Figure 158
Roman Type in Saint Lambert’s Saisons, Paris
From Google Books (scan)
1775
Jean François de Saint Lambert wrote an insipid poem, Les Saisons, somewhat in the manner of Thomson, in four parts—Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter. This had enormous popularity and was many times reprinted. A seventh edition (still sought after for its beautiful engravings) was published in 1775 at “Amsterdam”—really, I suppose, Paris.… The book shows every evidence of employing Fournier’s types, and the ornaments are undoubtedly from his foundry. The points about it which are typographically so important are the very modelled old style fonts used for the Discours Preliminaire and the poem itself…