II
In certain long books (such as A Hundreth) with early
and
later sections printed in the same font, a sequence of font transformations
can establish the relative positions of the sections in the shop schedule as
defined by the respective states of the font. Bynneman-Y1 appears in a
fairly large number of books in 1572-73 so that it is possible to plot the
progressive contamination of the font over a period of several months. The
necessary condition for transformation by fouling is met by Bynneman's
simultaneous use of his three pica roman fonts during the proximate period
in A Hundreth and other books. Moreover, the fonts
frequently
alternate within a book, a situation which invites fouling. Additionally,
replenishment with new wrong-face letters produces a new state of the font.
The fact that Bynneman-Y1 appears in A Hundreth as an
emphasis font presents the major methodological problem since the resulting
typographical sample is quite
small.[17] As a general rule, the size
of the typographical sample in a target book is more or less irrelevant as
long as the evidence of the transformation state appears. A large sample of
a font is needed only for establishing the proportions of the normal vs.
foulcase letters and the expected ratio of appearances in textual units such
as the page or gathering.[18] Once that
probability is established, the necessary size of a sample diminishes to the
level at which foul-case letters begin to appear,
regardless of how many are found. Thus the very small font sample in
A Hundreth Sundrie Flowres is adequate since the
contaminating letters appear. On the other hand, the absence of
contaminating letters in a very small sample should not be taken as proof
that the font is in the early state.
A font transformation in itself proves nothing about the temporal
component of production unless it can be located in the shop's schedule. A
stage of fouling can happen almost instantaneously in relative terms: the
compositor requires only a few reaches to the wrong-font case to effect the
transformation. Hence, no assumptions can be made about the amount of
time required for a transformation. As will be seen below, radical
transformations to a font can occur during the setting of a single page. The
discovery of a transformation in progress in a given book establishes a
definite temporal reference point in the shop's schedule but presents a
problem of interpretation regarding the amount of time that elapsed before
the appearance of the newly transformed font in the next book. In the
absence of contrary evidence, it seems reasonable to assume that the
printing of a short book in which a transformation occurred proceeded
uninterrupted to its end. However, it is possible that a
later, short book could have interrupted the printing of a long book with a
large number of sheets following the transformation sheet.
Since transformations occur in stages, the process can produce clear
evidence of the sequence of groups of books as defined by the state of the
font that appears in each group. However, the transformation evidence
cannot distinguish the sequence in which the books within a group were
printed. Given a group of four books, then, the target book (or section of
a shared book) may be separated from the transformation book by the total
number of sheets in the two other books. It also could have been printed
directly after the transformation book. In short, the evidence provides only
a prior terminus for the printing of a book in the shop's schedule. In some
cases, extraordinary circumstances may strongly suggest that the
transformation book was completed without interruption.
In general, changes in a font's overall composition during its lifetime
provide the evidence for distinguishing transient and permanent
transformations and the sequence of states. The following analysis of the
transformations of Bynneman-Y1 defines the printing context of A
Hundreth in terms of the sequence of the groups of books printed
during 1573. The evidence reveals an additional unsuspected division within
Bynneman's second section at Cc-Dd.
Pre-1573. Bynneman-Y1. Bynneman-Y1 first(?)
appeared
in A dictionarie STC6832 in 1570 lacking both the 'W w' and
'fh' ligature which forced alternate settings of 'VV vv' and 'short-s h'. A
few S-face 'k1' fouled the font in 1570-71 but were purged. A transient
transformation in the font occurred in the setting of 'w' during 1572.
Y-face 'vv' was invariably set during 1570-72 except in four books in
which the compositor(s) alternated the S-face crimped 'w4' with Y-face 'vv'
(T. shippe STC5952; A Speciall STC11759;
Eclogues STC22991; and An Answer Q1
STC25427, B-I). Such a restriction of contamination to a single sort or two
permits distinguishing this state (1572) of
Y1 from the later Y1c state (1573) where the 'w4' reappears in the context
of S-face 'vv' and foul-case letters in at least eleven other sorts. The 'w4'
was almost completely purged after I3 of
An Answer Q1
STC25427 where the permanent transformation to Y1a occurred with the
addition of S-face 'g1' while the 'w4' was still being set. A few 'w4'
remained resident to produce a total of nine appearances in K-Y where the
font is in the Y1a state. In addition, two appearances (D, I) of the F-hybrid
short second-stem 'w' occur (from an oldface 86mm roman last used in
1570). Two remaining books bearing a 1572 imprint and containing
adequate Y1a samples set exclusive Y-face 'vv' and 'g1' (
A
Paraphrase STC19137.5, 27 sheets;
Poeta STC19139,
27
sheets).
[19]
Group I. STC11635a (B-X). 21 sheets. Bynneman-Y1a
appears in two books from 1573. Certaine Brief STC19060
(one
sheet) seems to have been printed at this time. The setting of Y-face 'vv'
is invariable in A Hundreth STC11635a (B3-X4v, twenty
sheets
containing Supposes and Iocasta). Only two
S-face
'g1' (F3v, L3v) and one 'fi' ligature (F3v) appear in Y1a stage directions.
Despite this limited sample, it is clear that STC11635a was printed after the
introduction of the S-face 'fi' ligature in 2A of An Answer
Q1
STC25427. Typographically speaking, STC11635a belongs with I-2A, *
2-3v of STC19137.5 and 2E, A of STC19139 which were probably printed
contemporaneously with STC25427.
Group II. Bynneman-Y1b. 78 sheets. The transformed
Y1b state is found in Group II consisting of five books totalling 78 sheets
(Art of Reason STC 15541, Garden STC12464,
De Furoribus STC13846, Historia STC20309
and
approximately A-F of An Admonition Q3 STC25429) and is
characterised by mixed S- and Y-face 'vv' and 'v' settings along with an
expanded foul-case cluster. The transformation into Y1b actually occurred
in 2A-P, A, bc of Q1 STC25427 which was completed either prior to or
immediately after Christmas vacation. The S-face 'vv' was introduced at
low-density levels late (2I3v, 2L3, 2M4v, 1A2) in STC25427; the 'c f k1'
and 'ct f1 fl fi fl' ligatures also entered the font at this time. The
non-appearance of the 'vv' and other letters in STC11635a, 19137.5, and
19139 is consistent with their low-density in STC25427. The 'f' and 'f1 fl
ct' ligatures, for example, skip one or all of the
full-prose settings in 2M4v-2N1v while the 'g1' and 'fi' ligature appear in
all (and in STC11635a). The expanded cluster of Y1b begins appearing late
in STC15541 and STC12464, where the S-face 'd1' first appears. The
limited use of Y1b in the Latin 20309 prevents S-face 'vv' settings until the
Index (X-2C) and the 'f1' ligature appears by Q1; the S-face 'n3' is added
in X2 and appears along with the resident 'd1 g1 vv' and 'ct f1 fl fi'
ligatures. STC 20309 was probably the final book in Group II and
overlapped Q3 STC 25429 A-F.
Group III. Bynneman-Y1c, STC11635b
(2T-Cc). 127
sheets. Group III consists of seven books totalling 127 sheets
(An Answer Q3 STC25429, G-2X; Certaine
Godlie
STC25010; A Christian Instruction STC24788;
Margarita STC23003; A Hundreth STC11365b,
2T-Cc; An Exposition STC24171;
The
Supremacie STC3737, A-E2v) distinguished by the reappearance of
S-face 'w4' in the context of S-face 'vv' and the expanded foul-case cluster
of Y1b. STC25429 is the first book in 1573 in which Bynneman-S1 with
the 'w4' alternates with Bynneman-Y1b (STC11635a required no 'w4' in
the S1 settings). The extensive use of the two fonts within type-pages
resulted in low-density 'w4' contamination. For example, an S1 quotation
in K2:1-15 is followed by a Y1c quotation in K2:24-36 where the 'w4'
appears at lines 32 and 36 and K2v:5. Moreover, the alternation increases
the S-face 'vv' to new high-density levels (e.g., S-face/Y-face: 4/6, 10/7,
3/6, 9/29,
17/3, 15/12, 16/7, 19/13 etc.). In addition, a printing of STC25429 in
proximity to STC25427 is suggested by the occurrence of the S-face 'k1'
(STC25427: 2A3v, 2L2v; STC25429: F4, H2, M3) and F-hybrid short
second-stem 'w' (STC25427, D4, I1v; STC25429, G4-4v, K2, 2E3v) only
in these two books. The typographical evidence indicates that A
Hundreth STC11635b (2T-Cc) was printed after STC25429. The
Y1c
sample in 2T-Cc amounts to about 48 lines ("Gascoigne"
appears in
about half of these). The ratio of S-face 'vv' to 'w4' to Y-face 'vv' settings
(18/4/22) requires that the contamination have occurred in a previous book
since Bynneman-S1 was not used after STC11635a B-X. Bynneman-S1
appears along with Y1c in two books other than STC25429 in Group III but
neither presented an opportunity for contamination. Y1c is limited to
T2:2-18 of Certaine Godly STC25010. In A
Christian STC24778, S1 is used exclusively for emphasis to Q4v
followed by a Y1c stint to 2A where
the S-face 'vv' and 'w4' are already at high-density levels. In short, the
setting of An Answer Q3 STC25429 produced the
contamination
of Bynneman-Y1c as it appears in the remaining books of Group III.
The introduction of S-face 'P' clearly is attributable to compositorial
inconsistency in setting emphasis names in STC11635b; for example, Y1c
serves this function in (repeat alphabet assumed) T2, T4, U1, U2, and U3
while the compositor turns to Bynneman-S1 in T2v, T3v, and T4v, and then
sets the S1 "C[ae]sars" and "Greekes" separated by a Y1c "Menelaus" in
U2v. A similar mixing occurs in Aa1-2v: the compositor set three Y-face
and two S-face 'P' in Aa2 and six Y-face and one S-face 'P' in Aa2v; the
latter appears in "Pencoyde" where the Y-face lower-case is used. Some of
these S-face 'P' were mis-distributed into the Y1c case to reappear in
STC23003 and STC
22241.
An Exposition STC24171 clearly was printed
simultaneously with
T. Supremacie STC3737 A-E2v. The
Y1c
cluster appears in emphasis settings and the terminal imprint; the title
imprint, however, exhibits two of the newly introduced Guyot short
second-stem 'w'.
Group IV. Bynneman-Y1d, STC11635c,d (Dd-Hh; Ii, A). 173
sheets. The transformation into Bynneman-Y1d occurred in the
massive T. Supremacie STC3737 (153 sheets) where
Bynneman-Y1c,d, -S1, and the Guyot 76mm roman alternate as emphasis
and quotation fonts. Bynneman-Y1c sets S-face 'w4' and the mixed Y1c and
S1 'vv' to E2v. The newly acquired Guyot short second-stem 'w' begins
replacing the 'vv' in E3 and is set almost exclusively thereafter including
numerous quotation settings of up to 1½ pages in length. Likewise, the
newly acquired Guyot 'fh' ligature replaces the 'short-s h' settings;
low-density S-face 'x2' appears as well. The importance of discovering a
font transformation in progress cannot be overstated. In addition to
establishing a firm point of reference in the shop schedule, the discovery
provides the correct context for interpreting this kind of typographical
evidence. The fact that the new Guyot 'w' appears in A
Hundreth STC11635d in two
Y1d poem titles in Dd1:8-10, 19-21 (seven Guyot 'w', no 'vv') followed
by a Guyot 76mm roman editorial link (Dd1:28,29) could suggest that the
compositor fouled the Y1d poem titles from the Guyot case while setting
the page. The observed transformation in STC3737 proves that the Guyot
short second-stem 'w' was already in the font in state Y1d. Therefore
A Hundreth
2Dd-Ii, A, A
Briefe STC11985,
and T. Closet STC7623 were printed after the transformation
to Bynneman-Y1d in T. Supremacie STC3737. The final
appearance as Bynneman-Y1e in T. First Part STC22241
exhibits the increasing density of the cluster as well as additional S-face
letters as is typical of the final depletion of a font. It does not appear to
have been used after this book.
