A Specimen of Printing Types and Various Ornaments.

The Stephenson type foundry thrived at a time when Great Britain was the leading industrial power in the world. Though not as large as major competitors such as Caslon and the Fann Street Foundry, the Stephenson firm was still a major resource for an exceptionally wide variety of popular type styles. John Bell took Simon Stephenson (d. 1864) into partnership in 1789, transferring ownership of the foundry to him late in the year.

The type known today as “Bell,” included as one of the core Microsoft fonts, an elegant take on the Baskerville transitional style and a most original set of decorated capitals, appears in the pages of this specimen book.