Baskerville Type Specimen Book

BASK

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BASKERVILLE

BASKERVILLE

John Baskerville

This type specimen book is one of a series of ten books designed under the direction of Prof. Sarah Edmands Martin by the VCD2: Typography students at the University of Notre Dame in the Fall semester of 2022. This volume explores the use and origins of the Baskerville typeface created by John Baskerville in 1754. This book has been researched, designed and edited by Christina Sayut.

JOHN BASKERVILLE

John Baskerville was an English businessman, best known for being a master type designer and printer. He was born in the village of Wolverley, near Kidderminster in Worcestershire, and he was baptized on January 28, 1706. He began his career with teaching handwriting and cutting gravestones before he began to make a fortune with the manufacturing on lacquerwork items, known as japanning.

Beginning his printer career, he started practicing in Birmingham, England. He was a member of the Royal Society of Arts, and also was an associate of some of the members of the Lunar Society. His typefaces were greatly favored by Benjamin Franklin, but were heavily criticized by competitions and readers. In his style of typography, he always included wide margins and leading between each line.

Baskerville became an innovator in printing, paper, and ink production. He redesigned the current printing press at the time, replacing the wooden blocks with thinner, brass plates that allowed for a more even placement. He worked with the paper maker James Whatman, and they produced “wove paper”, which was a smooth paper that allowed for Baskerville’s black type to be brilliantly showcased when printed.

When designing the font Baskerville, he was heavily influenced by the fact that he did not like the font that many were using at the time, Caslon. Since he taught calligraphy in his earlier years, Baskerville relied on the strokes of handwriting to guide the creation of his font. His letterwork had a more complex and humanistic feel instead of feeling more like a machine-made text.

COMP FONTS

ARING FONTS

The diagonal strokes of the upper-case ‘K’ meet in a ‘T’.

The top of the upper-case ‘A’ has no serifs or cusps.

The foot of the ‘4’ has double-sided serifs. The bar of the ‘4’ has a single spur.

The centre vertex of the upper-case ‘W’ has no serifs.

The lower storey of the lower-case ‘g’ has a gap.

BASKERVILLE K A 4 W g C

The upper-case ‘C’ is symmetrical about a horizontal axis.

The diagonal strokes of the upper-case ‘K’ connect to the vertical via a horizontal bar.

The top of the upper-case ‘A’ has a serif or cusp on the left.

The foot of the ‘4’ has no serifs. The bar of the ‘4’ has no serifs or spur.

The centre vertex of the upper-case ‘W’ has two separate serifs.

The lower storey of the lower-case ‘g’ has no gap.

The upper-case ‘C’ is asymmetrical about a horizontal axis.

K A 4 W g C

FIRST HISTORICAL USE

FIRST HISTORICAL USE

PARADISE LOST. A POEM, IN

TWELVE BOOKS.

T he AUTHOR

JOHN MILTON .

From the Text of THOMAS NEWTON D.D.

THE WORKS OF VIRGIL,

By ROBERT ANDREWS

PUBLII VIRGILII MARONIS BUCOLICA

GEORGICA

E T AE NEIS

&&

&& && & FONT CHARACT AND &

&&&&

&&&& & & DESIGN ERISTICS AND & &

Baske

Wide stem

Teardrop-shaped terminal

Thin bar

Thin terminal

Thick downstroke

Wedge serif

rville

Thin upstroke

Curved serif

A a B b C c D d E e F f G g H h I i J j K k L l M m

N n O o P p Q q R r S s T t U u V v W w X x Y y Z z

Baskerville Bold

Baskerville Semi-bold

Baskerville Regular

During Baskerville’s creation, Europe was moving away from the very ornate and asymmetrical designs of the Rococo movement, and instead leaning towards the Neoclassical style that emphasized simplicity and symmetry.

Baskerville hoped to create a font that seemed much thinner and sleeker than Caslon, because he felt that it would work better for the reader. However, many critics of his font said that it was too hard on the eyes due to the thin nature. In Baskerville’s time, the font was not popular.

J J J J

At this time, Europe was in the heart of the Age of Enlightenment and at the dawn of the Industrial Revolution.

J J &

Baskerville Bold Italic

Baskerville Semi-bold Italic

In the 20th century, a type specimen book was found in a Cambridge bookstore by Bruce Rogers. He worked at the Harvard University Press at the time, and he used the font in printing.

Baskerville Regular Italic

Baskerville comes between the “old-style” and “modern” typefaces, with thinner and more refined lines that were meant for quality ink and smooth paper. Baskerville reads as a dignified and classic font, without feeling stuffy and overwhelming.

The font attempts to be timelessly stylish and up to date. Baskerville was created for setting books that are suited to setting long copy. It can be found in use in many books, magazines, and posters, since it is legible with a clean design.

Baskerville Italic 18 Point

Baskerville Semibold Italic 18 Point Baskerville Bold Italic 18 Point

AaBbCcDdEeFfGgHhIiJjKkLlMm

NnOoPpQqRrSsTtUuVvWwXxYyZz

AaBbCcDdEeFfGgHhIiJjKkLlMm

NnOoPpQqRrSsTtUuVvWwXxYyZz

AaBbCcDdEeFfGgHhIiJjKkLlMm

FONT VARIATIONS

NnOoPpQqRrSsTtUuVvWwXxYyZz

AaBbCcDdEeFfGgHhIiJjKkLlMm

NnOoPpQqRrSsTtUuVvWwXxYyZz

AaBbCcDdEeFfGgHhIiJjKkLlMm

NnOoPpQqRrSsTtUuVvWwXxYyZz

AaBbCcDdEeFfGgHhIiJjKkLlMm

AaBbCcDdEeFfGgHhIiJjKkLlMm

NnOoPpQqRrSsTtUuVvWwXxYyZz

AaBbCcDdEeFfGgHhIiJjKkLlMm

NnOoPpQqRrSsTtUuVvWwXxYyZz

AaBbCcDdEeFfGgHhIiJjKkLlMm

VARIATIONS

NnOoPpQqRrSsTtUuVvWwXxYyZz

AaBbCcDdEeFfGgHhIiJjKkLlMm

NnOoPpQqRrSsTtUuVvWwXxYyZz

AaBbCcDdEeFfGgHhIiJjKkLlMm

NnOoPpQqRrSsTtUuVvWwXxYyZz

AaBbCcDdEeFfGgHhIiJjKkLlMm

ITC NEW BASKERVILLE

ITC New Baskerville is one of many contemporary type families based on the work of John Baskerville (1706-1775). It is a late 20th-century interpretation of Baskerville’s style, designed by John Quaranda. It makes an excellent and very readable text face; its sharp, high-contrast forms make it suitable for elegant advertising settings as well.

BASKERVILLE GREEK

Baskerville’s Greek typeface was used for two editions of the New Testament printed in 1763: a quarto in 500 copies, and an octavo in 2000 copies — and never again thereafter. The typeface maintained the cursive ductus of earlier models, but abandoned complex ligatures and any hint of scribal flourish.

MRS EAVES

Originally designed in 1996, Mrs Eaves was Zuzana Licko’s first attempt at the design of a traditional typeface. It was styled after Baskerville, the famous transitional serif typeface designed in 1757 by John Baskerville in Birmingham, England. Mrs Eaves was named after Baskerville’s live in housekeeper, Sarah Eaves, whom he later married.

BASKERVILLE CLASSICO

Isaac Moore punchcut a version of Baskerville’s letterforms for the Fry Foundry after seeing the original font’s usage. Legible and eminently dignified, Baskerville Classico makes an excellent text typeface; and its sharp, high-contrast forms make it suitable for elegant advertising pieces as well.

MOD US

ERN E

WORKS CITED

Baskerville, John. A Specimen by John Baskerville of Birmingham. 1762. Baskerville, John. “John Baskerville.” Open Library, https://openlibrary. org/authors/OL2348174A/John_Baskerville.

Benton, Joshia Henry, and John Finlay McRae. John Baskerville: Type Founder and Printer, 1706-1775. Thoemmes, 2003.

Boardley, John. “Buy Fonts from the World's Favorite Typography Blog, I Love Typography (ILT).”

I Love Typography, 28 July 2021, https://ilovetypography.com/2007/09/23/ baskerville-john/.

Lawson, Alexander. Anatomy of a Typeface. Godine, 2005.

Pardoe, F. E. John Baskerville of Birmingham: Letter-Founder and Printer. F. Muller, 1975.