A high-art, aesthetic style characterised early printing and means that examples of these early works are prized possessions of the modern libraries that are fortunate enough to own them. By the late 15th century printing presses had spread throughout Western Europe and most of the fashionable and influential printing was being done in Italy.
Roman Style
In Italy printing flourished in a number of locations but Venice, known for the quality of its printing, became the centre. While the blackletter typeface was retained in Germany for cultural reasons, humanist and the revival of classical influences in Italy led to the development of transitional typefaces and then to several sub-styles. For example, Venetian influences ca 1486 led to the formation of a half Gothic type, called Rotunda, by Erhard Radolt. Inspiration was also found in Roman inscriptional capitals found on Roman buildings. The lettering featured contrasting thick and thin strokes and serifs [a serif is a line or curve that finishes off the end of a letterform]. Lowercase letters where sought to match the capitals. Carolingian minuscules from 300 years earlier were used, although the ascenders and descenders were lengthened. The typeface developed by Nicolas Jenson was based on the stylisation of the Roman inscriptional capitals and the humanistic minuscules. The result was a typeface that was open, elegant and easily-readable with an evenness of colour in mass. Jenson's Roman typefaces were important models for Roman letters of later design. The importance of Venice in typeface design ended when the sack of Rome in 1527 concluded the Renaissance in Italy.
Italic Type
The Italic type was based on a slanted style of handwriting known as 'cursiva humanistica'. The popularity of this writing style may have resulted in demand for this style of typeface. Francesco Griffo was commissioned by the publisher Aldus Manutius to develop the 'Aldino' italic typeface. Griffo's invention featured varying slant angles, uneven height and vertical position, and unslanted small Roman capitals. The slanted letters took up less space on the page allowing books to be smaller in size, and accordingly less expensive. The Griffo italic style was popular until Arrighi, a Vatican chancellery scribe, designed an italic typeface with a more standardised structure. The use of the italic style declined by the middle of the 16th century. It continued to be used where added emphasis was required, and for abbreviations and in-line referencing.
Printing in France
Printing in France began with undeveloped Roman and half-Gothic typefaces. Lyon and Paris developed as centres of printing and the format established in Italy began to be adopted. Estienne and Augereau typeface designs had a distinctive French style and became accepted as an art form, forming the basis of post-Renaissance typography. They were then copied for the next 150 years. Claude Garamond developed a Greek typeface for King Francis 1 in the 1540s. His Roman serifed typeface is considered one of the most legible [serif] typefaces for text and was widely influential. Much of his design for lowercase letters was based on the handwriting of Francis 1's librarian, but he was also influenced by Griffo. Most contemporary Italics are based on the Italics of Garamond's assistant, Granjon. Garamond was the first independent typefounder - he was the first to make type available to printers at an affordable price.
Note: Garamond's typeface has been the subject of a number of revivals but has become confused with the work of Jean Jannon despite retaining the Garamond name.
Note: Garamond's typeface has been the subject of a number of revivals but has become confused with the work of Jean Jannon despite retaining the Garamond name.
