Note 181 — Chapter IV · LETTER-FOUNDING AS AN ENGLISH MECHANICAL TRADE. 1477–1830.

The legend of the silver types has been a favourite one in the romance of typography. Giucciardini states that Aldus Manutius used them; and Hulsemann describes the Bible printed by Robert Estienne in 1557 as “typis argenteis sanè elegantissimis.” The same extravagance was attributed to Plantin. Possibly the famous productions of these great artists impressed their readers with the notion that their beautiful and luxurious typography was the result of rare and costly material; and, ignoring the fact that silver type would not endure the press, they credited them with the absurdity of casting their letters in that costly material. It is difficult to believe that any practical printer, however magnificent, would make even his matrices of silver, when copper would be equally good and more durable. Didot was said, as late as 1820, to have cast his new Script from steel matrices inlaid with silver. The use of the term “silver” as a figurative mode of describing beautiful typography is not uncommon. Sir Henry Savile’s Greek types, says Bagford, “on account of their beauty were called the Silver types.” Field’s Pearl Bible in 1653 has been spoken of as printed in silver types. Smith, in 1755, referred to the fiction, still credited, that “the Dutch print with silver types.” On the other hand, we have the distinct mention in the inventory of John Baskett’s printing-office at Oxford, in 1720, of “a sett of Silver Initiall Letters,” which we can hardly believe to be a purely poetic description, and probably referred to the coating of the face of the letter with a silver wash. It should be stated here that Ratdolt, the Venetian printer, in 1482 was reported to have printed one work in types of gold!