Orphan Type | Briar Press | A letterpress community

Geoffrey
on 12 Oct 21 (16:23)

Updated 12 Oct 21 (16:24)

I don’t ever recall the term “orphan type.” although if I were to guess the definition it would be loose type that was not in its type case or with the rest of its font.

The term “orphan line” is much more common. For example:

https://www.proofreadingacademy.com/advice/editing-tips-widows-and-orpha...

Sharecropper Press
on 12 Oct 21 (19:36)

Check this out for an idea of “orphans” and “broken fonts”.

http://www.letterpressthings.com/blog-five

gachap
on 24 Oct 21 (16:55)

I think it is that really non-descript stuff that I don’t orphan use.

Frank Underwood
on 25 Oct 21 (07:10)

A “broken font” is one with one or more characters completely missing. A “bastard font” is one that bears no relationship to any others in the shop (some shops are almost entirely full of “bastard fonts”!) And an “orphan” would be an isolated character or ornament that matches nothing else.
Frank.

Frank Underwood
on 25 Oct 21 (07:10)

A “broken font” is one with one or more characters completely missing. A “bastard font” is one that bears no relationship to any others in the shop (some shops are almost entirely full of “bastard fonts”!) And an “orphan” would be an isolated character or ornament that matches nothing else.
Frank.