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William Caslon

January 26, 2023

For other uses or meanings of Caslon, see Caslon (disambiguation).

William Caslon I (1692/1693 – 23 January 1766), also known as William Caslon the Elder,[1] was an English typefounder. The distinction and legibility of his type secured him the patronage of the leading printers of the day in England and on the continent. His typefaces transformed English type design and first established an English national typographic style.[2]

William Caslon
Painting of William Caslon, by Francis Kyte. He holds a specimen of his types.
Born1692 or 1693
Cradley, Worcestershire
Died23 January 1766 (aged 72–73)
London, England
Occupation(s)Gunsmith and type designer

Life

Caslon was born in Cradley, Worcestershire in 1692 or 1693[1] and trained as an engraver in nearby Birmingham.[3] In 1716, he started business in London as an engraver of gun locks and barrels and as a bookbinder's tool cutter.[4] Having contact with printers, he was induced to fit up a type foundry, largely through the encouragement of William Bowyer.[1]

He died on 23 January 1766, and was buried in the churchyard of St Luke Old Street, London, where the family tomb is preserved (bearing his name and others).

Typefaces

 
A specimen sheet of typefaces and languages, by William Caslon I, letter founder; from the 1728 Cyclopaedia

Though his name would come to be identified with an enduring style of Latin alphabet, Caslon's first typefaces were what contemporary typefounders called "exotics." His first design was an Arabic made at the English size (14pt), commissioned by the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge before 1725, followed by a Hebrew created for William Bowyer in 1726, and a Coptic for Wilkins first used in 1731. His first Latin typefaces were a roman and italic cut in the pica size (12pt), of a style that was fully realized by the publication of his foundry's specimen sheet in 1734.[5]

Caslon's typefaces were inspired by the Dutch Baroque types, the most commonly used types in England before Caslon's faces.

Caslon typefaces were immediately popular and used for many important printed works, including the first printed version of the United States Declaration of Independence. Caslon's types became so popular that the expression about typeface choice, "when in doubt, use Caslon," came about. The Caslon types fell out of favour in the century after his death, but were revived in the 1840s. Several revivals of the Caslon types are widely used today.[6]

 
The Caslon family tomb in the churchyard of St Luke Old Street, London

The Caslon Foundry as a business

Main article: Caslon Type Foundry

William Caslon I founded the Caslon Foundry in 1739, based on what previously had been Godfrey Head's (1685–1700). The other half of that business was purchased by John James, son of Thomas James. John James in the period 1716–1764 also built up by purchase what became the leading English type foundry of the 18th and early 19th centuries. He acquired moiety of half of Robert Mitchell and Jacob Ilive in 1740. A later and important purchase was the foundry of Thomas Grover in 1758. James ultimately combined under his own direction nine old English Foundries.[7][8]

John James, William Caslon I and John Baskerville were left by consolidation as the only three representatives of the trade in the country. Caslon had two apprentices in his Foundry, Thomas Cottrell and Joseph Jackson. They started a foundry of their own in direct competition to their employer in 1757. In 1759 Jackson entered the Navy leaving Cottrell to carry on alone. Jackson left the navy in 1763 and continued to be employed in Thomas Cottrell, Neveil's court 1759–1785 Foundry for a short time. He commenced business in a separate Foundry with two fellow workman who helped to find the capital 1764 – 1792. When Jackson died in 1792 it was William Caslon I's grandson, William Caslon III who purchased the foundry in Salisbury Square.[9]

Following the death of William Caslon I in 1766, his son William Caslon II took over the Caslon Foundry, running it with the assistance of his wife, Elizabeth née Cartlich, until his own death in 1778. Elizabeth Caslon then continued to manage it jointly with her two sons, William Caslon III (1754–1833) and Henry Caslon (c.1755–1788) trading as "Elizabeth Caslon and Sons".[9] Henry died in 1788, and in 1792 William III sold his share of the business to his mother and his sister-in-law, Elizabeth née Rowe, Henry's widow: the two Elizabeth Caslons continued to run it until the elder Elizabeth's death in 1795. As a result of a legal dispute over the terms of her will, the Foundry was then thrown into Chancery and put up for auction in 1799. It was bought by the younger Elizabeth Caslon, who took into partnership a distant relative, Nathaniel Catherwood.[9] Both partners died in 1809. The subsequent proprietors were: Henry Caslon II and F. F. Catherwood, 1809–1821; Henry Caslon II, H. W. Caslon and M. W. Livermore (trading as Caslon, Son and Livermore), 1821–1840; Caslon & Son, 1840–1850; H. W. Caslon and Co., 1850–1873. H. W. Caslon died in 1873, when the Foundry was acquired by T. W. Smith and partners. However, the Company name remained H. W. Caslon and Co. Ltd., and continued running until 1937, when it was acquired by Stephenson Blake.[10]

Meanwhile, following his sale of his share in the original foundry in 1792, William Caslon III had purchased (in the same year) the Salisbury Square foundry from the estate of the recently deceased Joseph Jackson, and renamed it W. Caslon & Son. In 1807, W. Caslon & Son was passed to William Caslon IV. In 1819, William IV sold the business to the new Sheffield foundry of Blake, Garnett & Co. In 1837, the Salisbury Square Caslon Foundry became the property of Stephenson, Blake & Co.[10]

H. W. Caslon and Company Limited

In 1998, Justin Howes reestablished the Caslon foundry, under the name H. W. Caslon & Company Limited, with an expanded version of ITC Founder's Caslon as the company's initial product. However, following the death of Justin Howes in 2005, the revived H. W. Caslon & Company was no longer in business, and the expanded Founders Caslon is no longer offered in the retail market.

See also

Citations

  1. ^ a b c Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
  2. ^ Luna, 2013, p. 515-516
  3. ^ Hill, 1971, pp. 56-57
  4. ^ "History of Printing", British Printing Society Retrieved on 29 April 2014.
  5. ^ Updike, 1922, Vol. II, pp. 102-103
  6. ^ Updike, 1922, Vol. II, p. 151
  7. ^ Hansard, 1825, p. 346
  8. ^ according to Talbot Reed's "The Old English letter Foundries").
  9. ^ a b c Maxted, 2004
  10. ^ a b Updike, 1922, Vol. II, p. 121

Bibliography

  • Updike, Daniel Berkeley (1922). Printing types, their history, forms, and use; a study in survivals. Vol. II. Cambridge : Harvard University Press.
  • Hill, Joseph (1971) [1907]. The Book Makers of Old Birmingham: Authors, Printers, and Book Sellers. New York: B. Franklin. pp. 56–57. ISBN 0833717065.
  • Hansard, Thomas Curson (1825). Typographia: An Historical Sketch of the Origin and Progress of the Art of Printing. Baldwin, Cradock and Joy. p. 346. Retrieved 25 January 2018.
  • Luna, Paul; Ould, Martyn (2013). "The Printed Page". In Gadd, Ian (ed.). Beginnings to 1780. History of Oxford University Press. Vol. 1. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0199557318. Retrieved 2014-10-12.</ref>
  • Maxted, Ian (2004). "Caslon [née Cartlich], Elizabeth (1730–1795), typefounder". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/74230. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  • Mosley, James (2008) [2004]. "Caslon, William, the elder (1692–1766), typefounder". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/4857. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  •   This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Caslon". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.

Further reading

  • Ball, Johnson (1973). William Caslon, 1693–1766: the ancestry, life and connections of England's foremost letter-engraver and type-founder. Kineton: Roundwood Press. ISBN 0900093137.
  • Blackmore, H.L. (1981). "William Caslon, gun engraver". Journal of the Arms and Armour Society. 10: 103–7.
  • Howes, J. (2000). "Caslon's punches and matrices". Matrix. 20: 1–7.
  • Mosley, James (1967). "The early career of William Caslon". Journal of the Printing Historical Society. 3: 66–81.
  • Mosley, James (1984). British Type Specimens before 1831: a hand-list. Oxford: Oxford Bibliographical Society. ISBN 0901420115.
  • Mosley, James (1993). "The Caslon foundry in 1902". Matrix. 13: 34–42.
  • Mosley, James (2008) [2004]. "Caslon, William, the elder (1692–1766)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/4857. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)

External links

  • Font Designer - William Caslon
  • at the Wayback Machine (archived August 22, 2006)

January 26, 2023
william, caslon, other, uses, meanings, caslon, caslon, disambiguation, 1692, 1693, january, 1766, also, known, elder, english, typefounder, distinction, legibility, type, secured, patronage, leading, printers, england, continent, typefaces, transformed, engli. For other uses or meanings of Caslon see Caslon disambiguation William Caslon I 1692 1693 23 January 1766 also known as William Caslon the Elder 1 was an English typefounder The distinction and legibility of his type secured him the patronage of the leading printers of the day in England and on the continent His typefaces transformed English type design and first established an English national typographic style 2 William CaslonPainting of William Caslon by Francis Kyte He holds a specimen of his types Born1692 or 1693Cradley WorcestershireDied23 January 1766 aged 72 73 London EnglandOccupation s Gunsmith and type designer Contents 1 Life 2 Typefaces 3 The Caslon Foundry as a business 3 1 H W Caslon and Company Limited 4 See also 5 Citations 6 Bibliography 7 Further reading 8 External linksLife EditCaslon was born in Cradley Worcestershire in 1692 or 1693 1 and trained as an engraver in nearby Birmingham 3 In 1716 he started business in London as an engraver of gun locks and barrels and as a bookbinder s tool cutter 4 Having contact with printers he was induced to fit up a type foundry largely through the encouragement of William Bowyer 1 He died on 23 January 1766 and was buried in the churchyard of St Luke Old Street London where the family tomb is preserved bearing his name and others Typefaces Edit A specimen sheet of typefaces and languages by William Caslon I letter founder from the 1728 Cyclopaedia Though his name would come to be identified with an enduring style of Latin alphabet Caslon s first typefaces were what contemporary typefounders called exotics His first design was an Arabic made at the English size 14pt commissioned by the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge before 1725 followed by a Hebrew created for William Bowyer in 1726 and a Coptic for Wilkins first used in 1731 His first Latin typefaces were a roman and italic cut in the pica size 12pt of a style that was fully realized by the publication of his foundry s specimen sheet in 1734 5 Caslon s typefaces were inspired by the Dutch Baroque types the most commonly used types in England before Caslon s faces Caslon typefaces were immediately popular and used for many important printed works including the first printed version of the United States Declaration of Independence Caslon s types became so popular that the expression about typeface choice when in doubt use Caslon came about The Caslon types fell out of favour in the century after his death but were revived in the 1840s Several revivals of the Caslon types are widely used today 6 The Caslon family tomb in the churchyard of St Luke Old Street LondonThe Caslon Foundry as a business EditMain article Caslon Type Foundry William Caslon I founded the Caslon Foundry in 1739 based on what previously had been Godfrey Head s 1685 1700 The other half of that business was purchased by John James son of Thomas James John James in the period 1716 1764 also built up by purchase what became the leading English type foundry of the 18th and early 19th centuries He acquired moiety of half of Robert Mitchell and Jacob Ilive in 1740 A later and important purchase was the foundry of Thomas Grover in 1758 James ultimately combined under his own direction nine old English Foundries 7 8 John James William Caslon I and John Baskerville were left by consolidation as the only three representatives of the trade in the country Caslon had two apprentices in his Foundry Thomas Cottrell and Joseph Jackson They started a foundry of their own in direct competition to their employer in 1757 In 1759 Jackson entered the Navy leaving Cottrell to carry on alone Jackson left the navy in 1763 and continued to be employed in Thomas Cottrell Neveil s court 1759 1785 Foundry for a short time He commenced business in a separate Foundry with two fellow workman who helped to find the capital 1764 1792 When Jackson died in 1792 it was William Caslon I s grandson William Caslon III who purchased the foundry in Salisbury Square 9 Following the death of William Caslon I in 1766 his son William Caslon II took over the Caslon Foundry running it with the assistance of his wife Elizabeth nee Cartlich until his own death in 1778 Elizabeth Caslon then continued to manage it jointly with her two sons William Caslon III 1754 1833 and Henry Caslon c 1755 1788 trading as Elizabeth Caslon and Sons 9 Henry died in 1788 and in 1792 William III sold his share of the business to his mother and his sister in law Elizabeth nee Rowe Henry s widow the two Elizabeth Caslons continued to run it until the elder Elizabeth s death in 1795 As a result of a legal dispute over the terms of her will the Foundry was then thrown into Chancery and put up for auction in 1799 It was bought by the younger Elizabeth Caslon who took into partnership a distant relative Nathaniel Catherwood 9 Both partners died in 1809 The subsequent proprietors were Henry Caslon II and F F Catherwood 1809 1821 Henry Caslon II H W Caslon and M W Livermore trading as Caslon Son and Livermore 1821 1840 Caslon amp Son 1840 1850 H W Caslon and Co 1850 1873 H W Caslon died in 1873 when the Foundry was acquired by T W Smith and partners However the Company name remained H W Caslon and Co Ltd and continued running until 1937 when it was acquired by Stephenson Blake 10 Meanwhile following his sale of his share in the original foundry in 1792 William Caslon III had purchased in the same year the Salisbury Square foundry from the estate of the recently deceased Joseph Jackson and renamed it W Caslon amp Son In 1807 W Caslon amp Son was passed to William Caslon IV In 1819 William IV sold the business to the new Sheffield foundry of Blake Garnett amp Co In 1837 the Salisbury Square Caslon Foundry became the property of Stephenson Blake amp Co 10 H W Caslon and Company Limited Edit In 1998 Justin Howes reestablished the Caslon foundry under the name H W Caslon amp Company Limited with an expanded version of ITC Founder s Caslon as the company s initial product However following the death of Justin Howes in 2005 the revived H W Caslon amp Company was no longer in business and the expanded Founders Caslon is no longer offered in the retail market See also EditHis typeface Caslon Early American publishers and printersCitations Edit a b c Oxford Dictionary of National Biography Luna 2013 p 515 516 Hill 1971 pp 56 57 History of Printing British Printing Society Retrieved on 29 April 2014 Updike 1922 Vol II pp 102 103 Updike 1922 Vol II p 151 Hansard 1825 p 346 according to Talbot Reed s The Old English letter Foundries a b c Maxted 2004 a b Updike 1922 Vol II p 121Bibliography EditUpdike Daniel Berkeley 1922 Printing types their history forms and use a study in survivals Vol II Cambridge Harvard University Press Hill Joseph 1971 1907 The Book Makers of Old Birmingham Authors Printers and Book Sellers New York B Franklin pp 56 57 ISBN 0833717065 Hansard Thomas Curson 1825 Typographia An Historical Sketch of the Origin and Progress of the Art of Printing Baldwin Cradock and Joy p 346 Retrieved 25 January 2018 Luna Paul Ould Martyn 2013 The Printed Page In Gadd Ian ed Beginnings to 1780 History of Oxford University Press Vol 1 Oxford Oxford University Press ISBN 978 0199557318 Retrieved 2014 10 12 lt ref gt Maxted Ian 2004 Caslon nee Cartlich Elizabeth 1730 1795 typefounder Oxford Dictionary of National Biography online ed Oxford University Press doi 10 1093 ref odnb 74230 Subscription or UK public library membership required Mosley James 2008 2004 Caslon William the elder 1692 1766 typefounder Oxford Dictionary of National Biography online ed Oxford University Press doi 10 1093 ref odnb 4857 Subscription or UK public library membership required This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain Chisholm Hugh ed 1911 Caslon Encyclopaedia Britannica 11th ed Cambridge University Press Further reading EditBall Johnson 1973 William Caslon 1693 1766 the ancestry life and connections of England s foremost letter engraver and type founder Kineton Roundwood Press ISBN 0900093137 Blackmore H L 1981 William Caslon gun engraver Journal of the Arms and Armour Society 10 103 7 Howes J 2000 Caslon s punches and matrices Matrix 20 1 7 Mosley James 1967 The early career of William Caslon Journal of the Printing Historical Society 3 66 81 Mosley James 1984 British Type Specimens before 1831 a hand list Oxford Oxford Bibliographical Society ISBN 0901420115 Mosley James 1993 The Caslon foundry in 1902 Matrix 13 34 42 Mosley James 2008 2004 Caslon William the elder 1692 1766 Oxford Dictionary of National Biography online ed Oxford University Press doi 10 1093 ref odnb 4857 Subscription or UK public library membership required External links EditFont Designer William Caslon H W Caslon and Company home page at the Wayback Machine archived August 22 2006 Caslon Foundry font foundry MyFonts H W Caslon amp Company font foundry MyFonts Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title William Caslon amp oldid 1109315046, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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