Lower Cases

Links to a variety of full-size lower cases are listed below, in order of the total number of boxes in the case. The dates shown are either when published or when viewed, and therefore are not necessarily the earliest appearance of the case. A link takes you to a descriptive page that shows the actual box layout, the various sources that illustrate the case, and usually a link to the appropriate layout of the type in the case.

Generally, the cases have one central partition, and stated below are the number of boxes either side of that partition, plus the total number of boxes.

Empty Lower CasesBoxes on leftBoxes on rightTotal boxes
Sindhi Lower Case (Sind 1999) 5364117
†This Music case has another 27 boxes in a central section, and so is possibly better considered a Double case
Nagari Lower Case (Gujarati Type Foundry 1928) 485199
Greek 2nd Lower Case (Fertel 1723) 524698
Hindi Lower Case (Sind 1999) 344175
Malayan Lower Case (Figgins/Stevens c1907) 363773
Music Lower Case (Southward 1898) 363672
Cassa Bassa (Enciclopedia Italiana 1937) 293766
"Jerusalem" Common Case (Jerusalem 1997) 333063
Inferieure Breves (Fertel 1723) 263561
Greek Lower Case (Van Winkle 1818) 313061
Hebrew Lower (Common) Case (MacKellar 1870) 313061
California Lower Case (Ringwalt 1871) 273158
Hamilton Boss Lower Case (BB&S 1890s) 283058
French Lower Case (Lefèvre 1838) 233457
Polish Lower Case (Lefèvre 1880) 233457
U.S. German Lower Case (BB&S 1890s) 253257
Boston Spanish Lower Case (Lockwood 1894) 243357
German Lower Case (De Vinne 1904) 253257
Lower Case (Moxon 1683) 243256
Hebrew Lower Case (van Winkle 1818) 263056
German Lower Case (Southward 1892) 253156
German Lower Case (Lockwood 1894) 253156
Proposed Lower Case (Johnson 1824) 253055
Proposed Lower Case (Johnson 1824) 253055
Queen's Printing Office Hebrew Lower Case (Savage 1841) 253055
German Lower Case (MacKellar 1866) 243155
Perfection Lower Case (Inland Printer 1898)   55
The above case may have no partitions, or may have three, the image is not clear
Inferieure Vulgaires (Fertel 1723) 213354
French Lower Case (Diderot 1751-80) 213354
Lower Case (Smith 1755) 243054
Alternative Lower Case (Smith 1755) 233154
French Lower Case (Castillon 1783) 213354
U.S. Lower Case (Van Winkle 1818) 243054
Hebrew Lower Case (Johnson 1824) 243054
Adams Lower Case (Adams 1844) 243054
New Lower Case (MacKellar 1866) 243054
Rooker Lower Case (Ringwalt 1871) 243054
Italian Lower Case (Pozzoli 1882) 262854
Oakley's patent Lower Case (1893)21§2354
§This case has another 10 boxes in a central section, and so has more than one partition
Hazard's Lower Case (Stower 1808) 233053
Lower Case (Johnson 1824) 242953
Scottish Lower Case (Savage 1841) 213253
Hoogen Tekst Romein Onder Case (Plantin-Moretus Museum pre 1876) 242953
Kapitalen Onder Case (Plantin-Moretus Museum pre 1876) 223153
Laagen Tekst Romein Onder Case (Plantin-Moretus Museum pre 1876) 242953
Middelbaar Canon Onder Case (Plantin-Moretus Museum pre 1876) 242953
Scottish Lower Case (Chambers 1891) 213253
Dictionary Lower Case (De Vinne 1904) 233053
No.3 Lower Case (Stower 1808) 232952
Greek Lower Case (Johnson 1824) 262652
Klein Romein Onder Case (Plantin-Moretus Museum pre 1876) 232952
Laagen Ascendonica Romein Onder Case (Plantin-Moretus Museum pre 1876) 213152
English Lower Case (Lockwood 1894) 242852
New Lower Case (Jacobi 1913) 361652
Greek Lower Case (Smith 1755) 232851
Old Greek Lower Case (Savage 1841) 252651
Klein Canon Romein Onder Case (Plantin-Moretus Museum pre 1876) 203151
Oxford Univ Press Lower Case (OUP 1934) 222850
Greek Lower Case (Gould 1876) 222547
New Greek Lower Case (Savage 1841) 222446
Greek Lower Case (Southward 1882) 212546
Caxa Baxa (de Paredes 1680s) 182745
Greek Lower Case (Stower 1808) 212445
Greek 1st Lower Case (Fertel 1723) 222244
Dutch Onderkas No.1 (Zweijgardt 1822) 202444
Greek Lower Case (MacKellar 1870) 202444
Dutch Onderkas No.2 (Zweijgardt 1822) 192443
Stanhope Lower Case (Johnson 1824) 212243
Greek Lower Case (Hansard 1825) 192443
Greek Lower Case (Figgins c1907) 202343
Fount Lower Case (Smith 1755) 202242
Spanish Caxa Baxa (Sigüenza y Vera 1811) 162541
No.2 Lower Case (Stower 1808) 172340
Hebrew Common Case (van Winkle 1818) 162440
Maori Lower Case (Colenso 1835) 162238
Fount Lower Case (Stower 1808) 152237


All empty cases
ie with the boxes left blank
Return to Typecase IdentificationAll type layouts
ie with characters assigned to boxes
Full Index of layoutsGlossary of terms usedSources of the layoutsIntroduction
Quantities in a fount of typeQuantities in a case of type
Notes about Job
and Double Cases
Notes about Upper casesNotes about Lower casesAlembic home page

This page was written in 2014 by David Bolton and last updated 1 April 2015