Empty French Lower Case

                                     
           
  
            
     
 
 
         

This French configuration matches the Bas de Casse in Diderot's Encyclopedia (1751-80), and Lefevre: Guide Practique du Compositeur d'Imprimerie (1880, reprinted Gregg 1972), and Lockwood: American Dictionary of Printing and Bookmaking (1894), and Muller: Nouveau Manuel de Typographie (c1910), and Legros & Grant: Typographical Printing-Surfaces (1916). It is the same as the Belgian French Lower of Dumont: Vade-Mecum du Typographe (1915), apart from Dumont having two less small boxes. The case has slightly altered from the earlier Lower of Fertel in 1723, simply by dividing the box above the d box, and not dividing the box to the left of the v box.

Diderot's lay is Diderot Lower, and the lay of the haut de casse is Diderot Upper. Muller's lay is French Lower and Dumont's is Belgian French Lower.

The case has 54 boxes but the configuration is not quite the same as Castillon's case of 1783, although they both have the same number of boxes.

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This page was written in 1997 by David Bolton and last updated 15 April 2009.