Gill Gutenberg AND
>> All creative minds, big or small, contribute something to the creative world with their work because there is something that is inspiring to at the very least one person who crosses paths with it, whether it is only the designer or artist, your teacher, or a large audience. Eric Gill and Johann Gutenberg are two men from have contributed to the advancement of typography in and it is made apparent through their background, their motives, and inspirations attributed to their creations.
Johannes
Gutenberg
Johannes Gutenberg was a German craftsman and inventor from Mainz, Germany. He was a blacksmith but also had acquired the skills of a goldsmith, printer, publisher, and gem cutter (Childress, 2008). He taught these skills to a number of his pupils. Over the years, Gutenberg had some work that he decided to keep secret from his craftsmen partners, including the designs for an invention that would change the world of print forever. When his partners caught wind of this invention he had been constantly developing they wanted in. The men’s reason being that they had taught Gutenberg and helped him to develop his skills in crafting and that it was only fair that they be partners in his secret endeavors as well. A contract was created between himself and three dreas Dritzehn that if one of them died their heirs would not be able to claim a share of Gutenberg’s for it. This later became an issue when Andreas Dritzehn died and his heirs made an attempt to get around the contract and started a lawsuit against Gutenberg and insisted to be made partners of the company. In turn they lost the suit. (Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2013).
With the information that has been acquired regarding Gutenberg’s progress was not to grab hold of a piece of his invention. By the time 1450 rolls around, about ten years after he had started playing around with the nature of the printing press, So much so that he won over at the time, to lend him a large sum money to make the proper Gutenberg borrowed money on two separate occasions from Fust, which eventually resulted in Fust becoming a partner. Creating the perfect version of the printing press motivated Gutenberg, which seemed to get in the way of his relationship with Fust. He kept pushing Gutenberg for a return on the investments he had lent him, and him, which Fust won (Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2013).
It is hypothesized that Johann Gutenberg’s experimental version of the printing press is based upon the wooden screw press that was traditionally used to crush grapes for wine. He is also recognized for the discovery of the features and components that aided in the presses ability to print, especially the process of cutting and casting type in a way that the letterform was secure and durable and the molds could be used to create that same letterform multiple times over again (Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2013). This moveable type was a huge breakthrough for Gutenberg’s time period and contributed considerably to the creation of typographic printing. Over the next few hundred years parts of Gutenberg’s original printing
Gutenberg’s name is yet to be found, thus far, on a piece of published work from the time. This is thought to be because after Fust won the lawsuit he acquired control of Gutenberg’s Forty-Two-Line Bible, one of his two known masterpiece prints and the other being a Psalter. Due to Fust’s possession of the book to be printed in Europe and contain the name of its printer was Gutenberg’s Psalter completed on August 14, 1457 in Mainz, naming Johann Fust and
pieces replaced with more durable materials such as iron and steel. The nature and structure of his press is still very comparable to today’s screw printing press (Western Culture Global, 2006).
Gutenberg borrows 800 Guilders from Fust to continue
Johannes Gutenberg passes away
1468 36 years later...
1452 1440
When it is said that Gutenberg perfected and unveiled his “secret” plans for his printing press
1450
1454–5
Printing thousands of indulgences for standards and was in operation the church
1455
Completed his 42-line Bible known as the Gutenberg Bible
1465
Gutenberg’s achievements are recognized by Archbishop Adolph von Nassau and given the title Hofmann
1504
Mentioned as the inventor of typography in a book by Professor Ivo Wittig
Eric Gill “I KNEW THAT IT COULD ALTER FUNDAMENTALLY PERCEPTIONS OF GILL, BOTH AS A MAN OF GOD AND AN ARTIST”
Eric Gill’s personal life has been somewhat of a well-kept secret up until 2011 with the release of Fiona MacCarthy’s biography of Gill. The biography tells a story that most people knew about Gill such as where he grew up, his history of schooling, and works etc. But as MacCarthy read deeper and deeper into his multiple diaries she discovered information about adulteries and “numerous sexual adventures and experiments” with his two eldest daughters as well as his dog (MacCarthy, 2011, p. 23). With the release of the biography people were surprised by its content and what it revealed about Gill. Being a religious man and committing acts of sin in the eyes of the church as extreme as these was shocking to people. MacCarthy states, “I knew that it could alter fundamentally perceptions of Gill, both as a man of God and an artist” (MacCarthy, 2011, p. 4). The knowledge of these acts that Gill has engaged that was not there before.
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GILL’S TYPEFACES... 1926 1927 1929 1930 1932 1934
Perpetua Gill Sans Perpetua Greek Golden Gockerel Press Type Solus Joanna Aries Floriated Capitals Bunyun Jubilee [aka Cunard]
ABCDEFGHIJKLMN OPQRSTUVWXYZÀ ÅÉÎÕØabcdefghijklm nopqrstuvwxyzàåéîõø ü&1234567890($£.,!?) In Gill’s woodcut “The Hound of St. Dominic” reveals some alarming features related to the sexual acts he engaged in with his dog. He also had a series of drawings of his teenage daughter Petra; the model was unknown (Howard Bear) until the release of the biography. The drawings “Girl in Bath,” “Hair Combing,” and “The Plait,” to name a few, all contained nude and erotic images of Petra. Gill’s “passion was the personal”; because of this he refused to use outside models due to the aspect of familiarity. The knowledge of this aspect that contributes to his work reveals the sense of “voyeurism” present in his pieces. This is especially evident in his sculpture of his younger sister Gladys, who he had a sexual relationship with, and her husband Ernest. It was later titled “Ecstasy” by the Tate Britain due to the “entwined” position
Stone, 2006). Gill has contributed to the world of typography in multiple ways. He was very well known for his “elegantly styled lettering and typefaces.” A few of his most well known creations are Gill Sans, Perpetua, Joanna, and Pilgrim. Most famously known for his Gill Sans, Penguin Books loved the typefaces so much they chose it for the covers of their pre-war books (Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2013). Gill Sans as a humanist form of sans serif. Most sans serifs do not have small distinctive parts at the end of their stokes but Gill Sans has a minor serif evident in its lower and uppercase letfont because of the small traces of Roman Type evident. In his many years of schooling ing interest he developed many crafts including type designer, sculptor, writer, and engraver. Gill and Douglas Pepler founded St. Dominic’s Press together in 1915. Here he printed his largely controversial essay “Typography.” The essay discussed his views on typography in relation to “his personal view of morality, industrialism, creativity, and craftsmanship” (Howard Bear). The book is hard to come by and out of print today.
COMPARE
CONTRAST
Both Gutenberg and Gill created using varied materials. Gutenberg paved the way for Gill and other typographic designers and their creations with his invention of the cast moveable type, which has continues to evolve rapidly. Whether these creations are used as typefaces on the computer or as letterforms on the press Gutenberg is the sole reason for the type’s existence. Eric Gill, among many creatively curious designers, experimented with letterforms and woodcutting and contributed elaborate wood engravings and letterings to both of his print shops. For the printing of his essay “Typography” he invented an exclusive typeface with which he printed at a private press that he had created in his home with his son-in-law René Hague comparison that these two very well-known creative minds share is their largest contribution to typography which I would consider to be them using their skills and expertise to teach pupils and apprentices their crafts. Ultimately, typography is advanced everyday by the teachings of the art form and the creative curiosity of those who are excited to learn.
and Gutenberg is the capabilities and tools of the classical and modern periods. These variables give a great amount of diversity to the world of typography. But in Gutenberg’s case it also restricted it in a sense. He is the creator of the contraption that started it all, the printing press. This invention paved the way for typographic designers, printers, publisher, etc and their creations to come that would help to advance typography. Gill and Gutenberg’s contributions to the art form vary in quantity and medium with some overlapping areas but this is all due to the time periods they belong. The printing press, belonging to the traditionalist time period became the backbone for those who came after it such as Eric Gill and other who worked during the 20th century when typography started to become one of the largest components of a new profession and way of going about printing, graphic design.
ON THAT NOTE...
The comparing and contrasting of the
faces have had on the world of typography and ent time periods only slightly separates Eric Gill and Johann Gutenberg’s motives and creations.
creativity that they sparked in others through the teachings of their crafts. That is what leads to the innovation and advancement of something such as typography that is constantly evolving. have continued to feed it for centuries.
WORK CITED
IMAGE CREDITS
Childress, D. (2008). Johannes Gutenburg and the Printing Press. USA: Lerner Publishing Group.
Brockhaus, F. A. (2007, December 4). Wikimedia Commons. Retrieved August 2, 2013, from File:Johannes-Gutenberg.png: http://commons.wikimedia. org/wiki/File:Johannes-Gutenberg.png
Encyclopaedia Britannica Online Academic Edition: http://www.britan nica.com/EBchecked/topic/233695/Eric-Gill
Inspiration: Eric Gill. (2009, April 3). Retrieved August 2, 2013, from Trend Setting Design: http://www.trendsettingdesign.com/inspiration-eric-gill/
14-July from Encyclopaedia Britannica Online Academic Edition: http:// www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/249878/Johannes-Gutenberg
Tomas, O. (2010, August 31). Penguin’s horizontal grid design and Tschichold’s reforms. Retrieved August 6, 2013, from Oliver Tomas: http://www. olivertomas.com/books/penguin-books-horizontal-grid-and-tsch icholds-reforms/
from Encyclopaedia Britanica Online Academic Edition: http://www. britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/611830/typography/36788/Guten berg-and-printing-in-Germany#ref417047
Wikipedia. (n.d.). Gutenberg Bible. Retrieved August 5, 2013, from Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gutenberg_Bible
Gill, E., & Skelton, C. (1993). An Essay on Typography (Reprint ed.). Godine, David R. Publishers, Inc. http://desktoppub.about.com/od/typedesigners/p/eric_gill.htm 6-July from Timetoast Timelines: http://www.timetoast.com/timelines/ MacCarthy, F. (2011). Eric Gill. Faber and Faber. from The Guardian: http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/2006/
www.ericgill.org.uk/
http://www.westerncultureglobal.org/gutenberg.html
Designed by Zoé Leschak in GDES 2345: Typography, August 2013. The main body typeface is Halvetica Light 9/13. Other typefaces used: Gill Sans and Rockwell.