Type Specimen | Volume 1
Introduction This unique Monotype type specimen series explores a type family as if it were a real family. With each weight being an individual member of that family, we show off the beauty of the typeface through an interview. In the center you will find a small book on the rich history of Monotype.
This month we've had the great pleasure of having the Garamond family join us and give us a little peek into their lives‌
Can you describe yourselves in one sentence?
Ah a fantastisch question! Let me see, I would say I am a traditional, high-renaissance man… with a well groomed moustache. Though it would probably have been wiser for you to have asked my wife that one! Ha Ha! Oh do not even tempt me dear… how would I describe myself? Hmm, I would like to think I am an elegant and sophisticated lady with an eye for the finer things in life.
Q. How do you like to spend your spare time?
*cough cough*
Now let me see… well you can often find me with my head buried in a good book, with a glass of fine wine.
My sanctuary is the library, though I am not impartial to getting out and about. I am the only one who can use a computer in our house, ha ha… but I will always be a book lady at heart.
Q. What is it like for you guys being so well known in the type world? Well, it is just grand that we are considered honest and reliable enough to be featured in as many books and magazines as we are. I agree, it seems we are a classic, especially in France and Germany. We also get on splendidly with many sans-serif families. Q. Do you both enjoy doing anything other than body copy? Oh yes, we dabble in many other areas such as digital, though our hearts will always lie in large bodies of text, it is what we were made for after all.
Mr. Garamond, I hear your father, like yourself, was also well known in the type industry wasn’t he? Not just my Vater, but my Großvater and my Urgroßvater before that. You see, the Garamond name derives from the original Garamond family who resided in France back in the sixteenth century. However, Mr. Garamond and I come from Germany, though we have been living in England for quite some time now. Q. Wow, that is interesting, can you speak any french? Oh no, do not get him going! He loves to show off his French whenever he is given a chance, you should hear him when we dine anywhere even a little French… Chut maintenant chérie, je sais que vous ne pouvez pas résister quand je parle français pour vous, mon petit pétale. You really are a man of many talents Mr. Garamond!
Well it was nice to have the opportunity to speak with the real Stempel Garamond family and see what you're really about. Thank you for coming and I wish you the best of luck in the future.
About Stempel Garamond™ First released by D. Stempel AG back in 1925, Stempel Garamond™ was based on the Egenolff-Berner specimen of 1592 and was therefore a revival of the genuine Garamond types. It is one of the most wellknown Garamond interpretations, and since it was first introduced in 1925, it has been one of the most frequently used text fonts. Stempel Garamond™ has it's own unique temperament, with the rhythm and sharpness that sets it apart from the other Garamonds. » Stempel Garamond™ is available in four weights with small caps, Old style figures, and Central European characters. About the designer David Stempel founded D. Stempel AG type foundry in Frankfurt am Main, Germany in 1895. From 1900 through to 1983, they manufactured matrices for Linotype typesetting machines. Later, in 1985 Linotype acquired the type foundry, and the founding operations were moved to Darmstadt, where today they form part of the Hessian State Museum or Hessisches Landesmuseum.