William Caslon's work has long
been associated with
Colonial American printing and
letterpress printing in general. It was chosen as the exclusive face for the Printing Office
in the 1950's and remains the house face in our demonstrations in front of the public today.
Caslon was fantastically popular during the period and was used by many of Williamsburg's printers. It also enjoyed a resurgence in the nineteenth and twentieth century making it easy to lay hands on and inexpensive to purchase when the Printing Office originally opened to the public. Even though letterpress has all but disappeared in modern printing, its past popularity has made the purchase of second-hand equipment able to produce Caslon type much more viable today.
William Parks was the first Williamsburg printer to use Caslon type in his shop, even though it wasn't until very late in his career. Eigtheenth-century printers quickly recognized Caslon's letterforms as a serious departure in style for English typefounding and responded by making his types among the most widely used on both sides of the Atlantic.
Specifics:
The 38 Caslon fonts used in Williamsburg range in letter height from approximately 6 to 48 points, being by far the most-identified face.
