ENGLISH
PRINTERS’ ORNAMENTS
This Edition is limited to 500 copies only
ENGLISH
PRINTERS’ ORNAMENTS
BY
HENRY R. PLOMER
AUTHOR OF “A SHORT HISTORY OF
ENGLISH PRINTING,” ETC.
LONDON, W.C.1
GRAFTON & CO.
COPTIC HOUSE
1924
Printed in Great Britain
by Turnbull & Spears, Edinburgh
PREFACE
The subject of printers’ ornaments can be defined in its strictermeaning as the decoration of books as apart from book illustration,the aim of both decoration and ornamentation being to heighten theattraction of the letterpress, although the one is not in any waydependent upon the other.
In the following pages an attempt has been made to give an outlinehistory of the introduction of ornaments into books printed by Englishprinters and the subsequent growth and development of the art down tothe present day.
Printers’ ornaments include head and tail pieces, initial letters,borders to title-pages or text, and decorative blocks such as thosewhich were used freely by the sixteenth century printer, HenryBynneman, and others. Printers’ devices, being in the nature of trademarks, have no place in this volume, as, although decorative inthemselves, they were not used simply for the sake of embellishing thepage.
Although it is generally believed that English printers were on thewhole inartistic, and that many of the best[viii] designs were borrowedfrom foreign countries, there is no lack of good material for a workon English printers’ ornaments from the fifteenth onwards to thenineteenth century. Many famous names of special printers come tomind in early English books of the sixteenth century, such as Denham,Bynneman, Wolfe, and John Day.
It only remains to acknowledge the courtesy of those who have helped inthe production of this book by granting permission for the reproductionof illustrations and for the loan of blocks.
To Mr E. Gordon Duff and the Cambridge University Press for permissionto reproduce the Machlinia border; to Prof. A. W. Pollard, C.B., bothfor kindly suggestions and for the loan of illustrations; to Mr C.Sayle of Cambridge University Library for permission to reproduceinitials; to Mr Ralph Straus for permission to use the block of theBaskerville ornaments from his book on the well-known printer, andto the Cambridge University Press for the loan of the block; also toMessrs Bowes & Bowes for the loan of blocks; to Messrs Maggs Bros. fortwo whole-page illustrations, and to the Oxford University Press forpast and present ornaments.
For illustrations to the chapter on Modern Work we have to thankMessrs Charles Whittingham & Griggs, Ltd.; Messrs H. W. Caslon & Co.,Ltd.; Messrs R. & R. Clark,[ix] Ltd., of Edinburgh; the Trustees of theKelmscott Press, and Messrs Emery Walker, Ltd.; The Curwen Press;The Morland Press, Ltd.; The Pelican P