A specimen/reference book displaying the nine roman and 11 italics faces, and sizes, that form HM’s core repertoire. Each face is displayed on a full page in three text sizes. There is a three-page foreword written by the printer, discussing why these faces have been chosen, and how they will be used (and printed) at the studio.
The text used to display the types is H.P. Lovecraft’s short story “The Horror at Red Hook,” chosen simply because it had the number of words needed to fill the space required to show the types.
The book (8 x 12 inches, 28 pp) was be printed in three colors (primarily black) on dampened paper with the HM handpress. The edition of 50 copies was issued in two states:
To illustrate the point discussed in the foreword – the importance of paper, and how it can affect a type’s appearance, especially when printed on the handpress – ten copies (1–10) were issued with all of the samples printed on three different papers (Guarro laid – the paper used for the entire edition – plus Arches Wove and our custom handmade sheet from Reg Lissel), bound together sequentially, for comparison’s sake. These copies were bound by Claudia Cohen in quarter leather with paste paper sides.
Copies 11–50, printed on Guarro laid, were sewn & cased at HM in (different) Payhembury marbled papers.
