Hi, I was wondering if anyone knows why on many 19th century type specimen prints they are often produced in black and red ink. Often they are black typefaces with a red border or decorative elements and sometimes both black and red typefaces. Just wondering if there is a reason for this use of colors. Thanks in advance.
Red is easy to manufacture (which is why barns, being very large, are red) and it looks attractive and powerful. Black-White-Red is the color triumvirate. Black is the queen.
hhp
There is a tradition of red being the second colour added to a print job going all the way back to Egyptian scribes. The choice is a sign of classical taste.
Captured from web.archive.org on 12 Oct 2013. view this capture