Type Book – type specimen book, Cooper & Beatty, 1927

The first Cooper & Beatty type specimen book was issued while the firm still operated out of Noble Scott Printers at 102 Adelaide Street West, Toronto. Shortly after its publication, they relocated to 196 Adelaide Street West (note the handwritten correction on the title page), where they remained until 1959.

This carefully designed and printed book – with its heavily embossed cover, symmetrical and hierarchical layouts, ornate borders, and decorative flourishes – is an excellent example of the predominant typographic style of the early 20th century. Its aesthetic is less modernist and more a polished application of traditional humanist forms.

Good specimen books were essential tools for typesetting buyers, helping them choose appropriate typefaces and accurately specify typesetting orders. Consequently, major typesetting companies invested significantly in producing high-quality specimen books. This particular volume remained Cooper & Beatty’s principal specimen book until well after the Second World War. It was still in use when W. E. (Jack) Trevett and a small group of employees bought the company in 1951. It was not replaced until 1957, when Allan Fleming’s innovative Type-o-file was released. – Rod McDonald