Context: I live in Germany. I'm fond of shopping for old books at fleamarkets, second-hand-shops, and online. Mostly interested in English 19th century or early 20th century printed books (date of print, not date of first publication). Think Dickens, Doyle, Shakespeare, Burns, Shaw, etc. German books from that period are usually type set in Fraktur. Difficult to read for my untrained eye. So although I do like some Schiller I would usually not buy his books when set in Fraktur because reading it is too much of a hassle.
Therefore I was quite astonished to find an English book typeset in Fraktur:
Beautiful book, leather bound, and I will read it despite the type.
My question is: Is it actually quite an exception for an English book printed in the 19th or early 20th century to be printed in Fraktur?
Addendum: I have to apologize. The book is in fact not printed in Fraktur. I can't fathom how I got my memory so completely wrong. Yesterday, as I wrote the question I was completely convinced that it is set in Fraktur. It is awhile now that I last read in it and I was sure it is in Fraktur. But it is not. It is set in good old Roman type. That means I haven't seen an English book yet that is set in Fraktur. And I can answer my own question: yes, it would indeed be quite an exception if ever one is found.
The edition is "The World's Classics" Oxford University Press, Humphrey Milford, 1928
"Printed in England at the University Press Oxford by John Johnson printer to the university."
