Post 4: 19th Century typeface designs and other innovations

Slab Serifs, Egyptian and Antique Typefaces, and Napoleon Bonaparte
At the close of the 18th century Napoleon Bonaparte attempted to establish a French pressence in the Middle East. Although his campaign was only partially successful, the availability of Egyptian images caused a huge increase in interest in Egyptian culture. Slab serif typefaces became known as 'Egyptian' although there was no resemblance or relationship between the slab serif types and Egyptian writing. In France and Germany the term became 'Egyptienne'.
The first slab serif type was produced by the English typefounder Vincent Figgins around 1815-17. He called the typeface 'Antique' but, due to the Egyptian craze, other typefounders called their slab serif typefaces 'Egyptian'. Because in England the term Egptian had already been used for sans-serif typefaces 'Antique' remained the name of slab serif fonts. American type founders also used the term Antique.
Slab serifs are generally thick and block-like and don't usually have a bracket connecting the stoke, or stem, of the letter to the serif. Slab serif typefaces can be further divided into three subgroups:
Clarendon model - these typefaces have a little bracketting. The serif may vary in size. Examples are Clarendon, Egyptienne;
Neo-grotesque model - these typefaces have no bracketting. Stems and serifs are evenly weighted. Examples are Rockwell, Memphis;
Italienne model - these typefaces have serifs that are heavier than the stems. The effect is dramatic. These types often have a 'western' appearance. Examples are Playbill and western-era posters, wanted posters.
Typewriter Typefaces
Typewriter typefaces are also examples of slab serif fonts. Courier is an example. Industrial Change

The Industrial Revolution is often seen as a black hole in the history of typography. During the 19th century manufacturing processes became mechanised. The most notable change to typefaces at this time was the introduction of the Slab serif designs, many of which were newspaper fonts. The strengthened serif prevented damage during printing. The newly-created mass market provided increasing demand for a variety of printed products including newspapers, advertisements, posters and other publications. The second wave of the Industrial Revolution was fully felt in the early 1800s. Improved metallurgical techniques and steam-power saw the development of machine tools which enabled metal parts to be easily and accurately cut and manufacturing machines to be built. Typography and printing, once crafts, became part of industry. The role of the punchcutter changed to that of a largely unskilled factory worker.
The invention of lithography in 1796 by Alois Senefelder initially had limited impact on printing because of technical difficulties but these were soon overcome. Senefelder then experimented with colour lithography but multi-colour printing, called chromolithography, was not developed until 1837. It was introduced by Godefroy Engelmann in France. This method was well suited to reproducing large areas of flat colour, therefore leading to the large poster designs characteristic of this period.
The inventions of the Linotype machine (Ottmar Mergenthaler, 1886) and the Monotype machine (Tolbert Lanston, 1887) resulted in the end of manual typesetting as composition and typography were no longer manual tasks.
Nineteenth Century Designers and Engravers of Type
William E. Loy was an American type vendor, printer and writer who was unhappy that typeface designers received very little credit. In 1896 he started publishing a series of articles that profiled leading type designers. 'Nineteenth Century Designers and Engravers of Type' republishes the complete series of Loy's articles together with more typefaces Loy was unable to include.
Typeface design increased rapidly at this time due to the introduction of large type foundries and type manufacturers. Typefaces, if successful and trademarked, were used to 'brand' products and publications. Also at this time graphic design became a separate entity to typography.
Art Nouveau
The 'Art Nouveau' movement became popular towards the end of the 19th century. It was characterised by stylized organic motifs inspired by flowers and plants. In Germany the style was known as 'Jugendstil' (German for 'youth style'), while in Italy it was called 'Stile Liberty', after the Liberty & Co. store in London.

The Arts and Crafts Movement
William Morris, a writer, designer and artist, founded the Arts and Crafts Movement in the 1860s. While the movement was most effective and influential between 1880 and 1910, it still exists in limited circumstances today. It primarily reacted against the Industrial Revolution, i.e. the poor design and quality of goods made by the machine culture that had replaced traditional crafts and craftspeople. In the publishing sphere increased competition had led to cheaper paper, inks and bindings which resulted in poor quality, unattractive books. The Arts and Crafts' aesthetics had an influence on many areas of the decorative arts, such as embroidery, jewellery and ceramics, as well as architecture, furniture design, the fine arts and the book arts. In 1891 Morris set up the 'Kelmscott Press' to revive typography and the traditional book arts. He sought to combine the aesthetics of medieval manuscripts and the techniques of early printing in the publication of contemporary and historical English literature texts. He designed the typefaces, including one based on the 15th century work of Nicolas Jenson. The books were printed on handmade papers with specially made inks. Although the Kelmscott Press lasted for only six years it provided inspiration for the private press movement in the current era.

Description of the Research Process for the Fourth Post

• Identified existing research appropriate for this post

• Undertook further research where necessary

• Looked for and posted a number of concrete examples and explanations to balance historical data

• Wrote the text for this post
  

Reflection on the Research Process for the Fourth Post

•  I am still referring back to a timeline I wrote prior to my first post. While my Research Plan is still useful, the timeline is more specific and provides more accurate guidance. 

• I thoroughly enjoyed researching and writing the segment about William Morris and the Arts and Crafts Movement. I find Morris's reaction against shoddy mass production and the designs and ideals of the Arts and Crafts Movement to be very interesting. I have a small collection of books on this topic - and they're all still in boxes, somewhere. NB. Trying to move house and study at the same time is hazardous to your health. 

• The actual 'posting' of my writing is definitely easier now that I make sure everything is assembled, ready to go and in the correct sequence. 

• I'm still having some difficulty posting videos as gadgets. Getting them to work as posts, in the main body of the blog, is no problem - but that's not where I want them to appear. The next time I produce a blog I will rethink my formatting choices and perhaps make things easier for myself. 

• As my research comes closer to modern times I'm finding this topic even more interesting.

 Discoveries for the Fourth Post

• I wish I'd read the information Linda provided as part of her blog more thoroughly at the start. When I did read it carefully I found it was very interesting. I spent a lot of time this week reading and following up further. I've definitely found areas of interest that I will continue to follow after this subject is finished.

• I am so pleased with the information I've found through this course generally, and this subject more specifically. My searching and learning will continue independent of this course.

• What a gem the 'ilovetypography' blog is.

• I had a look at 'Blogsearch' to see if it would help to find other blogs of interest - the range of topics listed was very disappointing.

REFERENCE SOURCES 
1. 19th & 20th Century Typography 2010, History of Western Typography, Wikipedia, viewed 25 September 2010, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Western_typography
2. abc typography: a virtual museum of typography 2010, viewed 25 September 2010, http://abc.planet-typography.com/index.html
3. Arts and Crafts Movement 2010, Wikipedia, viewed 26 September 2010, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arts_and_Crafts_Movement
4. Dean, P 2008, eXtreme Type Terminology Parts 1-5, ilovetypography.com (ILT), viewed 15 September 2010, http://ilovetypography.com/2008/03/21/extreme-type-terminology/
5. Graphic Design 2010, Encyclopaedia Britannica Online Library Edition, viewed 19 September 2010, http://www.eb.com.au/eb/article-242766
6. History of Typography:Humanist 2007, ilovetypography.com (ILT), viewed 19 September 2010, http://ilovetypography.com/2007/11/06/type-terminology-humanist-2/
7. Planet typography 2010, abc typography collection of typefaces, viewed 25 September 2010, http://abc.planet typography.com/classic/index.html/#Haut
8. Private Press 2010, Mirror of the World, State Library of Victoria, viewed 26 September 2010, http://www.mirroroftheworld.com.au/innovation/private_press/index.php
9. Puckett, J 2009, Nineteenth century Designers and Engravers of Type, ilovetypography.com (ILT), viewed 24 September 2010, http://ilovetypography.com/2009/09/09/nineteenth-century-designers-and-engravers-of-type/
10.Slab serif 2010, Wikipedia, viewed 25 September 2010, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/slab_serif
11.Type and typography 2010, Encyclopaedia Britannica Online Library Edition, viewed 19 September 2010, http://www.library.eb.com.au/all/comptons/article-209160

Post 3: 18th Century Developments

Caslon
The Englishman William Caslon I (1692-1766), having previously trained as an engraver of guns, opened his own engraving shop in London in 1716. His work included making tools for bookbinders and led to him being commissioned to produce type punches. He designed an 'English Arabic' typeface to e used for a Psalter (a Book of Psalms ) and a copy of the New Testament. Designs for Roman, Italic and Hebrew typefaces followed and quickly met with commercial success. His roman typeface, first used in 1726, became known later as 'Caslon'. In 1725 he set up own foundry. Caslon's first specimen sheet featured 47 Roman and Italic typefaces in 14 different sizes. William Caslon II (1720-1788) joined his father's company and, in 1763, they produced the first English book of typefaces. The book contained 56 typefaces designed by Caslon senior and 27 of his son's designs. Caslon's Roman and English Roman typefaces, like Fell's, had slightly bracketed serifs and slight 'old style' irregularities that produced a homely charm. Caslon's influence spread throughout the British Empire as well as the American colonies. Not only have many Caslon typefaces been adapted, these adaptations are still in use in current times.
Baskerville
John Baskerville (1706-1785) is a good example of Caslon's influence. Baskerville went on to make important changes. He was the first to use custom-made 'wove' paper which was smoother than the traditional 'laid' paper. His Roman and Italic typefaces featured lower contrast, smooth trans axial modeling, finely-formed bracketed serifs and long stems. Baskerville's typefaces are distinctive in that they demonstrate the transition from old-style to modern designs. He became obsessed with creating a font which typified 'elegance, simplicity and, above all, clarity'. Baskerville was also devised more accurate presses, and created clear, crisp impressions by using black ink and sealing his paper with hot rollers to dry the ink before it had time to soak too far into the paper. The books he published achieved a high standard of elegance.
Rococo Design and Fournier
The aesthetic trends of the Baroque and Rococo periods had brought about a transition in type design that resulted in increased contrast between thick and thin strokes. Vertical stresses replaced tilted. Sharp and delicate serifs took over from the blunt. Detail became clean and precise.
The French type founder and designer, Pierre Simon Fournier (1712-1768), known as 'Fournier Le Jeune', trained at the company of his father, Jean-Claude Fournier. He also studied art before apprenticing at the Le Be type foundry. The Rococo love of complex, curving decoration was evident in Fournier's work. His italics were influenced by handwriting and 'copperplate hand', the engraved lettering. However, his most important legacy was the introduction in 1737 of a standardised, typographical system of measures, the 'point' system. Fournier's table of the dimensions and relatedness of type bodies was based on the now-obsolete French unit of measure called the'pouce' (0.349 mm). His system meant that a series of typefaces with varying stroke weights and letter widths but with size and design similarities could be used together in an overall design. With the point system printers could calculate how deep a given number of lines of type would be depending on the type size and this knowledge improved the quality of printing as accurate planning reduced visual disorder. Fournier also created many highly decorative ornaments and fonts and included them in his two-volume book about typography, 'Manuel typographique'. Fournier also recorded much European typographic history in the Manuel.
Bodoni
The designs of Giambattista Bodoni further refined the elegance of Baskerville's work and show the evolution from Rococo to the new classical style early in the second half of the 18th century. Bodoni's refinements made his typefaces well suited to headings, title pages and other situations where a heavy, yet graceful, style was desired. He increased the elegance of his types, as did Baskerville and the Didot family, by stressing the difference between the heavy line and the hairline of type characters. It is thought by many that Bodoni created the modern Roman type. He achieved a 'purity of form' through the use of uncluttered pages, wide margins and line spacing and the geometric nature of his typefaces that did not detract from the act of reading.

Also in the 18th century specialisations and collaborations became more common than solo endeavours. For example, the printer J-J Barbou used Fournier's typefaces and ornaments together with engravings by the French illustrator C Eisen and further illustrations and tailpieces by P-P Choffard.
The Didot family

The French family of printers, publishers, typeface designers and type founders used similar design purity as Bodoni. Brothers Pierre-l'aine and Firmin combined wide margins and uncomplicated linear boundaries, flawless technique, obsessive detail and contrasting light and shadow. FA Didot amended Fournier's point system and it became universally accepted. The Didot's too emphasised the difference between the heavy line and the hairline of a letter, a characteristic feature of Modern typefaces. The Didot family also had the advantage of recent improvements in paper production, composition and printing. 

The Fell Types
Interference by the British Crown with printing and type founding had delayed developments in England during the period of the mid - late 16th century. However, the Bishop of Oxford Dr. John Fell had gathered together an important collection of printing types, mainly from France, Holland and Germany. With the assistance of Peter De Walpergen, Fell then created a number of typefaces, known as the Fell Types. Their features include short extenders, higher stroke contrast, narrowing of round letters and flattened serif on the baseline and the decenders. The Fell italics repeated the earlier French forms in that they were slanted irregularly and the capitals included Swash 'J' and 'Q' examples. Once Caslon's typefaces were introduced early in the 18th century the Fell Types became obsolete.

17th Century Typeface Design
The rate of typeface and of printing innovation slowed somewhat in the 17th century. The high standards created in the late 16th century by the likes of Tory, Garamond and other designers, typographers and printers spread beyond France. These developments largely satisfied printing demands for a time.
Early in the 17th century the Elzevir family in Leyden and Amsterdam became important publishers on an international scale. Christoffel Van Dyck developed their best typefaces by further refining Garamond's designs.

Description of the Research Process for the Third Post

• Identified existing research appropriate for this post

• Undertook further research where necessary

• Looked for explanatory images and general explantations to accompany historical text

• Wrote the text for this post

Reflection on the Research Process for the Third Post

• The additional research becomes more detailed as the topic becomes more detailed and less general, and the text is taking longer to write

• I felt able to redesign the aesthetic elements of the blog as I am finally becoming more confident with Blogger

• Despite finding a couple of useful YouTube videos I haven't yet been able to upload them to my blog because I lack the necessary knowledge of HTML

Discoveries for the Third Post

• I have realised that I need to work within the Blogger format, rather than looking for ways to make the program produce the design elements I want

• I can upload text images using text gadgets