Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen (Signet)
Paperback edition of Pride and Prejudice as published by Signet Classics from 1961 on. The typeface is Caslon No. 540 Italic. In the early 1920s, Thomas Maitland Cleland designed a series of complementary swash characters, but judging from ATF specimens, there was no such alternate for the letter J. Chances are that the swash J seen here was custom made by removing the bar from F.
The cover art isn’t credited or signed. In this period, cover designers working for Signet included James Hill and Milton Glaser.
From the back cover:
The romantic clash of two opinionated young people provides the sustaining theme of Pride and Prejudice. Vivacious Elizabeth Bennet is fascinated and repelled by the arrogant Mr. Darcy, whose condescending airs and acrid tongue have alienated her entire family. Their spirited courtship is conducted against a background of assembly-ball flirtations and drawing-room intrigues. Jane Austen’s famous novel captures the affectations of class-conscious Victorian families with matrimonial aims and rivalries. Her people are universal; they live a truth beyond time, change, or caricature. George Eliot called Jane Austen “the greatest artist that has ever written,” and Sir Walter Scott wrote of her work, “There is a truth of painting in her writings which always delights me.”
3 Comments on “Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen (Signet)”
I’d like to point out your excellent analysis and also that URW’s Caslon 540 was also available in an upright weight. I’ll send you the relevant screenshots by email.
However, I don’t consider Caslon No. 337, whose eszett (ß) is too thin, a swash alternative to Caslon 540. It has a finer weight but contains various mixed letter variants from the Caslon 540 weights, which was originally available in four weights: one upright and three italics.
Kurt,
Here’s the visual comparison that you sent:
You are right: Caslon No. 337 is not a swash alternative to Caslon 540. I’ve revised the info on our page for No. 337: it originated at Monotype in 1915 and was designed by Sol Hess.
Gerald Giampa’s Lanston Type Company had a digitization in roman and italic by 1994. In 2005, Paul Hunt revised it as LTC Caslon.
As of 2025, URW’s digitization covers the italic only. It’s based on a larger size and features the swash caps.
Yes, Florian, as always: beautifully done. Thank you on behalf of your readers!
Regarding the 337, I can unfortunately only say that it is poorly designed in many details. I recall my criticism of the SZ … but also the upper swash of the R is not well rounded, etc.
The Lanston variants are significantly better in this regard.