Catching up with Frank Romano is a challenge these days, but he did respond from somewhere in eastern Europe to my e-mail when I asked if he'd like to make a comment about George W. Jones, Printer Laureate. Here's what Frank had to say:

George W. Jones (1860-1942) was one of the most respected and celebrated printers of his time. He was one of the first users of the Linotype machine and showed that it was capable of beautiful typography. He was also a pioneer in trichromatic halftone letterpress printing and produced the first British book using this process.

In 1921, he was an adviser to the British Linotype organization and became responsible for the creation of a number of Linotype typefaces, including Granjon, Estienne, Baskerville, and Georgian. It was in this last capacity that he advanced the typographic quality standards of generations of typographers and designers.

Hand-bound by The Fine Bindery of Wellingborough and containing original samples of George W. Jones' printing. The samples, loosely contained in the separate portfolio, are: four leaves from The Canterbury Tales, two leaves from The Georgics of Vergil, two leaves from Two Centuries of Typefounding, one leaf from Pearl, and one leaf from A Calendar for the Year 1923. Also, two copies of the dust jacket for this book are in the portfolio. This book provides the first extensive study of the life and work of George W. Jones and fills a gap in the literature of printing.