Very Rare Abbey Outline 48pt Letterpress Metal Type
Item History & Price
| Reference Number: Avaluer:31184671 | Brand: Unbranded |
| Material: Metal | MPN: Does Not Apply |
| Type: Letterpress Type |
Rare Abbey 48pt Letterpress Metal Type by Farmer, Little and Co. Condition is Used. Shipped with USPS.
A bit of background from a third party. This cannot be verified so please take it as such:The font is an outline version of a design called Abbey, issued by Farmer, Little & Co., which appears in six sizes in the June 1891 issue of The Inland Printer (p.381 in A Typographical Journey Through the Inland Printer) where they note that they have just added the 8 and 10 point sizes.... A lowercase was subsequently added, and is shown in the April 1892 issue of The Inland Printer (and named Abbey No. 2, and shown in 9 sizes, 6-60 points) in the May 1893 issue.I have not found a specimen of the outline version.
Not clear exactly when it was first designed, but the similar DeVinne seems to date from Central Type Foundry in 1890, with various versions and weights and copies offered by others in the 1890s. Farmer implies that their original type was copied by others, but I think DeVinne was probably the first like this. Likely they were both working on this idea (or copying each other already) in 1890.
The main differences are the cap A with a flat top serif, the W with a low joining of the two halves, the slanted bowls of the B, P, and R. DeVinne has a higher stem on the G and a very biased C. Other differences as well, but they both are more plain and heavier designs than most other display designs that were available before 1890, which was a shift in design taste.
Farmer was not part of the American Type Founders "Trust" (i.e. monopoly). They were an adamant holdout against consolidation. Their designs don't show up in the ATF specimen books, even after Farmer was bought out and dismantled by ATF in 1909. I checked all my ATF books and those of several other foundries, but I don't have a Farmer specimen. I found the Abbey specimen (which I was remembering!) in Maurice Annenberg's great Typographical Journey anthology of pages from the Inland Printer.
Farmer pin marks were a horizontal and vertical line, crossed or with similar right angled variants out from the center of the pin mark indentation."
A bit of background from a third party. This cannot be verified so please take it as such:The font is an outline version of a design called Abbey, issued by Farmer, Little & Co., which appears in six sizes in the June 1891 issue of The Inland Printer (p.381 in A Typographical Journey Through the Inland Printer) where they note that they have just added the 8 and 10 point sizes.... A lowercase was subsequently added, and is shown in the April 1892 issue of The Inland Printer (and named Abbey No. 2, and shown in 9 sizes, 6-60 points) in the May 1893 issue.I have not found a specimen of the outline version.
Not clear exactly when it was first designed, but the similar DeVinne seems to date from Central Type Foundry in 1890, with various versions and weights and copies offered by others in the 1890s. Farmer implies that their original type was copied by others, but I think DeVinne was probably the first like this. Likely they were both working on this idea (or copying each other already) in 1890.
The main differences are the cap A with a flat top serif, the W with a low joining of the two halves, the slanted bowls of the B, P, and R. DeVinne has a higher stem on the G and a very biased C. Other differences as well, but they both are more plain and heavier designs than most other display designs that were available before 1890, which was a shift in design taste.
Farmer was not part of the American Type Founders "Trust" (i.e. monopoly). They were an adamant holdout against consolidation. Their designs don't show up in the ATF specimen books, even after Farmer was bought out and dismantled by ATF in 1909. I checked all my ATF books and those of several other foundries, but I don't have a Farmer specimen. I found the Abbey specimen (which I was remembering!) in Maurice Annenberg's great Typographical Journey anthology of pages from the Inland Printer.
Farmer pin marks were a horizontal and vertical line, crossed or with similar right angled variants out from the center of the pin mark indentation."
