I
On the simplest level, font analysis distinguishes between two fonts
in dissimilar faces with no greater difficulty than obtains, by analogy, in
recognizing that a modern face such as Courier is different from Prestige.
In general, typefaces can be distinguished upon the basis of differences in
size, either apparent or real, and stylistic differences in the design of the
letters. The width and height of the body of the types respectively
determine the horizontal spacing between letters and the vertical spacing
between lines, although measurements of the latter using the standard
method are sometimes less than precise because of paper shrinkage across
four centuries.[7] Width is generally
classified in relative terms such as "condensed" or "narrow", "medium",
"wide", and "expanded". Most letters (or sorts) of the S-face are set on a
wider body than in the Y-face, especially in regard to 'a r' and the thin
letters 'i j l t'. The effect of this
body-size on overall appearance can be seen by comparing the spacing in
combinations such as "are", "and", and "illusion". The type seems spread
out in the S-face leaving more "white space" within words in a line of set
type. The use of wide and expanded 'k x z', and a bold left-stem on the 'v
y' adds to this effect.[8] In contrast,
the thin letters of the Y-face are set on a narrower body, and, along with
the medium 'k v x y z', produce an appearance of more densely packed
type, with quite prominent white spaces between words, but little within
words.
The general design of the S-face (see footnote 12 for the naming of
these fonts as S and Y) further contributes to its squarish, open appearance.
The vertical elements of the letters are thicker than the horizontal curved
portions so that the former print more boldly than the latter. In technical
terms, the "weight" or relative density of blackness of the parts of a letter
establishes the "contrast" between thick and thin strokes, and the orientation
of thick to thin defines the "stress": thus the S-face exhibits "vertical stress"
or vertical "shading". The stress is not necessarily uniform in all letters, but
dictated by shape. The diagonal letters (A M N S V W X Y Z v w x y z)
exhibit oblique stress with thin vertical or right-leaning and bold left-leaning
(relative to the baseline) strokes. In the lower-case letters, the bold inking
of shoulders (a h m n) and bowls (b d p q) at the x-line makes the typeface
appear higher and wider than it actually is. On the other hand, the
Y-face is relatively unstressed so that all portions of a letter print with
nearly equal boldness, except for the light shading that characterizes the
shoulders of the tall letters, ligatures and the curved portions of several
lower-case letters. The Y-face's lighter weight and contrast is obvious to the
naked eye even when heavily inked. Viewed at high magnification (30X)
in original books, the metal elements that form Y-face letters (i.e., the
surface of the type which makes contact with the paper) seem rounded on
the edges, whereas S-face letters exhibit elements with usually sharp
squared edges.
An analysis of the specific differences in the structure of the letters
in the two faces can clarify the relation between the stylistic design of
specific letters and the overall appearance of a typeface. Font analysis is
facilitated by the fact that letters can be classified in groups on the basis of
shape. A major difference in design can be seen in the group consisting of
the 'f' and the long-(or tall-) 'ſ' and their associated ligatures. In the
S-face, the uniformly thin shoulder stroke is a rather flat arc which abruptly
curves just below the h-line into the bold vertical stem. It terminates at the
right with a quite small "pear". The shoulder frequently appears shaded
because of the accumulation of ink along its bottom edge and around the
pear; lightly inked letters and the shoulders of some ligatures reveal the
actual weight of the shoulder. In many of these letters, damage has nudged
the right half of the shoulder upward so that it terminates horizontally. The
shoulders
of the 'ſſ ff ffi' ligatures are similarly formed. Both shoulders are of
equal height and the left joins the right slightly below the h-line, rather than
being vertically staggered as in the Y-face. The 'ſh ſl ſt' ligatures
clarify this design characteristic. A bit of the ascender of the 'h' and the 'l'
in the former extend above the shoulder junction, while the 't' of the 'ſt'
ligature reaches almost to the h-line before joining the shoulder. Damage
frequently flattens the shoulders into a single continuous arc and nudges the
right termination upward.
In contrast, the tall letters of the Y-face are shaded. The shoulder of
the 'f' and tall-'ſ' commences with a graceful curve just above the cross
at the x-line and thins as the stroke moves through a diagonal to the
horizontal, then broadens in the downward stroke that completes the
shoulder. It terminates noticeably below the h-line with a large pear. The
letters in the ligatures are vertically staggered: the left 'ſ' or 'f' is a bit
shorter than the right letter. The shading of the downward stroke that
completes the shoulder is obvious in the ſh, ſl and ſt ligatures,
where the 'h l t' are shortened to accommodate the low junction with the
shoulder. The junction commonly gathers ink and accentuates the shaded
structure of the shoulder. The difference between the two faces in regard
to shoulder structure is quite obvious at high magnification where the actual
impression of the face elements can be detected without the obfuscation
caused by the inking-in of the curves
and joints. The overall effect of the shoulder structure in the ligatures and
tall 'ſ f' is that the horizontal space between lines in the S-face is
uncluttered by the bold inking produced by the shaded, staggered shoulders
that characterise the Y-face. Finally, the 'ct' ligature provides an easily
detected discriminant. The "open" 'ct' ligature is typical of the S-face: the
body of the 'c' is slanted left and seems improperly formed since neither
end of the 'c' "closes up" with the 't' and a considerable amount of white
space obtains between the two letters. In contrast, the Y-face uses an
elegantly formed 'ct' ligature in which the body of the 'c' is fully formed
and closes up with the cross and base of the 't'; the letters are joined by a
graceful link whose orientation and size balances the 'c'.
The two faces are further differentiated in the lower-case by the
formation of the shoulders, bowls and top-serifs. In the S-face, the counter,
or enclosed white space, in the round (or "oval" to be precise) letters (o d
q)
appears to lean left as if the axis were rotated counterclockwise. In the 'o',
for example, the thin portion of the letter occurs at 11 and 5 o'clock, rather
than at 12 and 6 o'clock. The ascender of the 'b' and descender of the 'p'
replace the part of the oval to the left of the thin part; the converse is true
of the 'd q'. Thus the junction of ascender and bowl forms an oblique angle
just below the x-line, a proportioning (less than half) that accentuates the
apparent height of the ascender and makes the bowl seem smaller. The
stylistic theme seen in the oval letters appears uniformly in other lower-case
letters. If attention is limited to the portions of the 'b p a m n h' abutting
the x-line (by covering the lower portion of the letters with a card, for
example), it can be noted that the letters are nearly identical. The shoulder
of the 'm n h' is formed by a thin straight line at an oblique angle that rises
to the x-line, then curves abruptly downward with an angular rather than
a smoothly curving stroke. The right shoulder frequently prints as an angle
rather than a curve because of heavy inking. This characteristic is
accentuated in two letters. The shoulder of a common variant 'n' is wider
(+0.1mm) than the right shoulder of the 'm'. In undamaged samples of the
'a', the low junction of the stem (or back) and the nearly horizontal
top-stroke of the bowl is considerably below the x-line and leaves the
"squarish" shoulder "hanging" over a prominent amount of white space.
The formation of top-serifs is identical in the 'p q m n': by analogy with
hand-writing, the downward stroke that forms the stem begins on the x-line
with the broad tip of the pen set at the characteristic oblique angle and
bends to the vertical almost immediately. The top of these letters frequently
prints as a horizontal zig-zag because of the agreement of the coincident
oblique angle of the top-serif and shoulder (or bowl-top of the 'p q').
However, the 'u' violates this stylistic
uniformity with its horizontal, bold, left top-serifs, although it agrees with
the base-serifs of the 'a d' which are inversions of the top-serif stroke of
the 'm n p'. The top-serif on the tall letters (b d h l k) is a left-pointing
triangle, while the bottom serif extends on both sides of the descender of
the 'p q'. The overall effect of the oblique "fineline" at the x-line in S-face
lower-case letters is to "square up" the face at the x-line, with the left
counter of round letters complimenting the angular shoulders of the 'm n
h'.
Lower-case letters are unstressed in the Y-face. The 'o' is formed by
a round stroke of uniform thickness. The bowls of the 'b d p q' exhibit
barely noticeable vertical stress because the portions of the bowl which join
the vertical stroke are thinned slightly at 12 and 6 o'clock. In contrast to the
distinct oblique junction angle of the S-face, Y-face bowl and shoulder
junctions are nearly right angles at the x-line. In the 'b', for example, the
round line to the left of the axis is bent upward toward the horizontal to
join the ascender almost on the x-line at half the height of the ascender. At
the bottom of the letter, the round line of the bowl touches the baseline and
curves upward slightly to join with the ascender, which is thus displaced
above the baseline. Evenly proportioned round letters result from this
design concept, which is inverted in the 'p q': the baseline junction is
nearly horizontal, while the top junction forms a slight oblique angle. The
shoulder stroke
of the
'm n h' begins nearly horizontal and immediately broadens from a thin tip
at the junction with the vertical stems into a symmetrical, round curve. The
width of the shoulders of the 'h n' are identical to the right shoulder of the
'm'. The graceful rounding of the Y-face is most obvious in variants of the
'a', which is well-proportioned compared to the awkward 'a' of the S-face.
Its shoulder, back and base-serif are formed by a single gracefully flowing
stroke, and the letter is "closed up" by the higher junction of bowl and
back. Serifs of Y-face letters are frequently worn away or indistinct.
The two faces can be further differentiated by lower-case diagonal
letters (k v w x y z) and the 'g'. The S-face diagonal letters are commonly
of expanded width which is accentuated by pronounced serifs, the
right-angle crossing of the diagonals in the 'x', and the long arms of the
'z'. Pronounced serifs and heavy oblique stress of the left stem creates an
impression of extra width in the 'y v', although they are of medium width.
The "squat" appearance of the 'k' results from the low junction of the link
of the arm-leg at ¼-height on the ascender, the right angle enclosed by
the arm-leg in the common variants, and the pronounced arm and leg serifs.
In contrast, medium-width diagonal letters are found in the Y-face in the 'v
w x y' sorts, although a condensed 'y' variant is common. The left stem of
the 'y v' exhibit minimal stress and a smaller enclosed angle than in the
S-face. Several 'k' variants occur, but the junction of the arm-leg link at
about ⅓-height on the
ascender is always higher than in the S-face 'k' and produces a more
balanced proportioning. Finally, the loop of the 'g' is noticeably larger than
the bowl in the S-face; the loop-stroke begins at the base line, while the
link pushes the bowl to the x-line. In Eld's version of the S-face, the left
edge of both bowl and loop are vertically aligned, creating a left-slant; in
another common variant, the bowl and loop are centered for an erect
appearance. The bowl of the 'g' in the Y-face, in contrast, is approximately
the same width as the loop, and the letter is vertically aligned.
Stylistic differences are generally more obvious in the capitals,
particularly with respect to several awkward, poorly proportioned letters in
the S-face which contrast with the more balanced symmetry of the Y-face
capitals. The gross, excessively wide and awkward 'M' of the S-face is
characterised by a single left top-serif and slanted legs. The Y-face uses a
symmetrical 'M' with double shoulder serifs that are integral to the 'V'
stroke that connects the erect legs. The bowl stroke of round S-face capitals
such as 'P B D R' begins considerably to the left of the ascender on the
characteristic oblique angle and complements the accentuated shoulder- and
base-serifs of other capitals, while in the Y-face, the bowl stroke is
horizontal and barely overextends the ascender. The S-face uses an
obtrusively large 'P' whose bowl stroke terminates far below the x-line and
does not close up with the ascender; the letter clashes aesthetically with the
'B' and especially the 'R', with its
aenemic bowl that terminates at the x-line and its stressed tail that extends
awkwardly beyond the bowl. In the Y-face, the 'B P R' are of similar
proportions. The tall rectangular 'E F' are noticeably narrow for the S-face,
particularly in regard
to the 'E', where the foot barely extends beyond the medial cross and arm.
The cross of the 'E' appears to be high on the ascender. The two letters are
square in the Y-face, with longer horizontal members and distinctive serifs.
Overall, S-face capitals overwhelm the lower-case letters on the printed
page; perhaps the capitals were cut by a different punchcutter who failed to
integrate them stylistically with the lower-case. Conversely, S-face
punctuation sorts appear small for the face. The ascender of the exclamation
point and the back of the query are bisected by the x-line and do not rise
to the h-line. The comma of the semi-colon rides above the baseline, with
the dot at or above the x-line, and the dots of the colon are positioned
between base- and x-line. The comma is positioned normally on the
base-line. In contrast, Y-face punctuation marks conform to the proportions
and design of the letters. The Y-face query is a gracefully formed,
full-height mark, as is the exclamation
point, and the other marks are positioned correctly for the height of the
face.
A few hours examination of the two faces in originals or high quality
facsimiles of any of the books noted in later discussion will familiarize the
reader with the essentials of typeface design and structure. The considerable
differences between the S-face and the Y-face render them easily
distinguishable even to the novice after such an exercise. It seems a
fortunate coincidence that in many cases of shared printing, versions of the
two faces alternate in sections of a book. In such cases, a comparative
analysis need only progress through a few groups of letters before the
"gross features" illustrated above distinguish the different fonts, providing
sufficient cause to suggest that further bibliographical analysis proceed upon
the assumption that two printers were involved. However, that is merely the
beginning step in the application of font analysis. A book printed in more
than two fonts almost inevitably requires distinguishing two same-face
fonts, followed by an attempt at
identifying the fonts in other books for the purpose of sorting out the
printers. That process is facilitated by a comprehensive font composite that
graphically records the distinguishing traits of a given font.[9]
The identification process itself requires that the font in the target
book be compared to extremely similar, same-face fonts in other books.
Similarly, in many instances of sharing that involved more than two
printers, two or more versions of the same typeface are encountered in
different sections of a book. In both situations, the bibliographer then is
faced with a more complex task of analysis, since distinguishing between
fonts in the same face is a much more difficult proposition because the
general stylistic traits are identical except for infrequent variants. Assuming
that the two same-face fonts and their respective sections of the book have
been successfully distinguished, an attempt to identify the printers is further
complicated by the fact that, quite understandably, the preliminary
candidates will be selected primarily because they used the typeface in their
known work. Hence, the general kind of stylistic analysis described above
must be supplemented by a more
refined and detailed focus upon potential discriminants within the context
of nearly identical fonts. As a general rule, discriminants can be detected
in this situation
because each font has a unique history of usage, abuse and transformation
that in all probability will have produced both obvious and subtle
variations.
