Changing typesetting and printing conventions in the eighteenth century: A study into the typographical features of late eighteenth-century newspapers written in French

Newspapers are published fast and often, even in the eighteenth century. Setting type by hand is a rather extensive process. Do we see traces of this complicated process in newspapers? And who decides on the layout and typographical features of newspapers? Did typesetters copy typesetting habits from each other? Is it possible to see right away where a newspaper has been printed or do they all look similar? To find out more about printing processes and newspapers layouts during the late eighteenth century five French newspapers from three different countries were analyzed: the Gazette de Leyde, the Gazette d’Amsterdam, the Gazette de Nice, the Courrier d’Avignon and the Gazette de Berne. First, the historical background for all three countries and all five newspapers was researched, which is presented in chapter two and the first half of chapter three, before the printing practices in the Netherlands are introduced in the second half of chapter three. By looking more extensively at...Show moreNewspapers are published fast and often, even in the eighteenth century. Setting type by hand is a rather extensive process. Do we see traces of this complicated process in newspapers? And who decides on the layout and typographical features of newspapers? Did typesetters copy typesetting habits from each other? Is it possible to see right away where a newspaper has been printed or do they all look similar? To find out more about printing processes and newspapers layouts during the late eighteenth century five French newspapers from three different countries were analyzed: the Gazette de Leyde, the Gazette d’Amsterdam, the Gazette de Nice, the Courrier d’Avignon and the Gazette de Berne. First, the historical background for all three countries and all five newspapers was researched, which is presented in chapter two and the first half of chapter three, before the printing practices in the Netherlands are introduced in the second half of chapter three. By looking more extensively at the manual written by David Wardenaar, Beschrijving der boekdrukkunst [Description of book printing], the process of printing newspapers became clearer. In chapter four the analysis of the five newspapers can be found, which helped distinguish whether there were typographical features that could be found in all five newspapers and whether the newspapers followed certain ‘trends’ or habits of other newspapers which they adopted.Show less

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Changing typesetting and printing conventions in the eighteenth century: A study into the typographical features of late eighteenth-century newspapers written in French