small text
A small size of type, in French and Italian printing, usually conflated with brevier but technically treated as 7½ Didot points.
small text: 7½-point type, mostly French and Italian legacy
Small text is a historical type size of 7½ Didot points, used primarily in French and Italian printing traditions. In the Didot point system, which divides the pica into 12 points rather than the 72 points per inch of Anglo-American typography, small text sits between nonpareil at 6 points and brevier at 8 points. The term is now largely obsolete outside historical typographic discussion, though metal type in this size was cast and used well into the 20th century.
The distinction between small text and brevier is technical rather than practical. Both sizes occupy similar applications in book work, footnotes, and reference matter, and printers often used the terms interchangeably depending on foundry, region, or local custom. Continental European typefoundries maintained the distinction more rigorously than British or American houses. In the metric era, 7½ Didot points converts to approximately 2.65 millimeters, slightly smaller than the 10-point size common in modern digital typography.
Why the confusion with brevier
Brevier at 8 Didot points was vastly more common and economical to stock. A printer needing small display or annotation type would often use brevier rather than invest in a complete fount of small text, since the half-point difference is barely perceptible in printed matter. Type foundries capitalized on this overlap by sometimes labeling 8-point stock as either brevier or small text depending on market demand. This ambiguity was compounded when British point systems and American typographic standards began to dominate the trade.
Small text persists in historical printing specimens and foundry catalogs, particularly from firms like Deberny and Peignot in France or Nebiolo in Italy. Metal type in this size remains in use at letterpress studios and historical print shops, though sourcing complete founts is difficult. Digital type designers occasionally revive historical sizes for authentic composition of classical texts, but small text has no standardized Unicode or PostScript equivalent.
Understanding small text matters for anyone restoring, cataloging, or working with period metal type, especially continental European material. The size appears frequently in 18th and 19th century books, broadsides, and commercial printing where economy and readability had to be balanced. Identifying small text correctly prevents misattribution of typefaces and helps date printing samples.