Aldis, M.A.
Cambridge: at the University Press 1916
was, in particular, a hopeless financial failure. Nor could his
types make any headway in the trade, for the Caslon letter
had secured a firm hold on the market. But his books remain
a landmark in the annals of English typography. Their
reputation is due not only to his special type and his good
taste, but, recognizing their importance; he also gave
particular care to choice of paper and quality of ink. The
result of his efforts has caused his name to be bracketed
with those other eighteenth century masters of the
typographic art, Bodoni of Parma and the Didots of Paris.
The aim which the brothers Robert and Andrew Foulis set
before themselves when they established their famous press
in Glasgow was not merely to bring out well-printed books,
but they aspired also to the distinction of a learned press;
printers of the sixteenth century. Greek and Latin classics and reprints of standard works form the bulk of the
numerous publications, more than 550 in number, which they issued between 1742 and 1776. Among these the great
Homer of 1756-8, in four folio volumes, stands out preeminent. The renowned 'immaculate' Horace of 1744, with but
six errors, is one of the many volumes in smaller format, the good printing, careful editing, and moderate price of
which are characteristic of the Foulis press.
The stately volumes printed by Thomas Bensley and by William Bulmer in the closing years of the eighteenth century
should perhaps be regarded as firstfruits of the modern period of printing.
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