Ornamental or decorative type was an important part of a printer's inventory during the
colonial period. Usually
reserved for more
elaborate imprints such as books and pamphlets, ornaments were ocassionally used in the
newspaper which was printed in Williamsburg, the
Virginia Gazette.
Because of the complex designs of these types, ornamental type was also used as a way to add security to pieces of ephemera which were at risk of being forged, like lottery tickets and currency.
In essence, decorative type was produced in pairs which were designed to compliment each other, or as stand-alone single units.
Many of these types are listed in Elizabeth Reilly's exhaustive study of decorative types used in Colonial America. Even as definititive as this work is, some types have been found that are not listed in this important source.
Since the Williamsburg Imprints Program is an ongoing project, new entries are always being
discovered, so the listing here is by no means all-inclusive.
