The beauty of printed matter depends very largely upon the selection
of a suitable style of type. For books and newspaper work there are in
use two general classes known as (_a_) _old style_, (_b_) _modern_.
These names refer to the shape of the letter and not to its size. The
several sizes of type commonly used in all plain work are as follows:
1. PEARL.
2. AGATE.
3. NONPAREIL.
4. MINION.
5. BREVIER.
6. BOURGEOIS.
7. LONG PRIMER.
8. SMALL PICA.
9. PICA.
10. ENGLISH.
11. GREAT PRIMER.
PICA is universally considered as the standard type, just as the _foot_
is the standard of measurement. The twelfth part of a pica is the unit,
called a _point_, by which type bodies are measured. In many printing
offices the type is known as _6-point_, _8-point_, _10-point_, _etc._,
instead of as _nonpareil_, _brevier_, _long primer_, _etc._ The
following specimens show the sizes of the type in common use:
[Illustration: Sample type faces pearl, agate, nonpareil, minion,
brevier, bourgeois, primer, small pica, pica, English, primer.]
The student must bear in mind the fact that these names refer to the
_size_ of the type. For instance, there may be a dozen different
styles of brevier or of pica; a particular specimen of printing may be
entirely in long primer, yet some words may be capitals, others
italic, others boldface, and so on.
AGATE is the size of type used in measuring advertisements. There are
fourteen agate lines in an inch.
A complete series of type of a particular size is called a _font_; as
a font of brevier, or of pica. Such a font would include:
CAPITALS
SMALL CAPITALS
lower-case
_ITALIC CAPITALS_
_italic lower-case_.
Also _figures_, _fractions_, _points_, _references_, _braces_,
_signs_, _etc._ Printers divide a font of letters into two classes:
1. _The upper-case_ } _sorts._
2. _The lower-case_ }
The _upper-case sorts_ are _capitals_, _small capitals_, _references_,
_dashes_, _braces_, _signs_, etc.
The _lower-case sorts_ consist of _small letters_, _figures_,
_points_, _spaces_, etc.
Type lines are often bulked out by the insertion of thin strips of
lead, this being called _leading_. Where no leads are employed the
matter is said to be _solid_.