Founts of type are much more distinctive than has been assumed, and
provide a field for detailed study. Hitherto, attention has concentrated on
broken types, which are ephemeral, or on punches and matrices, which are
of
limited use in identifying an individual printer. I decided to undertake a
pilot
project, and have chosen to look at pica roman types used in England
between 1590 and 1610. I am working alphabetically through the sixty or
seventy printers involved, and as Creede presents an interesting case, I
thought a preliminary report on this printer's types might be in order. At
this
stage I am working from the microfilms available in University Microfilms'
STC series and Xerox copies of selected pages provided by
the
Huntington Library. My findings will need confirmation later from the
books
themselves.
Thomas Creede began printing in 1593. At that time he used a fount
of
pica roman type[1] which had definite
characteristics often found together. Isaac noted one characteristic of this
fount, the letter 'g' with the loop larger than the bowl.[2] This is only one characteristic of
this particular
fount, and others are perhaps more distinctive. The 'k' of this fount has a
rather squat appearance, the two arms of the letter more or less forming a
square; much more common in this period are shorter arms at sharper
angles,
forming a narrow vertical rectangle. In modern terms, an expanded letter
rather than a condensed. With the expanded 'k', logically, is an expanded
'x'
in which the two strokes meet at about 90°, and an expanded 'z', which
is also squarish in appearance. The counter in the 'o' is slanted decidedly
to
the left. The serif at the base of the descender of the 'p' is to
the right of the stem. The 'u' at times prints more heavily than the other
letters. The fount on the whole seems slightly worn.
One of the most interesting letters is the 'i'. There is a mixture found
in
this fount, as the dots over the letter are found either directly above the
body
of the letter or slightly to the left of it. Mixtures of this sort are distinctive,
and will become increasingly useful as we shall see, but I feel that the 'dot
left' letter deserves some comment. This position is unusual. Most early
romans placed the dot either directly above the letter or to the right. The
preference in most continental founts was to the right, and so far the
earliest
example I have found of a 'dot left' is in Chiromance by Joan
de
Indagine, printed by Jean de Tournes in Lyons, 1549.[3] The earliest illustration of an
English use I
have encountered is in a book printed by the assigns of John Wayland in
1557.[4]
This, the first pica roman Creede used, I designate fount # 1. He used
it
in two books printed in 1593, and in all seven books assigned by Morrison
to
1594.[5]
However, during the printing of The first part of the Tragicall
raigne
of Selimus (STC 12310a), which I assume was late
in the year, a
second fount was introduced and a most interesting transformation took
place. Sheets A and B were printed from fount # 1, as were the outer
formes
of sheets C to E. With the exception of part of C4, the inner formes of
sheets
C and D were printed from a second fount. Fount # 2 is characterized by
a
narrow, or condensed, 'k', a 'centre dot' 'i', an 'o' with the counter being
either
vertical or slanted to the right, a 'p' with a small counter and the serif at
the
base of the descender to the left of the stem, and some 'w' which seems a
trifle large for the fount. Again, it does not give the appearance of being
fresh.
Both founts are relatively pure up to sheet E, but at this point Creede
proceeded to mix the two founts indiscriminately, presumably by
distributing
the type to the wrong cases; by sheet G the two founts are indistinguishable
from one another. Happily, for purposes of identification, this 'new' fount,
designated fount # 3, is most distinctive, and was used by Creede in all the
books I have seen printed by him in pica roman from 1595 until 1603.
Fount
# 3 is characterized, then, by a mixture of 'i' dotted left or centre, the two
forms of 'k', three forms of 'o': the counter being slanted either way or
vertical, the 'p' with the serif on the descender being either to the left or
to
the right, the former having small counters, an occasional heavy 'u', and
some 'w' which seems a bit deep for the fount. The letter 'g' remains
constant, the loop being larger than the bowl, and both 'x' and 'z' remain
in
the expanded form only.
There were one or two changes as the years went by. In 1598 we find
the supply of 'g' has been supplemented by several pieces with small loops.
Another rather odd addition was the introduction of at least three pieces of
black letter 'ye' to the fount. This occurs very
infrequently, but is
observed in later founts as well. Perhaps Creede simply borrowed from his
black letter fount when the occasion arose.
This fount was replaced in 1603 by fount # 4. This fount was
characterized by expanded 'k', 'x', and 'z', a centre dot 'i', an 'o' with the
counter leaning to the left, and an unusually condensed 'u'. This letter is
most
noticeable when contrasted with the normal 'n': usually the two letters are
the
same set. The serif on the 'p' is both to the right and left of the stem, and
the
'g' again has a large loop. The fount does not appear to have been of the
best
quality.
A fifth fount appeared briefly in 1606 in one book I have been able
to
see, Thomas Bell's The regiment of the Church
(STC 1827),
where it was used to print the last two sheets. It replaced fount # 4 in 1609.
The most obvious characteristic of fount # 5 is the 'w', which has a short
second stem which runs into the third stem half-way down its length. As
Isaac remarks, this "closes up the letter"[6]
and gives it a rather squashed appearance, especially when seen in context.
Fount # 5 contains a centre dot 'i', a mixture of 'o' with most counters
being
vertical, but some slanting slightly either way, a mixture of 'k' with
condensed forms predominating, a mixture of 'g' with most pieces having
a
small loop, and a condensed 'x' and 'z'. Many of the capital letters used
with
this fount are just a shade smaller than they should be, and do not reach
quite
as high as the lower-case ascenders. Again there was some mixing, and in
1613 one book
(STC 16830) has a mixture of 'w', with some pieces having
stems of
equal length.
The sixth fount appeared in 1613, and is the clearest, if the least
distinctive, of Creede's pica romans. The 'i' is centre dot, 'k', 'x', and 'z'
are
narrow, the 'o' counter is basically vertical, with some pieces leaning
slightly
to the left, the loop of the 'g' is only slightly larger than the bowl. The
serif
on the 'p' is usually crisp, and extends to both sides of the stem. This fount
was used by Creede until he ceased production in 1617.
The following is a list of STC numbers of the Creede
books
containing pica roman which I have seen on microfilm. They are grouped
chronologically according to the fount used. At the end is a list of books
which were printed entirely without pica roman; the remainder of Creede's
output I have not seen yet. I count as unseen a sizeable group of microfilms
which, regrettably, do not have a scale for comparison.
- FOUNT #1. 1593: 12263, 12270;
1594: 52, 6817,
12310a, 12751, 16679, 21009, 26099
- FOUNT #2. 1594: 12310a
- FOUNT #3. 1594: 12310a; 1595:
1343, 14057,
18375, 20002, 25782; 1596: 5060, 12246, 15321, 15322,
15340,
15379, 19974, 24709, 24803; 1597: 798, 3705, 7087, 11573,
12716,
Pt. 1, 18096, 23093; 1598: 1804, 5382, 11754, 12308,
13072,
16680, 22315; 1599: 3706, 4207, 4667, 5450a, 6151, 12233,
17154,
18870, 19538, 19964, 22323; 1600: 15026, 17188, 21081,
22289,
25144; 1602: 6036, 12415, 16681, 22290, 24727
- FOUNT #4. 1603: 5385, 11935;
1604: 13510, 21853;
1605: 1825, 1833, 6203, 18995, 22333, 24421;
1606: 1827;
1607: 15380, 23135; 1608: 24497;
1609:
19162
- FOUNT #5. 1606: 1827; 1609: 6624,
12032, 13393,
13399, 14087, 23654; 1610: 18053; 1611:
5392, 7115,
22381; 1612: 7494, 15426; 1613: 1976, 4613,
10538, 16830,
19792
- FOUNT #6. 1613: 7433; 1614:
10539, 11841, 22062,
24394; 1615: 3529, 19789, 22871; 1616: 4578,
11523
- ENTIRELY WITHOUT PICA ROMAN: 1593:
22540;
1595: 3795, 3796, 17162, 19855, 21088, 21528, 22535,
23077;
1597: 4664, 11279, 14633; 1598: 11275,
17085;
1599: 23690; 1600: 6991, 18974;
1601: 7243;
1602: 86, 16630; 1603: 14410, 17153, 21497;
1607:
4663, 14426
The reproduction of fount #2 on page 146 has been slightly
strengthened
to bring out dots over the i's.
