The Baskerville Punches: revelations in craftsmanship

Archer-Parre, Caroline and Carey, Ann-Marie and Adcock, Keith (2020) The Baskerville Punches: revelations in craftsmanship. Midland History, 45 (2). pp. 176-189. ISSN 0047-729X

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Abstract

Eighteenth-century punch-cutting was not only difficult to execute, it was also difficult to document, therefore, knowledge of early typographic practices is generally limited. Fortunately, the punches of one of the century’s foremost English printers, John Baskerville (1707–75), still survive as the primary evidence of craftsmanship and the punch-cutters skill and the means of their manufacture. This article looks at what is known and, more importantly, what is not known about the processes, materials and techniques employed in the manufacture of Baskerville’s punches. It presents a pilot project designed to explore new methodological approaches to describing and analysing this important typographical material. It also suggests how the methodology can be applied in order to enhance our understanding of Baskerville beyond his books.

Item Type:	Article
Identification Number:	https://doi.org/10.1080/0047729X.2020.1767973
Date:	27 June 2020
Uncontrolled Keywords:	3-D printing, Baskerville, bibliography, Birmingham, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge University Library, laser scanning, metal, punch-cutting, Reflectance Transformation Imaging, X-Ray Fluorescence
Subjects:	V100 History by period V200 History by area
Divisions:	Faculty of Arts, Design and Media > School of Visual Communication
Depositing User:	Caroline Archer
Date Deposited:	07 Jul 2020 14:38
Last Modified:	09 Jul 2020 10:36
URI:	http://www.open-access.bcu.ac.uk/id/eprint/9441

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