CASLON, William (1692 - 1766) ‹ LBT 02716 ›
Badges
Floruit 1734 (A) — 1766 (B); Male, married
Life Events
| Event | Date | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Birth | 1692 - in Cradley, Worcestershire | O.D.N.B. |
| Baptism | 23 Apr 1693 - at Halesowen | O.D.N.B. |
| Death | - on 23 Jan 1766 | Plomer, H.R. &c. (1932), p.46 |
| Burial | Jan 1766 St.Luke's, Old Street |
Will
| Will (Ref., Piece, Image) | Will Dates | Intestate | Probate Dates | Administration Dates | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
PROB 11/915/6, Tyndal:1-50, 55/53 |
1760-01-22 | 1766-01-31 | PRO - of Bethnal Green, Middlesex --- O.D.N.B. - left the business to his son William, and shared his personal estate between his wife, Elizabeth, and his children, William, Mary, and Thomas. --- |
Family Relationships
| LBTNumber | Name | Relationship | Occupation | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3010 | PEARMAN, Sarah (mar. CASLON) (bap. 1689 - ) ‹ LBT 03010 › | spouse | ||
| 3011 | LONG, Elizabeth (mar. CASLON) ‹ LBT 03011 › | spouse | ||
| 3012 | WARTER, Elizabeth (mar. CASLON) ‹ LBT 03012 › | spouse | ||
| 32848 | CASLON, George ‹ LBT 32848 › | parent | Cordwainer | |
| 16134 | CASLON, William (1720 - 1778) ‹ LBT 16134 › | child | Printer, Letter founder | |
| 17220 | CASLON, Thomas (1726 - 1783) ‹ LBT 17220 › | child | Bookseller, Stationer | |
| 35241 | CASLON, Frances ‹ LBT 35241 › | child | ||
| 36837 | ELLISON, Joseph ‹ LBT 36837 › | child | Born 1720; Bapt. St Botolph, Aldgate - 23 Jun 1720 |
Livery Companies
| Company | Source |
|---|---|
| Loriners' Company |
Occupations (1)
| Occupation | Comment |
|---|---|
| Typefounder | O.D.N.B. |
Was Apprentice to Master(s): (1)
| Name | Premium | Paid By | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| (unknown -- ref: LORINER) | Nichols - O.N.D.B. |
Addresses (4)
| Date | Address | Trade at Addr | Source | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1720 | Helmet Row, Old Street | Plomer 4, p.46. | ||
| 1720 | Ironmonger Row | Plomer 4, p.46. | ||
| 1734, (1734-1766) | Chiswell Street | Plomer 4, p.45. | ||
| 1766-01-31 | Bethnal Green | Will | - late of |
Events (5)
| Date | Event type | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 23 Apr 1693 | Baptized | - Halesowen |
| 17 May 1706 | Bound | to Edward Cookes (LBT/02725) in the Loriners' Company |
| 29 Aug 1717 | Married | - to Sarah Pearman (LBT/03010) at St Peter, Cornhill |
| 11 Sep 1728 | Married | - to Elizabeth Long (LBT/03011) at St Giles, Cripplegate |
| 23 Jan 1766 | Died |
SOURCES & TRANSCRIPTIONS
Transcriptions
said to be dead at the time of the boy's binding
Sarah PEARMAN { PEARMAN, Sarah (mar. CASLON) (bap. 1689 - ) ‹ LBT 03010 › }; secondly, of Elizabeth LONG { LONG, Elizabeth (mar. CASLON) ‹ LBT 03011 › }; |LinktoSpouse=thirdly, of Elizabeth WARTER { WARTER, Elizabeth (mar. CASLON) ‹ LBT 03012 › } |Text2=- Evidence of children
Plomer, H.R. &c. (1932), pp.45-6
CASLON (WILLIAM, I), type-founder in London, Chiswell Street, 1720-66. William Caslon the First was born at Cradley Halesowen, Shropshire, and in course of time apprenticed to an engraver. His subsequent career was romantic. He was working as an engraver of gunlocks in a shop in Vine Street Minories, and apparently in his spare time cut punches for letters. Some confusion exists as to who discovered his skill in this direction or the exact date of his discovery, but somewhere about 1716 he became known to three important men in London - Jacob Tonson { TONSON, Jacob ( - 1735) ‹ LBT 11388 › }, John Watts { WATTS, John (1678 - 1763) ‹ LBT 12453 › }, and William Bowyer { BOWYER, William (1663 - 1737) ‹ LBT 12549 › }.
Dutch type was at that time the best that printers could procure, and it was both ugly and badly cast, so that the discovery of an Englishman who had the gift of punch-cutting was one to be made the most of. Accordingly Bowyer and Watts interviewed the young engraver, took him to the foundry of James {Thomas { JAMES, Thomas (bap. 1685 - ) ‹ LBT 11257 › } in Bartholomew Close, and offered to put up a sum of money to give him a start if he cared to become a type-founder. With the £500 thus provided William Caslon set up as a letter founder in a garret in Helmet Row, Old Street.
Although 1720 is said to be the year in which the first fount of type came from his foundry, it is extremely doubtful if he would have begun with so difficult a task as a fount of Arabic, and it is much more likely that the fount of Double Pica mentioned in the list of types possessed by John Baskett { BASKETT, John (1667 - 1742) ‹ LBT 12312 › } in 1718 was his earliest work. We have at least the authority of John Nichols that Caslon cut a beautiful fount of English (Roman) in 1722, which is seen in an edition of the works of Selden published in 1726.
In a very short time the skill of William Caslon as a punch-cutter made his foundry famous. From Helmet Row he moved to Ironmonger Row, and finally in 1734 to much larger premises in Chiswell Street, from which he sent out his first specimen sheet. This further enhanced his success, and his type was eagerly sought after in all parts of the country, and even the skilful John Baskerville of Birmingham was unable to compete with him in public favour. William Caslon the First died at Bethnal Green on January 23rd, 1766. He was succeeded by his son William Caslon the Second { CASLON, William (1720 - 1778) ‹ LBT 16134 › }, who died in 1788.