Type: A Visual History

It says something about the value for money of today’s coffee-table books that 35 quid looks relatively expensive. For this, though, you get a volume – the first in a set of two, divided chronologically – that, with the addition of four legs, could actually be a coffee table. It’s not quite as huge as Taschen’s famous limited editions, but as thick and heavy as a 1990s laptop, mercifully slipcoverless and bound in a hardwearing varnished canvas with the cover design stamped into it. Inside, the heavy, creamy paper is the kind you don’t get any more.

Rather than a book about type, this is a book of type, showcasing hundreds of specimens produced between 1628 and 1900: that is, from before Caslon through to the pinnacle of 19th Century exuberance. Most are roman, but Arabic, Fraktur, Greek and Hebrew make guest appearances. The reproductions are from letterpress originals, not litho runs, and key pieces are enlarged so you can get your nose right up to them and make appreciative noises like Louis Balfour in The Fast Show’s Jazz Club. ‘A 1799 cursive missal face by the Muestras de los Punzones y Matrices de la Letra que se funde en el Obrador – nice’. continue reading at www.macuser.co.uk

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