Type: A Primer of Information About the Mechanical Features of Printing Types: Their Sizes, Font Schemes, &c. with a Brief Description of Their Manufacture

In Short

This book is a foundational technical manual published in 1918 as part of a comprehensive series for printing apprentices. It systematically breaks down the anatomy of a piece of type—from the nick that guides a compositor’s hand to the standardized point system that governs size. By demystifying the mechanical features of typefounding, it provides a practical framework for understanding how metal characters function as tools. It remains a vital record of a craft on the cusp of full automation, capturing the transition between manual labor and industrialized composition.

The Story

The narrative of this text begins with the physical object itself: the single piece of metal type. It establishes that type is not merely a collection of characters, but a highly engineered instrument. The reader is introduced to the "nick," a crucial groove on the side of the type body that serves as a tactile guide for the compositor, allowing for quick identification and proper orientation within the composing stick. From this individual unit, the focus expands to the "font"—the broader assortment of characters required for a cohesive project. The text explains that a font is not a random collection, but a carefully apportioned set of capitals, lower-case letters, figures, and punctuation, designed to meet the statistical demands of the English language.

As the book progresses, it transitions from the assembly of a font to the standardization of its scale. It details the "point system," the universal, graduated measurement that brought order to an industry previously reliant on vague, unrelated naming conventions for type sizes. This section explains the shift from legacy sizing—like the now-obsolete "brevier" or "pica"—to the precise, mathematical logic of points. This standardization extended to the "lining" of type, a development that allowed different faces of the same size to sit flush alongside one another without the need for cumbersome manual shimming or alignment.

The arc then shifts toward the manufacturing process, moving from the refined precision of the type foundry to the emerging efficiency of mechanical typesetting. The book chronicles the transition from traditional hand-casting to the sophisticated machinery of the era. It offers a clear, technical look at how the "matrix"—the mold for a character—is created, and how hot, molten metal is injected into these molds to produce durable type. Finally, the text tackles the arrival of the Linotype and the Monotype, describing how these revolutionary systems automated the casting of full slugs or individual characters directly from keyboard inputs. It concludes by briefly acknowledging specialized materials, such as the use of wood for large-scale poster type, and providing a wealth of reference material, including a glossary and a list of review questions. This structure ensures that the reader moves from the smallest, most granular aspect of the craft—a single letter—to the sweeping industrial processes that defined the modern printing trade.

How It Unfolds

The anatomy of the character The book opens by defining the mechanical features of a single piece of type, emphasizing the importance of the nick and the physical dimensions of the body. It teaches the reader that even the simplest-looking piece of metal is a product of specialized, exacting labor.

The logic of the font The discussion moves to the composition of a font, explaining how founders estimate the quantities of each letter needed for standard work. It outlines the specific assortments of characters, from basic roman letters to reference marks and braces, required for diverse printing tasks.

The discipline of measurement The text introduces the point system, describing how it replaced a chaotic variety of older size names with a unified, mathematical standard. This section details the practical benefits of this system for spacing, justifying lines, and ensuring that type from different sources fits together seamlessly.

The craft of manufacture The focus shifts to the foundry floor, detailing the methods for creating matrices and casting type with molten metal. It explains the evolution of casting from hand-molds to automated steam-powered machines that increased production speed and uniformity.

The era of the machine The narrative culminates in the mechanical age, exploring the Linotype and Monotype systems. It describes the transition from manual, letter-by-letter composition to the efficiency of machines that cast whole lines or individual characters on demand.

The People

While the book lacks a traditional cast of characters, it centers on the apprentice printer, a student tasked with mastering the complexities of a mechanical trade. This apprentice must move beyond superficial knowledge; they must learn to distinguish between faces, calculate font schemes, and understand the limitations of the machinery at their disposal. Standing in their way is the inherent complexity of the printing process—the need for precision in justification, the technical nuances of kerning, and the sheer variety of type sizes and styles.

Opposing the apprentice, in a sense, is the tradition of the hand-caster, a legacy method that is both the ancestor of and the obstacle to the high-efficiency future. The apprentice must reconcile the older, manual ways of the trade with the foundry-master and the machine-operator, who represent the transition toward standardization and mass production. By the end of the text, the apprentice is no longer just a laborer; they have become a "trained intelligence," someone who views type not as an immutable object, but as a flexible tool that can be controlled to achieve specific results. Their growth is measured by their increasing familiarity with the technical "niceties" of the trade.

In Its Own Voice

It is not what they are but what they can be made to do under the control of trained intelligence and skilful hands that makes printer's types of importance to the world.

The author emphasizes in the preface that the true value of type lies in the skill of the person who wields it.

Individual letters of different type faces sometimes bear such close resemblance that they are more readily distinguished by the nick or some other body-mark than by the face.

This observation appears in the section on mechanical features to explain why the nick is essential for identification when faces appear visually identical.

It is rare that more than a fraction of a small font can be used in any piece of composition.

This line highlights the reality of the printer's work, where specific jobs almost always require additional "sorts" beyond what a standard font provides.

What It's Really About

This book is fundamentally about the imposition of order upon a chaotic craft. It argues that the "mechanical features" of type are not merely static facts, but the necessary technical language of a professional. Underlying the instructional tone is the question of how an apprentice translates raw materials—lead, tin, antimony, and wood—into the written word. It examines the tension between craftsmanship and industrial efficiency, weighing the durability of hand-cast type against the speed and convenience of the Linotype. Ultimately, it is a testament to the belief that the machine is only as good as the operator, and that a deep, technical understanding of the tool is the prerequisite for all professional mastery in the printing arts.

Why Read It Today

Readers with an interest in the history of technology, graphic design, or book history will find this book deeply rewarding. It serves as a clear, unvarnished window into the mindset of early 20th-century vocational education. For those who enjoy the tactile nature of letterpress printing or the digital typography of the modern era, the book provides a grounding in the terminology and logic—such as the point system—that still influences how we arrange text on a page today.

The experience of reading this text is akin to touring a well-preserved industrial museum; it is precise, methodical, and devoid of modern marketing flourishes. However, it is not a "light" read for the casual observer. The text is dense with technical nomenclature, and the reader must be prepared to engage with the period-specific attitudes of 1918, which view the industrialization of the press as the pinnacle of human progress. You will not find narrative drama here, but you will find a profound appreciation for the "niceties" of a trade. What stays with you long after finishing is the realization that behind every printed letter lies a rigorous, invisible infrastructure of measurements, alloys, and mechanical decisions. It is an essential, if dry, companion for anyone who cares about the physical reality of the books they hold.