Sort (typesetting)

Diagram of a cast metal sort. a face, b body or shank, c point size, 1 shoulder, 2 nick, 3 groove, 4 foot.

Metal type sorts arranged on a composing stick.

In typesetting by hand compositing, a sort is a piece of type representing a specific letter or symbol, cast from a matrix mould and assembled with other sorts bearing additional letters into lines of type to make up a forme, from which a page is printed.

Related pages

• Sort - other uses of the word
• Typeface
• Typography

References

• Nesbitt, Alexander The History and Technique of Lettering (c) 1957, Dover Publications, Inc. ISBN 0-486-20427-8, Library of Congress Catalogue Card Number: 57-13116. The Dover edition is an abridged and corrected republication of the work originally published in 1950 by Prentice-Hall, Inc. under the title Lettering: The History and Technique of Lettering as Design.

Other websites

• Typowiki, a type wiki at typophile.com
• Metal Type - For Those who Remember Hot Metal Typesetting