Encyclopaedia of Type Faces (1953)

We just had someone come in and ask about books with fonts to look at and choose from. We showed him two books: One big, expensive, somewhat-recent book with 1 zillion digital types and this moderately-priced book from 1953 with 1 half-zillion metal types. They chose neither. But in explaining the difference between the two books, we pointed out that while the big expensive book has its uses, half of what’s in there is junk. The older book shows types that were harder to make, so if one was going to go through all the trouble of making them, they needed to be good. Now, no medium is capable of vanquishing junk and there are plenty of junky metal types. But in this book, there is a lower percentage. A good workhorse to have around and in which to hunt for forgotten and overlooked faces.