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Subject:Re: Font Peeves From:Bruce Byfield <bbyfield -at- AXIONET -dot- COM> Date:Sat, 24 Jan 1998 22:18:36 -0500
Don Plummer <donp -at- BGNET -dot- BGSU -dot- EDU> wrote:
>BTW, the fonts with square" serifs are often called "Egyptian" >fonts, or slab-serif fonts. Some of them have Egyptian names, >like Memphis. Another example would be Lubalin.
By far the most versatile slab serif is Eric Gill's Joanna. It can be
used to set an entire book, which is not true of the majority of slab
serifs.
>In truth, of the faces you mention here, Garamond is the >oldest. Its design dates back to the 16th century. Claude >Garamond was one of the early type designers.
Please correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe "Garamond" is a name that
has been given to a number of fonts loosely inspired by Claude Garamond
- not a font that he actually designed. There are also enough variations
in the different modern Garamonds that a layout can change substantially
if a document is opened on a system that doesn't have exactly the right
version of the font.
>Bookman is called a "transitional" style font--type designers >began making fonts in this style during the latter 18th >century. Caslon is also considered a "transitional" style. >So is Times Roman, believe it or not.
Bookman was designed as an attempt to make a more readable version of
Caslon. I don't know that it succeeded. After all, if Caslon was good
enough for Ben Franklin (for whom it was a favorite font, although he
also championed Baskerville), it's good enough for me.
I'm a little surprised by your description of Times Roman, however.
Robert Bringhurst describes Times Roman as "a historical pastiche,"
which has "a humanist axis but Mannerist proportions, Baroque weight,
and a sharp, Neoclassical finish." It was also released in 1931, years
after Caslon, Bookman and Baskerville.
>Another good one in this style is Baskerville--a favorite of >mine. It has a very elegant italic face. Adobe markets a >"New Baskerville" which is very similar.
Adobe also carries Berthold Baskerville, which I personally prefer to
New Baskerville. Berthold Baskerville has more color than New
Baskerville, and I've found it more versatile and easier to read in long
passages.
"Rain and hard religion, gifts of a northern youth
We make a mess of tenderness, we make you have the truth,
There are days when we're almost human, times when it's shout or bust,
The roughest kind of harmony, we sing because we must."
--Oyster Band
