An Era of Typographic Geniuses

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“Having been an early admirer

of the beauty of letters, I became insensibly desirous of contributing to the perfection of them. I formed to myself ideas of greater accuracy than had yet appeared, and had endeavoured to produce a set of types according to what I conceived to be their true proportion.

” —John Baskerville

Typography Baskerville, a typeface designed in 1754, is most celebrated for its crisp edges, high contrast and generous proportions.

The typeface was heavily influenced by the processes of the Birmingham-bred John Baskerville, a master type-founder and printer.

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An Era of Typographic Geniuses 1700 - 1800’s The Enlightenment was the period in history of western thought and culture spanning from the late seventeen hundreds through the eighteenth century. The period is characterized by dramatic revolutions in science, philosophy, society and politics. These many revolutions swept away the medieval world-view and pioneered our modern western world. The Enlightenment emphasized that the universe was composed of logical patterns that could be discovered by humans to better understand the world around them. The ideas challenged tradition, God, and the power of Kings, which sparked the American and French revolutions.

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Authors Info Published Nov 2014

This publication was written and designed by Abbie Giffin, Jacob Headid, and Michael Johnson.

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Table of Contents Louis Simoneau Philippe Grandjean Romain du Roi Pierre Simon Fournier William Caslon Francois-Ambroise Didot Firmin Didot Herman Berthold Geofroy Tory George Bickham Robert Clee John Pine Louis Rene Luce John Baskerville Giambatista Bodoni The Age of Reason Nicolas Robert Bibliography

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Louis Simoneau and Philippe Grandjean

1645–1728 1666–1714 Louis Simonneau (1645-1728) was a prolific French engraver, born in Orleans at the beginning of the Enlightenment. His contemporary Philippe Grandjean (1666-1714) was a type engraver as well. When in 1692 King Louis XIV, the Sun King, decided that the French monarchy needed their own typeface, the two of them were commissioned to work together on it. Simonneau engraved the letterform designs and Grandjean cut the punches for the metal type.

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Romain du Roi 1692

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Called “Romain du Roi” (lit. Roman of the King, meaning the Roman alphabet), King Louis XIV’s typeface exemplifies Enlightenment ideals like logical order and rational design. Before, typefaces evolved natrually from engraver to engraver. Romain du Roi was a complete break from Old Style typefaces. The result of careful planning and strict adherance to a grid. It also emphasised greater thick/thin contrast than had been seen before, something that would heavily influence the creation of later transitional typefaces.

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Pierre Simon Fournier 1712-1768 Pierre Simon Fournier le Jeune was a type designer, type founder, and punch-cutter. He favored the flourishing, natrual lines that were the hallmark of Rococo style. By the time he was 24 he opened his own type foundery, but it was his work to standardize type size that is his true legacy. In 1737 he published his first table of proportions, called the Fournier scale. The pouce (a now-obsolete measurment a little longer than an inch) was divided into 12 lines, which were each divided into six points.

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William Caslon

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1693-1766

William Caslon was an Englishtype creator who ‘s typefaces are based on Dutch Old Style. He is remembered best for the clearness and legibility of his type. His titular typeface, Caslon, was an instant success in 1726 and for the next 60 years became the most widly used typeface in England.

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A stately pleasure-dome decree:/ In Xanadu did Kubla Khan/

Where Alph, the sacred river, ran/Through

Down to a sunless sea./So twice five miles of fertile ground/ / caverns measureless to man/

With walls and towers were girdled round;

And there were gardens bright with sinuous rills,/ / Where blossomed many an incense-bearing tree;

And here were forests ancient as the hills,/

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FrancoisAmbroise Didot 1730-1804

Francois-Ambroise Didot was a partisan printer and publisher who designed several Neoclassical romans and italics during his time. Father of Firmin Didot, Francois-Ambroise Didot was the founder of the Didot dynasty in printing and typography. Benjamin Franklin Bache, apprenticed to Didot by his grandfather Benjamin Franklin, described Francois-Ambroise as the best printer of all time.

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A stately pleasure-dome decree:/ In Xanadu did Kubla Khan/

Where Alph, the sacred river, ran/Through

Down to a sunless sea./So twice five miles of fertile ground/ /

caverns measureless to man/

With walls and towers were girdled round;

And there were gardens bright with sinuous rills,/ /And Where blossomed many an incense-bearing tree;

here were forests ancient as the hills,/En-

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Firmin Didot

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1764-1836

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Firmin Didot, son of François-Ambroise Didot was the inventor of stereotypography, which entirely changed the book trade.

Firmin Didot was the first to engrave slips of so-called “English” and round hand-writing.

Along with Giambattista Bodoni of Italy, Firmin Didot is credited with designing and establishing the use of the “Modern” classification of typefaces. The types that Didot used are characterized by extreme contrast in thick strokes and thin strokes, by the use of hairline serifs and by the vertical stress of the letters.

Firmin Didot Statue , facade of the Hôtel de Ville, Paris

FIRMIN DIDOT ABCDEFGHIJKLMNO PGRSTUVWXYZ abcdefghijklmnop qrstuvwxyzèéêëòó?!

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Hermann Berthold 1831-1904

Hermann Berthold founded the H. Berthold typefoundry in 1858 in Berlin. By 1918 the foundry has become the largest in the world, creating high-quality typefaces. Berthold continuly developed typesetting equipment, and by the 1950’s the foundry had invented the first photosypesetting machine, the Diatype.Then, in the 1960’s, Berthold introduced the Diatronic, the first key-controlled phototypesetting machine for mass production.

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Geofroy Tory 1480-1533

Geofroy Tory was one of the most influential printer in Paris during the first third of the sixteenth century. He illustrated how to draw letters with geometrical form, and how their proportions related to the human body. Tory was a publisher, printer, author, and engraver who was credited for pioneering the Renasissance style of book decoation, as well as the roman letter. Tory was appointed impimeur du roi (“printer to the king”) by Francis I in 1530.

Tory, Geoffroy, approximately 1480-approximately 1533, “Champ Fleury, Segond Livre, Feuil XXI recto,” Columbia University Libraries Online Exhibitions, accessed November 4, 2014.

Excerpt from Champfleury by Geoffroy Tory from Letter and Image.

by Massin. Studio Vista, London, 1970.

University Libraries Online Exhibitions, accessed November 4, 2014.

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George Bickham 1684-1758 George Bickham was an English author, engraver, and writing master. He is best known for his engraving in The Universal Penman, which is a collection of writings that lead the way for English Round Hand script in the eighteenth century. The Universal Penman displayed examples from 25 London writing masters of the time, and became the most popular piece of text used by writing masters to instruct their students.

Photo: George Bickham the Elder, by George Bickham the Younger, 1741 Image 14 Photo of paper: Page 209 and 29 of The Universal Penman. An example of Bickham's lettering and engraving skills.

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Robert Clee

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Mid 1800’s Robert Clee was an English engraver. He created typefaces as well as trade cards.

Trade cards are the 18th century equivalent of a modern day business card. Like Fournier le Jeune, he was a follower of Rococo style, and the curved lines, elaborate decoration, and fine detail of said style can be seen in both his visual work and his textual compositions.

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John Pine 1690–1756 John Pine was an English engraver. designer and cartographer often noted for his contribution to the Augustan style and Newtonian scientific model that thrived during British Enlightenment. In 1773 John began to work on an edition of the works of Horace, which was condsidered a masterpiece of 18th century book art. Pine engraved hundred of pages contatining both text and illustrations.

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‘A chart shewing the several Places of Action between the English and Spanish Fleets, with the places where several of the Spanish ships were destroyed in their return to Spain, North about the British Islands’

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Louis Rene Luce

1695–1174 Louis Rene Luce was a French type designer and punch cutter. From the years 1740–1770 he designed a series of typeface that narrow and condensed accompanied by extremely sharp serifs.

Luce designed a large series of letterpress borders, ornaments, trophies, and other illustrations of impressive variety with much emphasis on excellent printing quality.

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John Baskerville 1706-1705

John Baskerville is most known for his type designs. His typefaces were greatly admired by Benjamin Franklin , a printer and fellow member of the Royal Society of Arts who took the designs back to the newly created United States, where he adopted Baskerville’s typefaces for use in most federal government publishing. John’s work was heavily criticized at the time by competitors , but since the 1920’s there have been several revivals of his work mostly called ‘Baskerville’.

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A stately pleasure-dome decree:

1 In Xanadu did Kubla Khan/ 2 /Where Alph, the sacred river, ran/Through 3 4 caverns measureless to man/Down to a sunless sea./So twice five 5 miles of fertile ground/With walls and towers were girdled round;/ 6 7 /Where blossomed many an incense-bearing tree;/And here were for8 9 ests ancient as the hills,/

And there were gardens bright with sinuous rills,

Enfolding sunny

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Giambatista Bodoni 1740–1830 Often referred to as the king of printers as a result of his Manuel Typografico which was a compilation of his lifes work, which was published after his death . Bodoni designed a variety of typefaces, ranging in type sizes. Giambatatista is greatly recognized for his role as a compositor, and his great use of subtle line spacing. Much like Baskerville he sets off his texts with wide margins and uses very little illustrations or decorations. There have been several revivals of his typefaces all called ‘Bodoni’.

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A stately pleasure-dome decree:/ In Xanadu did Kubla Khan/

Where Alph, the sacred river, ran/Through caverns mea-

Down to a sunless sea./So twice five miles of fertile ground/ /And there were gardens bright with sinuous rills,/Where blossomedmanyanincense-bearingtree;/Andherewereforestsancientasthe hills,/Enfolding sunny spots sureless to man/

With walls and towers were girdled round;

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The Age of Reason

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1685–1816

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In central Europe, the 18th century was known as the Age of Reason, or the Age of Enlightenment. Starting in France, but spreading as far as the Americas, the Age of Reason championed logic and rational thought.

Discourse opened on the relationships between man, nature, and God. The idea of a civilization structured by tradition and faith was questioned, even rejected, as intellectuals sought to improve society through rational change. The notion that humans could restructure society for the better was, itself, a revolutionary concept.

The Enlightenment emphasized that the universe was composed of logical patterns and principles that could be discovered by humans and used to better understand and interact with the world around them. Enlightenment ideas challenged tradition, God, and the power of Kings. They directly sparked the American and French revolutions and their influences can be seen in the Bill of Rights and the Declaration of Independence.

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Nicolas Robert

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1761–1828

In 1799, Nicolas-Louis Robert invented the papermaking machine. Robert was a clerk at a French publishing company run by the Didot family. He was promoted and began to oversee the workers, vatmen, couchers, and laymen who toiled to make currency paper for the Ministry of Finance. Annoyed by the constant arguing of the laborers, he was inspired to look for a mechanical solution to the paper making process. The machine could produce nearly 20 feet of paper per minute, although it was somewhat inferior quality.

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Bibliography –Cover Pages http://luc.devroye.org/LouisSimonneau-RomainDuRoi-1704.png –Louis Simoneau, Philippe Grandjean

Boardley, John. “HISTORY OF TYPOGRAPHY: TRANSITIONAL.” I Love Typography. Ilovetypography.com, 17 Jan. 2008. Web. 9 Nov. 2014. <http://ilovetypography.com/2008/01/17/type-terms-transitional-type/>.

Image 1: http://www.forumrarebooks.com/application/upload/forum/bimages/3463_1.jpg –Romain Du Roi

Meggs, Philip, and Alston Purvis. “An Epoch of Typographic Genius.” Meggs’ History of Graphic Design. 3rd ed. John Wiley & Sons, 2008. 108109. Print.

Image 2: http://luc.devroye.org/oh/IakovChernikhov.jpg Image 3: http://historyoftype2010.wikispaces.com/file/view/Romain.png/260792056/Romain.png

–Pierre Simon Fournier

Meggs, Philip. “Rococo Graphic Design.” Encyclopedia Britannica. 5 Mar. 2014. Web. 9 Nov. 2014. <http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/ topic/1032864/graphic-design/242763/Rococo-graphic-design#ref845308>.

Image 4: http://luc.devroye.org/PierreSimonFournier-Portrait-1748.png Image 5: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cb/FournierScale144pts.jpg –William Caslon

“Great Designer: William Caslon.” Great Designers of the World. Wordpress.com, 21 July 2009. Web. 9 Nov. 2014. <http://greatdesigners.wordpress.com/2009/07/21/great-designer-william-caslon/>.

Image 6: http://images.npg.org.uk/800_800/5/6/mw56456.jpg –Francois Ambroise Didot

“Francis Didot. The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2012, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved. 06 Nov. 2014.

Image 7: http://www.100besteschriften.de/bilder/045/firmin_didot_www.jpg –Firmin Didot Image 8: http://luc.devroye.org/FirminDidot.jpg Image 9: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c0/Hotel_de_ville_paris095.jpg/250px-Hotel_de_ville_paris095.jpg –Hermann Berthold

Bringhurst, Robert. The Elements of Typographic Style. 3rd ed. Heartley & Marks. 333-358. Print.

Image 10: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/de/thumb/9/9a/Hermann_Berthold.jpg/220px-Hermann_Berthold.jpg Image 11: H. Berthold AG, Schriftsetzerei, Photo : Barbara Calendar –Geofroy Tory

Tory, Geoffroy, approximately 1480-approximately 1533, “Champ Fleury, Segond Livre, Feuil XXI recto,” Columbia University Libraries Online Exhibitions, accessed November 4, 2014.

Tory, Geoffroy, approx. 1480-1533, Excerpt “Champ Fleury” Letter and Image. by Massin. Studio Vista, London, 1970. University Libraries Online Exhibitions, accessed November 4, 2014.

“Geoffroy Tory”. Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica.

Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 2014. Web. 06 Nov. 2014 Image 12:Tory, Geoffroy, approximately 1480-approximately 1533,

“Champ Fleury, Segond Livre, Feuil XXI recto,” Columbia

University Libraries Online Exhibitions, accessed November 4, 2014.

Image 13: http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7167/6771067481_5e8053f941_o.jpg –George Bickham image 14: Photo: George Bickham the Elder, by George Bickham the Younger, 1741 image 15: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/81/Bickham-ABC.png image 16: http://www.usask.ca/english/barbauld/images/gbickham_penmansadvice.jpg –Robert Clee image 17: http://media-3.web.britannica.com/eb-media/86/73186-004-8778B765.jpg image 18: http://www.britishmuseum.org/collectionimages/AN00054/AN00054417_001_l.jpg

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Bibliography –John Pine The Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica. “John Pine (English Engraver).” Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica, n.d. Web. 09 Nov. 2014.

Image 19: http://images.arcadja.com/macardell_james-mcardell__john_pine~OM5b8300~10108_20071220_14629_661E.jpg Image 20: http://www.raremaps.com/maps/medium/0568.jpg –Louis Rene Luce “Unsupported Browser.” Inkling. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 Nov. 2014.

Image 21: http://seminaldesign.com/HistoryofVC/Images/8.gif Image 22: http://luc.devroye.org/GertWiescher-RoyalRomain-2005-after-PhilippeGrandjean+JeanAlexandre+LouisLuce-RomainDuRoi-1745.gif –John Baskerville Jong, Cees W. De, Alston W. Purvis, and Friedrich Friedl. Creative Type: A Sourcebook of Classicism and Contemporary Letterforms. London: Thames & Hudson, 2005. Print.

Yau, Cheryl. “Know Your Type: Baskerville.” Idsgn: A Design Blog. 26 Oct. 2010. Web. 10 Nov. 2014. image 23: http://image.linotype.com/cms/portrait_d11918i70.jpg –Giambatista Badoni Jong, Cees W. De, Alston W. Purvis, and Friedrich Friedl. Creative Type: A Sourcebook of Classicism and Contemporary Letterforms. London: Thames & Hudson, 2005. Print. image 24: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/55/Giambattista_Bodoni_by_Giuseppe_Lucatelli.jpg – The Enlightenment Outram, Dorinda. “What Is Enlightenment?” The Enlightenment. 3rd ed. New York: Cambridge UP, 2013. 1-9. Print.

“Enlightenment.” History.com. A E Networks, 1 Jan. 2009. Web. 9 Nov. 2014.

Image 25: http://churchandstate.org.uk/wordpressRM/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/lede_art_pinker_1.jpg Image 26: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4e/David_-_Portrait_of_Monsieur_Lavoisier_and_His_Wife.jpg/800px-David_-_Portrait_of_Monsieur_Lavoisier_and_His_Wife.jpg – Nicolas-Louis Robert Norman, Jeremy. “The First Papermaking Machine.” Jeremy Norman’s HistoryofInformation.com. Jeremy Norman & Co., Inc., 9 Nov. 2014. Web. 9 Nov. 2014. <http://www.historyofinformation.com/expanded.php?id=500>.

Image 27: https://multimediaman.files.wordpress.com/2012/09/fourdrinierandrobert.jpg Image 28: https://multimediaman.files.wordpress.com/2012/09/fourdrinierandrobert.jpg

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