BOURGEOIS.—This irregular body betrays its nationality in its name, which, however, is probably derived, not from the fact that it was used by the bourgeois printers of France, but from the name of the city of Bourges, which was the birthplace of the illustrious typographer, Geofroy Tory, about the year 1485. Tory originally applied the term _bourgeoise_ to the _lettre de somme_, irrespective of size,[72] as distinguished from the _lettre Canon_. The French call the body Gaillarde, probably after the printer of that name,[73] although it is equally possible the name, like Mignon or Nonpareille, may be fanciful. As a type-body, Bourgeois did not appear in England till about 1748, and Smith informs us that it was originally used as a large body on which to cast Brevier or Petit. BREVIER.—The smallest of the English regular bodies claims equal antiquity with Great Primer, Pica, and Long Primer. The conjecture that it was commonly used in the _Breviaries_ of the early Church is not borne out by an examination of these works, most of which are printed in a considerably larger size.[74] The name, like the French and German “Petit,” may mean that, being the smallest body, it was used for getting the most matter into a brief space. The Germans, when they cut smaller-sized letters, called the Petit Jungfer, or the Maiden-letter. MINION, a body unknown to Moxon, was used in England before 1730; and, like the other small fancifully named bodies, appears to have originated in France. The Dutch and Germans call it Colonel, and the Spaniards Glosilla. NONPAREIL, now an indispensable body, because the half of Pica, was introduced as a peerless curiosity long before Moxon’s day, and has preserved its name in all the countries where it has gone. It is said first to have been cut by Garamond about the year 1560. Mores supposes that, because the Dutch founders of Moxon’s day called it “Englese Nonpareil” in their specimens, the {40} body was first used in this country. The Dutch name, however, evidently refers to the face of the letter, cut in imitation of an English face, or adapted to suit English purchasers. Paulus Pater[75] says that on account of its wonderful smallness and clearness, the Dutch Nonpareil was called by many the “silver letter,” and was supposed to have been cast in that metal. PEARL, though an English body in Moxon’s day, appears to have been known both in France and Holland at an earlier date. In the former country it was celebrated as the body on which the famous tiny editions at Sedan were printed. The Dutch Joly corresponded more nearly to our modern Ruby than to Pearl. But Luce, in 1740, cut the size for France, and provoked Firmin Didot’s severe criticism on his performance—“Among the characters, generally bad, which Luce has engraved, . . . is one which cannot be seen.”