NO MAN can truly call himself "deep-versed in books" who does not know something of the art by which those books are produced. It was for the purpose of acquainting the reader with the basic principles of typography and printing that Pottinger wrote this book. "Printers and Printing," therefore, is ideal as an introduction to the survey of that art.

After giving a brief but admirable survey of the development of printing, Pottinger retraces his steps to analyze the changes that have taken place in five centuries of typography. Devoting space to all of the major type faces in use today, he explains their merits and limitations and affords clues by which they may be easily identified. His comments on the design of beautiful typography are well worth reading, for they are obviously the result of considerable thought and experience.

Above all, Pottinger's book is valuable in that it will whet the reader's interest to study further in a field which has been largely neglected by the general public. We have become so interested in reading matter that we have ignored the medium through which it is presented. This tendency must be combatted if modern typographical standards are not to decline. If "Printers and Printing" is widely read by students of literature, it will do much to prevent that decline.

Pottinger's book, moreover, practices what it preaches. Printed in Bembo type, a recently revived old style roman which is undoubtedly one of the most beautiful ever made, the book is a masterpiece of design. Not only for its content but also for its sheer beauty, therefore, "Printers and Printing" is thoroughly worth owning.