Alphabets to Order: The Literature of Nineteenth-century Typefounders' Specimens

"Johnston argues that the typefounders' specimens are of significant literary interest as well. Playing both with words and with the graphic shapes of the letterforms, these nameless pioneers trod paths later explored by concrete poets, book artists, dadaists, performance artists, and other experimenters with literary form." "Alphabets to Order is for anyone interested in vernacular art, typographic history, or literary studies, combining all three in a fresh expose of a new class of cultural hero - the worldly wise typesticker."--BOOK JACKET.