The Selected Journals of L. M. Montgomery, Vol. I–V (1985–2004)
The Selected Journals of L.M. Montgomery, Volumes I–IV.
The Selected Journals of L. M. Montgomery, Vol. I–V, are the personal journals of famed Canadian author, Lucy Maud Montgomery (1874–1942).
Montgomery left all of her journals and scrapbooks to her son, Dr. E. Stuart Macdonald, who kept them until 1981, when he donated them to the University of Guelph in Ontario, Canada. Mary Rubio and Elizabeth Waterston of the University of Guelph co-edited all five volumes of these journals, which were ultimately published between 1985 and 2004 by the Oxford University Press. The five volumes are:
• The Selected Journals of L.M. Montgomery, Volume I: 1889–1910 (published in 1985)
• The Selected Journals of L.M. Montgomery, Volume II: 1919–1921 (published in 1987)
• The Selected Journals of L.M. Montgomery, Volume III: 1921–1929 (published in 1992)
• The Selected Journals of L.M. Montgomery, Volume IV: 1929–1935 (published in 1998)
• The Selected Journals of L.M. Montgomery, Volume V: 1935–1942 (published in 2004)
Seemingly, all five books feature the same typography, but upon closer inspection, this isn’t quite true. The title and editorial credits of Volume I–III are set in Caslon No. 540 Swash Italic (1902) by the American Type Foundry—based on designs by William Caslon I (c. 1692–1766). The swash characters were designed by Thomas Maitland Cleland (1880–1964).
But for Volume IV/V, Adobe Caslon Italic (1990) by Carol Twombly (1959–) was used instead, with the swash alternates. In the comparison between the titles of Volume I (yellow) and V (orange) above, you can note that Adobe Caslon looks a lot more polished and even, but also trades in some of that calligraphic quality for something more mechanical and slightly less ornate. It’s more pleasant to read, but also lost a bit of flair and intrigue.
The volume editions and inclusive years (e.g. VOLUME I: 1889–1910) are all set in Times New Roman (1932), by Stanley Morison (1889–1967). But quite curiously, you can see several inconsistencies in the spacing after the colon and around the en dash. In my opinion, they got it right with Volume III; what happened with the other volumes is a minor typographic travesty.
The Selected Journals of L.M. Montgomery, Volume I: 1889–1910 (published in 1985), featuring Caslon 540 Swash Italic and Times New Roman.
The Selected Journals of L.M. Montgomery, Volume II: 1919–1921 (published in 1987), featuring Caslon 540 Swash Italic and Times New Roman.
The Selected Journals of L.M. Montgomery, Volume III: 1921–1929 (published in 1992), featuring Adobe Caslon Italic and Times New Roman.
The Selected Journals of L.M. Montgomery, Volume V: 1935–1942 (published in 2004), featuring Adobe Caslon Italic and Times New Roman.
