Baskerville’s punches
Cambridge University Library’s historical printing room holds a rich collection of typographical artefacts, some of which – including over 3000 original punches used to produce John Baskerville’s type in the eighteenth century – are on deposit from Cambridge University Press & Assessment. The punches are at the centre of a three-year AHRC-funded project which seeks to better understand the craft of punchcutting and to consider the artistic intent involved in the process.
One output of the project has been a collection on Cambridge’s Digital Library, providing thousands of high-quality images of the punches, all freely usable, following study at the University’s McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research and imaging at the University Library. Reflectance Transformation Imaging (RTI) has been used to provide a dynamic view of the surface texture of some punches. This interdisciplinary project – involving archaeologists, imaging technicians, jewellers, librarians & typographers – has brought new energy to the study of these cold pieces of steel.
Liam Sims, Honorary Secretary
