A Survey of Australian Typefounders' Specimens
The result of 25 years research and the author's own meticulous design and typesetting, this hard-cover, 86-page book depicts the earliest known typographic designs and livestock brands cast by Australian typefounders for colonial governments in Queensland, New South Wales, and South Australia.
Previously unrecognised specimens of colonial typographic designs, first mentioned in the New South Wales press more than 150 years ago, show skills and workmanship exhibited by Australia's pioneer type founders. These specimens present a vital source of information for graphic designers and print historians, and offer insights into our printing past for the general reader.
Biographical information and additional specimens from various public collections is included to give context to the newly discovered items.
Types for bookwork and job printing were also engraved and cast by the local type founders, often mimicking the designs of English and American founderies.
The illustrations of surviving type specimens are of bibliographical interest, supplemented with portraits of typefounders and photographs of foundries.