| Method | Letterpress |
| Artist | Alexander Wilson |
| Published | The above are some of the Sizes cast in the Letter Foundery of Dr. Alex. Wilson and Sons. Glasgow, 1783. |
| Dimensions | Sheet 500 x 395 mm |
| Notes |
A large broadside specimen sheet of various typefaces from the foundry of the Scottish typefounder and polymath Dr Alexander Wilson, issued for inclusion in the entry for 'Printing' in Abraham Rees' revised and enlarged edition of Chambers' Cyclopaedia. Earlier examples of the Cyclopaedia had featured specimens from the famous Caslon foundry, but following Caslon's death in 1766 and the increasing fashion for transitional faces over the old-style roman types favoured by Caslon, Wilson's foundry was chosen as an update for the new edition, which was finally completed in 1788. The sheet is divided into four columns of sample text, with the names of each typeface listed above each sample. Standard 'roman' typefaces use extracts from Cicero's first Catilinarian oration as their sample text, with the uppercase alphabet below. Of most interest typographically though are the samples of so-called 'exotics' found in the fourth column, which include stylised typefaces for Blackletter, Hebrew, and Greek. Appropriately, the sample type for each is a different text, so the Blackletter faces provide a sample of legal text, and the Greek uses the opening lines of Demosthenes' oration on the Chersonese. Below the type an instruction to the binder reads: 'The Binder is desired to place this Broadside in the middle of the Sheet 13 A, Vol. III. facing Article Printing, method of' Alexander Wilson (1714-1786) was a Scottish type founder, surgeon, astronomer, mathematician, pioneering meteorologist, Founder and Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, and Regius Professor of Practical Astronomy at the University of Glasgow. In addition to his many scientific achievements, Wilson established a type foundry in St Andrews, having been unimpressed with a foundry he had visited in London. After moving his foundry to Camlachie, he was appointed type founder to the University of Glasgow. His Greek typefaces were a particular achievement, having been used for the Foulis edition of Homer's Iliad and Odyssey, and were a significant departure from the standard Greek texts available from other foundries, most of which derived from Garamond's Grecs du Roi. Condition: Vertical and horizontal folds. Splitting and dirt staining to folds. Repaired tears and punctures to folds. Minor time toning along top margin. |
| Framing | unmounted |
| Price | £350.00 |
| Stock ID | 52972 |