A History of the Old English Letter Foundries / with Notes, Historical and Bibliographical, on the Rise and Progress of English Typography.
By Talbot Baines Reed
Length18h 38m
About this audiobook
A masterful, exhaustive journey into the metallurgical heart and artistic soul of the printing press in England. Tracing the fiery birth of typography, it uncovers the obsessive craftsmen and forgotten foundries that literally forged the shape of modern literature. Intricate rivalries, technological leaps, and the pursuit of perfect type are chronicled with immense detail and reverence. An essential, scholarly deep-dive for anyone captivated by the physical history of the printed word.
Audiobook details
GenreOther, History
Length18 hrs 38 mins
Narrated byListen with 1,000+ voices
FormateBook with Audio
Publish dateApr 5, 2026
LanguageEnglish
Table of contents
1CHAPTER I
2THE ENGLISH TYPE BODIES AND FACES.
3TYPE-BODIES.
4I.—ROMAN.
5ITALIC.
Show all chaptersShow less
6BLACK LETTER.
7SECRETARY.
8CHAPTER II.
9TYPE FACES (CONTINUED).
10THE LEARNED, FOREIGN, AND PECULIAR CHARACTERS.
11GREEK.
12HEBREW.
13ARABIC.
14SYRIAC.
15ARMENIAN.
16ETHIOPIC.
17COPTIC.
18SAMARITAN.
19SCLAVONIC.
20ETRUSCAN.
21RUNIC.
22GOTHIC.
23ICELANDIC, SWEDISH AND DANISH.
24SAXON.
25IRISH.
26MUSIC.
27BLIND.
28INITIALS.
29TYPE ORNAMENTS AND FLOWERS.
30CHAPTER III.
31THE PRINTER LETTER-FOUNDERS, FROM CAXTON TO DAY.
32CHAPTER IV.: LETTER-FOUNDING AS AN ENGLISH MECHANICAL TRADE. 1477–1830.
33CHAPTER V.: THE STATE CONTROL OF ENGLISH LETTER-FOUNDING.
34CHAPTER VI.: THE OXFORD UNIVERSITY FOUNDRY.
35CHAPTER VII.: THE STAR CHAMBER FOUNDERS, AND THE LONDON POLYGLOT.
36CHAPTER VIII.: JOSEPH MOXON, 1659.
37CHAPTER IX.
38THE LATER FOUNDERS OF THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY.
39THOMAS GORING, 1668. JOSEPH LEE, 1669.
40ROBERT ANDREWS, 1683.
41JAMES GROVER, circ. 1675. THOMAS GROVER, his son.371
42GODFREY HEAD, 1685,392
43ROBERT MITCHELL,
44THE “ANONYMOUS” FOUNDRY.
45OXFORD FOUNDERS.
46CHAPTER X.
47THOMAS AND JOHN JAMES, 1710.: “MR. JAMES’S FOUNDERY.
48CHAPTER XI.
49WILLIAM CASLON, 1720.: “MR. CASLON’S FOUNDERY.
50CHAPTER XII.: ALEXANDER WILSON, 1742.
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