Figure 257
Italic used in Horman’s Vulgaria: Pynson, London
From a copy in Harvard College Library
1650
Matthew Parker, Archbishop of Canterbury, was Day’s chief patron. Day cut a font of Saxon which was used in a book edited by the archbishop…. This book shows the result of the best efforts in type-founding up to that time, and the archbishop’s preface alludes to Day’s skilful punch-cutting:
And inasmuch as Day, the printer, is the first (and indeed, as far as I know, the only one) who has cut these letters in metal; what things have been written in Saxon characters will be easily published in the same type.
The roman and italic used in the volume are of extreme importance in the history of English type-founding. The roman, or, as it was called, “Italian letter,” resembles some fine fonts used on the Continent; and the italic (that used in the Cosmographicall Glasse) is no less distinguished.