1896 Caslon ‘Epitome’ Specimen
18 January 2013
Sample pages from the 1896 H.W. Caslon & Co. ‘Epitome’ type specimen.
Compared to the other type specimens I have, this beautiful one is rather different. Instead of the usual vertical cascade of styles, the entire collection is fitted by size into a 3-column grid. As you turn the page the type sizes get smaller, starting from Ten-Line Pica (about 120pt) and moving down to Diamond (about 4.5 pt). It’s a relatively svelte specimen, the unique grid arrangement keeps the page-count down and creates a nice graphic effect. The pages measure 168mm x 254mm, but are shown slightly cropped here.
