John Baskerville { 1706–1775 }

three ofa Kind Type Specimen Book B A S K E R V I L L E CL ARENDON NOBEL of3 a * Kind three ofa Kind By VINCE LO * WORKS THE JOHN BASKERVILLEenglish type designer OF THE { 1706 – 1775 } M DCC LXI.‡ & Sjoerd Hendrik de Roos Hendrik Sjoerd Nobel Dooijes Dick N A B CDE FGHI N JKL M NOPQR STUVWXYZ N l N 0123456789 &!?() 1929 –1935 Neither de Roos or Dooijes considered Nobel to be a great achievement, yet it became one LETTGIETERIJ AMSTERDAM LETTGIETERIJ of the best selling sans-serif types of the Lettgieterij Amsterdam, continuing in popularity into the mid-1960s. Grotesque abcdefghijkl BASKERVILLE mnopqrst baskerville is a transitional serif typeface designed in 1757 by The Caps John Baskerville in Birmingham, England. Baskerville is classi- A B C D fied as a transitional typeface, positioned between the old style E F G H typefaces of William Caslon, as well as the modern styles of Giam- I J K L uvwxyz battista Bodoni and Firmin Didot. M N O P Baskerville’s typeface was the culmination of a larger series Q R S T of experiments to make improvements to legibility which also U V W X included paper making and ink manufacturing. The result was Y & Z a typeface that reflected Baskerville’s ideals of perfection, where l he chose simplicity and quiet refinement. His background as a writing master is evident in the distinctive swash tail on the uppercase Q and in the cursive serifs in the Baskerville Italic. The refined feeling of the typeface makes it an excellent choice Numerals to convey dignity and tradition. 0 1 2 3 4 In 1757, Baskerville published his first work, a collection of 5 6 7 8 9 Virgil, which was followed by some fifty other classics. In 1758 he { ! & } N was also appointed printer to the Cambridge University Press. It was there in 1763 he published his master work, a folio Bible, FGHI PQR which was printed using his own typeface, ink, and paper. The perfection of his work seems to have unsettled his con- E temporaries, and some claimed the stark contrasts in his printing damaged the eyes. However, he was much admired, notably by NO Fournier, Bodoni, and Benjamin Franklin. While falling out of use CD due to the introduction of modern typefaces, Baskerville would M go through various revivals in the 1900s including a version B N L done by Bruce Rogers in 1917 for the Harvard University Press and Nobelreleased by Deberny & Peignot. A JK STUVWXYZ 0123456789 N &!?() Introducing a new hearty typeface AN ENGLISH SLAB SERIF TYPEFACE FOR THE FANN STREET CLARENDON ue to its popularity, Besley registered Claren- FOUNDRY! don under Britain's Ornamental Designs Act Designed in 1845 by D of 1842. The patent expired three years later, and other ROBERT BESLEY foundries were quick to copy it. Clarendon is considered • and named after the Clarendon Press in Oxford • the first registered typeface, with the original matrices and punches remaining at Stephenson Blake and later residing at the Type Museum, London. Clarendon Clarendon was named after the Clarendon Press in Oxford. The typeface was reworked by the Monotype Clarendon ('klœrenden), a thick- A commonly used typeface consid- foundry in 1935. It was revised by Hermann Eidenbenz faced condensed type, in capital ered to be the first typeface to be and small letters, made in many registered. Clarendon is available in 1953. Clarendon was used extensively by the govern- sizes. Known as one of the great in three different weights consist- successes of British typefounding. ing of Light, Bold, and Roman. ment of the German Empire for proclamations during LIGHT BOLD ROMAN WWI, and was also common in wanted posters of the abcdefg ABCDEFG ABCDEFG American Old West. hijklmn HIJKLMN HIJKLMN opqrstu OPQRSTU OPQRSTU vwxyz VWXYZ VWXYZ 1234567 1234567 1234567 890&?!{} 890&?!{} 890&?!{}.

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