Typography Tuesday
PRINTERS’ FLOWERS
A few weeks ago we presented a specimen sheet of historic types collected and printed by the English type and printing enthusiast Mark Arman. This week we are showing some specimen sheets of printers’ flowers collected by Arman and handprinted in an edition of 1000 at his Workshop Press in Thaxted, Essex, for his article on “A Collection of Printers’ Flowers” published in Matrix 9, Winter 1989, pp. 92-96. Of his collecting of these type ornaments, Arman writes:
The collector is attracted to those things that are difficult to find: the magpie delights in accumulating treasures; what is known to be rare is prized. Thus the typographer who begins with an interest in type is in danger of becoming a collector, and his discoveries may lead him to collecting printers’ flowers. This is precisely what happened to me, as my collection began modestly in 1949 and now has developed beyond the confines of reason.
Arman has printed a description below each specimen. Shown here from top to bottom are:
