You don’t see many type specimen books in colour; offhand I can’t think of seeing any before this one. Specimens of Chromatic Wood Type, Borders, Etc. Manufactured by Wm. H. Page & Co dates from 1874, and features 100 examples of the very bold typefaces and border designs you find on 19th-century billboards and posters. Very useful if you’re ever called upon to imitate this style. Browse it here or download it here.
Previously on { feuilleton }
• Victorian typography
More samples from the indispensable Peacay at Bibliodyssey:
http://bibliodyssey.blogspot.com/2013/10/chromatic-wood-type.html
I love the Burroughs poetry / Dada graffiti emerging from the samples:
Detriment Prison Unite!
Rustic Bride, mun!
Recount humor — rude
I must have seen that BibliOdyssey post in my RSS feed then forgotten all about it. I found these because I needed some reference material.
And, yes, some of them read like tabloid headlines.