The Printers' International Specimen Exchange.

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Title

The Printers' International Specimen Exchange.

Coverage

London

Date

1880-1898

Description

The Printers' International Specimen Exchange was an influential annual subscription publication for the “technical education of the working printer” that ran from 1880 to 1898. In the initial proposal letter dated 1879, printers were invited to send in examples of their work in the number of anticipated subscribers for each year. In return, they received a bound, collated set of all specimens accepted. Response to the first call for specimens exceeded all expectations, and publication, originally announced as a biennial, was quickly changed to annual. Initially, most of the contributions came from Great Britain and the United States, but by the mid-1880s the Exchange included as many as 400 specimens from around the world, recording, on an annual basis, the “best of the best” in a rapidly-changing technological and aesthetic environment. It inspired similar ventures in Germany, France, and the United States.

Source

Volumes 1-15 (of 16) purchased 2013-2014 with Grolier Club Library Harper Funds.