Typographia 2 Part Set

T. C. Hansard (1776–1833), the parliamentary printer, published this monumental study of the history and practice of printing, which is an important source for scholars, in 1825. The book is particularly valuable for its discussion of recent developments in technology, and for details about business aspects of printing.

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T. C. Hansard (1776–1833) succeeded his father Luke as parliamentary printer. His fascination with the art of printing led to the publication of Typographia in 1825. This monumental study of the history and practice of printing is an important source for historians of printing, and is very clearly written. It is aimed both at young printers and at amateurs, and explains all the different aspects of running a printing business. Hansard acknowledges his debt to earlier writers such as Moxon and Stower, and to the unpublished papers of Earl Stanhope (1753–1816) who did much to modernise printing techniques. The book is particularly valuable for its discussion of recent developments in print technology and lithography, and for details about the business and financial side of printing. Part 1 contains the historical background and details of type-founding and fonts. Part 2 contains details of printing machinery, organisation, and lithography.