Origin of the American Point System

Theories abounded with regard to where the American Point System originated, so the subject was thoroughly researched and the first edition of this book was published in 1976. It sold out immediately and thus, this second edition was issued in 1989. Copies of this second edition still are available, with a handsome foil-stamped cover and letterpress-printed endsheets and matching slipcase.

A listing of chapters: Evolution of Type Sizes, Cry for Reform (of a haphazard, conflicting “system” in place among foundries at the time), Marder, Luse & Company Adopts System, Other Founders Adopt Idea, Role of Nelson C. Hawks, The Size of Pica, Extension of the System (to include alignment and set widths of type bodies, and finally, British Adoption of the American System. This is an acknowledged reference and a valuable addition to the library of any serious type user, for the system continues as the way type is measured even in today’s digital world.

Origin of The American Point System of Printers’ Type Measurement, (second edition, 1989), 6 1⁄2 x 9 3⁄4″, casebound with slipcase, 99 pages with two fold-out specimens of the first font cast to the Point System.

Cost: $43.00 including shipping in the USA.