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TYPE DESIGNS
OF THE PAST AND PRESENT
PART III
WE have seen that the sixteenth century gave us the types
who we call 'old-face.' The7teenth century re
produced these letters—though in most cases not without some
loss of beauty. This is a charge that cannot be urged against the
singularly beautiful types made by Christopher van Dyck, a
freelance punch-cutter in Amsterdam who worked for several
foundries. Though they are not as important to the historian
as the the of Garamond, they are certainly more beautiful. It
is often the fact that the faces fashioned after the model of a
certain historically important letter are noticeably superior
iu design to their prototype. In Garamond's case, that design
improved upon first by Robert Granjon and next by
Christopher van Dyck. The fame of Dutch types is intimately
connected with van Dyck, largely because his types were used
by the Elzevirs to the exclusion of all others. The editions of
this famous firm of publishers in Leyden are slighter in inter
est the work of the preceding century, but their types are
undeniably superior in design and technique. Other en
gravers, such as Bartholomew Voskens and his brother Dirck,
contributed to the renown of Dutch typefounding. English
craftsmanship workflow all this time in its infancy thanks to
the repressive legislation of the Crown. In Moxon's time it
was the custom to commend a book by remarking that it was
printed in Dutch letter, and he himself thought van Dyck's
17
BY
STANLEY MORISON