Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/Caslon, William (1692-1766)
CASLON, WILLIAM, the elder (1692–1766), type-founder, was born in 1692 at Cradley, Worcestershire, near Halesowen, Shropshire. He served his apprenticeship to an ornamental engraver of gun locks and barrels. In 1716 he set up in that business in Vine Street, Minories, London, and added tool-making for bookbinders and silver-chasers. In the same year an eminent printer, John Watts, recognised Caslon's skill in cutting binding-punches and employed him for that purpose as well as to cut type-punches. He also gave him the means to fit up a small foundry, and introduced him to other printers. Grover in Aldersgate Street, James in Aldermanbury, and the Clarendon House at Oxford were then the only good type-founders. Caslon now married, and in 1720 his first child, named William, was born. In the same year he was chosen by the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge to cut the fount of ‘English Arabic’ for the New Testament and Psalter required for the christians of the East. He afterwards cut in ‘pica roman’ the letters of his own name and printed them at foot of his Arabic specimens. By the advice of Samuel Palmer (reputed author of that ‘History of Printing’ really written by George Psalmanazar) he then cut the whole fount of pica roman and italic, and this he did in very superior style. Palmer withdrew his support of Caslon, which gave offence to certain printers, but Caslon obtained employment from the elder Bowyer. In 1722 he executed for Bowyer the beautiful English fount of roman, italic, and Hebrew used for printing Selden's ‘Works’ in folio, also the Coptic types of Dr. Wilkins's edition of the ‘Pentateuch,’ and various sized characters for other important works. Watts had lent him 100l.; Bowyer and his son-in-law Bettenham now lent him 200l. each. The three printers gave him their custom. Caslon set boldly to work to complete his factory in every branch. Eventually his productions surpassed those of all continental artists, and were in great demand by foreign printers, who called him and Jackson his pupil ‘the English Elzevirs.’ His first foundry was a garret in Helmet Row; the second in Ironmonger Row; the third, in 1735, in Chiswell Street. At the latter place the business, increasing year by year, was carried on in conjunction with his eldest son, William Caslon the younger [q. v.], whose name first appears on specimen sheets in 1742, in the style ‘William Caslon & Son.’ Caslon retired to a house in the Hackney Road in 1750, about which time he was put in the commission of the peace for Middlesex. Soon after he removed to his ‘country house’ on Bethnal Green, and died there 23 Jan. 1766. He was buried in St. Luke's churchyard, where a monument records his memory with that of his son William.
Sir John Hawkins and Nichols describe Caslon's hospitality and musical entertainments, and he is pleasantly noticed in Dibdin's ‘Decameron’ (7th day).
Caslon was three times married. Faber's mezzotinto print of Caslon is from a painting by F. Kyte, now in possession of the present firm, which has also a large three-quarter length portrait. The earliest dated specimen of Caslon's printing types in book form is in the library of the American Antiquarian Society, Worcester, Mass. It is called ‘A Specimen of Printing Types by William Caslon & Son,’ 1763, 8vo, 36 pp. printed on one side. This is probably an ‘advance-copy’ of the exactly similar work in the British Museum Library, dated 1764. The ‘Universal Magazine,’ June, 1750, contains a folding-plate headed ‘A True and Exact representation of the Art of Cutting and Preparing Letters for Printing,’ which is a picture of Caslon's foundry.
[For authorities see under William Caslon the younger.]
Dictionary of National Biography, Errata (1904), p.57
N.B.— f.e. stands for from end and l.l. for last line
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