Caslon cut several good founts of Hebrew (one of which was of the open or outline description first introduced by Hutter); and during the eighteenth century the character became a necessary part of the stock of every founder. It would be difficult, however, to point to any striking achievement in Hebrew typography earlier than Bagster’s _Polyglot_ in 1817–21, in which the Hebrew text is printed in a very small and beautiful type cut by Vincent Figgins, which in its day had the reputation of being the smallest Hebrew with points in England, and of equalling in size and exceeding in beauty even the elegant letter of Jansson of Amsterdam, two centuries before. ARABIC. The first book printed in Arabic types is supposed to be a _Diurnale græcorum Arabum_, printed at Fano in Italy, in 1514. Two years later, Porrus’ _Polyglot Psalter_, comprising the Arabic version, was printed at Genoa; and two years later still, a _Koran_ in Arabic is said to have been printed at Venice. Thus, says De Rossi, while no Arabic types were to be found in any other part of Europe, three towns of Italy possessed, and were making use of them at the same moment. In 1505 an _Arabic Vocabulary_ at Granada had the words printed in Gothic letter with the Arabic points placed over them; and in other presses where there were no Arabic types, the language was expressed in Hebrew letters or cut in wood. De Guignes and others mention a fount of Arabic used by Gromors in Paris, in 1539–40, to print Postel’s _Grammar_, and add that the fount subsequently disappeared and was lost; and as late as 1596, in a book printed at Paris, the Arabic words had to be rendered in Hebrew. In 1591 the Vatican press had a fine fount of Arabic, a specimen of which is given by Angelo Roccha in his _Bibliotheca Apostolica Vaticana_, printed at that press. The Medicean and Borromean presses also had founts; and at Leyden, Raphlengius and Erpenius {66} were both celebrated for their Arabic letter. In 1636 the foundry of the Propaganda showed specimens of Arabic, previous to which date Savary de Brèves had had cut in Constantinople, and finished by Le Bé of Paris, the famous Arabic founts which were used to print the _Psalter_ at Rome in 1614, and subsequently were purchased by Vitré for the French king,[128] and used in Le Jay’s magnificent _Paris Polyglot_ of 1645. The punches and matrices of these founts still exist. Cotton mentions an Arabic press in Upsala in 1640.