Mike Parker's History of Type: Nicholas Jenson Old Style romans and italic typefaces are introduced, where capitals modeled after ancient Italian incised inscriptions are combined with a lowercase modeled on the forms of the Carolingian miniscule. The time period spans from the mid 15th century to the early 19th century and focuses on punchcutters of
Italian, French, Dutch,British and Hungarian origin. NICHOLAS JENSEN
by the mediaeval church was soon held to be
unsuitable for the developing commercial world.
Scholars of the Italian Renaissance deliberately
set out to separate their humanistic work from
monastic blackletter.
Our present alphabets were designed there using
letterforms revived from the past. Classical
engraved capitals from ancient Rome were
rediscovered and considered suitable for the
renaissance, or “rebirth,” of ancient knowledge;
these capitals were placed in the upper of two
typecases. Letters revived from the Carolingian
minuscule, a written alphabet from the ninth
century, were placed in the lower case, with
figures developed to harmonize.
Once equipped with humanistic letterforms,
the little instrument that we know as the
typefounder’s mold quietly opened the way
for the modern world. Editions printed in the
new styles ended the hegemony of the Church
and opened the development of the commercial
world as we know it. The Frenchman Nicholas
Jenson, working in Venice, started the trend,
printing with a single press from 1470 until 1480.
He devised the earliest types that appear fully
familiar to our eyes.
Sample of roman typeface by Nicolas Jenson,
from an edition of "Laertius," printed in Venice
1475. Source:Wikipedia
Font Bureau’s library contains three typefaces that take
Nicholas Jenson’s work as a reference: Parkinson,Hightower,
and Houston.
unsuitable for the developing commercial world.
Scholars of the Italian Renaissance deliberately
set out to separate their humanistic work from
monastic blackletter.
Our present alphabets were designed there using
letterforms revived from the past. Classical
engraved capitals from ancient Rome were
rediscovered and considered suitable for the
renaissance, or “rebirth,” of ancient knowledge;
these capitals were placed in the upper of two
typecases. Letters revived from the Carolingian
minuscule, a written alphabet from the ninth
century, were placed in the lower case, with
figures developed to harmonize.
Once equipped with humanistic letterforms,
the little instrument that we know as the
typefounder’s mold quietly opened the way
for the modern world. Editions printed in the
new styles ended the hegemony of the Church
and opened the development of the commercial
world as we know it. The Frenchman Nicholas
Jenson, working in Venice, started the trend,
printing with a single press from 1470 until 1480.
He devised the earliest types that appear fully
familiar to our eyes.
Sample of roman typeface by Nicolas Jenson, from an edition of "Laertius," printed in Venice
1475. Source:Wikipedia
Font Bureau’s library contains three typefaces that take
Nicholas Jenson’s work as a reference: Parkinson,Hightower,
and Houston.
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