Dimensions
150 x 195 x 15mm
In 1831, Reverend Jackson Whitehead served as chaplain aboard the HMS Pica, which accompanied the Beagle on its second survey expedition. Whitehead was a keen collector of fauna as well as a typography enthusiast. Upon realising that the majority of both ships' crews were either committed atheists or budding evolutionists, Whitehead embarked on creating a whole series of natural history specimens made up out of typographical characters. Only recently, after the restoration of Whitehead's ancestral home, has the manuscript of his work come to light. Edited by artist, A.W. Bainbridge, Typographic Specimens presents his menagerie of beasts, fish, fowl and invertebrates, all created from traditional typefaces, numerals and punctuation marks.
