Traditional point-size names

Fonts originally consisted of a set of moveable type letterpunches purchased from a type foundry. As early as 1600, the sizes of these types—their "bodies"[1]—acquired traditional names in English, French, German, and Dutch, usually from their principal early uses.[2] These names were used relative to the others and their exact length would vary over time, from country to country, and from foundry to foundry. For example, "agate" and "ruby" used to be a single size "agate ruby" of about 5 points;[2] metal type known as "agate" later ranged from 5 to 5.8 points. The sizes were gradually standardized as described above.[3] Modern Chinese typography uses the following names in general preference to stating the number of points. In ambiguous contexts, the word hào (t 號, s 号, lit. "number") is added to the end of the size name to clarify the meaning.

Note that the Chinese font sizes use American points; the Continental systems traditionally used the Fournier or Didot points. The Fournier points, being smaller than Didot's, were associated with the names of the Didot type closest in size rather than identical in number of points.

Comparison table

Point American system Continental system Chinese system
American[4] British[1] French[5] German[6] Dutch Character Pinyin Meaning
1 American[8] AchtelpetitAchtste petit
1 1/2 German AchtelciceroAchtste cicero
2 Saxon Non Plus Ultra[9]
Viertelpetit		Non plus ultra[10]
Vierde petit
2 1/2 Norse Microscopique[11]Microscopique[9]Microscoop
Microscopie
3 Excelsior[12][14]Minikin[12] DiamantBrillant[9]
Viertelcicero		Kwart cicero
3 1/2 Ruby
Brilliant[15]
4 Brilliant PerleDiamant
Halbpetit[9]		Robijn
Diamant
Halve petit
4 1/4 Gem
4 1/2 Diamond
5 Pearl Parisienne
Sédanoise		PerlParel
Parisienne		 八Bā"Eight"
5 1/2 AgateRuby[16][17] 七Qī"Seven"
6 Nonpareil NonpareilleNonpareilleNonparel
Nonpareil
6 1/2Minionette[18]Emerald[18] InsertioInsertio 小六Xiǎoliù"Little Six"
7 Minion MignonneKolonelKolonel
Mignon
7 1/2 Petit-texte 六Liù"Six"
8 Brevier Gaillarde
Petit-texte[15]		Petit
Jungfer[15]		Petit
Brevier[15]
9 Bourgeois[20] Petit-romain
Gaillarde[19]		Bourgeois
Borgis[21]		Borgis
Burgeois[19]		 小五Xiǎowǔ"Little Five"
10 Long Primer PhilosophieKorpus
Garmond[21]		Corpus
Garamond
10 1/2 五Wǔ"Five"
11 Small Pica CicéroRheinländer
Discendian[21]		Mediaan
Rheinländer
12 Pica St.-AugustinCiceroCicero
Augustijn		 小四Xiǎosì"Little Four"
14 English Gros-texte[22]MittelGrote cicero
Grote augustijn
Mediaan[23]		 四Sì"Four"
15 Gros-texte[22] 小三Xiǎosān"Little Three"
16 Columbian Exchange Gros-texte[22]TertiaTertia 三Sān"Three"
18 Great Primer Gros-romain1 1/2 CiceroParagon
Tekst[24]		 小二Xiǎoèr"Little Two"
20 Paragon[2][4] Petit-parangonText
Secunda[9]
22 Double Small Pica[2][4] Gros-parangon 二Èr"Two"
24 Double Pica PalestineDoppelciceroDubbele cicero
Palestine		 小一Xiǎoyī"Little One"
26 一Yī"One"
28 Double English Petit-canonDoppelmittelDubbele mediaan
30 Five-line Nonpareil
32 Double Columbian Kleine Kanon
Doppeltertia[25]		Dubbele tertia
36 Double Great Primer TrismégisteKanon
Canon[9]		Kanon 小初Xiǎochū"Little Initial"
40 Double Paragon Doppeltext[26]
Große Kanon[27]
42 Seven-line Nonpareil Große Kanon[27]Grote Kanon 初Chū"Initial"
44 Canon Gros-canon[28]Missal[29]Parijs Romein[30]
48 Four-line Pica
French canon		 Canon Gros-canon[28]Kleine MissalKonkordanz
Kleine missaal
54 MissalMissaal
56 Double-canon
60 Five-line pica Große MissalSabon
66 Große Sabon[9]Grote sabon
72 Six-line pica
Inch		 Double-trismégisteSabon
Sechscicero[9]
Kleine Sabon[26]		6 cicero
84 Seven-line pica Siebencicero[9]
Große Sabon[26]		7 cicero
88 Triple-canon
96 Eight-line pica Grosse-nonpareilleAchtcicero[9]
Real[31]		8 cicero
100 Moyenne de fonte
108 Nine-line pica Imperial[26]9 cicero

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Southward, John (1888), "Typography", Encyclopædia Britannica, 9th ed., Vol. XXIII, New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, p. 698 .
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Romano, Frank (Summer 2009). "The History of the Typographic Point" (PDF). APHA Newsletter (171): 3–4.
  3. ↑ "Type", Sizes.com, Santa Monica: Sizes Inc., 2004 .
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 Pasko, Wesley Washington, ed. (1894), American Dictionary of Printing and Bookmaking, Containing a History of These Arts in Europe and America, with Definitions of Technical Terms and Biographical Sketches, New York: Howard Lockwood & Co., p. 522 .
  5. 1 2 3 Pasko (1894), p. 215.
  6. ↑ Bauer, Friedrich (1929), Die Normung der Buchdrucklettern: Schrifthöhe, Schriftkegel, und Schriftlinie in ihrer geschichtlichen Entwichlung, Leipzig: Deutscher Buchgewerbeverein, p. 64 . (in German)
  7. ↑ Pasko (1894), p. 18.
  8. ↑ The existence of such small bodies was only notional in the age of metal type.[7]
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Bauer (1934).
  10. ↑ De Vinne (1900), p. 68.
  11. ↑ De Vinne, Theodore Low (1900), The Practice of Typography: A Treatise on the Processes of Type-Making, the Point System, the Names, Sizes, Styles, and Prices of Plain Printing Types, New York: The Century Co., p. 68 .
  12. 1 2 "minikin, n.¹ and adj.¹", Oxford English Dictionary, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002 .
  13. ↑ "excelsior, n."'", Oxford English Dictionary, 1st ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1894 .
  14. ↑ Note that the American name for 3-point type was initially "Brilliant"[4] and the English name was initially "Excelsior".[2] The American "Excelsior", meanwhile, was originally 4-point type.[4][13] The situation subsequently changed.
  15. 1 2 3 4 Pasko (1894), p. 70.
  16. ↑ "ruby, n.¹", Oxford English Dictionary, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2011
  17. ↑ Pasko (1894), p. 11.
  18. 1 2 "minionette, n.", Oxford English Dictionary, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002 .
  19. 1 2 3 Pasko (1894), p. 65.
  20. ↑ Pronounced "burjoyce".[19]
  21. 1 2 3 Pasko (1894), p. 229.
  22. 1 2 3 The French gros-texte referred indifferently to type sizes between 14 and 16 points.[5]
  23. ↑ Pasko (1894), p. 172.
  24. ↑ Pasko (1894), p. 238.
  25. ↑ von Bauer, Friedrich (1934), Handbuch für Schriftsetzer, Frankfurt: Verlag von Klimsch & Co. . (in German)
  26. 1 2 3 4 Staeck (1980).
  27. 1 2 The German Große Kanon referred indifferently to 40- or 42-point type.
  28. 1 2 The French gros-canon referred indifferently to type sizes of 44 or 48 points.[5]
  29. ↑ Pasko (1894), p. 79.
  30. ↑ Pasko (1894), p. 213.
  31. ↑ Staeck, Erich; et al. (1980), Rechenbuch für die Druckindustrie, Itzehoe: Verlag Beruf und Schule, ISBN 3-88013-155-4 . (in German)
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