Bodoni: King of Printers

bodoni

KING

OF

PRINT ERS

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O B O 2

O bodoni PRINT ER

OF

KINGS

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TYPOGRAPHIC TERMS

baseline The invisible line where all characters sit

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vertical stress

spur

When the axis leans to the left or right the design has angled stress

A small proje main stroke

tail

serif

A descending stroke, often decorative

A stroke add the beginnin main strokes

ascender An upward vertical stroke found on the part of lower -case letters that extends above the typeface’s x-height

bracket A curved or wedge-shaped connection between the stem and serif of some fonts

ection off a

ded as a stop to ng and end of the s of a character

x-height The distance between the baseline of a line of type and tops of the main body of lower case letters

descender

hairline

The part of the letters that extends below the baseline

The thinnest stroke found in a specific typeface

V 5

u d 6

b

u

GIAMBATTISTA BODONI

A twenty-eight -year-old Bodoni was asked to take charge of the Stamperia Reale, the official press of Ferdinand, Duke of Parma. Bodoni accepted and became the private printer to the court. He printed official documents and publcations desired by the Duke, in addition to projects conceived and initiated by Bodoni. His initial design influence was Fournier le Jeune, whose foundry supplied type and ornaments to the Stamperia Reale after Bodoni took charge. The quality of Bodoni’s design and printing, even though scholarship and proofreading were sometimes lacking, created a growing international reputation. In 1790, the Vatican invited Bodoni to Rome to establish a press for printing the classics there, but the Duke countered with an offer of expanded facility and a privilege of printing for other clients. Bodoni elected to remain in Parma.1

1. Philip B. Meggs, A History of Graphic Design (New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1992), 124.

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Bodoni was no revolutionary. The modern roman style, which is attributed to him, did not, as many would believe, spring forth as if by magic. While the letters he cut and the books he printed were more refined and of exceptionally higher quality than most of the work originating before or during his lifetime, it would be difficult to classify any of Bodoni’s efforts as fundamentally new.

When he was young, the work of John Baskerville served as his ideal; when he opened his first printing office for the Duke of Parma, Bodoni did so with type from Fournier.

In later years, the work of his great Parisian competitor, Francois Didot, influenced him dramatically. Bodoni was always, in some manner, dependent on the work of other, bolder contemporaries.

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ORIGINS OF THE TYPEFACE

condensed

regular

book

bold bol

ultra bold d

italic

Yet despite these influences, he was not a copyist. A comparison of Bodoni’s type to Didot’s two designs that on the surface may appear virtually identical is a perfect example. There are distinct similarities in their work, and Bodoni surely studied Didot’s designs very carefully, but a close examination reveals that Bodoni’s weight transitions are more gradual and his serifs still maintain a slight degree of bracketing. There is even hint of “old style” in Bodoni’s work. He followed Didot’s lead, carefully evaluating the designs of his great competitor, consciously remaining, however, always just slightly behind the radical modernism of his contemporary. Perhaps this explains to some degree the longevity of Bodoni’s type designs. They were radical enough to be considered new and different (to establish for Bodoni an important and influential place in current typographic circles), but not so different that they became the 18th-century versions of fad designs.2

2. Alexander S. Lawson, Anatomy of a Typeface (Boston: D.R. Godine, 1990), 46, 48.

q

normal

D k p 9

D

q

k 10

WHAT MAKES BODONI, BODONI? Bodoni created typefaces and typography to impress the eye. His designs were studied efforts meant to be seen as well as read. Few would deny that Bodoni’s typefaces are beautiful; unfortunately, few would say they are also easy to read. By current standards, his designs are, in fact, the antithesis of what an easily readable typeface should be.

Had he known this fact, however, Bodoni would probably not have been very upset. His goal was not to create typography to be appreciated by the masses. His books and other printing exercises were large regal efforts meant to be looked upon and appreciated as works of art, rather than as mere pieces of communication.

Beatrice Warde, an eminent typographic historian, in a famous essay, likened the perfect type to a crystal goblet.

Her perfect type is transparent, or invisible, to the reader and allows the content to be enjoyed without coloration or distraction. Bodoni’s type is anything but a “crystal goblet.”

Its hairline serifs, strong thick-and-thin stroke contrast, and abrupt weight changes cloud the reading process.

Bodoni is no quiet servant to the communication process; it is a design that demands attention.

major contr between stro

M

rast okes

OLD STYLE vs. MODERN

Aa Aa

Bodoni is categorized as a Modern typeface, whose high contrast strokes depart from the Old Style predecessors such as Baskerville. The Modern `Old Style. The romans of the Modern types owe very little, if anything to the earlier calligraphic forms; they are too precise, too sharp, too clean.

unbracketed serifs

FORM OVER FUNCTION Their vertical axis coupled with strong horizontal stress furnishes them with the stiffness of toy soldiers on parade. They are elegant, and like all things elegant, look unhurried, calm, and in control. They’re generally not suited to setting extended text, as the verticality of the letter forms interferes with the text’s horizontal rhythm. The letters don’t lead our eyes across the page, but rather up and down.

Modern horizontal stress

small x-height

vertical axis

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G

Didot

The ‘G’ foot in Bodoni has no spur or serif; the ‘G’ foot in Didot has a downward pointing spur.

BODONI IN COMPARISON By comparison, the original Didot typefaces were more severe and mechanical than those of Bodoni. For example, Bodoni’s serifs are joined to the main strokes with a slight bracket, and the serifs of the lowercase letters are slightly concave. On the other hand, the straight-edged serifs in Didot’s letters possess no bracket. Though in recent years, Didot has not received the same notoriety as Bodoni, it remains an excentionally fine text face for book designers and a distinctive display face for advertising, editorials, and newspapers.

Meanwhile, the work of Bodoni was an exaggeration on a large scale of that of Baskerville. Bodoni’s goal in typography was to create art: the pursuit of art for art’s sake, and to create beauty for its own sake. He also wanted to create a more logical form to the work of Baskerville whom Bodoni idolized. To do this, he used not just a pen and imagination: he took the job using precise, mathematical calculations to determine the finest strokes and translate them to the copperplates for a perfect form.

The top of Bodoni’s ‘W’ has four upper terminals, while The top of the Didot’s ‘W’ has three upper terminals.

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Didot

Baskerville

Bodoni’s ‘Q’ has a tail that is single-sided, while the tail of the ‘Q’ in Baskerville is Z-shaped.

BODONI REVIVED

Bodoni was one of the most prolific type designers and considered an arch-romantic. His hundreds of faces embrace considerable variety, and more than 25,000 of his punches are in the Bodoni Museum in Parma.

The revivals issued in his name reflect only a tiny part of this legacy, and many are simply parodies of his ideas.

The typical features of Bodoni revivals are abrupt hairline serifs, ball terminal, vertical axis, small aperture, high contrast and exaggerated modulation. The ITC Bodoni, digitized in 1994-95 under the direction of Sumner Stone, are the closest of all the revivals to Bodoni’s mature style. (There are three versions, based on 6, 12 and 72 pt originals.) Other favorites are the Bodoni cut by Louis Hoell for the Bauer Foundry, Frankfurt, in 1924, and the Berthold Foundry version, produced in 1930. Both have been issued in digital form. Small caps and text gures are essential to all of these designs.3

The top of Bodoni’s ‘q’ has a right-facing serif; the top of Baskerville’s ‘q’ has a vertical or slightly angled spur.

3. Robert Bringhurst, The Elements of Typographic Style (Point Roberts, WA: Hartley & Marks, 1992), 217, 218.

Baskerville

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If used carefully, Bodoni type can create typography that is exceptionally beautiful, even elegant, but not particularly easy to read. If used poorly, Bodoni’s extreme weight contrast and vertical stress can cause a typographic effect, “dazzling,” which is visually uninviting and exceptionally disruptiveto the reading process.4

exceptionally BEAUTIFUL,

EVEN ELEGANT”

4. Alexander S. Lawson, Anatomy of a Typeface (Boston: D.R. Godine, 1990), 46, 49, 50.

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bibliography Haley, Allan. Typographic Milestones. New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1992. (SC: Z250 A2 H18 1992 4o) Lawson, Alexander S. Anatomy of a Typeface. Boston: D.R. Godine, 1990. (SC: Z250 L34 1990) Bringhurst, Robert. The Elements of Typographic Style. Vancouver: Hartley and Marks,1997. (A&A: Z246 B745 1996 and Vault) Jaspert, W. Pincus. The Encyclopaedia of Typefaces. Poole, Dorset: Blandford Press; New York: Distributed in the U.S. by Sterling, 1983.

(SC: Z250 J36 1983) Cleland, T. M. Giambattista Bodoni of Parma. Boston: Society of Printers, 1916. (SC: Z232 B66 C5) Revival of the Fittest: Digital Versions of Classic Typefaces, essays by Carolyn Annand ... [et al.]; edited by Philip B. Meggs and Roy McKelvey, New York: RC Publications, 2000.

(A&A: Z250.R45 2000) Bodoni, Giambattista. Manuale Tipogra co, 1788. Facsimile a cura de Giovanni Mardersteig, Verona: Editiones Of cinae Bodoni, 1968.

(SC: Z232 B66 1788a 4o) Bodoni, Giambattista. Preface to the Manuale Tipogra co of 1818, translated by H. V. Marrot, London: Lion & Unicorn Press, 1953.

(SC: Z232 B66 1953) Andrian. “Modern Fonts: Most Popular Typefaces, Best for Webfonts.�

Designmodo. May 10, 2016. https://designmodo.com Meggs, Phillip B. Carter, Rob. Typographic Specimens: The Great Typefaces. John Wiley & Sons, INC, 1993. http://www.linotype.com http://www.fonts.com

Book designed by Jee Kim Typeset in Adobe Garamond Pro Printed on Frenchpaper Speckletone 70T Typography 1 Spring 2017

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