │
+─────+───────────────────────────+──────────+─────────────+──────────────────────────+
│ f │Small lower-case Caxtonian │With │Great Primer.│Used chiefly with [g], │
│ │ Black │one │ │ also with [d] and [e]. │
+─────+───────────────────────────+set +─────────────+──────────────────────────+
│ g │Large lower-case Caxtonian │of │Great Primer.│Used chiefly with [f], │
│ │ Black │Capitals. │ │ also with [d]. │
+─────+───────────────────────────+──────────+─────────────+──────────────────────────+
The first Oxford press disappeared altogether in 1486, between which
date and 1517 no work is known to have issued. In 1517 John Scolar,
another German, printed a few small works very neatly in English and
Brevier black-letter, with a Great Primer for titles, and made use
of the University arms for the first time, either on his titles or
last pages. Scolar’s press, in turn, came to an abrupt standstill in
1519, after which, in common with the other provincial presses of the
country, printing at Oxford remained dormant for upwards of half a
century.[232]
It was not till the year 1585 that the art was actively resumed.
In that {140} year the Earl of Leicester presented a press, and
the University made a grant of £100. The Star Chamber Decree of
the following year formally allowed (with rigid restrictions) the
establishment of the new press, and under Joseph Barnes, the first
University printer, it rapidly rose to prominence. It appears from
the outset to have been well provided with types, many of them of
a beautiful cut, particularly those of the Greek character. The
_Chrysostomi Homiliæ_, printed by Barnes in 1586, and the _Herodotus_
of 1591, were both noticeable for the excellence of their letter. The
former is said to be the first Greek book printed at the University.
The reputation of the University for its Greek types was enhanced
some years afterwards by the acquisition of the letter in which the
magnificent edition of _St. Chrysostom_[233] had been printed at Eton
by John Norton in 1610–13, at the charge and under the direction of
Sir Henry Savile.[234] This work, one of the most splendid examples of
Greek printing in this country, is said to have cost its author £8,000.
Respecting the origin of the types, Bagford says, in one of his MSS.:
“Sir Henry Savile, meditating an edition of _St. Chrysostom_, prepared
a fount of curious Greek letters, which in those days were called the
_Silver letter_, not being cast of silver, but for the beauty of the
letter so called.” Beloe,[235] on the other hand, considers that the
types were procured from abroad. “They certainly resemble,” he says,
“those of Stephens, and the other Paris printers, as well as those of
the Wechels at Frankfort, at a subsequent period. From the Wechels
indeed they are said by some to have been procured, but this fact I
have not been able to ascertain. It appears beyond a doubt, from a
passage in one of the Epistles of Isaac Casaubon, that they were cast
abroad.”[236]
The fine execution of this work obtained for Norton the distinction
accorded to Robert Estienne of Paris by Francis I, of “Regius in Græcis
Typographus.” Scarcely less high an honour had been paid to this
printer in 1594, when we are told Paul Estienne (son of Henri Estienne
II) visiting England, and appreciating his merit, permitted him to make
use of the device of the Estiennes.[237]
[Illustration: 28. Greek fount of the Eton _Chrysostom_, 1613.]
[Illustration: 29. From the _Catena on Job_. 1637.]
At what date these famous Greek types came into the possession of the
{141} Oxford University Press it is impossible to determine. It was
probably not till after some years of rough usage following Sir Henry
Savile’s death; as Evelyn,[238] in one of his letters, after lamenting
the loss of Sir Simon Fanshaw’s medals, says that “they were after
his decease thrown about the house for children to play at counter
with, as were those elegant types of Sir Henry Savill’s at Eton, which
that learned knight procured with great cost for his edition of _St.
Chrysostom_.”
The types, of which we give a specimen (No. 28), were of a Great
Primer body, very elegantly and regularly cut, with the usual numerous
ligatures and abbreviations which characterised the Greek typography of
that period.
During the early part of the seventeenth century the Oxford Greek types
do not appear to have been extensively used; and in 1632 we find it
recorded that Lord Pembroke, the then Chancellor of the University
of Cambridge,[239] applied for and obtained the loan of one of these
founts for the purpose of printing the _Greek Testament_,[240] which
was issued in that year by Buck, the University printer, and which,
says Beloe,[241] “has ever {142} been admired for the perspicuity of
its types as well as for the accuracy of its typography.”
The reason urged for this loan was, that the Oxford press made no
use of the Greek type itself. This reproach was, however, shortly
afterwards removed by the bounty and interest of Archbishop Laud, whose
generous encouragement of printing at Oxford must always entitle him to
an honourable mention in any record of the history of the art.
Laud, at that time Bishop of London, was appointed Chancellor of the
University in 1630, and in the same year projected, among other acts of
bounty, two important measures for the advancement of printing at that
Academy. These were:―
“To procure a large Charter for Oxford, to confirm their Ancient
Privileges, and obtain new for them, as large as those of
Cambridge, which they had got since Henry the 8th and Oxford had
not.
“To set up a Greek press in London and Oxford, for printing the
Library-Manuscripts, and to get both Letters and Matrices.”[242]
The former of these projects was carried out in 1632, when Charles
I granted a charter to Oxford, giving her equal privileges with the
sister University, authorising her to employ three printers, and
securing to her a right for a certain term over all books issued. In
forwarding this charter to the University, Laud mentioned by name two
of the printers—King and Motteshead, but urged Convocation as yet to
nominate no one as the third, in order, he said, “that you may get an
able man, if it be possible, for the printing of Greek when you shall
be ready for it.”[243]
This is clearly an allusion to the Bishop’s other project, which,
however, was only partially fulfilled during his lifetime.
A Greek press was established in London in 1632, under peculiar
circumstances, which, though not strictly bearing upon the history
of letter-founding at Oxford, we may here refer to as an interesting
episode in the history of English printing.
Robert Barker and Martin Lucas, the King’s printers in London, were
arraigned before the High Commission Court for a scandalous error in a
_Bible_[244] printed by them in 1631, whereby the seventh commandment
was made to read, “Thou shalt commit adultery.” For this grave
offence, the impression (which numbered 1,000 copies and was full of
typographical errors) was called in, and {143} the printers were
ordered to pay a fine of £300.[245] This sum of money Laud received the
royal authority to expend in the purchase of Greek types, according to
the terms of the following letter addressed to him by the King, dated
January 13, 1633:
“Most reverend father in God, right trusty and right entirely
beloved counsellor, we greet you well. Whereas our servant,
Patrick Young, keeper of our library, hath lately with great
industry and care published in print an epistle of Clemens
Romanus[246] in Greek and Latin, which was never printed before,
and has done this to the benefit of the church, and our great
honour, the manuscript, by which he printed it, being in our
library; and whereas we further understand that the right reverend
father in God, Augustin,[247] now Bishop of Peterborough, and
our said servant Patrick Young, are resolved for to make ready
for the press one or more Greek copies every year, by such
manuscripts as are either in our library or in the libraries of
our universities of Oxford and Cambridge, or elsewhere, if there
were Greek presses, matrices, and mony ready for the work which
pains of theirs will tend to the great honour of our self, this
church, and nation; we have thought good to give them all possible
encouragement herein, and do therefore first require you, that
the fine lately imposed by our high commissioners upon Robert
Barker and Martin Lucas for base and corrupt printing of the
Bible, being the sum of three hundred pounds, be converted to the
present buying of such and so many Greek letters and matrices, as
shall be by you thought fit for this great and honourable work.
And our further will and pleasure is that the said Robert Barker
and Martin Lucas, our patentees for printing, which either now
are, or shall hereafter succeed them, being great gainers by that
patent, which they hold under us, shall at their own proper costs
and charges of ink, paper, and workmanship, print, or cause to be
printed in Greek, or Greek and Latin, one such volume in a year,
be it bigger or less, as the right reverend father aforesaid, or
our servant Patrick Young or any other of our learned subjects
shall provide and make ready for the press, and shall print such a
number of each copy, as yourself, or your successors for the time
being, shall think fit; and all this they shall perform, whether
the said copy or copies be to be printed in London, Oxford, or
Cambridge, which shall be left free to their judgments and desire,
whose pains prepare the copy or copies for the press. And last
of all, our further will and pleasure is, that the aforesaid
patentees do without any delay procure such, and so many matrices
and letters, as aforesaid, that no hindrance be put upon the work,
and that they be at the charge of printing in the mean time with
such letters, as are already in the kingdom. Of all which or any
other necessary circumstances for the furtherance of this work,
we shall not fail to call for a strict account from you; and
therefore do look that you call for as strict a one from them:
provided always, that it shall be, and remain in your power to
mitigate their fine aforesaid, according as you shall see their
diligence and care for the advancing of this work.”[248]
This letter Laud forwarded to the printers, who in reply, “accounted
it so {144} great a happiness” to receive the royal commands in the
matter, and stated that they were already labouring “to find out
the best fount and matrices, and to purchase the same at what cost
soever.”[249]
The new Greek press, thus furnished, was in due time settled in London,
at the King’s Printing House in Blackfriars, and from its types was
printed, in 1637, Patrick Young’s _Catena on Job_,[250] “in as curious
a letter,” says Bagford, “as any book extant.” In this interesting
work, from which we here give a facsimile, two Greek founts are used,
the larger being a handsome Double Pica,[251] not dissimilar to that in
which Estienne’s great folio _Greek Testament_ was printed in Paris.
The smaller fount, a Great Primer, bears so close a resemblance to the
fount used in the Eton _Chrysostom_, that it is probable it may have
been cast abroad from the same matrices. The Double Pica Roman and
Italic used in the work are the same as those employed by Day in the
preface to the _Ælfredi_ in 1574; the matrices having apparently been
secured by the Archbishop for the use of the Royal press.
Although Laud’s project for the establishment of a Greek press at
Oxford, similar to that in London, was not fully realised, his efforts
on behalf of the University and its press continued unabated. In
1635 he presented his fine collection of Oriental Manuscripts, and
established a Chair of Arabic, which greatly encouraged and promoted
the study and printing of works in that and other Eastern languages.
This favour he followed up with a gift of Oriental types, which is
alluded to in a letter from John Greaves to Dr. Peter Turner, dated
1637.[252] Greaves approves of the bargain formed by the proctor’s
brother, Mr. Browne, for the purchase at Leyden[253] of some printing
types, of probably an {145} Eastern language. The only danger is that
some are wanting. Mr. Bedwell, when he bought Raphelengius’s Arabic
press, found some characters defective, which he was never able to get
supplied. The writer hopes that, “now that Archbishop Laud has taken
such care for furnishing the University with all sorts of types, and
procuring so many choice MSS. of the Oriental languages, that some will
endeavour to make true use of his noble intentions, and publish some of
those incomparable pieces of the East, not inferior to the best of the
Greeks or Latins.”[254]
In a letter addressed May 5, 1637, to the Vice-Chancellor, the
Archbishop himself refers to these recent acquisitions in the following
terms:―
“You are now upon a very good way towards the setting up of a
learned press; and I like your proposal well to keep your matrices
and your letters you have gotten, safe, and in the mean time to
provide all other necessaries, that so you may be ready for that
work.”[255]
One of the last recorded services of Laud to the Oxford press was
the recovery, in 1639, of the Savile Greek Types, which had been
clandestinely abstracted by Turner, the University printer. His
letter on the subject is characteristic of the fatherly care which he
exercised over the interests of the Oxford Press:
“I am informed,” he says, “that under pretence of printing a Greek
_Chronologer_ . . . Turner, the printer . . . got into his hands
all Sir H. Savil’s Greek letters amounting to a great number,
some of them scarce worn. It was in Dr. Pink’s time. I pray speak
with the Dr. about it and call Turner to an account before the
heads what’s become of them. I doubt Turner’s poverty and knavery
together hath made avoidance of them.” Oct. 18, 1639.
“Feb 13th. Turner brought back the Greek letters, and delivered
them by weight as he received them: there were not any wanting. He
came very unwillingly to it.”[256]
This celebrated Greek fount does not appear to have been much used
after this, and no trace of it now remains at the University press.[257]
Unfortunately for the cause of learning at Oxford, as elsewhere, the
political troubles of the following years abruptly terminated Laud’s
services in that {146} direction, and suspended for a time all further
progress in the development of the press.[258]
A revival took place during the Commonwealth, on the appointment, in
1658, of Dr. Samuel Clarke, the learned Orientalist (who a short time
previously had assisted in the correction of Walton’s _Polyglot_), as
Archi-Typographus. This responsible functionary was “a person,” so the
University Statute ordained, “set over the printers, who shall be well
skilled in the Greek and Latin tongues, and in philological studies,
. . whose office is to supervise and look after the business of
Printing, and to provide at the University expence, all paper, presses,
types, etc., to prescribe the module of the letter, the quality of
the paper, and the size of the margins, when any book is printed at
the cost of the University, and also to correct the errors of the
press.”[259] This office was, by the same Statute, annexed to that of
superior law bedel, as having less business than the rest.
After the Restoration, printing at Oxford made still greater advances,
chiefly through the instrumentality and munificence of Dr. John Fell.
This eminent scholar and theologian was born in the year 1625. He
entered as a student of Christ Church at the age of eleven, and in 1643
bore arms in the civil wars for the king in the garrison of Oxford.
At the Restoration he received ecclesiastical promotion, and in 1666
became Vice-Chancellor of the University.[260] In this capacity he
exerted himself strenuously to continue the work begun by Laud for
the advancement of learning and encouragement of printing at the
University;[261] and about 1667 presented a complete typefoundry,
consisting of the punches and matrices of twenty founts of Roman,
Italic, Orientals, Saxons, Black and other letter, besides moulds and
all the apparatus and utensils necessary for a complete printing office.
[Illustration: 34, 35, _Hebrew._; 36, _Coptic._; 37, _Arabic._; 38,
_Syriac._
34 to 38. Oriental Founts presented to the Oxford Press by Dr. Fell in
1667. (From the original matrices.)]
The extent of this noble gift, the importance of which can only be
estimated {148} by recalling the low condition of letter-founding
in England at the time, will best appear by the following Inventory,
published by the University in 1695:
_An Account of the Matrices, Puncheons, etc., given by Bishop Fell to
the University of Oxford_[262]:―
34 BOXES OF MATRICES.
1. Great Primer Roman 121
2. Double Pica Roman 123
3. Pica Greek 513
4. Augustin Greek 353
5. Long Primer Greek 354
6. Great Primer Greek 456
7. Long Primer Italic 121
8. Small Pica Italic 142
9. Long Primer Roman 155
10. Pica Roman 156
11. Brevier Roman 156
12. Great Brass Roman Caps. 40
13. Augustin Roman 142
14. English Black 73
15. Small Pica Roman 142
16. Coptick 135
17. Augustin Italic 114
18. Pica Italic 130
19. Nonpareil Italic 121
20. Nonpareil Roman 134
21. Paragon Greek │ │
22. Paragon Greek │445│
23. Syriac 121
24. Double Pica Italic 87
25. Great Canon 204
26. Brevier Italic 134
27. Music 70
28. [Pica Roman and Italic, bought by │ │
the University, an. 1692.] Roman, │ │
93; Italic, 78; Small Caps., not │ │
justified, 27; in all │198│
28. Great Primer Italic 87
29. Astronomical Signs, Pica 25
29. Samaritan, English 30
29. Mathematical Marks 21
29. Cancelled Figures, Pica 10
29. Brasses, Long Primer 16
29. Mathematical Marks, Small Pica 10
30. Hebrew, Great and Small │292│
31. Hebrew, Great and Small │254│
31. Armenian 7
32. Arabic, Syriac, and Hebrew 228
32. Arabic Figures 10
33. Sclavonian, Great Primer 110
A paper of Flower Matrices.
A paper of Great Primer Roman and
Italic, cut by Mr. Nichols—not good.
New Music Puncheons and Matrices,
cut by Peter Walpergen.
PUNCHEONS SEALED UP IN AN EARTHEN POT.
For the Double Pica Roman and Italic, and some for the Double Pica Greek.
For the Great Brass Roman Capitals.
For the Black, English.
For the Coptick.
For the Syriack.
For the Samaritan.
For the Cannon Roman and Italic.
For the Astronomical Signs and Figures.
[For the Pica Roman and Italic.]
[For the Sclavonian also there were 109 punches.]
UTENSILS FOR PRINTING.
1 small anvil.
4 hammers.
28 moulds.
1 engine to make brass rules with a plane.
1 wyer sieve.
332 dressing sticks. {149}
2 great vices.
2 hand vices.
21 great files.
1 pair of sheers.
2 iron pots.
4 dressing planes.
3 dressing blocks.
3 plyers.
2 rubbing stones.
1 grinding stone.
26 copper borders.
32 copper letters.
7 printing presses, with all things belonging to them.
2 rolling presses, with all things necessary to them.
132 upper and lower cases.
5 pair of capital cases.
5 pair of fund cases.
13 pair of Greek cases.
50 chases.
Dr. Fell supplemented this gift by a further signal service, which is
thus recorded by Bagford:―
“The good Bishop provided from Holland the choicest Puncheons,[263]
Matrices, etc., with all manner of Types that could be had, as also
a Letter Founder, a Dutchman by Birth, who had Served the States in
the same quality at Batavia, in the East Indies. He was an excellent
workman, and succeeded by his son, who has been since succeeded by Mr.
Andrews.”[264]
The Dutchman here spoken of was Walpergen, who, as will be seen later
on, preceded Sylvester Andrews as typefounder in Oxford.
Fell was a zealous defender of the privileges enjoyed by his
University, and in 1679 drew up a report setting forth its claims in
the matter of printing.[265] In this report he mentions that, in the
year 1672, several members of the University, himself included, taking
into consideration the “low estate of the manufacture of printing” in
the kingdom, and particularly in the University, “took upon themselves
the charges of the press in the said University, and at the expence of
above four thousand pounds furnisht from Germany, France and Holland,
an Imprimery, with all the necessaries thereof, and pursued the
undertaking so vigorously, as in the short compass of time which hath
since intervened, to have printed many considerable books in Hebrew,
Greek and Latin, as well as in English; both for their matter and
elegance of paper and letter, very satisfactory to the learned abroad
and at home.”
It is probable that the transaction here recorded constituted a portion
of what became known as Dr. Fell’s gift to the University; a series
of benefactions which doubtless extended over several years—from
1667 to 1672—and included, when complete, the whole of the types and
implements named in the above Inventory. Mores, who is responsible for
the date, 1667, leads us to suppose {150} that the gift was completed
in that year; but he gives no authority; and the absence of any second
inventory of the acquisitions made in 1672, points strongly to the
conclusion that the two transactions were part of the same gift.
In 1675 Dr. Fell was created Bishop of Oxford, and continued his active
services to the cause of learning until the time of his death in 1686,
having, as Anthony à Wood remarks, “advanced the learned press, and
improved the manufacture of printing in Oxford in such manner as it
had been designed before by that public spirited person, Dr. Laud,
Archbishop of Canterbury.”[266]
In 1677 the University press was further enriched by another important
gift of type and matrices, presented by Mr. Francis Junius.
This learned scholar, whom Rowe Mores styles the restorer—if not more
than the restorer—of the knowledge of the Septentrional languages in
England, was a German, the son of Francis Junius, the theologist,
of Heidelberg. He resided for some time in England as librarian to
the Earl of Arundel, during which time he zealously prosecuted his
philological studies. In 1654, being then at Amsterdam, he furnished
himself with a set of Saxon punches and matrices, respecting which he
wrote as follows to Selden in that year[267]:―“In the meanwhile have I
here Anglo-Saxonic types (I know not whether you call them puncheons)
a cutting, and I hope they will be matriculated and cast within the
space of seven or eight weeks at the furthest. As soon as they come
I will send you some little specimen of them to the end I might know
how they will be liked in England.” In addition to this Saxon, Junius
also obtained founts of Gothic, Runic, Danish, Icelandic, Greek, Roman,
Italic, and a pretty Black, all cast on Pica body. These he brought
over with him to this country. Of the Gothic, Runic, Saxon, and Greek
he certainly brought punches and matrices as well as types, as these
are to this day preserved at Oxford, and there is reason to suppose all
his founts were similarly complete.[268]
Junius, who had spent much time in his younger years at Oxford for the
{151} sake of study, libraries, and conversation, and had visited it
frequently since, retired there at last in 1676, and executed a deed of
gift whereby he presented his books in the Northern language and his
punches and matrices to the University, the latter consisting of the
following founts:―
Pica Runic.
Pica Gothic.
Pica Anglo-Saxon.
Pica Icelandic.
Pica Danish.
Pica Black.
Pica Greek.
Pica Roman.
Pica Italic.
English Swedish.
Junius died the following year at Windsor, at the great age of ninety.
A quaint tribute to his memory exists in a note from Dr. (afterwards
Bishop) Nicolson, who, writing to Thwaites in May 1697, says, “My
acquaintance with that worthy personage was very short, and in his last
days, when he was near ninety . . . . alas! I can remember little more
of him than that he was very kind and communicative, very good, and
very old.”[269]
The custodians of his valuable gift scarcely appear at first to have
been impressed with an adequate sense of their responsibility, for we
find that the Junian punches and matrices disappeared shortly after
their presentation, and remained lost for a considerable period, when
they were discovered by chance under the circumstances thus humorously
narrated in a letter from Dr. (afterwards Bishop) Tanner, dated All
Souls College, Aug. 10, 1697, and addressed to Dr. Charlett:―
“Mr. Thwaites and John Hall took the courage last week to go to
Dr. Hyde about Junius’ matrices and punchions which he gave with
his books to the University. These, nobody knew where they were,
till Mr. Wanley discovered some of them in a hole in Dr. Hyde’s
study. But, upon Mr. Hall’s asking, Dr. Hyde knew nothing of
them; but at last told him he thought he had some punchions about
his study, but did not know how they come there; and presently
produces a small box-full, and taking out one, he pores upon
it, and at last wisely tells them that these could not be what
they looked after, for they were Ethiopic[270]: but Mr. Thwaites
desiring a sight of them, found that which he looked on to be
Gothic and Runic punchions, which they took away with them,
and a whole oyster-barrel full of old Greek letter, which they
discovered in another hole.”[271] {152}
[Illustration: 32. Pica Roman and Italic presented to the Oxford Press
by Dr. Fell, 1667.
33. Pica Roman and Italic bought by the University in 1692.
(From the _Specimen_ of 1692.)]
{153}
The combined gifts of Dr. Fell and Francis Junius laid the foundation
of the Oxford University foundry as it now exists. Even before the
close of the century it had been augmented by numerous small additions
and purchases. About the time of Fell’s gift the press received a
second fount of Coptic, presented by Witsen, the Burgomaster of
Amsterdam.[272] In 1694, Dr. Charlett, writing to Archbishop Tenison,
refers to the founts of Slavonic and Armenian types, “very elegantly
cut, which M. Ludolfus is bringing to Oxford from Holland.” The
University also purchased matrices of Pica-Roman and Italic in 1692,
besides adding to its stock some indifferent Great Primer matrices by
Nichols, and music cut by the Oxford founder, Walpergen.[273]
[Illustration: 30. The Sheldonian Theatre. (From an old wood block in
the Oxford University Press.)]
About the year 1669 the foundry, which, together with the press, had
been carried on in hired premises provided by Fell, was transferred
to the basement of the then new Sheldonian Theatre.[274] Here it was
that, in the year 1693, appeared the earliest known “_Specimen of the
several Sorts of Letter given to the University by Dr. John Fell, late
Lord Bishop of Oxford, to which is added the Letter given_ {154} _by
Mr. F. Junius_.” A manuscript note on the title-page of the Bodleian
copy of this interesting specimen adds “with puncheons and matrices
bought of others.” These additions, besides those already noted,
include an Ethiopic “bought of Dr. Bernard,” and some supplementary
Arabic sorts and Syriac vowels “bought by Dr. Hyde.” The _Specimen_
consists of eighteen leaves.
[Illustration: 39. Ethiopic, purchased by the Oxford Press in 1692.
(From the original matrices.)]
In 1695 a fuller specimen (of twenty-four leaves) appeared with the
same title, and included the Junian Danish, a few later acquisitions,
such as the new Slavonic, and a fount of spoon-shaped music cut
by Walpergen. To this document was also appended the inventory of
“utensils for printing,” already given in the account of Dr. Fell’s
gift.
Of the estimation in which this specimen was held at the time, the
following eulogium of Bagford may be taken as testimony. He says: “For
the satisfaction of the curious, I shall give a catalogue and specimen
of the letter presented by Dr. Fell, the like of which cannot be shown
by any of the great printing houses in Europe, which may be seen by
that printed in 1695, although it may fall into the hands of foreign
printers of Holland, Flanders, Italy, Germany and France, they must
confess that they had not seen the like, both for the great beauty and
goodness of the letters.”[275]
Apart from its value as a specimen of the Oxford foundry, considerable
interest attaches to the specimen of 1695, as being the first
polyglot production in this country in which a stated portion of the
Scripture—the Lord’s Prayer—appears in as many as forty-five different
forms and nineteen different languages. In this respect, however,
it was shortly afterward eclipsed by a polyglot _Oratio Dominica_,
published in London in 1700,[276] exhibiting the Lord’s Prayer in
upwards of one hundred versions. This may, to some extent, be regarded
as a specimen of the University press, as the two principal sheets
of the work were printed at Oxford containing the prayer in the
Hebrew, Samaritan, Chaldee, {155} Syriac, Coptic, Ethiopic, Amharic,
Arabic, Persic, Turkish, Tartaric, Malayan, Gothic, Runic, Icelandic
and Sclavonic, of the University foundry.[277] These constitute the
most interesting part of the collection, as the remaining versions,
requiring special characters, are produced chiefly in copperplate.[278]
Rowe Mores points with some pride to this specimen as showing how far
superior we were at that time to our neighbours abroad in the variety
of our metal types.[279]
Specimens of Dr. Fell’s and Junius’ gifts, and an account of the
foundry with its recent acquisitions, were frequently printed in
the early part of the eighteenth century. Rowe Mores mentions four
between 1695 and 1706. In the latter year the document had grown to
twenty-five leaves, and included a Great Primer and a two-line Great
Primer, purchased in 1701, and other additions. The inventory mentions
twenty-eight moulds as being the number still in use in the foundry,
and seven presses in the printing-house. It also distinguishes certain
types as being of the Dutch height, a discrepancy to which, in all
probability, may be traced that unfortunate anomaly of “Bible height”
and “Classical height,” which to this day hampers the operations of a
foundry where, in perpetuation of a blunder made two centuries ago,
types are still cast to two different heights, agreeing neither with
one another nor with any British standard.[280]
A later specimen, without date, was issued in broadside form, in which
the old title gave place to the more simple one of _A Specimen of the
several Sorts of Letters in the University Printing House, Oxford_. In
this specimen, while including all the recent acquisitions, several
of the older and less sightly founts comprised in Dr. Fell’s gift are
discarded. {156}
In the year 1712 the University press was removed from the Sheldonian
Theatre to occupy its new quarters in the Clarendon Printing House,
erected for its accommodation—a building considered at the time one of
the finest printing-houses in the world.[281]
[Illustration: 41. The Clarendon Press. (From an old wood block at the
Oxford University Press.)]
The encouragement given by Junius to the study of the Northern
languages resulted in the production of many important works in that
branch of literature at the University press during the early years
of the eighteenth century. Foremost among these was Dr. Hickes’
_Thesaurus_,[282] printed in 1703–5, a learned and elaborate work,
in which the types presented by Junius are many of them displayed to
advantage.
Rowe Mores, for the honour of his University in general, and his own
college in particular, gives a list of the famous “Saxonists” of Dr.
Hickes’ time. Amongst these, not the least eminent was Miss Elizabeth
Elstob, who published in 1715 an Anglo-Saxon Grammar, printed in types,
which, as they subsequently found their way into the Oxford foundry,
call for a particular mention here.
William Bowyer the younger had printed in 1709 a work entitled _An
English-Saxon Homily on the Birth-Day of St. Gregory_, translated
by the Rev. William Elstob of Oxford and his sister, a young lady
of great industry and {157} learning, whom Mores describes as the
“indefessa comes” of her brother’s studies, and a female student of the
University.[283] In 1712, in the same types, was issued a specimen of
Miss Elstob’s _Anglo-Saxon Grammar_.
Before, however, this work could be completed, Bowyer’s printing-house
was destroyed by fire, and his types, including the Anglo-Saxon,
perished in the flames. This disastrous event was the occasion for
a remarkable display of sympathy on the part of Mr. Bowyer’s many
friends, both in and out of the profession, which found expression in
several forms,[284] one of the most practical of which was the offer of
Lord Chief Justice Parker (afterwards Earl of Macclesfield) to be at
the cost of cutting a new set of Anglo-Saxon types for Miss Elstob’s
Grammar. The drawings for the new types were made, at Lord Parker’s
request, by Humphrey Wanley,[285] the eminent Saxonist, and the cutting
of the punches entrusted to Robert Andrews the letter-founder, who,
however, proved unequal to the task. “I did what was required,” Mr.
Wanley wrote, “in the most exact and able manner that I could in all
respects. But it signified little; for when the alphabet came into the
hands of the workman (who was but a blunderer), he could not imitate
the fine and regular stroke of the pen; so that the letters are not
only clumsy, but unlike those that I drew. This appears by Mrs.
Elstob’s _Saxon Grammar_.”[286] {158}
Poor as the letter-founder’s performance was, the Grammar duly
appeared in the new letter in 1715,[287] and the punches, matrices and
types remained in the possession of Mr. Bowyer and his son, being used
occasionally in some of their subsequent works, though not in any other
of which Miss Elstob was the authoress.[288] In 1753 they were sent by
William Bowyer the younger, to Rowe Mores, with the following letter,
for presentation to the University of Oxford:―
_4th December, 1753._
“To EDWARD ROWE MORES, Esq., at Low Leyton.
“Sir,—I make bold to transmit to Oxford, through your hands, the
Saxon punches and matrices, which you were pleased to intimate
would not be unacceptable to that learned body. It would be a
great satisfaction to me, if I could by this means perpetuate the
munificence of the noble donor, to whom I am originally indebted
for them, the late Lord Chief Justice Parker, afterwards Earl of
Macclesfield, who, among the numerous benefactors which my father
met with, after his house was burned in 1712–13, was so good as
to procure those types to be cut, to enable him to print Mrs.
Elstob’s _Saxon Grammar_. England had not then the advantage of
such an artist in letter cutting as has since arisen,[289] and it
is to be lamented, that the execution of these is not equal to
the intention of the noble donor, and, I now add, to the place in
which they are to be reposited. However, I esteem it a peculiar
happiness, that as my father received them from a great patron of
learning, his son consigns them to the greatest seminary of it,
and that he is, Sir, your most obliged friend, and humble Servant,
“W. BOWYER.”
The adventures of this epistle and the gift which accompanied it,
before reaching their destination, are almost romantic. For some
reason which does not appear, Rowe Mores, on receipt of the punches
and matrices, instead of transmitting them to Oxford, took them to
Mr. Caslon’s foundry to be repaired and rendered more fit for use.
Mr. Caslon having kept them four or five years without touching them,
Mr. Bowyer removed them from his custody, and in 1758 entrusted them
to Mr. Cottrell, from whom in the same year he received them again,
carefully “fitted up” and ready for use, together with 15 lbs. of
letter cast {159} from the matrices. In this condition the whole was
again consigned by Mr. Bowyer to Rowe Mores, together with a copy of
Miss Elstob’s _Grammar_, for transmission to Oxford. On hearing, two
years later, that his gift had never reached the University, he made
inquiries of Mores, from whom he received a reply that “the punches
and matrices were very safe at his house,” awaiting an opportunity to
be forwarded to their destination. This opportunity does not appear
to have occurred for three years longer, when, in October, 1764, the
gift was finally deposited at Oxford. Its formal acknowledgment was,
however, delayed till August 1778, exactly a quarter of a century after
its presentation.[290]
The correspondence touching this transaction, amusing as it is, throws
a curious light on Rowe Mores’ character for exactitude, and it is
doubtful whether the publication of Mr. Bowyer’s first letter in the
_Dissertation_,[291] together with a few flattering compliments, was
an adequate atonement for the injury done to that gentleman by the
unwarrantable detention of his gift. Nor does the title under which the
gift was permitted to appear in the University specimen, suppressing
as it does all mention of the real donor’s name, and giving the entire
honour to the dilatory go-between, reflect any credit on the hero of
the transaction. The entry appears thus: “Characteres Anglo-Saxonici
per eruditam fœminam Eliz. Elstob ad fidem codd. mss. delineati; quorum
tam instrumentis cusoriis quam matricibus Univ. donari curavit E. R. M.
e Collegio Regin., A.M. 1753.
“Cusoria majuscula 42 (desunt [*AT] et Þ)
Matrices majusculæ 44.
Cusoria minuscula 37 (desunt e et ⁊)
Matrices minusculæ 39.”
It does not appear that these types were ever made use of at Oxford.
The punches and matrices remain in the University press to this
day.[292]
Between the Broadside sheet following the specimen of 1706, and 1768,
no specimen of the Oxford foundry occurs. There exists, however, in the
works issuing from the Press during that period ample testimony to its
activity. The proposal to print Dr. Mawer’s _Supplement to Walton’s
Polyglot_, with its types, is evidence of the continued reputation of
its “learned” founts; while such an admirable specimen of typography
as Blackstone’s _Charter of the Forest_, printed in 1759,[293] affords
proof that Oxford was not behindhand in that famous {160} revival
of printing which received such impetus from the taste and genius of
Baskerville.
The Delegates of the Press had, indeed, so high an opinion of the
talents of this famous artist, that they employed him in 1758 to cut
a fount of Great Primer Greek type for a _Greek Testament_ shortly to
be issued.[294] The performance was pronounced unsuccessful, but the
Greek types duly appeared, together with numerous other acquisitions,
including a Long Primer Syriac purchased from Caslon, in the _Specimen_
of 1768–70.[295]
Of this specimen Rowe Mores (who informs us that it was printed at
the request of foreigners) falls foul as inaccurate. “The materials
from which this account (_i.e._, his summary of the contents of the
Foundry) is drawn,” he says, “are not so accurate as might have been
expected from an Archi-typographus and the Curators of the Sheldonian.
In excuse may be alleged that neither the Archi-typographus nor the
Curators are Letter-founders; certainly that the matter has not been
treated with that precision which in so learned a body should seem to
be requisite. For one instance among others, which might be produced,
take the Double Pica, Brevier and Nonpareil Hebrew, the only Hebrew
types the University then had. They are two-line English, English and
Long Primer. And this mistake has run through all the editions of the
Oxford specimen, and in the last of 1770, the leanest and the worst of
all, appears most glaringly. For this Brevier is placed immediately
under Caslon’s Long Primer, a diversity sufficient one would think to
show the blunder without the aid of a magnifier. The Nonpareil as it
is called is omitted in this last specimen, and so are many other sets
of matrices which have been given to the University, touching which
enquiry should be made out of respect (at least) to the memory of the
donors.”[296] {161}
Another specimen appeared in 1786, in which more of the old founts
are discarded in favour of more modern letters, among which are
noticeable several Roman founts cast on a large body, to obviate the
necessity of “leading”; including an English, cast for Mr. Richardson’s
_Dictionary_. Almost all the “learned” founts presented by Fell and
Junius are here shown, as well as a considerable number of borders and
ornamental initials.
In 1794 a still fuller specimen appeared, which included a Great Primer
Greek, cut by Caslon, and several new titling letters. To this specimen
is appended a detailed inventory, both of the punches and matrices at
that time in the possession of the University, and of the quantity of
type of various kinds in stock, with the utensils for printing.
The following is a summary of the foreign and “learned” punches and
matrices included in this catalogue:―
PUNCHES.
Anglo-Saxon 79
Arabic 33
Armenian 65
Black, English 72
Coptic, Pica 116
Gothic 25
Greek, Great Primer 114
Greek, Great Primer (Baskerville’s) 148
Greek, Double Pica 190
Greek, 2-line English 10
Hebrew, with points 20
Music 220
Runic 24
Samaritan, English 28
Saxon 21
Slavonian 106
Syriac, English 90
Turkish, Persian, Malayan 47
MATRICES.
Arabic, Syriac and Hebrew 228
Arabic figures 10
Anglo-Saxon 83
Armenian 77
Armenian 7
Armenian 7
Black, English 73
Coptic 135
Coptic 27
Ethiopic 224
Greek, Augustin (or English) 351
Greek, Great Primer 493
Greek, Great Primer (Baskerville’s) 167
Greek, Double Pica (bad) 239
Greek, Paragon (Double Pica) 432
Greek, Long Primer 352
Greek, 2-line English 11
Hebrew, large and small 230
Hebrew, large and small 250
Music 228
Music 70
Runic, Dutch, Saxon, Gothic and Greek 89
Samaritan 30
Saxon, Small Pica, Long Primer, Pica 20
Slavonic 110
Syriac, English 120
Syriac, vowels 5
Turkish, Persian, Malayan 47
Welch 10
Of the printing utensils, the following items will give an idea of the
extent of the press at that date:― {162}
CASES (FILLED WITH TYPE).
Common cases 267
Single cases and boxes 44
Fount cases 26
Long Greek cases 34
Frames 30
Chases 129
Letter boards 37
Presses 5
Proof press 1
Of the presses, one is described as “mahogany, set up in the year
1793,” and another as “on the new constitution which works with a
lever, set up in 1793.”
We have now brought our account of letter-founding at Oxford to the
close of the last century. Its later history is of comparatively slight
interest. The foundry still remains a part of the Press, and the
reputation of the University for its oriental and learned founts has
been maintained by numerous additions to its punches and matrices. Of
such matters, however, in the absence of periodical general specimens,
it is impossible to give particulars. The list of matrices given by
Hansard in 1825 is entirely misleading, as he merely summarises the
list taken by Mores from the _Specimen_ of 1768–70.
We may, however, observe that at the present moment, under able
management, the foundry is in active operation, and that the University
Press possesses probably the largest collection of “Polyglot” matrices
of any foundry in the kingdom.
The famous gifts of Fell and Junius are now relegated to the relics of
this venerable yet still flourishing foundry, where, in company with
Baskerville’s Greek, Walpergen’s music and Miss Elstob’s Anglo-Saxon,
they rest from their labours, and remain to this day the most
interesting monuments our country possesses of the art and mystery of
its early letter-founders.
* * * * *
Appended is a list of the various specimens issued by the Oxford press
from 1693 to 1794.―
1693. A specimen of the Several sorts of Letter given to the
University by Dr. John Fell, late Lord Bishop of Oxford. To which
is added, the Letter given by Mr. F. Junius. Oxford, printed at
the Theater, A.D. 1693. 8vo. . . . . (Bodl. C., i, 24, Art.)
1695. A specimen of the Several sorts of Letter given to the
University by Dr. John Fell, sometime Lord Bishop of Oxford. To
which is added the Letter given by Mr. F. Junius. Oxford, Printed
at the Theater, A.D. 1695. 8vo. . . . . (Bodl. Gough, Ox., 142; B.
M. Harl. MS. 1529.)
1706. A specimen of the Several sorts of Letters given to the
University by Dr. John Fell, sometime Lord Bishop of Oxford. To
which is added the Letter given by Mr. F. Junius, Oxford, Printed
at the Theater, A.D. 1706, 8vo. . . . . (Bodl. Gough, Ox., 142.)
No date. A specimen of the Several Sorts of Letters in the
University Printing House. Oxford. Broadside. . . . . (Bodl. C.,
i, 24, Art.)
No date. Characteres Anglo-Saxonici per eruditam fœminam
Eliz. Elstob ad fidem codd. {163} mss. delineati, quorum tam
instrumentis cusoriis quam matricibus Univ. donari curavit E. R.
M. e. collegio Regin. A.M. 1753. 8vo leaf. . . . . (W. B.)
1768–70. A specimen of the Several sorts of Printing Types
belonging to the University of Oxford at the Clarendon Printing
House, 1768 (together with New Letters purchased in the years
1768, 1769, 1770). Clarendon Press, Sept. 29, 1770. 8vo. . . . .
(Univ. Pr.)
1786. A specimen of the Several sorts of Printing Types belonging
to the University of Oxford at the Clarendon Printing House, 1786.
8vo. . . . . (Univ. Pr.)
1794. A specimen of the Several Sorts of Printing Types belonging
to the University of Oxford, at the Clarendon Printing House,
1794. 8vo. . . . . (W. B.)
[Illustration]
{164}
[Illustration]