Starting with version 1.3, Essays1743 includes some OpenType features: ligatures (e.g., being able to write "ae" and have the font system render it automatically as "æ"), proportional digits (normally, all digits are the same width, so that they'll line up in a table), and fractions. If your browser supports WOFF Web fonts, and supports using these OpenType features, you should be able to see them on this page. If you can't, I've provided an image so you can see what they look like when they work.
Note that some of the OpenType features are subject to CSS
control. There are two sets of CSS selectors available, one defined
by Firefox 4+ and one standardized by CSS3. There is a
table at the bottom of the page listing
what browsers support which features. Finally, the WebKit-based
browsers Chrome and Safari have ligatures disabled by default; if
you want them to show up in those browsers, you have to enable them
with the nonstandard CSS selector
"text-rendering: geometricPrecision".
Unfortunately, at this time, if you turn on geometricPrecision, Essays 1743, as a Web font, looks really awful on Chrome (version 14.0.835, on Linux). The horizontal spacing is all off, with some words drawn on top of other words. (It's fine as a system font.) I'll see what I can do.
The original book contains many ligatures, but most of them are not present in italics—or, at least, I haven't found them. Now that I've learned to include ligatures properly, maybe I'll go hunt them down. I have seen an italicized ligature for "oe", since there are a lot of short Latin passages.
AEthelred, antennae, of, off, fit, flight, soffit, offline, IJsselmeer, Tijuana, craft, crust. AEthelred, antennae, of, off, fit, flight, soffit, offline, IJsselmeer, Tijuana, craft, crust.
AEthelred, antennae, of, off, fit, flight, soffit, offline, IJsselmeer, Tijuana, craft, crust. AEthelred, antennae, of, off, fit, flight, soffit, offline, IJsselmeer, Tijuana, craft, crust.
The oblique forms of the font contain discretionary ligatures for OE, oe, and ct. I made OE/oe discretionary because they weren't commonly used in the source. The ct ligature is commonly used in the source; but I found that AbiWord didn't recognize it properly; instead of displaying the ligature, it displayed an exclamation point. (This may be because there is no Unicode codepoint for the ct ligature, so I had to use a private use area.) So I made it discretionary, so nobody would get bitten by it by default.
| Disabled: | Whoever put the OED in the duct |
| Enabled via Firefox 4+: | Whoever put the OED in the duct |
| Enabled via CSS3: | Whoever put the OED in the duct |
| Disabled: | 0123456789 |
| Enabled via Firefox 4+: | 0123456789 |
| Enabled via CSS3: | 0123456789 |
...except it's not working in any of the browsers I've found yet. The
font includes the frac table, but enabling it doesn't
make the browser display the fractions.
| Disabled: | 1/2 1/3 2/3 1/4 3/4 1/5 2/5 3/5 4/5 1/6 5/6 1/8 3/8 5/8 7/8 |
| Enabled via Firefox 4+: | 1/2 1/3 2/3 1/4 3/4 1/5 2/5 3/5 4/5 1/6 5/6 1/8 3/8 5/8 7/8 |
| Enabled via CSS3: | 1/2 1/3 2/3 1/4 3/4 1/5 2/5 3/5 4/5 1/6 5/6 1/8 3/8 5/8 7/8 |
| Browser | Version | Platform | Ligatures | Discretionary ligatures | Proportional numbers | Fractions |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Firefox | 7.0 | Linux | Yes | FF1 | FF1 | No |
| Mac OS Lion | ||||||
| 6.0.2 | Android 2.3.3 | |||||
| Chrome | 14.0.835 | Linux | TR2, buggy3 | No | ||
| Opera | 11.51 | Linux | No | |||
| Safari | 5.1 | Mac OS 10.6 | TR2 | No | ||
| Android browser4 | 2.3.3 | Android 2.3.3 | No | |||
| 4.0.3 | Android 4.0.3 | |||||
FF: requires Firefox's nonstandard CSS
selector -moz-font-feature-settings.
TR: requires WebKit's nonstandard CSS selector
text-rendering.
buggy: causes severe layout problems.
Android browser: apparently does not support WOFF at all; requires OpenType—which is bizarre, since the OpenType font is so much larger, which is not good for a mobile device. On this page, I've set the CSS to use WOFF, but fall back to OTF.
Finally, here are some longer Essays1743 text selections, so you can see what it looks like in your browser. If you're in a WebKit browser, you can also see them repeated in geometricPrecision mode.
Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth upon this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.
Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived, and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives, that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.
But, in a larger sense, we cannot dedicate—we cannot consecrate—we cannot hallow—this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember, what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here, have, thus far, so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us—that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they here gave the last full measure of devotion—that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain—that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom—and that, government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.
Iul. O Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo? Denie thy Father and refuse thy name: Or if thou wilt not, be but sworne to my Loue, And Ile no longer be a Capulet Rom. Shall I heare more, or shall I speake at this? Iu. 'Tis but thy name that is my Enemy: Thou art thy selfe, though not a Mountague, What's Mountague? it is nor hand nor foote, Nor arme, nor face, O be some other name Belonging to a man. What? in a names that which we call a Rose, By any other word would smell as sweete, So Romeo would, were he not Romeo cal'd, Retaine that deare perfection which he owes, Without that title Romeo, doffe thy name, And for thy name which is no part of thee, Take all my selfe
AEthelred the Unready, or AEthelred II (c. 968 – 23 April 1016), was king of England (978–1013 and 1014–1016). He was son of King Edgar and Queen AElfthryth. AEthelred was only about 10 (no more than 13) when his half-brother Edward was murdered. AEthelred was not personally suspected of participation, but as the murder was committed at Corfe Castle by the attendants of AElfthryth, it made it more difficult for the new king to rally the nation against the military raids by Danes, especially as the legend of St Edward the Martyr grew.
Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth upon this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.
Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived, and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives, that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.
But, in a larger sense, we cannot dedicate—we cannot consecrate—we cannot hallow—this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember, what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here, have, thus far, so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us—that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they here gave the last full measure of devotion—that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain—that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom—and that, government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.
Iul. O Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo? Denie thy Father and refuse thy name: Or if thou wilt not, be but sworne to my Loue, And Ile no longer be a Capulet Rom. Shall I heare more, or shall I speake at this? Iu. 'Tis but thy name that is my Enemy: Thou art thy selfe, though not a Mountague, What's Mountague? it is nor hand nor foote, Nor arme, nor face, O be some other name Belonging to a man. What? in a names that which we call a Rose, By any other word would smell as sweete, So Romeo would, were he not Romeo cal'd, Retaine that deare perfection which he owes, Without that title Romeo, doffe thy name, And for thy name which is no part of thee, Take all my selfe
AEthelred the Unready, or AEthelred II (c. 968 – 23 April 1016), was king of England (978–1013 and 1014–1016). He was son of King Edgar and Queen AElfthryth. AEthelred was only about 10 (no more than 13) when his half-brother Edward was murdered. AEthelred was not personally suspected of participation, but as the murder was committed at Corfe Castle by the attendants of AElfthryth, it made it more difficult for the new king to rally the nation against the military raids by Danes, especially as the legend of St Edward the Martyr grew.
