(The term "Egyptian" has since become associated with slab-serif typefaces.) The name "Egyptian" may originate from the image of sans-serifs being historical in style, the Egyptomania of the period and the "blocky" nature of ancient Egyptian architecture. The name "Egyptian" had become commonly used in England by 1816 to describe this style of lettering for example on September 13, 1805, the painter Joseph Farington wrote in his diary of seeing a memorial engraved "in what is called Egyptian Characters". However, it was some decades before a printing typeface would be released in this style, now commonly used. Historian James Mosley, the leading expert on early sans-serifs, has suggested in his book The Nymph and The Grot that Soane's influence was crucial in spreading the idea of sans-serif letterforms around the end of the eighteenth century. Sans-serif lettering in block capitals had been developing in popularity over the past decades, initially due to interest in classical antiquity in which inscriptions often had minimal or no serifs, and come to be used by architect John Soane and copied by others, particularly in signpainting.
Elizabeth Caslon had a part also in their design.Caslon Two Lines English Egyptian in an early specimen book Įgyptian is a typeface created by the Caslon foundry of Salisbury Square, London around or probably slightly before 1816, that is the first general-purpose sans-serif typeface in the Latin alphabet known to have been created. Caslon” added to these typefaces’ name was just to differentiate them from the ones issued by other iterations of the Caslon foundry, or if Mrs. I assume the pages in the NYPL are from that 1785 specimen, but don’t know if the “Eliz.
(Source: Oxford DNB article: Caslon, Elizabeth) In 1785 the firm produced an extensive type specimen book on sixty-four leaves, dedicated to George III. She was a talented businesswoman, having assisted her husband during his lifetime in the management of the foundry. When her husband died intestate, on 17 August 1778, Elizabeth and her sons each inherited one third share of the typefounding business, which she continued, trading as Elizabeth Caslon & Sons. On 25 June 1751 she married William Caslon (1720–1778) , typefounder, of Chiswell Street they had two sons, William and Henry. She was baptized on 4 June at St John Zachary, London. However, that “Eliz.” piqued my curiosity, and, after a cursory search, I met Elizabeth Caslon.Ĭaslon , Elizabeth (1730–1795), typefounder, was born in Foster Lane, London, on, the daughter of William Cartlich, refiner, of Foster Lane, and his wife, Elizabeth.
The NYPL lists 1785 as date of publication and “Caslon, William, 1754-1833” as Author (that would be William Caslon III, grandchild of William Caslon). Caslon’s New Double Pica (roman and italic). Caslon’s New Pica (roman and italic), and Eliz. Perusing the New York Public Library Digital Collections, I stumbled upon four sheets from a specimen book.
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