Figure 290
First use of Caslon’s Roman Type, in Selden’s Opera: Bowyer, London
From a copy in the Boston Athenæum (facsimile), Joannis Seldeni Jurisconsulti Opera Omnia Tam Edita quam Indedita (scan)
1726
…Bowyer’s greatest achievement was the three volume folio edition of Selden’s Opera… To the student who has been looking at earlier English books printed with Dutch fonts, the pages of the Seldon are a relief to the eye—they are so easily read, so clear and beautiful. In Volume I the dedication displays a large size of roman type; the Address to the Reader is composed in flowing italic; the Life of Selden in great primer roman. The various “works,” save for their prefaces, are arranged in double column, each column having a folio of its own. Here Caslon’s English roman is used, and he also cut the Hebrew types for this edition. Arabic, Greek, and black-letter also occur in the text.