“The Proprietors of the above Foundery having nearly compleated all the Roman and Italic Founts, desire with great Deference, to lay this Specimen before the Trade; and intreat the Curious and critical, before any decisive Judgement be passed, on the Merits or Demerits of the Performance, to make a minute Examination and Comparison of the respective letters and founts of each Size, with the same Letters and Founts of the most respectable Founders in the Kingdom; For as all Letters, whether Roman or Italic, bear a great Similitude to each other, to apprehend the peculiar Beauty or Deformity of them are only to be discovered by such a Comparison. In making {300} which they hope the Candid and Judicious will set aside the Influence of Custom and Prejudice (those Great Barriers against Improvement) and attend to Propriety, Elegance and Mathematical Proportion. And as these have been objects particularly attended to in the Course of the Work, they apprehend it will appear on such a Disquisition, that all the above sizes bear a greater Likeness to each other, than those of any other Founder. They have been already favoured with the Encouragement and Approbation of several very respectable printers, who have wrought off many large Editions on their Founts, which have been Experienced to wear extremely well; owing to the Letter being clearly and deeply cut and to the Goodness of the Metal, which they make of an Extraordinary Composition; the Singular Advantage of which cannot but be obvious. Therefore hope that others will likewise make Trial of them, as they doubt not but they also will find it greatly to their Satisfaction.”[614] It is doubtful whether the encouragement accorded to the new foundry on its first establishment in the metropolis came up to the expectations of the proprietors; and a circular issued shortly afterwards by two of the partners, suggests that some fillip was deemed necessary to awaken a more extended patronage of the concern. This curious document is entitled _Proposals for discovering a very great Improvement which William Pine, printer of Bristol, and Isaac Moore, Letter Founder, in Queen Street, Upper Moorfields, London, have made in the Art of Printing, both in the Construction of the Press and in the Manner of Beating and Pulling_, and publicly offers the secret of the invention (the precise nature of which is not apparent) to any customer of the new foundry ordering type to the value of ten pounds and upwards.[615] {301} How far this ingenuous offer had the effect of stimulating the type business is not recorded; but the proprietors were forced before long to recognise the desirability of adopting other and surer methods for gaining the popular favour.