A lovely little find I picked up from my friend Oliver at Collinge & Clark Books in London. Before he became one of England's greatest printers and type designers, John Baskerville (1706-1775) earned his living in Birmingham as a writing master and letter cutter. This inscription, known as Baskerville's Slate, originally hung in the window of his workshop, advertising: "Grave Stones Cut in any of the Hands By John Baskervill Writing Master." It is one of the earliest surviving examples of his work and foreshadows the precision and elegance that would later define his famous typeface. This is a rare, high-quality cast resin reproduction from the 1960s, formerly in the collection of renowned typographic historian James Mosley. A wonderful little addition to my collection.